a hike.

so greg made it back from his adventures in indonesia awhile back, and it was my weekend off so the three of us headed off into the hills for a little weekend trek. our goal was nag tibba, the highest peak near here, just below 10,000ft. so we were up at 5:30 saturday morning, after an hour and a half drive we made it to the trailhead.



the villagers were out busily working in the fields getting ready for the spring plant. it was pretty neat seeing all of the cows plowing away, men and women working away together, and of course all of the other animals running around and the village kids swarming around us as we passed through.



this is a view down from where we'd come... but our first day was a bit of an adventure... we had some topographical maps, an old trail description but that's it. and of course here in india they don't believe in marking any trails, it would just be too easy. some of our directions were "the trail becomes increasingly hard to see and find" or "walk up until you can't handle it anymore"... so, we took a wrong turn and ended up a little lost, but we made camp after 8 hours of hiking and eventually found our bearings.


we woke up early sunday morning and decided to give the peak a shot. so greg and i took off without our heavy packs and after what seemed like forever of climbing we reached it. it was pretty cold up there, with some snow, and we could imagine some amazing views, but it was pretty cloudy so we didn't get to see too much.




one of the highlights of the trip down was the "photo" guy. he stopped us as we passed asking if we had a camera. greg pulled his out and soon enough he was ordering us around and getting us to pose in different ways in his "hinglish". we had a good chuckle at the "romantic" one... and then of course the catch... a fee for his amazing professional services. so we coughed up a few rupees and were on our way.

sunshine and snow.

the other weekend treated us to a few inches of snow. a pretty big deal for these parts... the kids were very excited to say the least! scrounging through the dorm and wood shop for any type of sled they could find. one thing we found scary was the lack of "snowball etiquette"... there didn't seem to be anything scary or wrong about trying to pelt your neighbor in the face... yikes! and not to mention all of the "plainsmen", mainly people from near delhi who drive up into the hills for the chance to see snow, and then usually end up parked on the side of the cliff hugging roads with their stereos cranked and booze flowing.


i was able to get out the other day for a good walk with another dorm staffer. having the chance to explore this area during the days sure make the long weekend hours worth it. we followed a nearby stream down the mountain, it was pretty amazing. small waterfalls, jungle... and of course garbage everywhere... the great beauties of india. it was crazy how quickly the climate seemed to change as we descended, things were so green already and the crops were well on their way.


i also took my boys on an overnight trip last weekend to our outdoor ed centre. it was great to get away with them. we spent the night playing games, having a bonfire, and of course watching a late night soccer game. we also made it up to one of favorite places on the top of the mountain for breakfast... great omelettes, pancakes and skip-bo!

back to normal

Things are getting back to normal again, no more big adventures for a while. It's about 2 weeks into teaching and I think that I am getting back into the swing of things. Casey is busy with all his boys in the dorm, giving out medicine, helping with homework, making them watch rock'em sock'em (thanks Tom & Mitch), giving girl advice and of course making sure that they get up on time and go to bed on time. Things are pretty routine.
The weather on the other hand has been cold, not like Manitoba cold, but cold as in the buildings have single-pane glass and no insulation. The mornings are the worst in my art room, I can see my breath for a good part of the day until the sun shines in and warms up the room at 4:00, just when school is out. I know that this coldness will pass, usually the school doesn't open until the middle of Feb but they are trying to extend the summer vacation, so shorter winter breaks. Oh well, it makes us tougher.
Oh, the picture above is a hail storm, it has happened a couple times this winter and sometimes is accompanied by thunder.


We went on a hike last weekend to the remains of the Everst House, actually this is a picture of me on top a nearby mountain, it was a beautiful day with great views. The Everst house is an interesting landmark because Mt. Everst was named after the man who lived in this house, he was a famous surveyor who mapped alot of the Himalayas.


This is our friend Will, he is the son of some fellow teachers at Woodstock. Will loves motorbikes and as soon as he found out that we had one, we became one of his heros(appartently before bed he lists off all the people with motorbikes that he knows, yes we are in that list!). Last weekend, Will saw us with the motorbike so got a chance to sit and play with all the buttons.


Casey also grew a beard for a while during vacation, he has trimmed it up since, but I think that this the most facial hair that he has ever had. This is also a picture of Casey enjoying a cup of coffee, of course it had to have whipped cream.