Would you believe....

It has taken 6 months, but I've finally discovered more to Chennai than dosai, filter coffee, temples and street-side jasmine stalls. Would you believe...

...that I had delicious kimchee and bulgogi this week at a Korean owned restaurant.
...that I ate amazing calamari and prawns at a Spanish Tapa's bar.
...that the Thai green curry is almost as good here as it was on Ko Samui.
...that a club in Chennai was charging $65 per couple to get on Valentine's. And that three friends and I got in and didn't pay but that's another story.
...that there are house parties with expats wearing stilettos, tuxedos and fake mustaches and drinking old monk.
...that there are crazy Italians, Portuguese, and Spanish people residing here.
...that the carrot cake at my favorite outdoor cafe is passable as real carrot cake.
...that there was a full marathon through Chennai this weekend.
...that pictures of Obama are becoming part of the natural landscape.

But let us now forget there is also...
...the guy who works at the auto-parts store down the street was concerned that I was walking around after dark.
...the aunty that live downstairs who wants to know why she hears us coming home late some nights.
...the bus drivers that yell at me for standing in the door well because its too dangerous for women, but men can hang out the bus door.
...the auto drivers that try to charge my twice the going rate because I'm a foreigner.
...the sketchy men that gawk on the side of the street or yell obsenitites as they ride by on their motorcycles.

I mention all these things because when you 'see' Chennai you would not believe that there is much more to it what meets the eye, which can be really overwhelming and quite honestly, not that impressive. There are no real tourist sites or places of interest in Chennai, but if you stick it out, and can put up with the bus drivers, aunties, curious neighbors and sketchy men, there is an interesting blending of cultures under the surface. I don't need and don't want to be part of the expat scene all the time, but it is nice to find and experience the blend occasionally.

Madurai & SEED 9th Annual Day

After my tropical beach vacation in Thailand I flew down to Madurai to visit my host family and attend the 9th annual day for the SEED Center. I've lived in Madurai for a significant amount of time and let me tell you....it's a whole different beast! Even for a 'town' of over a million people, it feels more like a village. Cows, goats, bullocks, and horses roam EVERY street. And everyone knows everyone. It's the kind of town where if you buy blue bangles near the main temple at 11am, by the time you reach home 20-30 minutes away, your family already knows that 1) you bought bangles 2) what color they are 3) where you bought them 4) how much you paid for them and 5) who you were with. One has to be VERY careful as there are NO secrets in Madurai. I loved living there, but am glad to be experiencing a metropolitan Indian city this time around.

A South Indian meal on a banana leaf prepared for me by one of the SEED volunteers mothers.

My host mom trying to negotiate with a cow so she can back her scooter out into traffic.

My host mom cooking deliciousness--a scene I have enjoyed and benefited from for 10 years!

A SEED student, volunteer and good friend of mine! She is currently trying to persuade her parents to postpone her marriage 2 more years so she can get more work experience.

Two more SEED volunteers (and a former student) who are also my role models!

The SEED students playing group 'janken pon' a game the Japanese ALTs taught them during an English camp in 2005.

Welcome to SEED's 9th Annual Day!

The Annual Day event had dancing, singing, and speeches! It was a fun afternoon and evening of community and togetherness for the 3 SEED centers in Madurai.

Some artwork done by the SEED volunteers! They should really market and sell this stuff! It's beautiful!

Some of the SEED students demonstrating some of the their art projects
during the art exhibition!

Happy NEW YEAR to all the SEED Centers!

An MA Graduate...at last!

I started my MA program in April 2006 and after 2.5 years of combined distance and on-campus study, I apparently graduated sometime this week in abstenia. I've completed my first MA! Yes...there might just be one more!

Instead of spending money I don't have for a lot of pomp and circumstance in the UK, my wonderful roommate organized a dinner with our lovely Chennai friends and even ordered a special chocolate cake! The food was also fabulous--appetizers with real mozzarella and fresh basil, salads with more mozzarella, two cheesy delicious pizzas, and four different pasta dishes with not even a hint of Indian spice! Thanks to everyone for coming and making this a memorable celebration!


