Rainy day four

I didn’t wake up until 6am this morning.  7 hours of sleep.  Score!  Got up and walked around – starting to get a little better feel of where things are.  Sometimes I find something really cool then don’t remember where it is to go back to it J  I think it will be a lot easier when the dry season comes. 

I am going to share a maid with Amy so we met today about expectations and hope to interview this week. 

They took us to this huge mall which we were really excited about, but saw that a good part of it was open air.  Or wet air.  It is very hard to shop when you are soaking wet.  I got some pillows and a towel.  Still need sheets, pillowcases, towels, drapes etc..  Then we went to Good Earth which had a lot of very expensive high quality stuff.  I am going to wait to buy sheets Towels but I got the coolest dishes!  Elephants!  I only got 4 dinner plates and 4 bowls and I refuse to admit how much I paid for them.  I figure as time goes on I can acquire the dessert plates (which were super cute with three elephants), cups, serving platters etc.  For now I am trying to get some turquoise cups to go with them.

I am trying lots of different food – Everyone around me has a lot of experience with foreign food which means I get lots of good recommendations.  A friend told me I should try an “egg roll” it’s like pita bread or a tortilla type thing wrapped around a cooked egg and chicken.  So yummy!  And I think I forgot to tell everyone that last night at the superintendent’s house we had fried honey for dessert.  Doesn’t that sound like rodeo food?  Fried honey!

The school gave us food to get by for a few days.  This is the weirdest watermelon I’ve ever seen.  And we had tiny tiny bananas – this is laying next to a small snack chip bag. 

                                                            

     

     

I went to the market to get more damp rid around dinner time.  Holy moly the rain was unbbelievable.  It has rained all day and it is starting to get deep!  My street was the deepest – one intersection was so bad cars were backing up because they realized it was too deep to drive farther.  My umbrella did not do much good – I was soaking wet from the waist down and my feet were horribly wet.  Buying those Tevas was one of the best decisions I ever made.  It might be awhile before I can wear them again.  The water was ankle to calf deep for a lot of my walk.  It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed a big bite on my ankle.  I wish I had taken my camera to capture some of the chaos but I had left it at home because it was so wet out. 

It started to absolutely gush rain so I stopped in a place called Eat around the Corner.  That will be my hangout.  It was beautiful – all white and mirrors.  They have guards at the door and metal detectors ( a lot of places do here).  I got a tomato, mozarella, and pesto panini and this amazing fruit pizza tart thing.  It was made like a tart with that cream cheese stuff a fruit pizza has and slices of nectarines, kiwis, apples, grapes, mango, pineapple, papaya. It was amazing!

Tried to wash some clothes here which is no easy task!  First of all the tiny washer holds about 4 or 5 things depending on what they are.  At first I couldn’t get it to turn on (you just don’t push a button to start it – you have to flip the power thing, and turn a water valve.  After it got done running they clothes were SOPPING WET.  They didn’t spin!  When I couldn’t figure out why I asked my neighbor Valencia (she owns the apartment)  the knob on the washer was broken so I was left with a kitchen counter holding sopping wet towells.  Bryan, who lives two floors below me and is new to ASB also came to check it out and we got the knob to work for the time being.  The dryer was tricky too – had to turn on a separate power thing even though are both in the same spot.   Thank goodness for kind neighbors.  School tomorrow – I’m sure I will learn tons! 

I have been sitting here for 30 minutes waiting for 4 pictures to load!!  hopefully when I get internet working in my apartment adn don't have to use this stick I can do better at pictures.

