Nepal, pt. 3

Nepal, pt. 2

Nepal, pt 1

5 days of trekking in Nepal. Amazing vacation, one of the best I've had. We hiked for most of the day, and then stayed in guest houses. That meant no tents, carrying food or water. I could get used to that. Anyway, lots to say but I'll just let the pics speak for themselves.

more around Delhi

Maki stopped in for long weekend after WOW. We got a chance to soak up some character in Delhi. The majority of the pics are on his camera, but here we have a very typical street scene

Open air barbers are all the rage here. The corner where I stand to meet my carpool always has a customer lathered up as the lanes of traffic swiftly drive by.
This weekend led up to Diwali, the biggest holiday for most Indians. Similar vibe to Christmas. Lots of lights and fireworks. Here's a house on my block, all geared up to celebrate.

Wow!

Wow! I've been out of town a lot in October. First up was our Week Without Walls (I'm just now noticing that this does not spell Wow, as everyone calls it.) We took the students up to a beautiful valley outside the Indian town of Rishikesh. Lots of playing in the river,

getting creeped out by giant insects,

and an all-day hike upstream

I was fortunate enough to be with very awesome chaperones. Here are Liz and Kim, two of my co-workers. When we arrived back in Delhi, I already missed them.

This beautiful waterfall served as a rappelling course.

which was no match for me. Just kidding, I totally lost my footing and swung like a pendulum out into the waterfall. But it was fun and safe.
I also led an art activity, wherein students each had to create a work of art using natural resources from a stream. Knowing very little about art, I just mimicked the positive comments I hear on Project Runway. The students were actually very creative and inventive. Here was my favorite, a little temple fashioned from sticks, rocks and a mushroom.

The last day we did a huge hike (by middle school standards) and stopped at a farm (I refrained from posting about 20+ adorable baby animal photos), a school and another awesome waterfall. Overall a great week getting to know co-workers and students better, and having fun!

work

Here's a couple shots of where I work. My room is right behind this arbor. My door opens up onto this outdoor space. Definitely the nicest physical environment I've worked in.

Entertainingly, there is a family of kitties living somewhere nearby. Here are the two kittens.

And big mama.

Metro trip to Old Delhi

After school, a couple teachers took me on a trip to Old Delhi. We took the Metro. Despite there being a stop about 7 minutes from where I work, this was my first trip. The Delhi Metro is very new. Most of it was completed in time for the Commonwealth Games, about a year ago. It was clean, efficient and crowded. We were so packed in that a random man rested his chin on my shoulder. Let me ease your burden, random man.

Then we jumped out at Chawri Bazaar in the heart of Old Delhi. Wow, what a difference. Where New Delhi is full of wide avenues, green trees and relative peacefulness, Old Delhi is a brown jostle of shops, electric wires and throngs of people. The most popular way to travel seems to be bicycle rickshaw, and this definitely worked for us.

After visiting a famous mosque (Jama Masjid), we followed the stream through narrow, ancient corridors lined with every service and bauble imaginable.

I found this trip refreshing and energizing. There's so much out there to see, and I have considerably increased my pace since this trip.

adventures

Hello faithful readers. As you may have surmised, I have been busy getting set up here. But fun and adventure has been has. I blogged about this in the last post, but here is the great fort that is now a resort that I stayed in in August.

October is bursting with holidays here. Last Monday, our school kicked off the Dusherra holiday with a visiting performance of Ramlilla, a Hindu epic. A group of disadvantaged and disabled schoolchildren performed the ballet, and it was a smash hit.

Following the Ramlilla, we took our students outside to witness the burning of Ravana. This stories-high effigy is a representation of evil, and burning him brings on the good fortune.

Here he goes!

