Christmas Surprise

As December was approaching I began to do some research regarding where I would spend my holidays. Sarah and I would be allowed around 17 days off work, and as most of the islands in the south were only an overnight bus trip away....I decided that I would like to find a quiet little island for some serious relaxation time. Years ago I had seen the quintessential film about Thailand, "Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio, and the scenes set in the party beaches like Puket had disgusted and horrified me so deeply that I questioned ever visiting Thailand at all. I had visited Phi Phi island last year with Rafael, and it was a seriously over-populated, over-crowded, over-developed and over-priced horrid place....sure the scenery was fantastic...but there was just too much going on there for me to enjoy it at all. We only managed to salvage a few days of enjoyment by heading over to the underdeveloped side of the island and staying in a place meant for couples with children! I certainly did not want to end up in such a crazy place again, so I started to look for something a little less developed.
After scouring the internet, I think I finally found the kind of place I was looking for: an island with only one place to stay (provided through the Forestry Department) with only one restaurant. The place seemed like it would be a bit rough, but with coral reefs right off the beach for snorkeling, and jungles with waterfalls for hiking...it seemed like the perfect kind of place for me to spend a little time by myself! Sarah was planning on going to Ko Samui, one of the more developed islands and was trying to talk me into going with her...but I know that she and I were looking for entirely different things out of our vacations, so I politely declined.
After I finally made my decision about where I wanted to go, I ended up calling my mother and started to speak to her about my upcoming plans. This conversation was a real shock for me. It was the first time that I had ever heard my mother so down about her health. I did not realize to what extent her heath had gone down hill since our vacation to Alaska a few months prior. I was gushing on about the island I had picked out, and when my mother spoke to me about the current state of her health...and having to cancel her trip to Arizona for the winter I suddenly realized that her time in this body is coming to an end.
I got off the phone and immediately called Rafael to discuss my shock at hearing her so down...and we both came to the same conclusion...I should spend my upcoming holidays with my mother...not with some tropical fish. I called my father and discussed my thoughts with him and within a half an hour we had a confirmed plan to surprise my mother for Christmas.
On my last day of work I ended up speaking to my mother on the phone. She asked me if my vacation was starting the next day...and I told her that on Monday the 22nd I would be traveling to my vacation spot. My mother made me promise to call her while I was away...and I agreed.
Monday the 22nd morning I began my journey to Ohio. after a mere 16 hours in the air my father picked me up at the airport in Detroit. On the way home my mother called him to tell him that at her Chemo session they decided that she needed to have 2 blood transfusions because her blood work was not very good. This was the first time that this had happened...not a very good sign. It turns out that she would not be home when I arrived...so I would have to wait until later to surprise her. She had planned to go to Costco to make some arrangements for my father's upcoming 70th birthday party that was to take place on the 27th of Dec. She arrived home cranky and exhausted at approximately 5pm, having spent 7 hours at the hospital. My father tried to get her to give up the idea of heading to Costco, but she would not relent. She went in the bedroom to change and freshen up and I waited in the hallway for her to come out. When she finally emerged my father tried to stop her in the kitchen and said to her "I know that you said that we wouldn't exchange gifts this Christmas, but I got you something anyway." My mother was tired and cranky and snapped "I hope not. I don't want it"....and my father had to plead with her...just turn around. Mom turned around and there I was standing in the kitchen.
I don't know...I expected my mother to be really happy to see me, be totally surprised, kind of freak out and cry a little...but she was just too exhausted for this kind of reaction. She just hugged me and simply said "I'm sorry I ruined your vacation".
We continued on to Costco and my mother, the most fit 68 year old woman I have ever seen...had to use an electric cart to get around in the store. It was, to say the least, very sad to see her in such a weak state that she couldn't even walk around the store. We did everything we needed to do, got some dinner to go and headed back home.
Upon our arrival, Mom's car was not in the garage. She kept asking my father where the car was...and as he did not seem panicked about it, I assumed he had some other surprise in store for her. He told her that his business partner, Charles, had taken the car to "put something on it", and she quieted down about it. After we finished our meal we heard the garage door go up and the laundry door open and in walked my brother Ryan, who had flown in from Arizona, with a ceremonial "what's up?". Even I didn't know that he was coming, and my mother hugged him with a touch of sadness, sensing that if we had both come to see her...that the reality of her dire circumstance had to sink in. It was a bit depressing for her I think, looking back on it. She was forced to admit that this probably was the last time that we would all be together as a family.
This has been really difficult for me to get down, so I will have to continue it later.