First impressions

I know there will be a lot of ups and downs here and culture shock will come a go, but so far so good.  I think right now it hasn’t really hit that I am LIVING here permanently!  Kind of feels like a vacation because I’m doing a lot of things with the people I went to Memphis with and they pick us up in vans – like a tour group J

I LOVE the school and we’ve only technically been there one day so far!!  But I love the culture of the school.  I cannot believe how much they do for us!  From what I’ve heard no other school helps people settle in like ASB.  I can’t imagine trying to do this on my own.  The school sent people to FRRO with us yesterday to navigate that crazy system.  They send vans to pick us up when we are doing group things.  The drivers are awesome and know where we live etc.  They usually drop us off right in front of the apartment, but yesterday traffic was bad so they were dropping us off at corners and we are still a little unfamiliar with our area.  When they dropped one guy off they noticed he looked around like he didn’t know where to go.  The van was already down the block but they pulled over and the driver sent one of the guys who went to FRRO with us to run IN THE RAIN to make sure the newbie got to his apartment ok.  So nice!  Jordan (the other math teacher) lives about half a block from me.  They pulled up at a corner to drop him off and we both assumed I’d be getting out too.  Nope.  They told me to stay and they drove around quite a bit (lots of one way streets and heavy traffic) to bring me to my door.  I don’t know if it was because I’m a woman and it was raining or what – but it was nice.  They didn’t know that if any woman was comfortable walking by herself in the rain it would be me!

In some ways I feel like I am adapting better than others – some ways not so much.   Since I have never worked overseas before, I had no expectations for accommodations, just glad they were paying for it!!!  But apparently these are substandard compared to other schools so some people are really disappointed and uncomfortable.  I don’t care that much about matching furniture etc J  I do plan on acquiring furniture and making things nicer but for me, that can wait.  Some people are really affected by their surroundings and need it to look great immediately.  But on the flip side they are all very helpful telling me how to use things because they are used to these kinds of bathrooms, geezers ( the things you have to turn on and wait for hot water), water filters, the weird washer and dryers (which I am going to attempt to work today) and the elevator.  Holy Moly that elevator is scary in our apartment.   I live on the 3^rd floor (which is really the 4^th floor because they do the British way of the ground floor being 0).  I walk up the stairs which is nothing because it college I lived on the 9^th floor and never used the elevator – scary thing getting stuck all the time.  But we went shopping yesterday and Preya had a lot of stuff and needed help getting to her 2^nd floor apartment and with the elevator.  You have to open this door then pull the gate, and then close both and go very slowly up and then reverse the process.  Like the elevators in Titanic!!!!  Never again!  Unless I have a broken leg!  I also need to get used to them being called lifts J

I’ve walked around a few times – it will take awhile to used to where everything is.  People stare at me a lot, but no one has bothered me.  It is tricky to navigate those crowded streets especially when everyone has an umbrella!  Everyone honks every time they see a person or vehicle with is every 1/100^th of a nanosecond!!!!  Crazy!  And it rains constantly.  Hard to believe that when monsoon ends, we won’t see one drop of rain until it starts again in June.  Not. One. Drop. Of. rain. Ever.  I guess the forecast is hot and dry every day J  It will be easier to navigate when it is dry but hotter… so we’ll see.  It is really nice right now – in the mid 80s every day.  Could get used to that if only it wasn’t raining!

I have a lot more impressions and will get to them in pieces J

Day 3 in Mumbai

I had such a great day yesterday that I thought the jet lag was mostly behind me.  Nope.  Woke at 3 am.  Could not get back to sleep – unpacked, emailed, called home, read.  The van was supposed to pick me up at 9am to go to FRRO – Foreign something Registration Office.  The van was pretty late and it took a long time to get there.  The registration process was weird.  First we had to go to a computer and type all this information in then print it out.  Then we went to a desk where a person took that information and filled it out on a piece of paper, then they gave us a registration booklet and we had to write the information AGAIN! So crazy!  Good news is I know my address and phone number now… I think J Got to use to my first “squatty potty” today at the FRRO.  Wasn’t too disastrous J  Need to practice deep squatting though!!

A few of our people have gotten Bombay Belly already L  not horribly ill just needing the bathroom a lot.  My stomach felt a little weird today – not sick, but weird so I am going to start brushing my teeth with bottled water to be safe. 

