October Blessings...

Two cows on the walk to work...arguing about sharing the bucket...This is India!

 BLOGGING ON A SUNDAY

This week marks the end of October, and almost the end of my third month back in Bangalore. This is a small update to say that all is well, despite occasional setbacks. When I stick to tried and true routines, such as regular swim workouts and mindfulness exercises, proper nutrition and a little social on the side, work goes much better. It is when I forget the basics of physical, mental, and emotional health, I slip in to anxiety which leads to depression.

I have found that blogging helps too!  Sometimes when I write about the challenges and resulting blessings in my life, it helps me appreciate people, events, and  all of the silver linings within the dark clouds.

On Instagram I started documenting #365days of gratitude, another tool I have used to ponder the blessings of life since July 1, and there are many more...

BABY SHOWER
I love weekends!   This weekend started with a baby shower to honour an expectant mother on our staff. This lady happens to be our PYP Coordinator, and she is having twins! The babies are due in January, but with twins, you never know. The staff decided to try to surprise her with a lovely baby shower at a local resort.

Mom to Be and Bee

BTW, she is having TWINS! 

Cute idea for Baby Shower...personalized diapers!

Coffee at the end of a lovely evening! \

HALLOWEEN

After a chat with my hubby on Skype and a swim on Saturday morning, I walked to work with a smile on my face, ready to help decorate the Haunted House. Much of the basic work had already been accomplished by the Extra Curricular Committee and the Halloween Committee, but for me, any excuse is a good one to go into work. Not only did I get to lend a helping had, but I got a first hand view of the display. I can't wait for the BIG day!  Happy Halloween to you...now don't go showing this to any of the students at our school! 

Working hard to scare the children!

One of several ghosts- BOO!

Bats created by children, strung by the committees

FRIENDS

Last weekend I was browsing through Facebook and saw a picture of a woman wearing an Ohio State University sweatshirt. That flipped my brain to Ohio, and memories from primary school exploded in my head. A name came to mind, a girl that who was in my grade 4, 5, and 6 classes in a small town school in Ohio. For fun, I thought I could search for her name on Facebook, and sure enough there she was FOUND! I paused for a few moments and wondered to myself if she would remember me, as we did stay in touch for several years after my family's move to Canada. 

I was thrilled when she responded positively to my message, and it has been fun catching up between our her working hours, and the time difference. We are hoping to Skype soon, when the Indian Internet is a bit more cooperative. 

Sue, my beautiful childhood friend from Ohio. So grateful to have "found" her on FB! 

FAMILY

Never far from my mind are our two grandchildren Everly and MacArthur, who are growing leaps and bounds!  Now in Junior Kindergarten and Grade 1 they were visiting a pumpkin patch (at night) this weekend. These are two pretty brave children!  I am quite fortunate to see their smiling faces on Instragram and Facebook, and to have the occasional chat on Skype. 

Evie and Mac...these TWO- words cannot describe the evoked emotions!

WORK

You may wonder why I am away from these two little ones, my son, my daughter, and her growing family.  Sometimes, I wonder too. Work is important to me at this phase of my life. To have full time work in the same place everyday, no matter where in the world it may be, is fulfilling, challenging, and a blessing. 

I have had to opportunity to teach in Canada, Egypt, Saint Maarten, India, Kuwait, and now back in India, I believe it is important to "bloom where you are planted." I keep saying to myself, only one more year,  and as each year passes, I am reluctant to give it up. Some day, I may have to retire, but for now the plan is full steam ahead, growing daily with the challenges of professional responsibility. 

I will continue to count my blessings, on into November, December, 2018, and as long as my memory can hold the faces of family, friends, and other folks from around the world. 

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Sri Lanka Love ❤️

Anyone who knows me knows my love for coffee. Imagine staying at a place where not only breakfast is included, but as much coffee and Nescafé as you like is included. My mug was almost never empty during the morning hours at the Yapahuwa Paradise Hotel near the small town of Maho, Sri Lanka. The hotel was recommended by my friend from my first few years in Kuwait, dear sweet Lena. The only problem with this place was that my stay was too short!  