My classes

In the mean time I must say that I absolutely love my job. The classes I teach are totally fun, and the kids are really great! Sarah and I are 100% different, but get along very well. She often drags me out with her to go dancing....and I am trying to relax a little! I also attend a Hare Krishna meeting on Saturday evenings downtown...which has been really great for me...as it gave me a chance to meet some westerners who have the same mood as me...and I have begun some nice friendships there....!
I teach 5 different art courses. Our courses last for one month, the students attending once a week. The fourth and final class the students finish their projects for the month, and get to take them home. Last weekend was the final day for November projects. The kids get so excited when the have their projects in their hands...it's pretty funny. I always try to take pictures of them...but sometimes it's hard to get them to stand still they are so excited!
The first course I teach is called Storysmart. It involves reading a storybook for part of the class, and doing an art project that correlates to the story. Last month we read a book about a catipillar that turns into a butterfly, and made a butterfly and cocoon. This month we read a story about a little bunny rabbit who fell down an abandoned well, and we made a well with a small bunny that could fit down the well shaft.
The second course I teach is arts and crafts for 2.5-3.5 years old children. These are pretty simple projects, and some of the children attend with their parents. I have a few kids who cry when their moms leave the room, so they just sit and watch...and the kids do the work themselves. (Sarah teaches two art courses for younger kids where they do the projects with their parent/nanny...as they are not manually able to do the things by themselves.) In october we made a hand puppet in the shape of a hamburger, and this month we made a revolving picture puzzle.
The third course I teach is Arts and crafts for 3.5-5 years old. This is again an art project, but it is a little more challenging, involving the children's skills a bit more.
Last month we made landmark collages. The children painted the background, drew the landmark of their choice, and we glued on a picture of themselves, and other items to complete the picture. This month they did a storybook based on Dr. Seuss' books. It was really amazing to see the drawing ability of some of the students...they really surprised me!

The fourth course I teach is Design and

Technology which is for ages 5-7. This course involves making a project that the kids get to design themselves and execute. For October we made haunted houses. The doors opened to reveal ghoolish things. November we made "animachines" which were bugs designed to look like little machines with all kinds of wires and junk, and a simple mechanism to make the legs or wings move. This was such a super hit...that my "mock up" sample of the project encouraged a few kids to join the class because they wanted to make it! In December we will be designing and making helicopters!

The fifth class I teach is fine arts. This is for 7-12 year olds. (My oldest student is 10.) This is the most complicated and advanced art course we offer. The students learn about particular artists and then we make a project based on that artist. In October we learned about the Fauvism style, and the kids did an animal painting based on that particular style, which involved vivid unrealistic colors, bold strokes, and unusual detail. November we learned about the Austrian artist Claes Oldenberg, who makes immense sculptures of everyday objects. We focused on food, and the kids made big sculptures of their favorite foods.
The classes are a lot of fun. I think because I am teaching art, as opposed to English the kids are so enthusiastic to come...and therefore the whole experience is really enjoyable for all of us.
I want to write about some of the kids specifically, but I will do that next time!

Hello Bangkok!