I will probably mention the traffic in just about every blog.  Holy cow.  It is just so unbelievable.  Cars and rickshaws  are just going everywhere – along with cows and people.  There aren’t lanes and people just squeeze in wherever they can.  There are pedestrian walkways but they don’t mean anything.  It is scary crossing the road.  I will get better at it, but for right now I just find an Indian trying to cross the same road and go when they go!  Saw some interesting signs on the back of cars.  One said “good luck”  in huge letters across the back windshield.  Ha!  One had a bumper sticker that said “stop TB:don’t spit”   and in the FRRO office there were a lot of “don’t spit “signs.

                                                                                                              

                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

I walked around my neighborhood for about an hour, trying to get my bearings.  Takes about 15 minutes  (probably a lot less when it isn’t monsoon season)  to get to the Arabian Sea!  How crazy is that!  We live in Bandra which is nice area of Mumbai that has lots of shopping and dining places.  I went to Pali market again today. I Got a broom, mop, other cleaning supplies including food cleaner.  I love that they will deliver everything!  You can shop at a store and not have to lug it around in all this rain to the other stores.  We went to Nature’s basket and got some groceries – I got a mix of Indian and western brand stuff.  You never know if the western stuff is going to taste the way you think it will anyway.  The school left oreos in our apartments and they don’t taste the same! Got some cereal today but I am afraid to use the boxed milk.  A woman who drank it a lot in Brazil said it doesn’t taste the same as regular milk but it didn’t bother her too much.  She recommended not drinking it by itself – put a little in cereal etc and build up your tolerance.  Sounds like a lot of work!!!!  I love cereal and hope this milk doesn’t ruin it!  A different woman drank it today and had a really bad experience.  Not sure when I am going to venture into the boxed milk!  But I have some cereal that is dying to be eaten!

Tonight the 2^nd group is going to the Superintendent’s house for dinner – that is me!  The group that went last night said the food was amazing (his wife cooks Indian food) and that his apartment is amazing too. I am looking forward to it. I have never been invited to dinner at a Superintendent’s house!! 

day 2

I have had a rough time with internet connection – they have been here 6 times!  Wire problems, electrical problems. – all the lights in my apartment worked the first night, then… not so much J  but today the school got us the portable plugs to tide us over until the internet can be worked out.

Today we were picked up in our vans at 7:30 and taken to school.  We ride with people who live in apartments near ours.  I got to see the school for the first time.  Wow.  It is really different.  The classrooms have AC, but the school is open air so whenever you are in a hallway etc it is warm and damp J !  Space is tight here so not everyone has a classroom, but thankfully I was assigned one.  WHEW.  Because we all know I am not the most organized person!  We learned a lot today about how the school runs etc.  I also got some technology training and am already improving – people were very proud of me!  I was helping others occasionally J  They had a business fair where we got to talk to different businesses.  My shipment should be here between aug 5^th-8^th so I signed a million papers for that.  I haven’t signed my name that many times since I bought my house!!  I signed paperwork for a bank account but can’t get one until I go to the government office FRRO tomorrow.  The superintendent has split us into three groups and is having a group over for dinner each night.  My night is tomorrow so tonight I am meeting at another place with a group of people.  This school is so well organized!  They transport us everywhere for right now.  I am going to have to venture out and walk around my neighborhood this weekend – hopefully when it isn’t pouring! They had binders for us to look for maids that other ASB folk have had and liked. The school gave us all simple cell phones to use right now and then when we get a phone we can transfer the SIM card to the new phone and keep our number.  I also got a SIM card for my I Pad so I can travel with it.  The cost of things are weird here – some things are the same or more – like all the stuff I bought yesterday, but some are cheap.  Like we’ve been told at iphone will cost 33,000rs which is about $750, but the monthly rate of the phone is 199 rupees which is less than $5!!!!!!

