Sunday, August 21, 2011
Happy Ramzan!
Finally got a chance to experience the famous fast-breaking eating bonanza on Mohammed Ali Rd. down in South Mumbai. The food was amazing, the colors were vivid, and the people were happy.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Back in Mumbai
It seems overwhelming to begin to write about our summer and the re-transition back to living in Mumbai. Our summer was fantastic -- we visited England, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and Ireland in a whopping 45 night trip. We hiked in places as diverse as the Hardanger Fjord in Norway to climbing up Mt. Brandon on the western coast of Ireland. We had a picnic lunch everyday except for one (it was raining so hard in the middle of a hike in England that we popped in to a cafe for a sandwich, hot soup, and hot coffee). We cooked breakfasts and dinners in hostels to save money (and then go out for drinks, coffee, or tea). We stayed in some magical B+B's that allowed us to feel like temporary locals in London, Edinburgh, and Dingle. And, we had a memorable stay with family and friends to get a truly special experience in Sweden.
Now we are back in Mumbai. Oddly, it hasn't been raining THAT much -- although the monsoon is definitely still a presence with occasional short outbursts. While we miss our friends and colleagues that left at the end of last school year, there are 30 fresh new faces to meet and get to know. Rachel and I introduced our local bar/cafe to a busload of newbies yesterday for a Friday happy hour. It's no Buffalo Wild Wings in Lakeville, but they do have Hoegarden on tap (although the price skyrocketed to $20 for a liter). Already we can see many new teachers becoming good friends.
This weekend we'll be doing a day trip up to Sanjay Gandhi National Park with Greg, Twyla, Waciuma and Dr. Emily Olson, our good friend from Minneapolis. It will be great to share this mega-city with her as she begins a three-week research stint at the Tata Institute.
School is going great. It is amazing how quickly ASB felt comfortable this time around. Both of us have remarked several times at the ease of which we have transitioned back into "educator" mode. Our rooms are looking great, our curriculum is in place and best of all, we know the kids! It will be another great year of music-making for us at ASB.
Monday, June 20, 2011
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
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
Monday, June 6, 2011
Goodbye to Year 1
It's impossible to sum up this year.
This one is a larger file, but better quality. Let it buffer or maybe you've got a real fast internet connection ...
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 ...
Thursday, June 2, 2011
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
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Legend of the Zum Gali Galis
Well, the biggest production I've ever done just finished.
I know have even more respect for the theater directors of my youth! In January, I had 40 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders bouncing around my room excited about the idea of being in a musical. All I had were 4 songs and the basic outline for a story. Trying to dig deep in my Orff Schulwerk roots, we began developing the story and script with the students. With the amazing help of our middle school theater teacher and two other teachers at the school, the story and script were written, many of which the lines were straight out of the kids' mouths. Over each Monday, we added choreography, I designed the costumes and set (that sounds way fancier than it actually was), the students flexed their acting muscles more and more, we met with sound and light crew, weekly visits from the tailor who made the costumes.... whew. A lot goes into a show. Thank the heavens we have so many people at ASB willing to jump in and help with the details. There would have been no way for me to do it all alone.
The show went off perfectly (I was amazed at how focused and ready the students were!) and there were so many happy parents, kids, and staff at the school. And even though I was at school until the late hours all last week painting pine trees and making a paper mache campfire and finding glitter and.... you get the idea.... it was totally worth it. All those fun memories I had being in theater as a kid I got to see being made for my own students. What a gift to pass it on!
Anyway, the story:
Six campers play a mean trick on their new camper friends by telling them the scary legend of the evil Zum Gali Galis. When the campers wake up to find the new campers missing, they fear the worst and encounter strange and magical beings in the forest in a desperate search to save their new friends. The Zum Gali Galis appear and scare the old campers ending with an epic chase scene. When all the old campers are caught at the mercy of the Zum Gali Galis, the new campers pop out, laughing at their friends. The Zum Gali Galis are actually not evil, just different. The campers and all forest beings come together as friends, learning the value of not believing or spreading rumors and to be caring towards all.
I know have even more respect for the theater directors of my youth! In January, I had 40 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders bouncing around my room excited about the idea of being in a musical. All I had were 4 songs and the basic outline for a story. Trying to dig deep in my Orff Schulwerk roots, we began developing the story and script with the students. With the amazing help of our middle school theater teacher and two other teachers at the school, the story and script were written, many of which the lines were straight out of the kids' mouths. Over each Monday, we added choreography, I designed the costumes and set (that sounds way fancier than it actually was), the students flexed their acting muscles more and more, we met with sound and light crew, weekly visits from the tailor who made the costumes.... whew. A lot goes into a show. Thank the heavens we have so many people at ASB willing to jump in and help with the details. There would have been no way for me to do it all alone.
The show went off perfectly (I was amazed at how focused and ready the students were!) and there were so many happy parents, kids, and staff at the school. And even though I was at school until the late hours all last week painting pine trees and making a paper mache campfire and finding glitter and.... you get the idea.... it was totally worth it. All those fun memories I had being in theater as a kid I got to see being made for my own students. What a gift to pass it on!
Anyway, the story:
Six campers play a mean trick on their new camper friends by telling them the scary legend of the evil Zum Gali Galis. When the campers wake up to find the new campers missing, they fear the worst and encounter strange and magical beings in the forest in a desperate search to save their new friends. The Zum Gali Galis appear and scare the old campers ending with an epic chase scene. When all the old campers are caught at the mercy of the Zum Gali Galis, the new campers pop out, laughing at their friends. The Zum Gali Galis are actually not evil, just different. The campers and all forest beings come together as friends, learning the value of not believing or spreading rumors and to be caring towards all.
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