Since I've been here in Bangkok for 2 months now, I suppose it's about time for me to write an entry about it!
Let's start at the beginning....
I had been looking for a job teaching english. In July I did a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign Language) certification course in Kolkata in July, and then flew to America for a visit with my family and our vacation to Alaska.
I had been trying to decide which country would be the best place for me to work in....many of the students from the TEFL course were working and living in Oman...and were trying to convince me to come there. Although the pay was ridiculously high, I felt that I really needed a break from restrictive environments. I was really fed up with that aspect of living in an Indian village, and just longed for a place where I could dress normally without anyone giving me funny looks or remarks....so an Islamic country (even such a progressive one like Oman) was certainly out of the question.
I was regularly checking the internet sites that list TEFL jobs, and had sent my CV to many places. I had many replies, and was mainly focusing on Taiwan. I had been to Taiwan previously, and ironically the place I was staying in at the time was a sort of hostel for English teachers....I spent a lot of time asking them many questions, and I suppose I always had it in the back of my mind that if I was ever really short on cash...I could always come there and work as an english teacher.
Prior to doing the TEFL course I had quite a lot of anxiety over the whole thing....I was planning to take a job as an english teacher...but really didn't know if I would be any good at it, or if I would like it...and had a bit of a fear about getting locked into a contract for a year, and find out that I absolutely hated it....The TEFL course was amazing for me on many levels...but on the most practical and obvious level was that I realized that I could teach...I in fact felt quite natural at it, and that I even liked it. My teachers said that I had the potential to become a really good teacher. (In fact they even offered me a job to come and work for their company as a teacher trainer assistant after I finished the course).
I was pretty set on teaching in Taiwan, and even had phone interviews with a few schools...when i suddenly saw an ad for a teacher for a school of arts in Bangkok Thailand. This was a school that taught arts and crafts, music, dance and drama.
The pay was much lower, but I figured (with my background) that this was perhaps the perfect job for me.
While I was in US, the manager and I spoke on the phone, and as they wanted me to start right away, I changed my return ticket from the US. This meant that I left for India right after our Alaska trip. I applied for my non-immigrant B visa (the kind of visa you need for working there) the day I arrived, and booked a ticket to Bangkok for the day after my visa was to be ready. I had a big stack of documents, all in Thai, for applying for the visa. As this was only a center that takes the applications for the visa, none of the workers there actually knew Thai...and I was unable to check if I actually had all the documents I needed....as I couldn't read any of them...and neither could any of the workers there. (Because of the large volume of Thai visas that are applied for in Delhi...they have an office that you must submit the applications to....which is not the actual embassy, so everyone there is just a bunch of office boys and girls, and no one official is even there.)
After spending a final 3 days in Vrindavan, cleaning up the house, clearing out all the foodstuffs and arranging a maid to come in twice a month, I headed back to Delhi to pick up my visa.
I discovered, much to my disappointment, that I was denied the B visa. They said that I was missing a document...which ironically was not on the list of documents that I was supposed to have!
I decided (since I already had a ticket) that I would fly anyway....as US citizens can enter Thailand for 30 days for purposes of Tourism without a visa.
Leng, the Manager, who was supposed to pick me up at the airport was not there when I arrived and I ended up waiting at least 40 minutes for her to arrive. Hmmm....bad first impression.
She took me to a simple hotel not far from the school where I spent the night. In the morning I walked to the school and spent the entire day there. (yeah, I actually started working the morning after my late night evening arrival!) I met the other teacher, a Canadian girl named Sarah. I spent a second night at the hotel, and on the 3rd day moved into my new apartment. It turns out that Sarah has the apartment directly above me...and we could take taxis to work together to cut down on the costs...so that was really nice. She showed me around where we lived...and was in general a great help and a good friend. The apartment is quite small, but new and bright...and I really like it a lot. the complex has a nice pool which we both use on our days off...remember it's warm all year round here! We are really close to a University on one side, and there is a simple vegetarian restaurant less than 5 minutes away.
