monsoon.

so we've survived our first two weeks of school. my new pe teaching job is keeping me busy, trying to get students active in the middle of this really wet time, with no gym and slippery mountain trails is sometimes pretty challenging. i've got grades ranging from the super-cute-energetic grade 1's to the lazy grade 10'ers.

this is a picture of a langour monkey. there are 2 kinds of monkeys around here, these are the more passive-beautiful ones and the other kind are called reesus (spelling?) which are the aggresive-jump-on-your-back-pull-your-vegetables kind.



the monsoon has been in full swing for quite a while already and it's taking it's toll on our things. lots of mold everywhere but it gives us an excuse to fire up our "bhukari" or wood stove in an attempt to dry out our place. but it does'n't feel as bad as last year, i'm not sure if we are just used to it? some parts of the monsoon are beautiful, like the ferns, flowers and mist...





this is a glimpse of mussoorie after a rain from the "eyebrow" path which hugs the mountainside through campus.



this last friday was indian independence day, so it was a holiday everywhere. we had a flag raising ceremony followed by some great food in the quad. it's neat seeing everyone in their traditional dress. there was also a meal for all of the local employees and their families. it's a neat opportunity for our priviledged woodstock community to try to serve those who serve us.

home.

here's a few pictures of our new place, it's old, quiet, and filled with lots of character... a great change from life in the dorm. in our move we also picked up a cat, and yes, i'm getting used to not getting any attention from chris anymore... spoiled thing... but anu keeps the mice and scorpions away and sure enjoys the fire when it's lit.


this is the view looking out from our living room onto our porch area.




we're pretty excited to have a yard... we had a garden planted right away, but just today the monkeys came and pulled up our corn and beans... they're lucky we weren't here with our rocks and slingshots. a few of us were laughing the other day about how someday back home we'll go to a zoo and start harassing the monkeys to everyone elses confusement.


this is looking up the path from our gate. it's about a 10-15 minute walk to school from here. we've only gotten a few leaches so far... we just need to keep the gate closed otherwise the local cows wander in and eat everything.

here's chris sitting on her birthday present, enjoying a brief moment between the monsoon rain.

this is the view down towards the valley. one of the great things about the rain is that when it stops it's super clear. seeing the lights of dehradun a few thousand feet below at night is amazing.

chris' mobile from thailand souveniers with a little touch.