I have already had to go to the nurse’s station twice today.  I got two big bites on my arm the size of golf balls and one burned really badly.  She put some calamine lotion on it.  Later I got two more and my whole arm was numb!!  So they gave me some allergy meds which helped for awhile.  I will need to go to a chemist (pharmacist) to get some.  The doctor said once I acclimate to the different bugs, my body will stop responding so terribly and I’ll get smaller welts J Most everyone else has done extensive traveling so my newbieness is working against me.  No GI issues yet.  I have only drank bottled water but I use the tap for brushing my teeth… ooh risk taker!!  We also have a water filter and after a few weeks I am going to start trying to drink the filtered water a few sips at a time and hopefully build up so I don’t have to depend on bottled water. 

The superintendent spoke about how they spent moths choosing us and have extensive notes on our hiring process and that we were chosen because we are awesome.  It costs $62,000US for the first year here!!!!!  That is 3 times the second most expensive private school here so he was talking about how parents pay for our experience etc.  It made me feel honored to be chosen among all these great people, but made me feel a little inadequate too!  I really want to live up to their expectations and be a great teacher.  There are tons of people to help –technology, apartment maintenance, drivers, security, medical staff..  There is WAY more staff here at this school of 750 and at my school with 1400.  I’m just trying to take it one step at a time.

I like that everyone here likes to travel and are adventurous – a lot of the dinner conversation last night was about where we are going to travel on our breaks!  I might have found some people to go hiking with in October J

Day 1

At the start of Day 1, I've had about 5 hours of sleep in the last 41 hours.

Our apartments are furnished with beds, couches, wardrobes, dressers, a dining room table etc.  I am going to have some of it removed and buy some new pretty furniture :)  The Indian mattresses are as rock hard as they said they were going to be, but I slept pretty well on them.

My apartment is small, but nice.  Some people are complaining about the accommodations because they had such great apartments in Thailand, Egypt, Saudi Arabia etc.  But you know me!  I am not the girly girl decorator type so I don’t car as much.  The kitchen has a small fridge, stove/oven, microwave, very few cabinets, and a washer/dryer.  Yep, you heard me!  The washer and dryer are in the kitchen!  Which I am happy with, because some people have theirs out on the balcony or in their bathroom – seems like a safety hazard to me.  The bathroom is going to take some getting used to.  Yes, Jerry Lee, I have flush toilets and toilet paper!  But I guess the bathrooms are more the European style where the whole bathroom is the shower.  So the toilet, sink, etc gets soaking wet when you take a shower.  I’m going to try to have them put up a shower curtain to keep the toilet part from getting wet.  Right now I am designating one bathroom just for showering so I can use the other one without falling on a wet floor!  We have window ACs in each room.  It actually isn’t that hot here this time of year.  It does rain A LOT because it is monsoon season.

At 11am Jane came by and talked to us some more about how certain things work in our apartments, then we met everyone else for lunch.  After lunch, we went to Croma – which is an electronics/appliance stores.  I got a hair dryer, iron, a surge protector, and some plug adapters.  Lots of people got coffee makers and toasters etc.  Then we went to Pali market.  It is a street filled with tiny market stores.  It is amazing how many goods they have stored in such tiny spaces!  And every place has a TON of workers to help you.  I got an ironing board, dryer rack(apparently the electric dryers don’t work well), some cleaning supplies and hangers.  You can get ANYTHING delivered here.  So you buy your stuff and tell them what time you will be home and they bring it to your door.  India has one of the most renown delivery systems in the world.  For a place so crowed, it is amazing everything gets to where it is supposed to be!

I had a few hours to rest before supper so I laid down to nap but kept getting interrupted by the internet guy and the delivery guys.  The internet guy has been here 6 times now! 

We all went to dinner at this amazing Indian restaurant.  I had a lot of dal, lamb, chicken, rice, paneer etc.  They just kept bring out plates for tables to share so I didn’t know the name of the foods I was eating!  Hopefully I will get better at that.

