Sorry

I seem to be updating my blog about as often as Abe Lincoln celebrates new birthdays. I sincerely apologize for the lack of decent updates. I don't really have much of an excuse besides the fact that I have just been plain lazy. It's turning towards the end of the semester. MY grade twelves have finished their curriculum and took the AP test yesterday. My tens have not finished and have their IGCSE exam papers starting tomorrow with an alternative to the practical. They're freaking out but I think that they should be alright. I'm in dire need of a day off but know it will not come. Just about the only motivation I'm finding anymore is that in just a little more than a month I shall be surrounded by adoring young women all under the age of three.

Well, let me split this up into three pieces. First, my trip over quarter break with Tim (one of the dorm parents) and sixteen ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders. We spent the extended weekend in and around Haridwar, one of the holy cities here in northern India. Being a holy city it is also entirely veg, something we didn't tell the boys until dinner the first night we got there. We spent one afternoon in northern India's premier water park, Fun Valley. Honestly, when we first drove past it I thought it was abandoned. The boys enjoyed it though. I spent most of the day hiding from the sun and sipping on cool drinks. After all of that we spent one night on the edge of Rajaji National Park in a private camp run by a man who was trying to minimize his footprint. The boys' immediate reaction was 'Where's the plug for my laptop‽' (God, I love the interrobang). They didn't warm up to it as much as Tim and I did (tea first thing in the morning brought to your porch is a great way to wake up). We went on safari and saw some wildlife. Supposedly, there are tigers in the park but they are quite elusive. The best we got was elephants from a large distance. Not the most exciting of safaris but I was pleased.

Pilgrims at the Ganga (Ganges).

Scariest roller coaster ever. It went in a tiny circle and nearly jumped the track at each curve.

Waiting for our guides to come back and confirm that the elephants that were fighting have left.

Oh Tim... let this be a lesson to never eat around a game of ping pong.

Safari

Elephants, I promise.

For some reason I was fascinated by the termite mounds more than anything else.

The lodge with no power.

Tea on the veranda? Don't mind if I do.

A few weekends ago was the mela. Basically, it's big festival with lots of food, vendors, and live entertainment. The grade tens set up a stall for henna tattoos and face painting. I graciously offered up my body to be a billboard. I got some strange looks and even a spot on tv. I'm a legend. So, what did the kids think of my new fashion?

'Uhhhh......'

'Mr Chawaal, you're crazy!'

This past weekend I finally made it up Flag Hill. It's literally a five minute walk from my house and I've just never gone. It's named such because the Tibetans in the area climb up there to hang their prayer flags. They're supposed to find the highest point possible so I guess this works for them. Well, I found the turn off pretty easily but lost the trail immediately due to the fact that 1) I've never been there before and 2) we've been having forest fires and the hill had been charred pretty well. So, the trail ran out and there was some backtracking, some finding a new trail and losing it again and, finally, some good ol' chud climbing (hey, it's supposed to be the highest place so when in doubt, climb up). Eventually, the mysterious place was found and many pictures were taken. I followed the trail that I found up there back down and came to find that it actually begins right next to the road. Some boy scout I am.

tWait, wait, wait. Why do they call it 'Flag Hill?'

Forest fire in the distance. A little over a week ago there was one on the trail behind my house not more than 50 metres away. About a week before that there was one right up to the road that is just below my house. Obviously the fire smells my manliness and doesn't dare creep any closer. I'm a regular Smokey the Bear. More like I wrestled him and sent him home crying to mama bear and I became the forest's new jeans wearing, ranger hat toting, pic-a-nic basket stealing, no shirt spokesperson.

A nice place for a picnic no?

Close ups of the flags.

Notice the char.

And thus, my faithful audience, another chapter winds to a close. What will be next for your handsome young host? Who knows? Maybe I'll be playing French songs on the accordion while a coworker sings or I'll wrestle sharks. Mayhaps I'll even clone Sandra Bullock, fit her with cybernetic implants and send her forward in time to create the first terminators who then be sent backwards in time to give me the knowledge and the know how to clone and add cybernetics (notice how I didn't say anything about teaching me time travel???). The future (or is it the past?) holds the answer.


How the hell did I make it through this post without referencing chemistry once?