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I'm home from India! Bart picked me up at the airport; seeing each other after time away did make the heart grow fonder. Cliche-I know.

First meal in America: everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, sliced tomato and onion, from Lenny's, of course-

Still recovering from the flight and sleeping on and off at odd hours-

My house looks fantastic and having everything familiar around comforts me.

Sree, Jeet and Bikram made it home safe also. We might have passed each other in the air. It's a shame we didn't have a chance to say goodbye. But the relationship we formed is not one I will forget. And the accomplishment we both achieved is understood most by the two of us.

More to post later- Merry Christmas to family and friends!

Music: "Home at Last" Steely Dan- Aja

Wrap it up

“Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there.” -The Grateful Dead

Last week on Wednesday the house of homesickness seeped into my very being. (December 6, 2006) This sentence was meant to begin a blog entry over a week ago.

Now so much time has passed that there are too many things to tell. I’ll try. At least a few.
I just had a bit of a cry, tears falling but no gasps for air. I blamed the tears on money due to the added expenses I’ve had here: electricity, petrol, food for me and Jasbir and rent. But truthfully I just feel sad that this experience is coming to a close. Today I met eight young ladies from 9-G for lunch at Khan Market. Damini arranged the whole thing with the hopes of us seeing “Erragon” last night at Priya Movie Complex. The movie wasn’t released here yet so we shifted our plans for a Saturday lunch. I was sad that none of the boys joined us but apparently they had some other things scheduled. Damini presented me with this amazing class book filled with pictures and sentimental words from the students. It’s an unexpected treasure.
I leave for Darjeeling tomorrow morning and spend four days there for a Fulbright conference. Then I report to Sanskriti on the 22nd and attend the Winter Carnival at school on the 23rd and fly home the evening of the 23rd, arriving in America on 24th December. Bart will be waiting for me and reuniting will feel so good.

I must post this or else there will be nothing on my blog for almost a month. I have been having the most wonderful experiences including: attendance at a Punjabi wedding, lighting the lamp for academic Prize Distribution evening at Sanskriti, the annual Sports Day- (Prakash House won), an adventure ropes day with 9th graders, eating a cake that said "Kimpossible" on it, an environmental science trip to see the Yamuna River at three points, getting mendhi put on my left wrist with Radha and Lipika, rehearsing with 8th graders for a production of The Merchant of Venice, a teacher gathering at a colleague’s house, and loads of great food, good laughs and nights of exhausted sleep.

Music: “1,000,000” R.E.M. –Carnival of Sorts