Lots of people speak English here, but it doesn’t always sound like it!!  I have to really concentrate and ask them to repeat sometimes J

The very long flight there

I flew out of Bloomington on July 25th and got to New york around 8pm.  I stayed at Sara's apartment in Brooklyn.  She went to work in the morning and met me for lunch.  I dragged each of my 50 pound bags down the stairs to the cab that picked me up at 2:45 pm.  From now on I will try to bring only 2 checked bags!  It was so hard to manuever 3 plus a carry on.  I got to the Jet Airways counter in the international terminal at Newark airport and immediately saw other ASB folk!  The checking in process was long - they made you go to another area to pay for extra baggage then back to the counter for your boarding pass.  We sat at the gate and greeted each new ASB person who arrived.

We were supposed to leave at 6:40 pm.  They boarded us on time but then we sat on the runway for 2.5 hours - weather, crowded flight path, etc.  I watched an entire movie before we even took off!  The flight to Brussels was about 7 hours (added to the hours we sat on the tarmac/runway - it made for a very long leg of the trip) I couldn't sleep so I watched 2 movies, 6 episodes of How I met your Mother and 3 episodes of Two and a Half Men, ate two meals, read etc.  By the time we got to Brussels I was exhausted and had a headache.  We deplaned and were there less than an hour.  For the 8.5 hour flight to Mumbai I took a Dramamine - that allowed me to doze for an hour and a half- enough to get rid of the headache!  I read a lot on this flight and watched Rio and some more episodes of Two and Half men.  I had the same aisle seat in the back of the plane that I had on the first flight, but a new person sitting next to me.  He wanted his frined to sit with him so I traded. Dang me for being so nice!!  I ended up in the middle of a crowded row.  They lady next to me was really nice though and let me get up and stretch a few times and told me about her travels. The airspace around Mumbai was packed since we were late and we flew loop de loops over the Arabian sea.  It was cool to see that on the flight monitor.

The food wasn't too bad.  On the first flight I had a rice and chicken dish for dinner then a muffin for breakfast.  On the second flight I had lamb chili with veggies -it was delish!  Then they served a slice of chicken pizza right before we landed around midnight the 28th. 

The Mumbai airport was lively and it took quite awhile for all of us to get through customs and get our large amount of luggage.  A team of ASB people with drivers etc met us there and herded us onto the correct van.  I am living in an apartment building in west Bandra with three other new people.  Peyanka lives directly below me and Bryan lives directly blow her and Karen lives 3 floors above me.  Jane, the high school principal rod in our van with us and showed us how to get hot water and use some basic things in our apartments.  By the time she left, it was 3 am.  I crashed and slept like a rock for 3.5 hours.  I woke up around 6:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep because I don't have curtains on a few windows and it was light out.

Alost there!

I could not sleep at all last night and had a bloody nose yesterday.  I think the packing stressed me out!  I wrested with my three suitcases most of the day trying to make them all 50 pounds or less.  I think I am bringing way too much but I've never lived overseas so I'm not sure what I will need.  I had to bring lots of clothes because my size changes sometimes!  ha! 

My Dad flew down to Houston on Wednesday.  I had sold my car, Mr. blue earlier in the day so Vicki was kind enough to take me to pick up my dad at the airport.  We got the Uhaul truck, loaded it up, cleaned the house, and went to bed at 7:30pm.  I got up at 3 am and by the time both of us were ready and the house finished it was 4:45 before we left.  We got out of Houston lickity split that early in the morning!  We drove up through east TX to Texarkana, then to Little Rock, Memphis, St. Louis, then home.  We stopped around 8 and stayed the night in Missouri.  Dad said he was good to go on driving all the way home, but I really wanted out of the truck!  I am going to have to be on a plane that long soon and I wanted to stretch my legs.  We got home and Dad had forgotten to bring his house key.  The spare key was not where it was supposed to be.  I checked all the doors and windows but they were locked - dad was planning on breaking a pane out of the front door when I found the spare keys on the ground!  whew!

