'Bittersweet visit' ...our version of events!

Some thoughts from home on 'An English woman abroad!'

It was great to:-

• see Katie once again after 7 months;
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• observe how Katie had grown in confidence as a result of her experiences;
• be chaperoned by our tour-guide (clearly she has picked up useful tips from her Dad in haggling, map reading and finding hotels and restaurants ... or should that read never forget your 'Lonely Planet!'
• meet the locals who have been so kind, welcoming and supportive of our daughter;
• feel re-assured that she and Jess had become a very good team and were in a safe place, that is so much calmer than the cities of Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and even, Ongole;
• be used as a teaching aid! It seemed that every class had to ask us difficult questions orchestrated by 'Katie Madam;'
• be welcomed by the local community and to feel part of Katie's world for a few days;
• witness the enthusiasm and passion for dance and music as the school prepared for its Founders' Day Celebrations;
• confirm that the school is really next to a farm, local temple and in a peaceful, rural setting.

And what more did we learn about Sri Chaitanya High School, Tangutur ...

A bittersweet visit

After two sleepless nights, I opened a hotel room door in Hyderabad early in the morning to find my dad drinking coffee, and my mom and Josh collapsed on the bed - no changes there! After an emotional hello and catch up, which is making me tear up just thinking about it, we set out to explore the city...

Was able to introduce them to my Indian family too. We shared a lovely meal cooked by Sugathi, but it was slightly strange to have two moms and dads in the room at once!

Next we headed off on an overnight train to Tangutur, for an extremely packed two days. Even on Sunday, all of the children were at school practicing dance for our annual function on Wednesday, so my family had a lot to take in. Josh seemed to be a hit, especially with the tenth class boys who tried to teach him some moves and we even found that his name means 'vigor' in Telugu! Here are a few photos of their trip, but you'll have to wait for them to return from their holiday for the best photos, which are on mom's camera.

So glad that they were able to meet and spend time with all of my friends, colleges and students and experience a little bit of my life. Don't really feel like this blog post properly portrays how good it was too see my family for four days, after seven months without them. At the same time, four days is such a brief amount of time., and it was hard to focus on the time we had, when I knew that I would be saying goodbye so soon. I still can't help but well up when I think about our tearful goodbye as their train departed from the station, and I'm conscious of the fact that Indian girls don't cry. Maybe I can write something a little bit more substantial and properly thank my parents when the topic is a little bit less raw. But for now, Jess and the excitable children (who seem just as sad to see Josh go as I was) are keeping me going. Holiday today and our annual function tomorrow - so excited! Look forward  to some photos from mom and maybe a small post from her about what she thought of it all.

PS. Thank you to everyone who gave my mom pens, pencils, stickers, rubbers and other stationary for my students. They are going to love them!