Friday, September 7, 2012

Happy Fourth of July!!!

4 July    We were greeted with firecrackers and noisemakers to celebrate the 4th. What a great surprise. It was extra nice because although today started out great with a full night's sleep; I discovered that I had fallen asleep last night without taking my malaria pill. Well, I was told to take it as soon as I remembered , so I did. Bad choice!!!!!! About an hour after I took it I threw it back up so violently that I don't think I could have stopped if I had tried. So I have felt pretty iffy all day, not quite daring to eat anything out of the norm. Things are packed and ready for my 4:20 Thursday  flight to Kolkata. Before that, we have two schools to visit - Blossom ( an unaided private school ) and a government school. My day is ending with fireworks out my window..........

Thursday 5 July
    Slept very soundly and was awkened to the screech of a raptor. Took a very long and very hot shower and felt much better. Essentially today is a relaxing day before flights , so I think I will watch some baseball. The Red Sox are playing the Yankees and it is really pretty fun to think that I am halfway around the w orld and watching them. But first I had a last breakfast in Bangalore with Catherine , Joy and Shannon. As I sat and waited to leave for the airport, I was getting the nervous excited feeling in my stomach again............. new places and not really sure what to expect, but the excitment of going really was the overwhelming feeling.
     Our Flight was quite different than any of the flights to India. Brian and I left an hour earlier than we needed to because the taxi was available and so they suggested we use it. It took almost an hour to get to the airport ( in the States - 15-20 min drive ) . Dropped off at what we thought were the gates and we were summarily sent back to get our eticket ( this wa all outside the airport). Finally inside, we head to the counter to check our bags and are told they will not open for two hours............ wait some more. Finally - the counter opens and our bags are over .......... head to a different counter to pay 3750 IRN covering the extra weight; back to the counter to get the bags checked ; then security! Males and females do not pass through the same security checkp points, so we split up and went our separate ways. Passed security! Met up with Brian again and we go to the gate and wait!

Time to load the flight and Brian is stopped at the entrance because his carryon is lacking the proper tag from security........... off he goes to retrieve it and makes the flight easily. 2.5 hours later, we are in Kolkata and it is POURING!!!! Welcome to monsoon season we are both thinking. Soma has arranged for a car to pick us up so we travel in style to the Hotel Kenilworth. What a fabulous place - like stepping back into colonial India.......... I started to unpack my bags and get my pjs out and discovered the lock on my suitcase was missing............. no surprise there. One last cappuccino with cinnamon before bed ( too tired and too late to eat much) . Listened to the most wonderful thunderstorm as I snuggled in the bed.........

Friday 6 July
 1st day at Soma's school. She me us this morning and we walked to school - really not far at all and a great way to see everything going on. We were greeted warmly by everyone and chatted with the principal ma'am while the girls gathered for morning prayer and assembly. We were called onto the stage and welcomed with traditional flower bouquets and prayer and bindi. We each gave a very short thank you speech and were off and running. Whe the assembly broke up - it was time for tea!!  WE spent the day giving talks and listening to class presentation. Lunch was amazing - cheese puffs out of flaky pastry with paneer. Soma took us on a small tour of the area and finished our first day off with Bengali sweets - Jamun............
What did I learn? Take toilet paper everywhere!

Saturday 7 July    We spent this morning with Soma's husband at the campus of Calcutta University . This campus houses all the sciences. Tea and biscuits with the professors and checked out examples of lab books/notebooks. We were lucky enough to get an insider's tour of his cutting edge cancer research. Very Cool stuff! After touring the university, we crossed the courtyard and toured the home of Rammuhun Roy. I am having so many names thrown at me , I must admit, my brain is on overload! The remainder of the day we spent with the girls and Soma at the Peace Fair......... a festival to celebrate the concept of world peace and how to accomplish such an enormous task..... I did meditation and they were rather proud of me.  Must sleep as much as possible because tomorrow we are off to the cricket training grounds!

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