In less than 24 hours our journey begins. A short 34 hours later we will arrive in Mysore.
The last 24 hours are the most hectic. We know this date has been coming for months, and have counted down each week for rhe last 2 months, the days this week, but there is still much to be done.
1. Packing (how many Snickers do I need??), checking and rechecking the list that has been revised multiple times, loading up on "Airborne", figuring out how to pack a 7' tall Christmas tree in a suitcase.
2. Making sure the "essential" TV shows are scheduled for the DVR (we need something to watch when jet lag wakes us up at 3 am).
3. Consuming as much beef, Mexican food and Dr. Pepper as possible.
4. Enjoying ice in my drink.
5. Appreciating the quietness around my rural home.
6. Laughing this morning when I was going to an appointment and was frustrated that there were 3 cars ahead of me at the roundabout...
7. Double and triple checking to make sure all arrangements are done.
8. Making sure everything is covered at work.
What I am looking forward to:
1. Our hosts: the amount of extra work they must do on top of their incredibly busy schedules to host us. I just hope that we are worth more to them then we cost them. Just to listen to their stories, to invest in their lives in a little way, to assist them with the great work they are doing.
2. The kids at the schools. This will be the third year we have seen them. Their smiles, their hugs. The smallest ones, that we haven't seen before, holding their record cards and being very concerned about what will happen to them. The older ones coming up to us with greetings, "we remember you from last year".
3. The kids at the orphanage. We have been seeing these kids for 4 years now, and seeing them only once a year they change so much. We will see them the last evening we are there, a perfect way to end the trip.
4. The team that is going. This is an incredible group, there are 10 rookies on this team, and nothing is more fun that seeing India again through the eyes of a first-timer. (Especially when those eyes are as big as saucers when we are in traffic!!) When you have been there a few times, you tend not to see things you have become acclimated to: the traffic, the extreme poverty, the joy of people who, in our eyes, have nothing, the faith these people have. And knowing that the lives of every single person who is going will NEVER be the same.
5. Chai.
6. 85 degree temperatures...not gonna lie!!
The next post should be from India!!
Stan
The last 24 hours are the most hectic. We know this date has been coming for months, and have counted down each week for rhe last 2 months, the days this week, but there is still much to be done.
1. Packing (how many Snickers do I need??), checking and rechecking the list that has been revised multiple times, loading up on "Airborne", figuring out how to pack a 7' tall Christmas tree in a suitcase.
2. Making sure the "essential" TV shows are scheduled for the DVR (we need something to watch when jet lag wakes us up at 3 am).
3. Consuming as much beef, Mexican food and Dr. Pepper as possible.
4. Enjoying ice in my drink.
5. Appreciating the quietness around my rural home.
6. Laughing this morning when I was going to an appointment and was frustrated that there were 3 cars ahead of me at the roundabout...
7. Double and triple checking to make sure all arrangements are done.
8. Making sure everything is covered at work.
What I am looking forward to:
1. Our hosts: the amount of extra work they must do on top of their incredibly busy schedules to host us. I just hope that we are worth more to them then we cost them. Just to listen to their stories, to invest in their lives in a little way, to assist them with the great work they are doing.
2. The kids at the schools. This will be the third year we have seen them. Their smiles, their hugs. The smallest ones, that we haven't seen before, holding their record cards and being very concerned about what will happen to them. The older ones coming up to us with greetings, "we remember you from last year".
3. The kids at the orphanage. We have been seeing these kids for 4 years now, and seeing them only once a year they change so much. We will see them the last evening we are there, a perfect way to end the trip.
4. The team that is going. This is an incredible group, there are 10 rookies on this team, and nothing is more fun that seeing India again through the eyes of a first-timer. (Especially when those eyes are as big as saucers when we are in traffic!!) When you have been there a few times, you tend not to see things you have become acclimated to: the traffic, the extreme poverty, the joy of people who, in our eyes, have nothing, the faith these people have. And knowing that the lives of every single person who is going will NEVER be the same.
5. Chai.
6. 85 degree temperatures...not gonna lie!!
The next post should be from India!!
Stan
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