Home and Back to India

Ian and I arrived in Delhi last night safe and sound. Weather delayed our departure on the 28th but we managed to make it to Newark via Cleveland on the 29th and flew out to Delhi from there. It was our first time taking a direct flight and both Ian and I agreed that it was quicker and easier than having to stop somewhere (especially when it is just to get off the plane and go through security).

For those of you who didn't get a chance to see us while we were home, we had a great trip. We certainly would have liked more time with our families , but what time we did get was wonderful. That isn't to say that the trip was without adventure...Ian ran into some difficulty getting his visa. Our original plan was the Ian would get the visa on his way through Chicago but alas! they have changed the way that visas are processed. The handling of visas of has been outsourced to a company called Travisa. That meant we had to send his passport to Chicago and they would send it back to us. Well Ian's folks got the passport back on the Thursday before Christmas but it didn't have a new visa in it. So after one trip to Chicago, a lot of phone calls it was ready the day we were suppose to fly out. Talk about cutting it close! But we were all relieved that he did get it!

We are going to be in and around Delhi for the next 10 days and then we will be heading to Jaipur and finally Bharatpur. I will make sure to update everyone on our whereabouts!

Have a great New Year!

And then there was two...

Well, our semester long program officially ended this morning. At 2:30 am half of our students left to go back the United States, while the other half are going to travel for a week. While at times this semester seemed to crawl by, it now seems like August was just a few days ago. I got very emotional at our farewell dinner and as we were seeing people off this morning. Even though the students could be really demanding and frustrating at times, they were really a great bunch of people (I think Ian and I learned this all too well after our stay with the Syracuse students). But with the joys of email and facebook, hopefully we will all stay in touch.

Ian and I are heading to Jaipur this afternoon, and are going to be there for 4 days before coming back to Delhi to really finish up and head home. Yea!!!

Back In Delhi

Ian and I had a fairly uneventful train ride back to Delhi on Friday. I think we have finally mastered managing the group when we travel. We found that the key was to hire at least one porter who knows exactly where on the platform you need to be when the train comes. Unfortunately such knowledge comes late, and we are done travelling as a large group.

Now that we are back in Delhi there is not much on the agenda. The students have their final presentations on Thursday and Friday, and then they leave on Sunday morning. A few students are staying on longer to do some more travelling, and we will see them on the plane on the 16th.

This week and next Ian and I will be taking care of some grant-related business. I stopped by AIIS today to find out about getting permission to work in the national park and tomorrow Ian and I are going to USEFI to talk about his grant. Next week we will go to Jaipur for a couple of days to get me de-registered, and then I think we are all set to return to the States.

I'm sorry this isn't a more exiciting blog entry, but I am glad that we have had a break from all the excitement. :) I will see some of you soon, and for those who I am not able to see, have a great holiday!!!