Ten on Tuesday

Admittedly it is only quarter to ten on Monday night, not Tuesday, but I'm bored and need to procrastinate from lesson planning. The idea came from Maggie whilst at our beach house in Michigan. She got it from someone else's blog. I dunno, I pick a theme and top ten it I guess. Let's go with the ten things I love about being at Woodstock.

1. The views are stellar. I haven't even seen the best views yet because of the monsoon but the ones I have seen are wunderbar.
2. The wildlife. I'm surrounded by bugs, scorpions, spiders, monkeys, jackals, yellow throated martens, birds, trees, ferns, mosses, flowers, leopards, and so much more. It's just amazing.
3. The people. Seriously, they're amazing. Everyone, new and old staff alike, are so friendly. I've been invited to several dinners, shindigs, drinks, what-have-you. I'm not really wanting for something to do (especially with lesson planning looming over me).
4. My ayah. Raji, my ayah, seems like a great woman. Communicating is a bit tough but she comes highly recommended from some older staff. She'll be washing my clothes, cleaning around the house, and cooking whenever I get around to buying groceries.
5. The food. Not something I would've guessed either. So far the food has been good. Nothing too hard on the stomach. However, rice and daal is already getting a little boring.
6. The kids. I've only met the kids of other staff members so far but I've heard stories of these kids. They really seem like an absolutely amazing group. I can hardly wait for them to come here so I can meet them.
7. Tailors. I go pick out some fabric I like, bring it to the tailor along with a shirt I like from home and he copies it for me. It's comfy and affordable. And, it gets addicting.
8. The bread man. Every week a guy comes up the hillside to sell you bread he baked in his little oven over in Mussoorie. It's delicious and he's quite the character.
9. Being the minority. Being a white guy in the middle of India is kinda fun. You really do get stared at a lot and people even stop you on the road to take their picture with you.
   
10. It's a slower pace. Tonight I went out for dinner. If I did that back in the states it would take about an hour to get to the restaurant, order, eat, and get home. Tonight my neighbor, Andrew, and I left around 6.15 and didn't get home until about 9.30. Things may take longer to get done but they do get done. Eventually.

So, there you have it. My first Ten on Tuesday.

Hindi Lesson: Namaste - (nom-es-tay) - The traditional Indian greeting.