I spent the next few weeks assisting Sarah, and another teacher who was part time (just Saturday and Sunday), who's classes I would be taking over. Things were really disorganized at the school, and I was starting to wonder if I made a mistake in choosing Bangkok over Taiwan. The manager was making no effort to find out what I needed to do about getting the right type of visa, so I ended up spending a large majority of my time on the internet at work researching what I needed, and where was the best place to go to get a B visa. I ended up finding out that the best place to go for a B visa was Vientienne, Laos, and ended up finding out all info about how to get there overland, and how much it would cost. Leng was trying to convince me to take a flight there, but as I was not sure if I would be reimbursed for my travel expenses...I just couldn't afford it (plus I had to pay 4 months rent up front...3 months for deposit, and one month advance...which was aprox. $1,000 USD, so I was a little tapped out at that point) After some more research I found out that you can convert a visa exemption (which is what I had) for a B visa a the Bangkok Immigration, provided you have 21 days left on your arrival visa....which I did not have.
We had a meeting with Wannee, the owner of the school franchise, and I was telling all of the information that I had found out to Fon, the HR girl who was arranging the visas and work permits for us. Fon was saying such a crazy stuff...that I was convinced that she didn't know what she was talking about. She said that you had to pay 10,000 Thai Bhat for converting the visa (it's 2,000), and that I needed the original copy (with signature and stamp) of the reference letter from my previous employer. I had a reference letter from Pacnancy Kram, the company that my husband partly owns from Poland which was sent to me by email...and it took me almost 2 months to just get the other ower, Janaki, just to sign and email back...so I don't know how long it would take me to get an original mailed to me. I was frustrated....no where (on any informational websites, or Government website) did it say that I needed such a letter....and it would be difficult for me to get...so I expressed my frustration.
I suppose looking back on it...that was very stupid of me to do. Asians rarely loose their cool...and my irritation and frustration (which by western standards was quite mild) was seen as a very bad attitude and super big blowout. I should've just agreed to whatever they said...and then just did the thing myself on Photoshop and signed it myself....who would know the difference?
A week later I find out that Wannee is 100% dead set on firing me. She said that I am uncooperative, and she doesn't want to work with me. I spoke at length with Leng, my manager...at how crazy it was that Wannee wanted to judge me entirely on a very small mistake, and instead of just telling me that she did not appreciate it, and not to do it again...just decide to fire me. At this point I had already started teaching classes...and the parents were saying to myself, as well as the receptionist at how pleased they were with my teaching, and how much the preferred me over the previous teacher. We even had a parent tell the receptionist that she had decided to take her child elsewhere for classes, but she liked me so much she decided to stay....
Leng, was so upset over the whole thing, and so deeply in disagreement with Wanee over firing me, that she decided to quit.
I wrote a long apology letter to Wannee, asking her to overlook this stupid error of mine and judge me on my teaching ability instead. For me it was sincere. I really was ready to admit that I had made a mistake...(even if Wannee totally over reacted to it). Everyone at work couldn't believe that I had done that. Most of them said that they would've told Wannee to fuck off and just left immediately (which would've totally screwed her over...they would've had to cancel tons of classes....and would've had a hard time to higher another teacher in my place)....
In the end....Wannee came to speak with me at Kid's gallery. She did not say anything about the letter, or that she accepted my apology...just basically pretended that the whole episode never happened....and encouraged me to get the papers I needed (yeah...I did forge it!) So, in the end...I stayed, and our Manager Leng left.
Before 30 days ended I spent one of my days off traveling to the Cambodian border, and then re-entered Thailand for another 30 days. The next day I made some certified statement at the US embassy that I really attended Ohio U (because they don't actually certify documents like diplomas etc) and managed to vote with an absentee ballot.
A few days later, Fon and I went to immigration to submit the application for conversion of visa...which was finally approved on Nov 7th....so I finally, officially (a month and a half after my arrival here) have a B visa. Now we are working to get me a work permit (yeah...I am basically working illegally right now)...It's crazy....I got the B visa for 3 months...then they will issue the work permit for 3 months, then you can apply to extend the visa for 1 year (after work permit is issued), then they will extend the work permit for 1 year. Crazy crazy bureaucracy!

