Europe Update

I won't go into too much detail now, but today we got some free internet so I figure that I'd do a short post to let you all know what we've been up to. So, here goes:

Last Tuesday (June 7) we flew from Mumbai to London where we spent two nights at one of the YHA's, toured Westminster Abbey and the Victoria-Abert Museum, and walked around the city a lot. Then, we took the train to the Cotswolds to hike the beautiful English countryside. While we did get a bit of rain, it was a great three days of being out in nature, meeting lots of locals, and drinking a few pints of bitter British ale. Then, we took the train back to London to do some serious sight-seeing: London Bridge, British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Billy Elliot, and more than enough trips on the underground to get comfortable. London was great!

This past Thursday we flew to Bergen, then rented a car to drive up into the Hardanger Fjord region where we stayed in the tiny town of Ulvik, right at the Eastern tip of the fjord. It was the quietest place I've ever been to! Since we had a rented car, we thoroughly explore the entire region enjoying driving up over the mountain pass, through many mountain tunnels, and even playing in the snow. The fjord country is indescribably beautiful and our pictures will not do it justice. After doing that for three days, we drove back to Bergen and are now staying at the YHA near the touristy center. We've got two days of sight-seeing planned ahead before flying to Sweden.

Europe as been great for us so far and we've managed to cut costs by cooking our own meals in the hostels and picnicing everywhere. Most of all, we continue to find a great balance between relaxation and the `clipboard of fun` (to borrow a phrase from Amanda Novak).

Hope you are all enjoying your June, see you soon!

RW

Goodbye to Year 1

It's impossible to sum up this year.

The last few weeks have been filled with concerts, ceremonies, and other events. Lots of goodbyes and busy getting the school ready for the summer. Before we left, we hugged many people goodbye and our administrators and our superintendent gave us big thumbs up for our work this year. It has felt wonderful to be in place we are so loved and appreciated.

We had a last outing with some staff at a super fun dance club where we acted like 21 year olds again (only to wake up the next day and remember that we are 30 year olds). And finally, a wonderful 30th bday dinner with 15 of our friends that were still here.

As for this year.... after getting home from school on Friday we both sat on the couch for a couple hours in shock at how fast it all went and tried to process the year. Instead of writing a lengthly blog about it, we thought we'd put together a slide show that can sum it all up better.

Love to you all and we'll try to put a few updates from the British Isles and Scandinavia as we travel this summer. Otherwise-- see you for year two!!

Rachel

The first video is of medium quality for slower download speeds ...

This one is a larger file, but better quality. Let it buffer or maybe you've got a real fast internet connection ...

The First Rain of the Monsoon

I am sitting here with the door open to the terrace after having the luck to be apart of the first rain of the monsoon. I saw the dark line of clouds entering in from afar and figured I'd hang outside just in case. It was worth it.

There were hundreds of different species of birds flying around and going crazy. I figured they knew something was coming. Not a few minutes later did the first few drops start to fall. I was THRILLED. You hear about the beginning of the monsoon and how you definitely know when it happens, but, you could be teaching or sleeping or something and totally miss it. I stood there and got soaked for a bit and then came inside to enjoy the development of the storm. And little by little the rain has gotten harder, thunder is getting louder, and I have gone from "Wow! Rain!" to "Wow.... REALLY HARD rain".... I had forgotten how torrential this stuff is. 7 months without any precipitation and no wonder people get excited. It feels great. Fresh. Cleansing. And it's crazy to think it will be going on like this well into the months we begin teaching again in the fall.

I just heard a few cheers from the streets below when it started to absolutely pour, soon followed by the angry drivers honking their horns at the traffic that just got a lot worse. Ironic that I brought my umbrella home from school today. Good thing too!

And now... um... I better go... it's lightening like crazy and it MUST be monsoon because the rain is coming in sideways through the terrace door and getting me wet about 5 feet away....

Rachel