Here are just a smattering of shots taken this morning while on site...

Even the bathrooms were elegant!

A common area linking the lobby with a few rooms.

Memories of Sri Lanka-art in the lobby.

The hotel entrance 

The entry gate-with a guard 24/7

Another luxurious entry

The pool side shaded area

A touch of pool side lighting.

A good sign...

My place is one of four rooms

A pond outside the building

 I was up the stairs

Mosquito netted bed ❤️❤️❤️

The pool with elephantine showers

Another building on-site

Flowers filled the property

The walk around the 14 hectare site

For me, it was a paradise

The dining area

And now as I sit waiting for a ride back to the airport, flight back to India, and anticipating the week ahead after a five day break, I can only be thankful. Thankful for the decision to visit Sri Lanka, thankful for this place, thankful for reconnecting with my friend Lena, and thankful for meeting people that are part of her life now in her country. Lena served as an interpreter, tour guide, trip planner, and hostess. She prepared a wonderful meal and introduced me to the fast food cuisine from the train stations. And I wonder how I can thank her? 

Thank you Lena! 

For now it is almost time to say bye-bye. We will share a trip to the airport with her and her cousin’s daughter, warm hugs, and fond memories thanks to this warm, caring, and generous lady. I am truly blessed. 

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

PS Just arrived in Bangalore, safe and sound, thanks to a friendly driver and Sri Lankan Airlines.

Airport Time

It’s Sunday evening here in Bangalore. Some time has passed since my last blog post, but everything is good. It has been busy, but not too busy. It has been rainy, not not too rainy. I have had a lazy day, but not too lazy. You might think that everything is just right, and yes it pretty well is. 

Except, one day last week I dropped my iPhone on the kitchen floor. This was not its first drop. I believe that perhaps because it was a gift from my sister-in-law, I failed to care for it properly. Long story short, as it fell on the tiled floor it made a sound I had never heard before, it landed in a position I had never seen before, and it was in two pieces, screen plus the rest of it. Miraculously it still worked, though quite fuzzily. What to do?

I didn’t have much choice. I need the phone for work, as I am often mobile when reception or the head of school needs to speak to me, plus the hotspot the phone provides is my link with home in Canada as well as friends and family throughout the world. It was 7:30 p.m.

I googled “where to buy a mobile phone in Sahakar Nagar” and almost immediately discovered Sangeetha- which according to Google Maps, is just 170 metres from my apartment building. I am not a big fan of shopping; however, I have to say that the staff at Sangeetha were helpful, knowledgeable, and extremely patient, especially when I had to look up my passwords on our  iPad, when my cash card didn’t work, and when I had to run across the street to a bank for cash. 

By 9 p.m. I was home with my new purchase. Believe it or not this was the first tool of technology that I have ever purchased on my own, it was my first ever new phone, and it works in India. I am grateful!

Another exciting piece of technology came my way this week. I was able to pick up a Jio personal hotspot, which will give me twice as much data in a day as my phone hotspot. It will come in handy when my husband comes to stay for several months. His arrival date is 15 November, so I am counting those days...

After spending the ten day Dusshera break here in Bangalore, I have decided to take the five day Diwali break to visit my friend, Lena in Sri Lanka. On Tuesday evening this week I will be off to the airport for a quick flight to the island country, formerly Ceylon. I am quite looking forward to our visit and hoping  that my visa is approved on time.

Yesterday was a working Saturday at school and one of our Special Education teachers presented three workshops for her Arts Based Therspy course. Fortunately I was able to participate in two of the sessions- storytelling circle and drum circle. Both were excellent, energizing, and just what I needed to help get in touch with the creative side of my brain. All in all, a great opportunity to grow. 

