Goof Off Weekend

(Walking back from eating omelets. This is the same view from my front yard.)

(This false horizon is apparently called a Winter Line, which is some kind of thermal layer. People say you can only see it for two months per year in two places in the world: Mussoorie and Switzerland. But I can't even seem to google it, except for like some tourist sites, so I don't know what it's really called. Maybe it's bogus? )

I don't know how to surpass last weekend's blog entry. I mean, trekking in the himalayas, come on, what could be more exciting?! Oh well. This weekend was still amusing and good for some more settling in to the Woodstock lifestyle and mountain community.

Friday was the staff talent show. The teachers, residence staff, development people, and admin are quite talented! There are so many singers and musicians and funny people among our ranks! I was originally going to do a martial arts demo, but will save that for next year. Instead, I had some minor roles. The first included a stand up routine by the physics teacher. When he said, "What about a Hugg Fromme Yu?" (a combination of different teachers' names), I ran on stage and give him a hug. The other role consisted of a skit that Christine imported from Canada. A row of teachers were supposedly sitting in a row watching a movie. A couple got separated and had to sit on each end, and then everyone in the middle had to pass the popcorn, drinks, and various actions from one end to the other. I got to demonstrate some of my hidden talents when Ben tried to play footsies with me and I pulled up his leg following up with a kick, or when put his arm around me, and I did sort of a wrist twist, throwing him to the ground. It was fun!

Saturday, Kelsey, Anna, Alex, and I rode 1 hour in the taxi down to hot, dustry Dehra Dun. We stopped off at KKM -- the leprosy mission -- bought tons of rugs, bags, shawls, etc. All proceeds go to the lepers who live there and make the products. This is the second time I have been there, and this time, we were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the grounds. KKM was established in 1962 and some of the residents and the weaving technology have been there since then. Apparently, there are still places in India inaccessible common medicines and where leprosy still exists. Everyone at KKM has been cured of infectious diseases, through antibiotics and other drugs.

(a nice looking picture of where they live)(DJ Weave-meisters spinning on a sunny day)

(I'm not sure what this is called, but it looks like making sausages!)

(She likes to weave with her eyes closed.)

(This loom and this guy have been here since 1962.)

(Alex, Kelsey, Anna)

(ready to weave!?)

The cool thing is, the fabrics and handicrafts that they make are awesome!!! I have had some of the cloth made into curtains already. Much of their product gets shipped to Australia where their headquarters are, or something like that. Here is the the wikipedia article on leprosy. My cousins also read a good novel about a Hawaiin woman in the 1890's who contracts leprosy, called Moloka'i.

Next, we headed to the Tibetan Women's Handicraft store at one of the tibetan refugee settlements in Rajpur, right next to Dehra Dun. I asked the Tibetan lady in the shop where she was born, and she said India. I'm sure she's tri-lingual: Tibetan, Hindi, and English. A lot of the people can just live at the settlement for life if they want to, she said.

(Tibetan Women's Handicraft Store)

(Alex knows I like photos, and so he clicked many a candid shot.)
(Rugs I purchased. I didn't buy the one with the yak that said "YAK" on it. Maybe next time.)

Today Sunday, was a day of sleeping in, loafing around, and working. For dinner, a number of us met at Chardukhan, a set of small stores where you can get chocolate pancakes and grilled cheese. We were there to plan for Activity Week coming up, I will report about that when it happens! But there were a few minutes to goof off.

(Rachel and Jeanne trying to copy Kelsey)

(Kelsey -- master of the suave and sophisticated raised eyebrow)