back in india

well, i tried earlier to write this blog, i got almost done and ....suddenly there was no power and i lost it all. good reminder for me about electricity here!

so. this is what's been happening: i got to charlotte only to find the lufthansa desk closed. hmm...then i found out that lufthansa doesn't fly on tuesdays from charlotte. then i find out that my flight had been changed....to the PREVIOUS day! my heart was beating fast. but the very nice man at the desk, muhommad, helped me out by getting me on the us air flight to canada. for some reason he apparently pulled some strings because the flight was already 30 seats over booked. not only did he get me on that flight, but it cut out one of my layovers and he also fixed my return flight for jan29th...at NO COST! it was supposed to cost me $200! he was great! and he told me if i got bored waiting that i could come back and chat with him. very funny!

so i waited about 6 hours in charlotte, got on the plane and sat next to a young guy going to iraq for the 2nd time. you KNOW i asked him all kinds of questions and it was very interesting. that flight was about 8 hours.

then in frankfurt, i waited abut 3 hours. the 1st person i talked to was from greenville, sc. he was very nice, going to croatia to buy an apartment he could stay in when he wasn't sailing around in his 43 foot sailboat. it was so funny to meet someone from right down the road when i was in the airport in europe!

then after much waiting in line and chaos, i got on one of the biggest planes i have ever seen, a double decker boeing 747-400. there were over 400 people on my flight. and i had the coolest seat mates! a young sikh who works in tech computer stuff in detroit and a contemporary multi-media artist from calcutta. her name is mithu and she is super cool! we had so much in common and it was really fun to find out abuot her life in the contemporary arts in india. she travels a lot as she applies for artist residencies all over the world. she only does installations, so she has to get funding for them from outside. she offered for me to come see her studio in delhi so i will take her up on that!

then a smooth exit from the plane, changed my money, had a taxi ride from the airport where we ran evey red light and had a few seemingly close calls due to passing on the right into incoming traffic. i also remembered while at the pre-pay taxi desk that indians do not like to give change. i do not get it! i had to say, look, i just got here and i need some small bills, so you HAVE to change out my 500 rupee note! he did it grudgingly.

got to the hotel to find they are under major construction. ripping out marble tiled walls with a hammer and chisle. redoing the electricity. i should move, but i like them. so i changed rooms this afternoon to a quieter room.

i had some poridge with fruit for breakfast, my favorite, and just now i had a thali for lunch. it was ok, but the dhal was too salty. i chatted it up over lunch with some very nice grown up israelis and a guy from venezuela. the guy from venezuela tried to get me to ride on his motorcycle with him up north, but i tactfully declined. he wasn' t hitting on me, just trying to find a traveler friend.

i went and met hema malani at the jewelry school. it was FANTASTIC!!!!! the principal is this german man, whom i immediately liked named thomas bhiel. the three of us chatted, trying to figure out what i could do for them, what i wanted to get from them, etc. it was so nice and open and intersting! then one of the teachers, a guy named robin who was in his early 20's, showed me around the facilities and showed me some of the work the students are doing. it was so freaking fun! robin was sweet as can be and so excited about his job! hema was beautiful and down to earth and friendly! thomas is the kind of man that demands respect, but is also loving and joking with his co-workers. he moved to india 8 years ago to take over the school, and he says he could never leave now. the school is getting remodeled right now, much due i believe to thomas and the energy he is putting into things. he wrote their textx and developed the curriculum. i liked him very, very much. we decided i will return on the 6th of january to give a lecture about differet types of jewelry to the faculty, many of whom are young. it will be a 3 hour talk, with lunch in the middle and i will show my powerpoint presentations. hopefully there will be lots of questions. thomas said there will be if a certain one of his faculty is there, and he laughed about it, so i am hoping this individual shows up. it was really fun to meet them all and see the school, their facility and tools! it seems like an awesome place, esp because everyone was down to earth and so genuine. they seemed to like me too, and i felt really happy about the meeting and i look forward to going back, though i have some computer work to do first to get ready, so i am hoping this internet facility i am in can support my powerpoints so i can rearrange some things.

i have had so much chai today i think i am running on pure caffeine and sugar. i know i am tired, but i don't think i could sleep. there are these leather belt things here that i like, that i liked last time and wished i had bought, so i think i will go shopping for one of those for my passport and money and stuff...they are kinda like purses and kinda like belts, but waaaaay cooler than fanny packs. really.

hope everyone is well!
love
jo