I am swimming a lot, and really appreciating being in the water. The pool where I swim is very close the the school (actually right on the way), so I can leave the flat at 5:30 am, swim for an hour, and still arrive at work in time to check the emails and calendar, and to greet the early arriving children. After that, everyday is different, but not too different, challenging, but not too challenging, and enjoyable (can it ever be too enjoyable?).  I guess you could say, everything is just right, and so it goes...

Until next time, 

Bee Rich ❤️

PS Tried to post this on Sunday but was not successful. Just finished two days of work, including an amazing Indian Cultural Day, and now waiting to board a flight to Sri Lanka. I am tired but the anticipation of a new country has me looking forward to the next four days. Happy Diwali to India 🇮🇳! 

Time to Write...

The passage of time is an elusive concept, perhaps because no matter what, it keeps on ticking by, quickly at times, while at other times slowly, slowly.

I write this because my experience of time over the past few months has been interesting.

When at work, focussed on the moment, solving situations as they arise, setting goals, organizing various events, time flies away like a bird on the wing.

But when the weekend hits time appears to slow down, almost to a standstill. Even this past weekend when I attended a swim meet with the coach and swimmers (just for fun) on Saturday, Sunday crawled by- laundry was washed and dried (by hand!), the apartment was cleaned (by me), and I still had time to swim and read. I even found this poem online, perhaps a little grim, and masculine for my purposes; however it does make the point.... 

Time marches ceaseless on,

never sleeping never slowing, 

dusk till dawn, dusk till dawn

never stopping always flowing.

Time goes on forever

time waits for no man

for the worst, or for the better

turning babes to men.

Man stumbles ceaseless forward

cannot stop, he'll be outrun

man looks ever onward

if he stops he'll be undone.

Clocks run, man falls.

World turns, man crawls.

- by Robert Evans

https://allpoetry.com/poem/11773334-Time-Crawls-by-Robert-Evans

While contemplating the passage of time, I remembered another little ditty, which says for a baby and a child time crawls, but as we age time goes faster, unrolling like toilet paper on a roll. Slow at first, but then quickly as the roll gets smaller.

Accounting for all this, I continue to be grateful for each moment of time, on the look out for the small miracles that occur every day...

Presently I am rereading M. Scott Peck's Meditations from the Road which was a gift from my sister Karen in 1994 (how can that be?). The daily meditations continue to ring true. On October 1st this  quote :

We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often

"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived." 

- M. Scott Peck, M.D, from The Different Drum, p. 99

Consequently I am living the mystery, looking forward to a trip to Sri Lanka to visit a friend, my husband's arrival in India, and the day to day adventures that come my way.

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, and to my Canadian friends and family, wishing you a wonderful holiday with friends and family.

Until next time,

Bee Rich

Happy Dusshera!

Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami, Dasara, or Dashain) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a gazetted holiday in India, which is marked on the 10th day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Ashvin (Ashwayuja), according to the Hindu calendar.  Source- https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/india/dussehra

Another holiday!

The good news is that it is a week of vacation for our school. The bad news is that I elected to stay put here in Bangalore for the duration of the ten day break, as my bank account had not yet been opened. The good news is that I have loads of time to relax, read, rest, and do other things, like swim at the local club. The pool opens everyday at 6 a.m., except Monday, and I have happily pulled, kicked, drilled and swum through the morning hour or two. 

Now for the worst news since arriving in India- my laptop won't turn on. It has been a reliable piece of technology over the past eight years. It travelled with us to Egypt, Saint Maarten, India, Kuwait, and now back to India. It is my husband's connection to the world when we are travelling and also contains many digital photographs. What to do? 

The good news (again) is that the iPad has both Skype and Blogger, so I can stay in touch with home. This post is like an experiment to see if I can actually blog via the iPad. If you're reading this, then the experiment was successful...

Until next time, turn that frown upside down, and

Bee Rich

The Power of Positivity

To family and friends around the world...