Ketchikan, which was our first stop (on our second full day) was a really tiny little town. The famous feature of it was a row of old wooden houses perched on stilts by the side of a running stream. This was the former red light district of the town when the Gold Rush was in full force. As the day was pretty crappy, rainy and cold, my brother Ryan, and father Paul, snuck off from us and hit a local bar. Much to my brother's chagrin my father asked the bartender (a little too loudly) if they served "tourists". The bartender answered "only if you can deal with the locals"....which was a pretty heavy looking bunch...who were already seriously drinking at 10 am. The two guys had a beer and checked out the scene there...while my mother and I walked around the town. We took a tour in "Dolly's house" the house of the most famous prostitute/madam in town...not so thrilling...but what the heck, I had a couple of extra bucks in my pocket.... (Here's a photo of my Mom in Dolly's bedroom)

The third Day we landed in Juneau, the capitol of Alaska. Ryan and I had a hiking trip booked. Not realizing that Juneau is actually a rain-forest, I was not well equipped for a hike, even an easy one! I only had tennis shoes, and wore jeans. The hike was beautiful...but rather muddy and wet. Thank God they provided some rain ponchos to those in need! We hiked for a few hours. Ryan, who was a little disappointed with the hike (too easy for him) was the only member of the group who got a chance to see a Black bear. We hiked near Mendelsson Glacier and got quite a nice view of it. I suppose that was the highlight of the hike for me. I didn't realize how blue glaciers are, due to the density of the ice, and that even the lakes that are fed by glaciers are the most amazing blue green color. Mom and dad took a tour of Juneau, and had a drink in a famous little pub in the town called the Red dog.

I was surprised at how tiny Juneau is, considering it is the capitol of Alaska...but it is the only state capitol that cannot be reached by road. You either have to fly there or arrive by ship. Indeed when we took the van out to the place we hiked there was a road sign that said "Road ends 500m"....so what can you expect! Ryan and I arrived back cold and wet to the ship...and nearly squealed in ecstasy to see the crew serving hot chocolate at the entrance....we were freezing!

Our fourth day we visited a small town called Skagway. Skagway is a tiny town, with the charm of the 1800's gold rush era, and is the closest town to the Yukon valley. We poked around the town, ate in the Red Onion bar (complete with girls dressed up like old time prostitutes posing for hokey pictures)...they surprisingly had the most amazing vegetarian gourmet thin crust pizza with goat cheese...mmmmmm.....

Then we boarded a train for a trip into the Yukon. We passed by incredible scenery, and got a good look at the actual trails that the old goldrushers would take into the Yukon...on their way to either their fortune or death.

Our fifth day we went to icy straight point, near the small town of Hoonah (population aprox 700). Ice straight point is a place privately owned by the local Klingit native tribe. They have all kinds of eco tourism activities that one can take advantage of. Ryan and I went Kayaking in the bay in the early morning. We actually had a humpback whale in the bay at the time we were paddling around, and at one point he even passed underneath us! Our guide was very informative about local customs and beliefs...and there was a lively discussion about how the local natives are allowed to hunt seals, whales etc., although it is forbidden to non natives...one of the tourists kept asking about the taste of different animals...and our guide finally broke down and told him that if he really wanted to try he could go to the local famous pub "the office" and ask the owner (who happened to be his aunt) if she would serve him some seal...as most natives in Hoonah had their freezers packed with seal and other creatures. The intrested tourist guy kept trying to talk my brother and myself into going with him to try it out....but I had to let him down and tell him that I am a vegetarian...and not interested!

I had the chance to ask our guide, while we were ahead of the rest of the group about the current connection of Christianity to the tribe. He told me that at the time of his grandmother, "missionaries" were actually kidnapping children from the tribes and sending them to Christian boarding schools, his own grandmother was among the local children that this happened to. As a result, her generation was converted to Christianity, and brought up their children as Christians, and lost most of their interest in their culture...including their language. His father was brought up as a Christian, and does not speak their native tongue....but after this, the third generation started a revival of their native culture, religion and language...and as a result the local school now teaches their native language, which had been fazed out by the Christians.

Later Ryan and I took a bike trip around Hoonah, which was led by a really nutty kid who joined the national guard and kept talking about guns and wrestling.....all in all a charming boy.

Mom and Dad went on a whale watching trip and said that they got a chance to see many whales and orcas, and that it was a great experience.

Our Sixth day was spent sailing to the huge hubbard glacier. I went up on the top deck of the ship (with a million other people) to get a good view of the Glacier. Whenever I see such mammoth features of nature, I find it quite humbling. We think that we are so important...but here is something that has existed millions of years before we were born, and will continue to exist long after we go. It makes one feel very small and unimportant in the ultimate scheme of things!

