March Mashup

We began this month with Kristen away on the high school minicourse program, co-chaperoning a group of seventeen students on a five-day excursion to Orchha (a 4.5 hour train ride south of Delhi). As far as student trips go, this one was nearly flawless - great kids, perfect weather, and a super camp with a great staff located within earshot of the Betwa River. Days were spent rafting, biking, walking, touring ancient palaces, reading, and power napping.

The following week, India celebrated Holi. We had the day off from school and this year, the party (really, it was a party even though the photos make it seem like we were all alone) was held on campus -- potluck brunch followed by mayhem.

Before:

And after:

The weekend after Holi, we took a personal day and headed north to sleep by the Ganges River at another super camp with great staff. It was a 4.5 hour train ride to Hardiwar and then a two hour drive to our final destination just past Rishikesh. Although the boys are too young for white water rafting, we enjoyed the beautiful beach, did some kayaking, played on the ropes course, made s'mores by the campfire, and lazed in the hot sun.

At the New Delhi train station for a very early Saturday morning departure:

A huge beach with clean, powdery sand and we just about had the whole camp to ourselves:

Lots of rocks to explore:

Here we wait for our Monday evening return to Delhi. Lots and lots of people plus a few aggressive monkeys made for an interesting scene. This was when Kristen realized that two train trips within two weeks was perhaps too much. Although the railway is an efficient way to travel around India (and way more comfortable than a car for long distances), the time spent in the stations can undo the rejuvenation achieved while away.

The next main event was the all school gala, Night Under the Stars. This fund-raiser is put on by the parent association and is a long-standing tradition at AES. Last year, it was canceled due to some monumental scheduling snafu so this was our first chance to attend. But what to wear? For expat women in India, it is a rite of passage to shop for one's first sari and this should involve an outing with several friends, lots of ooh-ing and aah-ing, getting wrapped in an array of vibrant colors, and taking hours to choose just the right one. But having been out of town (and perhaps a bit of a procrastination too) this project was rushed and done solo - a trip to Sarojini market after school on a Thursday followed by a return on Saturday afternoon to pick up the tailored product, just two hours before show time. With a lot of help to wrap and pin, the end result still turned out okay.

And after all of this, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, we took a stroll over to the legendary banyan tree behind the elementary school. 

While the kids have recess in the shadow of this great tree every day, I wondered why we don't spend more time there as a family. It is such a lovely and peaceful spot. No train ticket required.