I am one very fortunate person. Having landed back in India, back in Karnataka, back in Banglaore (aka Bengaluru), back in Sahakar Nagar, back at my old school, I do not believe I have not stepped back in time at all; I believe that I am moving forward and growing personally and professionally.

This was not totally my own personal decision. But circumstances, happenstances, or whatever you want to call it, created an opportunity to move. I have landed forward, I am moving forward, and for the first time in a long time, I am experiencing the power of positivity in my life.

What has caused this drastic U turn? I am not sure if it was a psychological, physical, spiritual, social or emotional change; perhaps it has been a combination of these influences. Perhaps it is because I am at the beginning of a week long holiday, but I am grateful today to write that I am feeling so much better!

At the end of this post you will find informationa about the India holiday Dussehra. All I can tell you now is that it is very quiet here in my apartment block. Usually on a Saturday afternoon such as this the play area outside my flat full of children noisily having a grand time. But today, not so much.

I LOVE Science

Perhaps it was the week that was. Many exciting things are happening at our school these days. This past week was a celebration of Science, culminating in a school-wide science exhibition whereby almost every student created a unique project having something to so with science. There were models, displays, experiments, and many "ah ha" moments for me. I totally enjoyed peeking at the projects and speaking with the young scientists. The event was for only 2.5 hours, and would have taken the whole day to see and appreciate everyone's efforts. All in all a great success. 

Jem

My state of happiness might have be caused by some of the regular conversations, chats, and communications that have been happening online over the past month. People like Jem (Kuwait) on WhatsApp and Messenger, and Em, and Lindsay, and The Glue (all in Kuwait) on Instagram, my brother (Ottawa) on Twitter, my sister from Florida on Messenger, my husband, my son and grandchildren (all in Canada) on Skype, my friend Carole Ann((Ontario) on Facebook, or even Cheryl (Clarksburg), my sister Karen (Missisauga), and Edith (Maberly) on email, Sarah, Tom, Anne and Anthony, and  Linda from Vietnam, and Lina from Sri Lanka. And these are only a few of the connections I have heard from over the past week. It is indeed a joy to connect, and I am grateful to everyone for staying in touch. 

A symbol for who keeps me steady

I have to admit that my anchor point is the daily chat on Skype with my husband, who has elected to stay behind in Ontario for the first four months of my stay in India. His cheerful face on voice on Skype is a delight to my eyes and ears. I am very much looking foward to his coming to spend time here during the cold winter months. 

Probably the biggest news is that I am going to have to move in the next couple of months. The apartment where I am living is called a "service apartment" reserved for people who are working at the building. Fortunately I have been able to stay here for as long as I have, but the school is now actively looking for another place, perhaps even closer to the school and the pool. So I am looking forward to that. 

And also to the Dussehra holiday which is upon us now. Here is a little bit of information about this festive time of the year in many parts of India. Enjoy the read!

Until next time,


Bee Rich

When is Dussehra?

How long until Dussehra?
This holiday next takes place in 7 Days.
Duration
1 Day
Summary
The festival of Dusseha symbolizes the triumph of good over evil in the legend of Rama and Ravana
Dates of Dussehra
Year	Weekday	Date
2019	Tuesday	October 8th
2018	Friday	October 19th
2017	Saturday	September 30th
2017	Friday	September 29th
2016	Tuesday	October 11th
Regions where Dussehra is a holiday
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Madhya pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal

On this day, many of your colleagues in India will celebrate the culmination of the ten day Dussehra festival.

It may be known in some regions as Vijayadashami and in parts of southern India, it is known as Dasara. Other regional spellings include Dashera and Dussera.

As this is a ten day festival based on a lunar date with many important days and also because it has many different names in the various regions on India, it is difficult to determine when each region has a holiday. On this site, we show the date of the tenth day and you can assume that most regions will observe this a public holiday.