The next day we disembarked from the ship to join our land tour. Ryan and I couldn't believe how old the entire group was....we felt like we had joined a geriatric tour! Thank God our guide was a really young guy named Vinny, whom we could relate to...a nature lover...hiker and mountain climber.

Our first day we visited a bird and fish aquarium, and then an animal reserve. We then took our bus to Alyeska. We stayed at the only 5 star hotel in Alaska, the Alyeska lodge. This is mainly a ski resort in the winter...and checking out the trails...I'd have to say that it is only for very advanced skiers....because the average trail was a DOUBLE black diamond...

The hotel was at the bottom of the Alyeska mountain, and from the resort ran a cable car to the top of the mountain. We took the trip up that evening, and Ryan and I decided that we would hike up the mountain the following morning. We started at 7am....and Ryan quickly moved out of my sight. I had my Govardhan Sila in the pocket of my sweatshirt...and took him out every now and then for him to see the beautiful scenery...and to pick him some berries and flowers. The trail was quite muddy, as it had rained the previous day, and the higher I went up, the steeper the trail got. I kept thinking that I would probably wait until the cable car started running instead of going back down...because it was steep and muddy...which would be quite dangerous!

At one point, not too far from the top, the mountain side got so steep it seemed vertical...and the trail disappeared! I kept thinking that I have to make it to the top...so I can ride the car back down...so I just kept going...but it was really difficult...first of all...I think I have a little fear of heights...(I can climb up with out difficulty...but if I had to turn around and go down...I would've had a heart attack...I'm not good with steep descents). It basically turned into mountain climbing...except there weren't any rocks to cling onto...just steep mountainside, grass and an occasional plant to grab onto. I was on my hands and knees trying to pull myself up...looking for some plants to grab onto...and I did start sliding down at one point...and really had to make an serious mental effort not to freak out! When I came up over the ridge of this steep section, the top of the mountain was in view, with a wooden observation deck. Ryan was standing on the deck and started cheering me on...which was (needless to say) very encouraging!

When I reached the top he told me that he was really impressed with how I handled it considering that it was really the first mountain that I have ever hiked....(and it was really tough...even he thought the steep part was very difficult!) and I made it up faster than he anticipated (1h 20 min)...but he made it up in 50 min.

The following day we traveled to Ankorage. Pretty uneventful town, but we managed to eat dinner at a bar that had over 50 different beers on tap...so Ryan was pretty happy about that. The two of us stayed at the restaurant and checked out a blues band that was playing while Mom and Dad returned to the hotel. We stayed for the first half of their set...and they were great. The following day we visited a native alaskan center, where we learned about all of the different Native Alaskan tribes and their cultures. (Here's a picture of me in the jawbones of a whale from the cultural center.)

The next day we took continued on to Talkeetna. This is the town that the show "Northern Exposure" was based on. The town was really tiny and cute, and we visited the bar that the main pub in the show is based on. We stayed at a beautiful resort, and could see Denali Mountain, which was amazingly in sight, out the back.

We then headed for a scenic train trip to Denali. The train was absolutely amazing. The seating was on the second level with a glass ceiling, and a fancy restaurant on the lower level. Denali mountain (Mt. Mckinley) was out, which was quite amazing considering since it is only in view about 30% of the year...and we managed to get good views of it three days in a row.

I had been so excited about visiting Denali national park, and I have to admit, it was the biggest disappointment of the trip. Instead of going deep into the reserve, and getting the chance to see some of the wildlife, we ended up on a hokey bus tour...but I did manage to see a squirrel....and some caribou a million miles away...that looked like dots even with super powered binoculars.

Ryan and I went white water rafting in the evening (it stays light untill well after 9pm at that time of the year)...and that for sure was a major highlight of the trip for the both of us...it was the first time we had both gone...and we both really enjoyed it. It was some of the only time that I really saw Ryan smiling and seriously enjoying himself.

