Friday night we went to the annual ASB Board of Trustees welcome dinner. I have to admit I was a bit nervous to meet some of these parents- they have lead such different lives than I have ever even thought of. But, we were immediately greeted by the president, by name, and welcomed. After that, any new parent or other board member we met were so excited to get to know us and offer help or advice. We chatted with one very kind band parent who has a place/office in Turkey, Dublin, and India, and travels between all three for the oil company he works for. It was a much larger event than I had expected, and at a rather fancy place (complete with many waiters constantly offering you appetizers and filling up your wine glass before you even had a chance to say no thank you). We were officially welcomed with a small ceremony complete with garlands. There were a few jokes about PTA functions in the US vs. here in India... no need to say more!
Saturday we traveled to a hill station town south of Mumbai, in Lonavla, for the annual welcome back ASB staff picnic. It was absolutely beautiful, but, the travel time ended up doubling because of issues with our bus and getting down the street to the actual house and well... as they say... "welcome to India". What was supposedly a 2hour trip turned into 4, 4 hours of relaxing, a small hike, tasty food, and then another 3 or so hour trip back home, made for a long day, but worth it to get out of the city for some fresh air, greenery, and a break from the general nonstop busy life, sounds, and smells that is Mumbai. It was a bit rainy so we only took a few pictures, but, enjoy!
We both have curriculum nights coming up in the next week so we will be busy introducing ourselves to more parents. Somehow I've managed to fill up all that prep time I have already, but, still feel extremely happy about the teaching situation.
Much love!
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