Traditions of Dussehra

In India, the festival of Dussehra symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The festival traditionally represents the legend of Rama and Ravana. Ravana, the demon king, abducted the beloved Princess of India, Sita. The Lord Rama rescued the Princess, proving victorious over the powerful and evil King Ravana.

The Dussehra festival is ten days long, culminating on the tenth day, the Dussehra holiday.

On the day of Dussehra, large statues of Ravana are constructed and brought into open fields.

These effigies are burned and with them the evil they represent, so that the people are allowed to follow the path of virtue and goodness throughout the year.

Ayudha Puja

On the ninth day of Dussehra, Ayudha Puja is celebrated in several regions of India. Celebrations may involve many common and seemingly mundane tooo and implements used in everyday life, such as computers, books, cars, or kitchen tools.

The aim is to see the divine in everything, notably those things used in one's livelihood. It is believed that this day is also a blessed one for any new venture to start on.

In 2017, Ayudha Puja is a holiday in Tamil Nadu.

Navaratri

In the southern India states, this festival is called Navaratri ('nine nights') and revolves around the worship of the goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati. Lakshmi is associated with good luck and wealth, and Sarasvati is linked with wisdom and fertility.

The festival is a time for visiting friends and relatives, and houses are decorated with colourful displays of toys and images of gods. In Gujarat there are nine days of music and dancing..

Source: http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/india/dusserhra.php

A Busy Week!

My experience with international teaching has taught me a lot. One of the take-aways for me is how quickly time flies by, especially when one is busy. This past week was no exception. Minutes turned to hours, hours to days, days to nights, and suddenly another week is gone. It's mid September and while teachers in Canada have been back to school for a week or two, here in India, our staff members have been working since late July, and I have just completed my first six weeks at a job that I am totally enjoying, despite the challenges.

So on Monday I started to create a bulletin board to show appreciation to students, staff, parents, and anyone else that someone would like to demonstrate their thanks. This was a challenge in that there was no large paper to place as a background for the bright coloured letters. What you see here is the flip side of a piece of cotton material that was lying beneath another layer of faded and stained bristol board. Although not completed in this picture, it turned out bright and cheery, just waiting for stars to light up the green background.

Monday's bulletin board- Show your appreciation with a star!

 On Tuesday, a new friend sent me a message asking me to drop in for tea, as I had ordered some cloth grocery bags as a fund raiser for one of the organizations with which she is associated. After a lovely cup of tea (with biscuits or cookies as I call them in Canada, she showed me these very beautiful hand made greeting cards. Here is but one of the assortment she had in her possession. At the same time my friends at The Glue in Kuwait have just come out with some nifty greeting cards. I will have to do some fancy calculating to find out which ones are more cost efficient! Shout out to the Glue for the next phase in your business venture!

Hand made greeting card with real petals and leaves

Speaking about flowers...I believe that India must have more flowers per capita than any other country in the world. A day does not go by when I don't walk by a new blossom somewhere on my 15 minute stroll to work. As well, one can buy fresh flowers almost on any street corner. The odours are marvellous. 

Blooms on a bush

Later in the week we had a guest story teller from London, England come by for a hilarious morning of exaggerated stories, music, drama, and fun. All of the students in the Primary division of the school got a taste of what storytelling can be when creativity plays a role in its design. This young man travels around the world sharing his stories. We were very fortunate to have him come to spend a few hours with our children. 

Craig Jenkins performs live at our school- delightful

On Thursday after school I presented my first PD session for the primary school staff. The presentation was about differentiation in the classroom, or meeting individual needs of our learners. 

It was a great opportunity for me to share some of the information I have gleaned over my years of teaching, plus some online resources. 

A summary of Carol Ann Tomlinson's theory of differentiated instruction, with thanks to the author

As I wrote before, I am enjoying the challenges of this non-teaching position. Every day is different, I am meeting many new people, and living a simple lifestyle here in Sahakar Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Until next time, 

Bee Rich