For the Near Future

I came to India with the plan to stay in Kolkata and then fly directly to my family’s home in China. Now, I have a mini trip around India planned, which will take me to Varanasi (the holiest place in India), Agra (home of the Taj Mahal), and Khajuraho (of the erotic temples). I’ll return to Kolkata for a day, meet with Mark returning from Spain, and then fly off to join V. in Bangkok. Originally I was planning on taking a boat up the Mekong to south China, where my mom suggest I take a nice vacation around Lijiang and Kunming, before flying north to join my extended family for Chinese New Years.

Two things changed my plans. One, my Chinese Visa (a pain to get in the first place) posed a little problem since it’s only for 30 days and there’s no guarantee that it could be renewed. 30 days wouldn’t be enough to see South China and see both sides of my family.  And two, Suz and Jen, the two volunteers from the UK, found out that they weren’t going to be allowed back in India for two months after they leave for a vacation in Thailand.  Consequently they were looking into seeing more of Southeast Asia. Apparently flights are really cheap and even if they weren’t, so much of SEA is connected that traveling by land is entirely plausible. So now, I think I’ll ditch my plans for South China, and instead potentially see Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, and Cambodia. I still need to do a lot of planning and to get a proper backpacker’s backpack, but I’m really excited. The possibility of more travel coupled with the knowledge that Christmas is almost here is making me very happy.

We had a party for the school children last Sunday, complete with story, music, and a picture slideshow. It was a miracle that the projector worked, and I found it very fortunate that Ian, who was only with the program for 5 days, was able to use his computer skills to make it happen. The room was decked out with paper chains and our tiny Christmas tree was surrounded by a pile of presents. It was really heartwarming and full of holiday cheer.

Tomorrow is the last day of preschool and women’s group. And while I’m happy to be having a break, I am also sad that I wouldn’t be seeing the children anymore. It’ll be a sad good-bye, I’m sure. Suz, Jen, and I (none of us particularly religious) are going to midnight mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow night for Christmas Eve. I’ve never been and I find it ironic that I’ve refused going all the times that H.’s invited me, only to attend one in India. I’m curious though, and looking forward to the feeling of community and celebration that the mass would hopefully provide.

We asked for the 25th off so we wouldn’t have to wake up at 6am to goto the station. Instead we’ll sleep in, dress up, and goto a nice Christmas lunch. It should be fun, and I can’t wait for some really good food.

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