Next up: Planning my celebratory MA graduation trip to Vietnam with my dad, updating and writing a new resume, looking for jobs for fall 2009 and researching the next MA program!

Recent Events

Haven't been in much of a mood to blog these days...but a long one is on its' way. I might even mention exactly why I'm back in India and what I'm doing here. Seems all I blog about is my extracurricular activities, more on my work coming soon. But for now, this is what I've been up to:

Cooking: Making pancakes, crepes, bread, apple pie like treats and other goodies! It's fun to be in the kitchen and cooking again. I've missed it this last year! I just wish we had an oven...what I would give for an oven!

Went to a concert with Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivamani, U.Srinivas and Selva Ganesh--some of the best musicians in India! It was extraordinary! Sadly, it was only a 2 hour concert, I could have sat and listend for days.

New Years Transitions

This year I spent my New Years holiday in Mamallapuram, India, on a British Airways flight and in Sussex, England. Here's what it looked like:

New Years Eve--Our last family meal together poolside at Ideal Beach Resort. The buffet dinner came complete with a choice of continental, Chinese, tandoori, S.Indian, N.Indian, or Sri Lankan cuisine. While eating dinner we were entertained with classical music, classical dance, a folk performance and comedy sketches by the staff. It was a very festive meal in a beautiful resort in Southern India--a day of good-byes to people and places!


New Years Day--Just hours later, I was walking around the countryside of Sussex with my aunt and uncle. I saw beautiful tree lined lanes, old churches, sheep and horses grazing and it was significantly COLDER!


New Years Day Dinner--chicken, beans & mushrooms and cous cous! A delicious reintroduction to western cuisine with family I haven't seen in years! It was a very warm welcome to a new and very chilly country!

A Tibetan Thanksgiving in India

Boom Boom and Me in front of the lyrics for Johnny Appleseed

We couldn't let Thanksgiving go by without celebrating it in some way. Being that 4 of the current Tibet Charity teachers are American, we decided to have a little party for all the students. All the teachers made announcements in their classes and we coordinated with the cook and staff and asked them to prepare tea for about 50 people. My family ordered 4 pans of the best American brownies in town from Jimmy's Italian Restaurant. And the other American teacher was supposed to bring fruit. Unfortunately, there was a death in town on the day of Thanksgiving and in remembrance, all the shops and fruit stalls were shut down for the entire day. Not able to find ANY fruit in town, she bought 50 juice boxes! Similarly, all the photocopy centers were closed. I spent the afternoon running around, finally finding a copy center and made copies of a song called "Thank Someone", a Thanksgiving word search, and Thanksgiving bingo cards. At 3:30 we filled the main hall to capacity. It was standing room only!! We didn't do an official count, but there were probably over 70 people there! What a success! After my dad gave a brief explanation of Thanksgiving, we sang a few rounds of "Johnny Appleseed", taught them "Thank Someone", gave prizes to the top 10 who finished the word search, and played a round of Bingo with Thanksgiving words! It was a success and everyone seemed to really enjoy it!! At the end all the teachers served the students brownies and tea! I'm not sure any of them had eaten a brownie before, but there were NONE left at the end of the party!! It was lots of fun to share the spirit of Thanksgiving with the wonderful people we have met here at Tibet Charity. They are all so giving, friendly, and compassionate that I'm happy we were able to say "Thank you!"

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Students singing "Thank Someone" at the Thanksgiving Party

About 70 students attended our American Thanksgiving Day party. We weren't able to feed them a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but we did sing songs, play games, and serve brownies and milk tea.

Some of the super eager students!

After our party at Tibet Charity, the English teachers headed to Lhamo's Restaurant for a set Thanksgiving Dinner. They served pumpkin soup, spinach salad, mashed potato momos, vegetable momos, carrot or lemon cake and tea. It was a delicious meal and a delightful evening with colleagues.

