Is better to visit for the weekend, as opposed to the day trip that we were forced to do a couple of weeks ago. All of us from the Lattitude group are meeting up for a special Lattitude dinner this evening. We (Rosalie & I) arrived yesterday, along with everyone else, and it has been really nice to catch up and compare (horror) stories. Things are going well at Blue Diamond, but we were both VERY ready for a break!!!!
This is (as usual) just a quick post because (as usual), I'm somewhat pressed for time. I tried to upload photos today, but couldn't get it to work, so I might try again next time I'm in Kurseong.
Anyway, we're really enjoying our time in Darjeeling. Last night we had hot showers, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Pure bliss. Our room is absolutely massive as well, so having lots of space is really nice. And we're really enjoying the chance to have a change from the routine in terms of food. We eat potatoes at every meal, and rice at least 2 meals a day. While the food is tasty, it's a bit repetitive, and so the chance to have things like meusli for breakfast is an incredible treat. It's also been nice to do a little bit of pleasure shopping for the first time in ages. Whenever we go into Kurseong we're usually just buying supplies for our classes.
Today we went to the zoo, which was actually really nice. There are trees everywhere, and the animals looked quite healthy and happy.
Things are quite busy at the school as we're gearing up for a big celebration when Eva Taylor (one of the Lattitude staff) comes to visit. We've taught the children a few songs, and then we'll be wearing saris (which we bought yesterday), which I'm really excited for. I don't really like the salwars I bought in Kolkata, but I LOVE my sari. It's gorgeous. I'll definitely try to get pictures up of that.
Last week was a bit interrupted as there was a strike on Monday (which was awesome as it meant no school!!! We're as bad as the children), and then Tuesday they had no school because it was Holi. Our Holi was rather tame, which I have to admit I was slightly disappointed by, as I'd really been looking forward to it. We played around in the morning with the boarders, and then in the afternoon we went to Kurseong and met Sauru's (who is the girl who cooks all of our delicious food) family, which was lovely. She was excited as it was the first time she'd seen her mother in 3 weeks, and I think she also wanted to show us off a bit to everyone in her village (this thing of us being mini-celebrities in our village is something that I'm still not exactly comfortable with). Then it's been teaching/prepping for Eva's visit until we came here.
Running out of time again, so I'll have to stop. Hope everyone's doing well. I'm still dealing with a cough that's gone on for 2 weeks now. The other day Mr & Mrs Thapa came into our room and fed us spoonfuls of local raw honey to try to soothe our throats. It was so delicious we've decided we need to try to stay sick for as long as possible!
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Hope you have taken a photo of you in your sari - great when a souvenir is also a memory -and a useful item of clothing! It's hard to complain about the sameness of food when you know that's what everyone there has to eat every day all year, isn't it? But then it makes you appreciate those weekend feasts. And the showers - man, you'll never underestimate the delight of a strong, hot shower again! Curious - have you had Darjeeling tea in Darjeeling? It's pissing with rain here you'll be happy to know - the robins and chickadees are going crazy singing their spring songs of joy (worms! worms! sex! worms!) The Olympics are requesting performers for the ceremonies - you have to audition - of course Martin and I signed up if only to see what it's like to audition for something again after all these years. Last weekend we tortured your family with spicy soup and other dishes from our travels - one dish per country - they seemed fine when they left....
ReplyDeletethat sounds amazing! how funny it would be if you got in!!
ReplyDeleteThe day before yesterday we had our first rain shower - first time I've seen rain in over a month. Bit of a change from Vancouver.
I'm hoping that by the time I come back I'll be able to do a full meal of the sorts of foods I'm having now. You'll have to do a repeat of your meal for me - I've had email reports telling me how delicious it all was!