On Saturday I went shopping with my very pregnant sister!  We got some baby stuff, a new purse for me, and a map of India.  I got Charlotte some elephant clothes - I've become obsessed with elephants since I found out I'm moving to India!  I spent the afternoon at her house.  She and Ben recently moved into his grandparent's rental house.  Ben grilled for the whole family.  My parents, brothers, Becky,  Aunt Carol, Uncle Rod, Aunt Jeannie, AJ and Emma all came out and we had a lot of fun.

On Sunday Dad worked on the dryer and I worked on packing - neither of us were very successful!!

On Monday morning Bri and Ben came over and went with Dad and I to eat at IHOP before I went to the airport.  Stacy met us there to say goodbye.   Stacy lived in my dorm in college, we lived together in urbana when we student taught, we lived together in Houston for 5 years and for the last 6 years have lived in houses 2 blocks away from each other!

I have decided all my Illinois friends and family need to stop laughing at me when I complain it is cold at 40 degrees!!  You should have heard all the belly aching about the heat right now!!  It has been high 90s/100 in central Il for a week or so now and wow... these people do not like the heat!  It is like this every single day for about 4 months in Houston.  and it's gonna be like that all the time in India.  Doesn't bother me at all.  but I don't like the cold!!!!

I am at the Bloomington airport waiting to fly to New York.  Going to spend the night with Sara in Brooklyn.  Have to drag all these sorry suitcases out of JFK, in a cab, and up two stories to Sara's.  Then tomorrow I have to drag them to Newark!  augh!  I will get used to this international living and pack a lot lighter :)

Last weekend in Houston

Well, this is it folks - my last weekend in Houston for awhile!!

 I sold the last of my furniture - so this is what I slept on.  My own personal "dog bed" it consists of a few towels stacked up and a sheet.  Thankfully some good friends are letting meborrow their air mattress for the next few nights :)

The Anderson's are my Houston family!  I spend holidays with them and they are so kind and generous to let me be a part of their family.  I went over there Friday to help celebrate Sally's birthday!  The girls LOVED the spaghetti!



Missa thinks this is what you are supposed to look like every time you eat!







Hope was following her big
sister's lead

 On Sunday morning I got up really early to run with some of my Team in Training friends - Patty, Paula, Barton, and Jeff.   TNT has big a huge part of my life for 3 years now.  Patty was on my team last year and was a mentor two seasons later and is doing a triathlon this fall.  Paula was on my team two years ago and we ran the Chicago marathon  together in the freezing cold and last fall we trained for Marine Corps together.  She gave me the first Harry Potter book that weekend in Chicago and I got hooked immediately!  Read all the books quickly then watched the movies.  Very fitting that it is the opening weekend for the last Harry Potter movie - thanks Paula for introducing me to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine :)  Last December I was the only team member running the 21 mile training run for Disney.  I hate running by myself!!!  The whole reason to run is to jibber jabber and get medals :)  I was very nervous about running that far alone espcially since I'd had all that passing out business that had prevented me from running Marine Corps.  At about mile 6 Barton showed up and said he would run some with me.  He wasn't planning on doing 21- maybe 15 or so.  I was just thankful for some company for most of it.  but we ended up doing almost 22 miles that day.  Thanks Barton!   Coach Jeff is a great TNT coach.  He and Coach Joanne got me to finish Chicago in my fastest time ever - 6:15!!  Ha!  there was smoke coming out of me!  Coach Jeff has run many long, slow, jibber jabber filled runs with me to make sure I finish.  And he's always just as excited as I am when I finish another race and get another medal!!!   I have a lot of other TNT friends but they couldn't make it today.  But it was nice to run with these four through Terry Hersey Park one last time (for awhile anyway).



Marine giving me medal
at TNT run.



