Hello and Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR (almost)!!!!!

Well, well, well. I don't have much to report. Mum is leaving in a few hours, so we have been packing almost all day.

We've had a few wonderful and relaxing days in Chennai. We've done very little, but enjoyed doing it. In a few days Dad and I rush of to a nature reserve in Kerela, the next state over, to go and see animals in there wild habitat. Sort of. It should be fun.

Once again, I have to report that I am moving house. Hopefully for the third and last time. My current house is lovely and very, very, very luxurious, but it takes me nearly two hours to get to school... so it's for the best.

Happy New Year to all, if I don't get another chance to blog.

Kisses and Hugs.

New Address

And by the way, my new address is;

30 Nowroji Road
Chetpet
Chennai
600-031

Happy Christmas

Well the term is over at Little Lambs, the musical was a huge success, Dad is here safely and I spent Christmas in Pondicherry. All those things are nice.

I saw my first elephant! It was AMAZING! I hadn't seen one yet, so I was pretty excited. It was part of a very large parade and was leading about one thousand tourists in bicycle rickshaws. I also saw monkeys up close (less than a meter away) when I was in Mahabs with Dad.

Christmas was odd but surprisingly pleasant away from home. We ate a very traditional Indian meal of veg biryani. (Chicken is more traditional with Christians, but we were at an all veg place.) I missed everyone a lot, though.

It's really wonderful having the whole family here. I am getting to show Dad around my India now. Which I hope he enjoys. Mum is leaving on the night of the 30th, and then Dad and I head to a nature reserve in Kerala on the 1st. I will be back at school on either the 6th or 7th.

Well, Happy Christmas and Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS soon

Hello all dear friends and family.

Mum arrived safely and is having a really wonderful time here. She will tell you more about that later, I am sure.

Little Lambs is gearing up for the musical on Sunday, which should be very exciting. I am excited anyway. I have been spending more and more time in real Indian homes and less and less time seeing the westernized India, which is really lovely. It's very important to see the side of the country that I am seeing. I am not doing western travel or ashram travel. I am really living here.

I have stayed in Chennai for the past little while and have had very few exciting excursions as I am trying to save money. But just going to work and coming home is a very pleasant life. Speaking of home, I have moved house. I will post my address as soon as I know what it is!

Well, everyone, Happy Christmas and talk to you again soon!

P.S. Especially to the Valle and Craven families: thank you for all the lovely little things you sent along. I haven't opened the gifts yet, of course, but they really are tangeble evidence that you guys are thinking about me. I wish I had something in return.


LOVE TO ALL!

I Learned Some Cooking

We had a full week of school this week, so life is a bit more normal.

But today I went to one of the teacher's houses, Shakeela Miss, and learned how to make dosa, eg dosa, chapati, tamarind rice and Shakeela Gobi (Shakeela's recipe for califlour). It was really lovely.

Mum arrives in one week, and I am trying to get ready for that.

We are gearing up for the Christmas Musical at Little Lambs, so that is taking up a lot of my time. 

Vicki leaves tomorrow, which means I really have to make new friends.

My auto is here. Bai!

I Just Noticed All the Titles of My Posts Are Really Depressing or Scary So This One Isn't

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! - I had it off due to the rains, so it was like being at home except better because I had Wednesday off as well. But we were pretty locked in. The rains were really, really awful; ankle and calf deep water in places that I had to go, even deeper in other parts of the city. Some people have even died!

After three days cooped up in our room in Chennai, I went down to visit Lydia and Vicki in Mahabs. It is Vicki's last week in India, which means that only one more person has to leave before all my original friends are gone. But I am making a lot of new ones.

Since the water snakes have invaded Little Lambs School, we had to hold classes for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th standards and the seniors at the volunteer flat. It was packed with about 60 students. It's so amazing that these kids want to learn so badly that they are willing to wade through waist deep water to a place that comfortably can fit thirty people. Nothing like that would happen in America. I don't think. I wouldn't have done it!

We should be back in our building by Wednesday. Better safe than sorry with water snakes.

The count down for my parents arrival has begun! I am very excited. Mum will be here in 13 days!

Love to all.

The Monsoons Got Worse

The Monsoons have gotten a lot worse.

I walked through ankle deep water filled with what I am pretty sure is raw sewage. But that's India for you.

I am enjoying my third day of a five day weekend, as school is called off, due to the monsoons. Oh well.

I have had a pretty boring week, so there isn't much to report.

The Mumbai stuff means that I am trying to keep a low profile and am telling everyone who asks that I am Canadian. Oh well, we do these things to survive.

I Was Not In Mumbai

Hello everyone.

I was not in Mumbai when the terrorists struck. I am still in Chennai, which is the other end of the country, so not to worry. It's all quiet here.

Weather is terrible, but the rains canceled school so I am getting Thanksgiving Day off. Will soon be making pumpkin pie!

Love to all!

In Case You Thought I Died

I didn't.

I am here, doing very well. I really, really, really love my school. I never want to leave it. I am now about 99.99999% sure I want to be a teacher when I grow up.

I haven't really done anything exciting since I last posted. I did go down to Mahabalipuram, which is that little sea side fishing village south of Chennai, and had a nice weekend with people I know down there, but mostly I am just settling in and becoming Indian. I am currently sitting in a really lovely cafe with very, very inexpensive wifi, so you may be hearing from me more often.