The Last Party with Toyama Friends

This overnight party has been in the works for months. We've been talking and planning and thinking about how to say good-bye to our best friends of three years. So, we rented a traditional Japanese house in Nyuzen and set up camp for the night. Yuko, Mihoko and Chika took over the food and cooking responsibilities and we ate REALLY well! There was a lot of lounging, some drinking, watching old home movies, telling "I remember when" stories, co-ed onsening and late night talks. It was a great chill overnight party, a great way to spend time with friends before everyone goes in different directions. Most of us still have another opportunity to say good-bye. But there were a few final good-byes this morning. I wasn't involved in any, but I cried anyway. I hate seeing close friends part. Because it means we are all saying good-bye to a very important chapter of our lives. It means that our paths that have crossed for the last three years are about to fork and head in different directions. And none of us really know if our paths cross again--when or where? We all hope they will, but the reality is uncertain. It's always best to enjoy the moments we have together and not think too much about what may or may not happen in the future. Thanks everyone for making this overnight happen!! It was a great way to spend a chill night with close friends! Adding more memories to the last three years that won't soon be forgotten!

Yuko and Mihoko cooking up Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki

Our Family Dinner

Whoa...kinda busty in this pic!

And looking drunk in this pic!

Our overnight escape

3rd+ Year ALTs Say Good-bye

Our Serious Faces

About a month ago, in very Japanese-style, most of the 3rd+ year ALT in Toyama gathered at the Nepalese restaurant for a sayonara-enkai! Of the many many ALTs that arrive in Toyama in August of 2004, this is all that's left, plus a few 4th year ALTs. We came from all corners of the ken and shared stories of packing, good-bye parties, post-JET plans and funny stories from our three years. Everyone has something exciting planned and it's fun to hear about where people are going and what people will be doing in a few short months. I wonder if we will ever cross paths again. Part of me knows that it isn't likely, but if we do, we will instantly have so much to talk about and will have three years of memories to reminisce and remember. Good luck everyone!

Our English Teacher Faces

Recent Happenings

I've been feeling a bit busy and overwhelmed. Everyday I think of and write about 2-3 blog posts in my head, but I just never have the time to sit down and type them. I'm hoping that after the busyness of the next two months is over and I'm on the road, I'll have more time to sit down and reflect on my surroundings and situation. But for now, I just don't have the time. So even though I hate just posting these quick updates...if anyone still reads this blog, here is what I've been up to:

This weekend I climbed Mt. Oitsurushiyama with Chica-chan. Three hours up and down in the warm rain. It was fun and I hope we can do it a few more times!


Last weekend we had an international yakisoba bar-b-que and ultimate frisbee game! Lots of good food and a great game! Good times!

Last weekend I swam in my last Masters swim meet in Japan. Overall, I didn't have good races, but we did well. The 200m medley relay team took first--hurray!

日光 Nikko

Where did we go? This last weekend, Takae and I, went to Nikko for two days. Nikko is a few hours North of Tokyo. It is famous for it's natural beauty and the temples that blend the Shinto and Buddhist religions.



How did we get there? Takae and I got on highway early Sunday morning and drove 350km (6 hours) to Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. We started at sea level, where it was warm and sunny. After we had driven through Niigata and Gunma, we got off the expressway and started gaining altitude. Before we knew it, there was snow on the sides of the road and a ski resort still running its lifts! We went over a pass at about 2,000 meters and then dropped down into the Nikko area past lakes and along rivers on very narrow, very curvy, and very steep roads. The worst area of the road is known as Irohazaka Road, named after the Japanese syllabary, because it has 48 curves. It was both breathtaking and stomach churning. Thankfully, Takae loves to drive and has a cute little red sports car that did the job well! We weren't the only ones that had decided to go to Nikko this weekend. A lot of people from Tokyo drive up to Nikko in their fancy sports cars or motorcycles. In fact, I think every motorcycle in Japan was in Nikko for the weekend. Takae and I both oohed and awed and decided we both want to get a motorcycle some day!!



How was the weather?
Perfect!! In the mountains it was a bit chilly and had snowed earlier that day. But by the time we got down to Nikko, only at about 700m, it was warm. At the viewpoints you could see layers and layers of mountains. And the blue sky made the immediate mountains that much more brilliant. It was sunny with not a cloud in sight for two days! Perfect weather!





