The good life

I just HAD to keep you all updated with a few of the latest things!!

1. Grocery shopping.
I just got off the phone with our local grocer. (By the end of this experience we are going to be tight...that is if he does not swindle me out of my rupees!) I gave him a call at approximately 6:30 pm and the man who answered the phone asks me to wait a bit so that he can get another man on the phone...presumably one that can speak and understand English well. Once this other man is on the phone, I begin by asking if I can set up an account with the grocery store, which takes about 15 seconds. I give him my first name (spell it out) and last and then where I live. ACCOUNT OPENED. Everyone with ties to Woodstock--that being local grocers, haulers, taximen, etc.--knows exactly where each building is located. Okay, now it's time to place my order. So I list off the things we're hoping for: 2 brown bread; crackers; how many eggs come in a case? 30? how about half a case?; CHEESE (it's SOOOOO GOOD! Just like Wisconsin!); do you have yogurt? no, it's coming tomorrow? okay; and then the essentials: butter cookies, vanilla ice cream, and dark chocolate. A little taste of home. After he takes my order he asks when I want it to be sent out. Could it be sent out ASAP? Yes. YESSSSSSS my craving for home screams. In less than an hour a man called a "coolie," or carrier of anything from gas tanks to washer/driers, arrives at my door with my order and a bill that could be paid anytime in the next month. Oh, the Mussoorie life.

2. Numbers.
Woodstock School has 154 staff, 290 acres of campus, and 530 students--110 in grades preK-6, 420 in 7-12. Quite a feat to behold!

3. More numbers.
If any of the new staff so happen to be invited to a birthday or wedding, we have learned the protocol for gifting. For birthdays it would be appropriate to give 50 or 100 rupees (about $1.10 and $2.20), but you would want to make sure to give 51 or 101. Same thing with weddings: 251 or 501 rupees. That extra rupee is a sign of good measure and that you wish the person's money keeps growing. :)

ARE YOU FO REAL???

Okay, the title for this post is quite appropriate because I find myself thinking this all the time upon embarking and arriving in Mussoorie. ARE YOU FO REAL...????? There are so many things about this environment that make my jaw drop so I thought I'd give you a taste!

Before I get started, here is my address:

Katie Erickson
Woodstock School
Landour Cantt.
Mussoorie, Uttarakhand
248179, India

Okay, here we go.

1. The drive UP.
On our way to Mussoorie from Delhi, everything stays on the same plane until you get to a town called Dehradun (DD). DD is at the base of the foothills and is like any other average city that may have a hill or climb here or there. But once you begin to go north, you really have kissed normal human habitation goodbye.

It. Is. Crazy.

For one thing, the road we take from DD to Mussoorie has 150 switchbacks as you snake your way up the mountain. Dramamine for everyone!! On your route you are greeted by little shops and restaurants vying for a perfect view of the Doon Valley (where we had just retreated from). After about an hour and a quarter of precarious YET experienced driving, you arrive in Mussoorie, about 7,500 feet above sea level.



2. "Vertical campus."
This term was not used to describe Woodstock to me in any of my prior experiences with past staff, attendees, fans, etc. I do not think I understood just what my Grandpa Don meant when he quoted, "Only 2% of Mussoorie is flat ground..." in his splendid presentation about his research of Woodstock for my relatives.

We are not just talking about a flight of stairs here or there and rolling hills.

Woodstock LITERALLY IS a VERTICAL campus. To get ANYWHERE on campus you may walk a few feet and then begin the steep trek UP or down to the next building. Gentle inclines are your best friends. Just when you think, "Oh, I'm doing alright, I'll get to the top soon," (somehow forgetting THE MOUNTAIN you live on) you look up and see you've only hiked a tenth of the journey. Shoot. The campus is quite large (HUGE compared to Northwestern...haha!) and it most definitely will take all the fortitude in your hammies and a back/face-full of sweat to get anywhere...at least for now.


3. The Monkeys.
I'm not talking about the band here.

Currently, I am sitting outside a residence dorm that has wireless and a Reeses monkey is just about 4 yards to my right, scavenging in the trash bin. A typical day in Mussoorie.

