Just back from a long and super relaxing Diwali break. Only five days, but ohhh, I stretched them. A friend and I went to a small village called Mammalapuram on the East coast of India. Took a train into Chennai and then headed by taxi to the place. Also visited the better known town on that coast, Pondicherry, a French colony in India where the food is fine and the ashrams are a plenty. Ended off the trip with a visit to a community known as Auroville, where foreigners and Indians strive to build and maintain a community that promotes spirituality over the dollar. But mostly....I spent my time by the pool and at the beach, swimming in the Bay of Bengal. Here are a few of the highlights...

Have a Happy Diwali!

It's not all about the serious international school work here in India...today we started our 5 day Diwali break...and to kick it off we had a shortened day with an assembly at the end. Our assembly consisted of stories, dancing, music and Indian sweets. It was like Christmas Break in October. On top of it all, everyone dressed up in their finest Indian-style threads for the occasion. Here are some pics of prepping for and the event itself....


These are some of my grade 10 students learning the art of Rangoli..a decorative art used all throughout the year, including Diwali..intricate patterns are designed and then created from crushed limestone. These patterns can usually be found outside the front doors of homes in an effort to ward off evil spirits.


Me...in a sari. Grade 10 students gettin' down to Indian folk dancing. That's my other art half, the elementary art teacher, Devaki. Finally, that's me and my friend Andrea sharing a moment on the magic carpet.

Recently came back from a camping trip with the grade 11 class. It is meant as a bonding retreat for the entire grade as they enter the IB program and begin to think about the different ways we learn and acquire knowledge. "Roughing it" allows them to think about their own habits and how they come to trust the skills and knowledge of their peers and teachers.

The camp was located about 130kms south of Bangalore on the Caulvery River - a very famous river which has Masir fish...they can weigh up to 100 lbs! They make a big splash when they jump. Not only were there fish in the river, but there were also crocodiles. Other wildlife at the camp included leopards, elephants, scorpions, snakes, and all sorts of bird life. Here are some pics from the weekend...

A pretty scene as we walked down into the camp at dusk......

This is where we hiked in the morning...incredible beautiful watching the sun rise over the rocks and water. The two pictures on the right show the cliff that we rapelled (climbed down with a rope and harness). You can see the people at the top in the third picture. It was pretty scary...100ft drop! Still, it was pretty neat when I was about halfway down looking to my left at the rocks and water - felt like I was a stunt woman in a movie....

In the last day of the retreat, we had to switch camps because of scheduling conflicts. The second camp was about 30 kms away, and then we had to get onto a boat. Here I am riding the waves, guitar in hand.

Here's my portrait of Dinah Washington that I finished recently....yes, my mom is right....I am in my blue period...

Just some pics of everyday life.... From left: me and my bike, my art room at CIS and the view on the way into school every morning (only one car can fit on the road at the time)

Finished this pastel drawing of Ray Charles about a week ago. Working on Dinah Washington this evening.....

Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys

A great day trip to a place just 50 kms to the....? Well, eventually we went in the up direction to a place called Nandi Hills. The place was covered in green and monkeys. I went with a new teacher from North Bay, Ontario....yes, us rugged Canadian girls can handle anything...Here are some pics.

From left: Me sketching on a hill, 3 monkeys hanging out at a hilltop resort, nandi hill from afar, a sculpture?, me getting my first Indian roads/ stickshift driving lesson from our hired driver. (i was doing fine until I had to switch roads and the clutch at the same time. Yikes!)