       



Jeff finishing a long run with me.





jeff is back left. front row is Michelle, Patty,
 Paula.  Theresa is 2nd from right on back row.





Women I mentored about to run the San Fran half! Michelle, Theresa
Carrie, Patty, Heather, Angie, Chrisy, and Sandy.
  They all have "Bobbi Jo" written on them somewhere.  I was with them in spirit!







               

                     

I have a lot of great memories with Team in training!!  Going to miss them!  Hopefully will find a good running group in Mumbai.

A friend that lives in Austin was in town this weekend so I got to see her.  She's the one who got me interested in this international teaching business so thanks Elissa!

Moving is not so easy.  I changed the address on my credit card and had them put a label on it so they knew I'd be using it over seas - well now I can't use it in the states!!!  the gas station denied me! and the USPS denied me when I tried to change my address online!!  I call the company and thought I got it fixed, but when I was trying to buy something on my ipad - it wouldn't work!  augh!  hopefully I willg et all the kinks worked out :)

8 days left!

Laptop institute in Memphis

I FINALLY got to meet some of my colleagues!  ASB sent its new employeesand some current ones to the Luasanne Laptop Institute.  The actual conference was only Monday and Tuesday, but we got here Saturday so that we could do some training with just our school. 

I was really nervous and excited about this.  Technology is my weakest area.  I made that clear when I was hired :) and they assured me that I would get plenty of support and help.  So I was excited about learning but nervous about being confused and behind everyone else.  This was the first time I had ever used my laptop outside of my house and had to log in at a public place - seriously!  We started with just a couple hours on Saturday and I was CONFUSED.  On Sunday I sat next to an angel named Megan :)  She was so patient and helpful.  I definitely didn't understand everything but just hearing all these unfamiliar vocabulary words and technologies helped me be more prepared for the classes I would take on Monday and Tuesday. 

Memphis seems to only serve meat!!  ribs/ porkchops/ BBQ/ loose meat sandwhiches - and they always serve it with cole slaw, onion rings, fries and baked beans.  Even for breakfast they serve fried chicken on a bisquit.   Sunday night we went to BB Kings and had ribs/bbq/catfish fingers etc.   Monday's lunch was Corkey's BBQ delivered to the school (with coleslaw and baked beans).  We went to  Pork on Beale for dinner Monday and had ribs with.... you guessed it... baked beans, cole slaw,and onion rings!!  I do not eat a lot of meat (only if is in my lean cuisines :)  and that is a LOT of meat.  I planned for Tuesday to be a vegetarian day :) had salad for lunch and the MOST AMAZING CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE I've ever had!

Beale street is crazy on the weekends!  The cops block the entrances to the street and scan everyone with metal detectors.

I learned so much stuff.   Wow!!!  my brain is going to melt with all this information.   The conference is for teachers of schools that have employed a 1:1 laptop program (or are going to)  I’m getting to meet teachers from all over the world who are in schools with 1:1 laptops.  I met a great couple from Lima, Peru today.  They have also worked in Mozambique.  How cool!!  I am so excited about getting to be a part of this international teaching community.  It is inspiring to hear all the places that people have worked and I want to go!!!  We have people who have worked in Brazil, Estonia, Thailand, Canada, Singapore and a lot of other places.  Our new employees are a mix of single/married and first time overseas workers/experience overseas workers.  It has been great to talk to people and get information about what to bring and expect.

 Every minute I am convinced I picked the correct school.  They are wonderful!   The staff is very helpful and enthusiastic.  They do a lot to make the transition easy as possible.  Not every international school does that.  We hear how things are at other schools and I think this one is going to be as close to Heaven as you can get in a school.  I cannot wait to get there!!

 At the end of the conference we had a closing session with door prizes and I won a freaking ipad2!!!  yes!  a freakingfree one :)  They also had a closing party at Silky Sullivan's and had...yep... BBQ.

