Day 56. Culture shock

 

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year Eve, Sleeping on slabs, and the green-eyed monster

Well, it's New Years Eve in India. The street outside my room is more active tonight than it was at this time last night. In the distance you can hear the sound of fireworks going off to celebrate the day. Most of the party have headed for bed, the end to another busy day. I took a late evening nap, sleeping through the 9pm dinner and waking a little after 11pm to an empty stomach. Good thing I stashed some peanut butter and crackers in my luggage or I would have to raid the refrigerator.

Since it was so close to New Years I figured I would blog until the hand struck midnight. Right now it is 11:47. If I type long enough I can count down here.

Since I mentioned sleeping let me tell you our general experience of the beds in the Jesuit Residence. Without any disrespect, this bunch of Americans - with the exception of Dr. Thorn - were really surprised at the firmness of the mattresses. The word from really doesn't even pay them justice. I guess I would compare mine to sleeping on my front door step. Very hard. Ashley's I am told has a number of uneven areas which makes her mattress feel more like a group of boulders instead of one full slab. I am not complaining - actually my back has never felt better. I only wish I had brought my pillow, as a little softer one would be more of what I am used to sleeping on. My son let me bring one of his stuffed animals with to remind me of him. I have been thinking of using it as a replacement pillow - but I am not sure how he would feel about me returning it to him a little flatter than how it was sent.

11:53pm - just a bit longer and we can all shout "Happy New Year" together.

So now the last part - the green-eyed monster. When my niece was little and got jealous my brother-in-law always accused her of turning into a green-eyed monster. Today I turned into a bit of one. The students from St. Xavier's invited the students from Marquette to go on a bike ride with them to a mall and arcade. I would have loved to go with them - it sounded like a lot of fun. Unfortunately it would have looked more like I was the mom chaperoning the group. Sometimes I have to remember I am almost 30 years older than most of these students. I was a little less green when I found out it wasn't bicycles but motor scooters that they were referring to. While I think driving a motor scooter in this traffic would be very interesting, I don't think it would be a pretty site to see me hanging on the back of one. Especially since I out-weigh most of the students here by at least 100 pounds! The idea and the picture in my minds eye of that just makes me laugh.

11:58pm - almost there

So as I count down the final minutes of 2008 I guess I am sad to see this year end. It has been a very good year to me, a chance to work in areas that I have always dreamed of, my children being healthy and doing well in school, and of course my return to India to see our trip from last year taking off with a program I helped to build.

So good-bye 2008. Thank you for all your wonderful memories. 2009 it is time for you to show your stuff.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!