Where did we stay?
Originally, we had planned to stay in Nikko for 2-3 days. We were going to stay at several different places and do some camping. But work schedules made it impossible. So we opted to go for a quick trip and only stayed one night. We stayed at the Daiyagawa Youth Hostel. It is a little house with several dorm rooms and a common eating area. It is set behind the main street, but really close to the main temple area. And it overlooks the river. The owners are really friendly and very helpful. And the 420Y breakfast was fabulous! The owner likes her guests to get along and make friends, so she seated us with two university boys, Yuuki and Yohei, for breakfast. They weren't particularly talkative, and neither were we. They did ask if I was German. That seemed to be a common theme throughout the day. Do I look german? Do I wear German shoes? Why German? As we left the hostel they followed us and asked to take a photo with us. Cute!



What did we see?
As soon as we arrived we went directly to the Toshogu Shrine area. It is a huge national park with lots of different shrines, temples, museums and halls. Because it was such a beautiful day and a holiday, it was pretty busy, but not overwhelmingly so. We were able to get into all the buildings without having to wait.
The entire park is so stunning because of the natural landscape as well as the colors and architecture of the buildings. The temples were some of the most colorful and
brilliant I've seen in Japan. It reminded me of some of the temples I saw in Korea. Touring all the buildings took about 3 hours, and that was without guided tours or stopping to read and study about each structure. After all that walking we were exhausted and needed rest and food.

On day two we left central Nikko and went back up into the mountains and spent the morning at Lake Chuzenji. This lake is pretty touristy and has lots of swan and heli-paddle boats, as well as fishing and sightseeing boats. The road along the lake is lined with gift shops and restaurants. Away from the main road is an older temple that looks out over the lake and towards Mt. Nantai. It's too bad we couldn't stay longer. I would have loved to climb Mt. Nantai. Maybe on my next trip!

The main reason tourists visit the lake is to see Kegon Falls. You can stand above the falls and take pictures. Or for a more stunning view you can pay to take an elevator down to the base. The view of the falls and the surrounding environment is often described as looking like the earth just drops away-kinda true. It does just drop! But coming from a state like Oregon, I was expecting a bigger waterfall. Regardless it was beautiful. And we even spotted a few monkeys hanging around near the viewpoint.



What did we eat?
We were exhausted and starving by the time we started looking for dinner our first night. We had set out to eat at a local foreigners hang out that offers a variety of food, but they were closed. So we went next door and ate a fabulous Korean meal. I don't really like Korean food, but it was absolutely delicious...as testified by all the pictures and comments of their customers (Japanese and foreign) that decorate the walls.


But we couldn't leave Nikko without eating the local specialty, yuba, or tofu skin. We had tried yuba ice cream but we wanted the real thing. So, after viewing the falls, touring another shrine and walking near the lake, we found a little restaurant with a fabulous view of the lake and Mt. Nantai that made fresh soba and served up yuba! Yuba is often served in a roll, similar to the Japanese dish tamagoyaki. But it has a distinctive tofu taste. I really liked it and bought some yuba omiyage for my schools!



Where did we bathe?
On our way out of town, we stopped at Yumoto Onsen. It sits on Yunoko lake, just up the road from Lake Chuzenji and Mt. Nantai. Before bathing in the sulfur rich water, we walked around the lake to Yudaki Falls trying to avoid the snow and mud. We saw lots of beautiful and interesting birds on the lake. The fishing season opens today, so fisherman had been out already to reserve their spot on the lake by marking it with a cooler, or fishing rod holder. We finished our sightseeing day by soaking in a hot bath near the lake. And then we jumped back into the car and drove 5 hours back to Toyama!


Would I go again?
Absolutely!! I would go back to Nikko any day, but next time I want to stay longer and explore more! My recommendation, if you come to Japan, or have a few extra days, visit Nikko! It's best with a car, but the bus system seems pretty good...if you don't mind buses on really curvy roads!

And that my friends, was probably my last trip in and around Japan! It's time to pack. It's time to plan the next adventure! It's time to say good-bye to Japan!

Just The Photo Highlights

Christmas Festivities!!



















Lots of Quality Family Time!!!

Time with Great Friends!!!!
























And Delicious Delicious American Food!