No one told me he was also stuffed with firecrackers, and it was quite startling. One interesting concept I have thought about is the positive destroyer. I had always assumed that Shiva the Destroyer was a baddie, but soon after arriving in India, an Indian person told me that destruction must take place in order to create. Food for thought! The study of the Hindu religion and culture are very interesting to me, I hope to learn more soon.

a month in New Delhi

For the last month, I have been adapting to a new work environment while gliding over the surface of a country with unimaginable depth. The lore surrounding most international schools is that teachers rarely interact with the host culture, preferring to stay within the confines of the bubble instead. Throughout the year in Bangkok, we playfully mocked this lifestyle. But upon arrival in New Delhi, I immediately integrated into it.
Last week, a student pointed out that I had spelled New Delhi wrong (I was reversing the l and h,) and it hit me: I am living in a city that I don't even know how to spell. So over the last week, I have taken a brief inventory of life here so far, and planned to become more active. Here are my thoughts so far:
School and the international school life: My school is great. Really, everything about is extremely well setup. The students are nice and engaged, the staff is friendly and professional, and the campus is beautiful, well-resourced, and rich with opportunity. I have already swam, played tennis, played ultimate frisbee, and done Zumba. I'm planning to join the group that does bike tours of Delhi, play softball, etc. Lots of happy hours and dinners, and with so many teachers who have lived in so many interesting places (a lot of Middle East and East Asia) I'm always regaled by stories and travel tips. 
Combine the richness of school life with the fact that I'm doing back-to-back culture shock, and I can understand why I've made little effort to put myself out there. I've visited a few shopping districts within the city. I take taxis everyday. I've made two weekend trips: one to Agra and one to Neemranah Fort. But now I'm wanting for more interaction.
Through this month, I've made a few observations.  I'm reading a book called City of Djinns by William Dalrymple. Its weaves his travelogue from a year in Delhi with interesting historical facts from the Delhi's history. The main theme is that modern Delhi is actually the eight successive city built over the same location. This place on the banks of the Yamuna river has been continually inhabited since the 6th century BCE. As I've mentioned before, there are ruins all over the city. The part of Delhi where I live and work is New Delhi, the British colonial city. I'm excited to learn more about the history, and unfold as many layers as I can. India is highly literate. (Before I came here, I had been charmed by several Indian author.) Book stores are packed with novels and historical works about India. There are countless weekend field trips to take within the city. My co-workers rave about the walking tours available. OK I'm rambling a little, but basically I'm excited by the rich, complex and evocative history of this region. Delhi is also a weekend trip away from so many unbelievable sites that it makes me excited just to type. These include:
-The Himalayas
-Dharamsala, home to many Tibetan exiles including the Dalai Lama (perhaps more on this soon)
-Armritsar, the center of Sikh culture
-Rajasthan, an evocative desert region west of Delhi
India is more pluralistic than most people probably think. Within Delhi, people speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, and many more languages. India is famously economically stratified, and this is very evident.

Agra, pt. 3

After a nice long Saturday, we did a quick visit to another site (sight?) on Sunday. On our way, we passed this man transporting balloons on his bicycle.

and then to Fatephur Sikri, another Mughal complex. I believe this was built by a descendant of the Taj Mahal ruler. It is built out of red sandstone, an abundant building material in this area. Here is a large enclosure where the ruler's harem stayed. Our guide showed as a lifesize parchisi board where the ruler played, using his lovely ladies as pieces.

Here we are, enjoying the complex.

Agra, pt. 2

The Taj Mahal, like Angkor Wat, is a sight that exceeds any picture you have ever seen. But before we get to the Taj Mahal, here is the Baby Taj.

BT was built by the father of the Taj Mahal builder, a little foreshadowing if you will. Look at these gorgeously carved slabs of marble. And there was intense symetry

More Baby Taj

and behold!

The Taj Mahal exceeds any pictures. Basically you see it from afar are impressed, look at it up closely and realize how intricate every square foot is are are more impressed, and then take in the size and scope again and are totally floored. It is immaculately designed and executed. All the walls are carved and inlayed with intricate designs. Everything is incredibly planned and mirrored, which is exceptional considering how difficult it was to carve large slabs of marble with basic tools.

Here's an example of the inlay. The precious stones came from India, Afghanistan, Africa and more.