This morning I decided to see the sunrise since I was awake long before 5 am. I was making my return home when I noticed some noise on the overhang above me (many walkways are covered due to the monsoons). "Monkeys," I grimaced internally as I began conjuring every tip I'd been told about our symbiotic relationship. "Don't look them in the eye...act like you're grabbing for a rock if they start heckling you...monkeys can sense fear so be careful what your pheromones are communicating"...AND SO ON AND SO ON! Typically they will not bother you if you do not bother them, but I was lucky to catch these shoots just before they noticed my observation. After that, one of the pack was headed my way, as to which I promptly about-faced and walked determinedly home...picking up a rock on my way...

The monsoon's rolling in (I am literally in a cloud of mist) so that is all for now. Cheers!







Check out this video (at then end of the page) of Reeses monkeys playing on the roof...they have quite a playground out here.

Already In

INDIA.

First off, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all who have kept me in your thoughts and prayers over the past days and weeks. Before I left my heart was totally at peace (I was kind of shocked myself!) and things have gone quite well since we have arrived. PTL!

Here are a few glimpses into some of the experiences and SIGHTS we have had just today. Click on the picture if you want to see it up close. Our group has been hanging out in Delhi since we arrived to acquire more staff before we head north to Mussoorie in the morning (the 21st).

1. PEOPLE. "Our group" that has been traveling together consists of: two student teachers from St. Olaf (music and history/theater majors) named Ingrid and Holly; myself and Shannon, a PE/Health teacher (both first-year teachers); our chaperons, Pete and Dot (worked at Woodstock for 9 years); and our driver. The seven of us jetted around Delhi in the above 90-degree weather seeing a few of the sites as well as returning with the city's smell soaked into our clothes. :/


2. LOOKING. This picture is a fantastic example of what many foreigners experience in India--the stare. We are constantly on stage, getting our picture taken, and even being watched while we eat dinner.


3. ELEPHANT: One of the places we got to see today was the Prime Minister's home and government complex. Book-ending the beginning of the path were two symmetrical elephant bushes. Super neat!


**BONUS...traffic lines on the roads are merely rough guidelines in India. Cars will pack in tightly, over and across lane lines, as they wait for a green light and motorcycles will find their way into the most mousy of spaces. And for autos from buses to motorcycles, if the road won't do it for ya, the sidewalk definitely will suffice!!

The NIGHT BEFORE!!!

I looked up at the clock tonight and it read 12:34 am. A good omen.

1. Best part of packing: Figuring out how to rid one of my suitcases of 30 of it lbs. to eventually make it down to the desirable 50 lbs. My mom (A HUGE THANK YOU TO HER!!!) would faithfully sit on top of a bag o stuff as I sucked every last bit of air out of the vacuum bags we stuffed to the brim with clothes, blankets, pillows, etc. Those vacuum bags ARE genius but the sneaky little devils deceive you into thinking you can pack MORRREEEEE. 30 lbs. more.

2. Fun fact: I will be bringing three pairs of boots with me: rain boots, snow boots, and hiking boots. All basically for their appropriate seasons. I've read there are 5 seasons in northern India: fall, winter, spring, summer, and MONSOON--in which I will be arriving just in time for...

3. Best part of going to bed tonight: I will not be drifting in and out of sleep while my dad pops caffeine pills and my mom tries to help keep him awake as we trek across three states in an epic relay to retrieve my PASSPORT. From Mt. Horeb, WI to Orange City, IA. Mind you this was just nine hours before we were supposed to take off for my sister's wedding in China...I am forever indebted to you Bobbie Allen, Amber Maloney, and Stephen Olson! Heros of the day.

I fly out at 2:45 pm from O'Hare and will arrive around 4:25 pm in New Delhi. Straight shot, 18 hours, bring it one baby.

New beginnings

Hello friends!

We are at this point. It is about ten days until I leave. Many goodbyes have been said. More will be had. And then I'm off.

I am hoping to write a few notes on fun(ny)/interesting/different sorts of things that I may experience along the way. Then you may enjoy them too! So come along with me and let your imagination take you beyond where my words end.

Namaste! (Hello!)