My responsibilities at Little Lambs increasing, which is a good and a bad thing. I have half an hour with the upper kindergarten everyday and it is honestly the most exhausting thing in the whole world. Fifteen tiny bundles of wild, Tamil speaking energy, each one wanting to prove to you that he is the best, or loudest, or quietest, or happiest, or saddest or something-est. But they are lovely. And so bright. Unbelievably bright. Which is really nice to work with.

I have been eating a lot of Indian food, but I did go out the one American restaurant in Chennai. It is called Sparky's and it is run by an honest to goodness AMERICAN!!! The food is out of this world. I am getting to the point, because I am not limiting my self with what I eat, where something that has no surprises to it is really, really nice. But I am eating everything that crossed my path. And it is totally worth it!

I am getting very excited for Mum and Dad to come out. I wish everyone was coming to see me. The kind of homesickness I feel now is not wanting to go home, but just realizing what I took for granted and how much I love Edmonds, WA, USA. Beleive it or not.

Well, until next time.


Yours with love,
Anna

Two Days in Bed and Counting

Hello those at home.

I had quite an univentful week after Diwali. Just went to school, went to another party on Halloween, met the first expats over 35 since I have been here and adjusted to being in Inida.

And

then

IT

happened.....

I got really sick. The kind of cold-like-lurgi that I only get once a year or so. I have been in bed for two days now and am planning to stay there for a few more. I am going to join my fellow Americans tomorrow morning and watch the election results come in, but other than that I am planning a very, very, very low key week.

I still miss everyone terribly. The weather is improving though. Consistant eighties and no rain yet, but I don't want to jinx it. I love this weather. I am begining to figure out why I came to Chennai.

Untill I have a more reliable source of internet, don't rely to heavily on this blog. I am trying to sort something out, but nothing is working.

Love to all.

Anna

Three Weeks In

Happy Diwali!

Hello everyone! I am still doing fine. I am settled in very well. Which I good. I am not shocked by everything anymore and I am getting into some kind of routine.

But since I last posted the monsoons hit really hard for about three days, but the Diwali weekend was actually perfect, weather-wise. I went to a couple parties and I wrote a test for my fifth standard class, which I was supposed to give today, but I didn't because I stayed home. I was not feeling that well.

I will write a better post in the next few days. I still miss everyone.

Love,
Anna

P.S.

P.S. I swam in the bay of Bengal.

Still Here

I am still here.

In India. I have just had a lot of trouble getting internet.

I had a really rough start to my week. The first day here, the maid at my homestay, Chandra, ruined three white shirts by washing them with a green skirt that belonged to my roommate Jasper. The teaching is also quite hard, but I got used to it.

I am now really begining to enjoy myself. We, the other GapGuru people, went down to this little fishing village on Sunday and spent a wonderful day at this resort. For about four dollars we could relax at the pool and at a private beach all day. My food did have a cockroach in it tho....

My roommate's name is Jasper. She is cool. Vicki and Tom and Grant are the other volunteers and they are also cool. Chris, our coordinator, took us (Jas, Vicki and me) on a tour of the city on Saturday. That was really fun. After Jas went to work, Chris, Vicki and I went to the beach and got involved in a huge political rally. It was very overwhelming. We also saw a toenail or something of Saint Thomas. He died here in Chennai.

The night life is good, but so far pricey here. Tonight I am probably going for a pizza night with the other volunteers from my school, Little Lambs. They are all from Sweden. I am the only staff memeber whose first language is English.

I can't describe how different it is here. It is just not like anything I have ever seen. Everything is just different. I can't put it better than that. I may try again later.

Well, I miss everyone and now that I have a good internet spot close to my house, these posts will be more frequent.

Love to all,
Anna

Quick Post from Chennai

HI!!!

I am in Chennai. Just settling in and I am goint to start work tomorrow, Monday. I am culture shocked and very homesick. But I really like the city and my roommate, Jasper, is really nice.

More later, when I am not using someone else's internet.

Love and Kisses to all.

Hong Kong Fabulous

Well hello everyone back home!

I am I Hong Kong. I got in yesterday morning with no hiccups at all. Which is unusual for me. I am staying with nice Scottish family. They are lawyers so are both out at work. Their daughter is at school and the maid is at a dentist appointment so I am all alone.

Yesterday the maid, Annabell, and I went all over the main city. The family lives at the top of the island in a nice area called the peak. We went up to this observation tower, which was really, really cool. You could see really far, even through the smog. We then went into the downtown where all the banks and stuff are and had lunch. I was pretty tired then so we went back to the apartment where I slept for four hours. Oops. I then went down town for dinner with the whole fam to the American Peking restaurant, which is not what it sounds like. It was really good Chinese place.

Everyone is surprisingly friendly and helpful. It is a really clean, safe city and I feel very at home. The weather is consitantly in the upper seventies lower eighties, twenty four hours a day.

I will put some photos up on facebook and then try to figure out how to put photos up on here.

I am heading off to Kow Loon in a bit and then a wonder around some historic market place.

Love and kisses and I miss everyone already!!!

Love,
Anna

Oh Herro!

Fank you for visiting my Blog!

I am writing this as sort of a mass letter to all of my friends while on my gap year, so you probably know I am about to head off on my trip around the world.

I am leaving on a red eye flight to Hong Kong on Tuesday October 7th. From there Chennai India to teach English for four and a half months. Following that a two week trip to Jaipur, the Taj Mahal and a few more spots in norther India. After that Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome and that's where the plans get a little fuzzy.

So yeah, that's about it. I hope you enjoy reading over the next few months.

Love and Kisses,
Anna

P. S. My address in Chennai is
3A Vishal Court
15/8 VP Colony (North Street)
Chennai 600 023
India

Facebook may be best though.