Gypsy rant

This is not on the topic of my move to India but I just have to get it out!  I have now watched 4 episodes of "My big fat Gypsy wedding" on TLC and am appalled.  They go on and on about how discriminated they are, but I think they are doing far more damage to their own people than anyone else could.

They don't value education.  The women don't work so I am not sure where the mothers are.  The oldest girl takes care of all the kids and house cleaning until they get married at 16, then the next sister (12 or13) quits school to take care of the kids.  The show asked a bride if she could read or write and she said "a little.  As long as you can read a notice about what time your doctor appointment is - what else do you really need to read"  seriously. 

They have these bizarre rules about women being less than men etc which isn't all that rare.  Lots of cultures treat women like that.  but this is ridiculous.  Asking a boy out would desgrace their family but they are expected and encouraged to wear as little clothing as possible dressing like skanks to attract a boy because if you aren't married by 18 you are looked down on.   They have a custom called "grabbing"  where boys literally find a girl at a party they want to kiss and drag them kicking and fighting to a secluded area to kiss them.  The girls have no say in who kisses them.  It's sexual assault and the adults just watch it happen!!!!!

When they are trying to find a venue for a wedding, they offen get cancelled on.  They call it discrimination.  It's because they vandalize everything!!! They are loud and obnoxious.  They also don't belive in going to the bathroom inside.  This couple about to get married was looking for a trailer without a bathroom.  They said it is disgusting to go to the bathroom where you live.  so they build illegal outhouses by their trailers or just go in a hole in the ground.  So of course no venue wants them crapping on their grounds!!!  Communities don't want them living amoung them and they site discrimination.  It's health issues!!!!  They are constantly saying they aren't allowed to practice their "culture".  I understand you have been travellers/nomadic people for centuries but life has evolved.  We have agriculture and grocery stores!!!!  My Sioux ancestors moved around a lot to get buffalo but they don't do it any more.  We also have sanitation laws!!!!!  You shouldn't get to infect a bunch a people because it is your "culture" to use the outside as your toilet!!!!!!

They also complain about them not being able to park their trailers and squat werever they want.  It isn't discrimination because EVERYONE  has to follow the building code laws and squatting laws.  EVERYONE.  they aren't picking on you. 


One woman was complaining they were poor and asking why they don't get government help.  Well lady - your family doesn't hold properjobs and probably don't file taxes properly, you don't live where you should and pay property taxes, you take your kids about of school and I am assuming the UK has mandatory education laws to a certain age like we do.  You break a ton of laws and want government help???

Ok.  I have a ton of stuff to do but I just had to rant a little.

Living in Transition

We are down to 14 days before I leave Texas!  I sold my bed over a week ago so I took the couch cushions off and made a "matress" to sleep on.  I have sold all my dressers, bookcases, tables and chairs so everything I have left is laying all over the floor :)  Selling the couch and love seat is next so then all I'll have is the floor.  It's like camping in my own house! 

I am leaving Saturday for a computer training in Memphis.  I finally get to meet the other new staff.  I am so excited to put some faces to names and get this party started!  I have been planning for months and now I am just ready to get to India!  After Memphis, I will be in Houston one more week to get rid of the rest of my furniture and sell my car etc.  My dad is flying down to Houston on the 20th and we will drive the Uhaul up to Illinois.  All I am taking up there is my coffee table, end tables, photo albums etc.  I will only be in Illinois for two days then I will fly to New York on the 25th and spend one last night with Sara then leave for Mumbai on the 26th. 

A lot of people ask me crazy questions about what is available in India.  People seem to think India is living with no technology or modern conveniences - not true!  Here are some websites the school gave up to plan buying household items for our apartments.

http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/lcd-tv/index.idx?pagetype=subtype_p2    electronics

www.futurebazaar.com/ home wares

1000 Rupees = $22.43    20,000 rupees = $448.58

I'll let everyone know how the computer workshop goes - you know how I am with computers!