Starting my job has not slowed my picture taking....here is random sample of some of things that I have seen and done in the past few days....


This is an ant hill near my school site. The height is about 3 feet and it is all made by the co-operation of little ants. Sometimes, when these hills get really big, a snake moves in and calls it home...when that happens, a certain religious sect in India reveres it as special and performs ceremonies around and to it. Not sure of the whole story, but I think there's milk involved....




Here's my art room and my new school. There's 3 more days left until school starts.....yeah.....we're going for a minimilast look. yep.....

Like many memorable photo opps, it was this policeman's purple feathers
that beckoned my attention...



This is a lady at a craft exhibition that I attended today at the Bangalore art college. All regions of India were featured at the exhibition where you could see the different styles and colours of textiles used by each group.




And finally, here I am....getting my hair braided with some colourful strings and beads at the exhibition.

My first trip within India....

This past week I visited a hill station called Kodaikanal via a 9-hour train ride south of Bangalore. The hill station was located on top of a hill (surprise!) that was accessible by a 2 hour car ride. I was sent there by the school for some IB training, which consisted of many teas and chats with an IB examiner/ recluse artist, and a visit to the art classroom at Kodaikanal International School. Here are some pics....


Top left - view while driving up hill.
Next three pics: view from coaker's walk; a happy monkey after extorting a carrot from tourists; group of tourists from Kerala who added me to the list of attractions in Kodaikanal.

I know I'm settling into a place when I begin to create paintings of the Native Bird Species. Here is my first one -- there are called Rose-Ringed Parakeets (found in a Bangalore bird book i recently purchased.) The funny thing is, the day after I completed this painting, I actually saw one of these from my balcony! Paint them and they shall come!

A few more pics for the curious.....



This is Bangalore traffic on a good day! People often turn off their engines so as not to waste petrol while waiting and waiting and waiting. This is a good place to learn the art of patience.


This is Puttenahalli village....the village in which I now live and raise cows. Just kidding....but there are a lot of cows just hanging out on the side of the road and munching away (just like the one above). Most of Bangalore does not look like this - this village is situated on the outskirts of the city. There 's also a beautiful wetland with many egrets, herons and other birdlife in the village, but the sewage smell is so bad, that this is really the best way to view it. (seen above.)

Visited a place called LalBagh Botanical Gardens yesterday where flowers in fantastical displays lure thousands of families, couples and tourists out for an all day excursion. It was really something, especially the rose garden. I even brought a couple of plants home (bought them) to start my new garden, cause I miss my garden in Toronto. Here are some pics....

Well friends......I'm here in India and it's my fourth day figuring it out on the other side of the world. So much to say...it's hard to know where to begin. Plus---it's only my fourth day. So far, so good. I'm happy and healthy and my brain is spinning from all of the new stimuli. Here's the best way I know how to express what I am experiencing.

Here are all the things I love about this place so far.....

1. Birds, Birds, Birds.....there are so many noisy, beautiful birds flying around..I'm in heaven!
2. My new place - The apartment that I live in is a small palace with my very own room for making art, and a spacious living room that also doubles as a hackee sack court. The place also comes equipped with gardens, a pool, a gym, squash and badminton courts, and a ping pong table. Yeah...I am a lady of luxury.
3. The view from my balcony. I live next to a farm that raises water buffalo, goats and chickens. A rooster crows at 5:30 am, and at night, you smell a mixture of campfires and dung. mmmm!
4. The insane amount of varied activity that exists in every corner of this place! There's so much going on that my eyes, ears and nose are never bored!
5. The food!!!I'm having fun learning to cook a new set of dishes. I live pretty far from the city (40 minute taxi ride) so I really have to rely on my own cuisine and that of the local grocery store. Those that know my style of cooking know that I'm having a field day finding new items to through into the pot!
6. Finally.....there's chocalate here - so everything's going to be okay.

Here are some things about this place that I hope I get used to.....

1. The nocturnal frogs that enter the house through my toilet! They're very cute, tiny and yellow -but come on....they came through the toilet! Gives a whole new meaning to PUT THE LID DOWN!
2. The random power outages. They come and go and don't last for long, but they're pretty unpredictable. Keeps me on my toes.
3. The incessant horn honking. Rules of the road are pretty simple...watch your mirrors and honk your horn if you want to arrive alive. Therefore, some of the car horns are pretty elaborate and all of them are very loud. This is pretty annoying considering how many cars are on the road.
4. The limitation of movement. I like to walk and explore, but for now, my movement at night is pretty restricted to the apartment complex. This will take some getting used to, or the freedom will increase as I get to know the place.
5. Being so far from friends and family. Laughing on your own just isn't the same!

That's all for now. I will post more with more pics soon. Feel free to post comments and email. I miss you all lots.