We then continued our second part of the train journey to Fairbanks. In Fairbanks we visited a working goldmine. It was actually quite interesting little tour. They showed us how they pan for gold, and then later we all got to try. I managed to pan about $21 worth of gold...so not bad for a place you have to pay $35 to get into!

We also visited the Alaskan pipeline....and had a trip on a steamboat, which included a visit to a place set up like a traditional Native alaskan village....

The following morning we flew out from Fairbanks to Detroit to return home.

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Such a beautiful country! I'd like to go back one day...but I'd for sure do it with some people under 80 years of age for more enjoyment!

Alaska Trip part one

Well I am safely in Bangkok....but I will start my real first post here with my recent trip to America.First of all I should say that my mother's health has not been good. She suffered from Ovarian cancer while I was in College in the early 90's and at that time had a hysterectomy along with the removal of her ovaries as well as some radiation treatment.Several years ago (3?) while on a vacation with my father she discovered a lump, I believe on her neck. When she returned from the vacation she was checked by her doctor and the conclusion was that her cancer had come back...around 15 years later.She went through a really heavy Chemotherapy sessions and lost her hair. I happened to visit at the time, and was really proud of how she (such a fashionable and hip woman) dealt with that.About a month after her chemo sessions ended it turned out that the cancer returned, and for the last several years she has been trying one drug after another to no avail. She has gone through several clinical trials. During a particular one she had to be rushed to the hospital and stay for several days as the drug had practically shut down her kidneys.



When I arrived home August 7th, my mother had just begun another clinical trial at the Karmanos cancer research center in Detroit. This meant that she would have to go up 3 times a week, and the drive was an hour and twenty minutes each way.I was quite happy to drive her to keep her from tiring herself out by so much driving, but it was a bit intense for me having just come from India...I drove her up the next morning after my arrival, and had a really difficult time to adjust to the time difference and catch up on sleep!It turns out that this clinical trial was not helpful either, and she ended up with more side effects than anything else...she developed massive swelling in her legs and feet, as well as neuropathy...a sort of numbness/pins and needles in her feet and hands. She was feeling tired all the time, and couldn't stand for long periods...or do her favorite thing...shop for long periods.Just before this she also had several sessions of radiation treatments as the cancer was appearing on her skin in the form of a blotchy rash, mainly on her chest and back.Well, in light of her physical condition, my mother had a desire to take one last "family" vacation. She mentioned it last year when I was visiting that she would like to go on a vacation with my brother and myself and my father. For some time she was set on going to Africa, for a Safari. It didn't really work out with me being in India (I couldn't just meet them in Africa...I'd have to fly from India to America, and then to Africa..which was really stupid), plus she decided that that trip and climate might be too difficult for her physically, so she changed her mind and decided on Alaska. The plan finalized into one week on a cruise ship, one week on a land tour.


We flew to Vancouver, Canada and were met by the cruise company and taken to the ship. My brother Ryan, who was flying in from Arizona, would meet us later that day on the ship.We had adjoining rooms that were very nice with beautiful balconies. Because we were on the concierge floor, we had chilled bottles of champagne (of course that didn't interest me....) and fresh fruit and flowers provided daily. I shared the room with my mother, who was very tolerant of me (with my puja rituals etc. every morning). I had a little cabinet next to the balcony that I kept my Giridhari in, and ever day he ate lots of fruit and other goodies that I brought with me. Ryan and my Father shared the next door room.The ship launched later that afternoon, and would sail all night and the following day. the day after we would reach our first destination, Ketchikan.


The dining in the evening is reserved tables. There is a set menu you order from, and they had vegetarian choices of every course of the meal.Our companions at the table were a couple from Florida, Robert and Nancy, and a mother and daughter from North Dakota, Hillary and Barabara. Because the dining room is a little nicer, there is a dress code, and two formal nights as well. I was a bit relieved to find our waiter was an Indian guy named Sukender Singh. He was really helpful in making sure that all of the vegetarian items were ok for me to eat (as they sometimes included eggs)...in fact they made many things especially for me when the regular items were not appropriate. One night they screwed up (the pasta was with eggs) so I ended up eating Indian Vegetarian food at Sukender's suggestion (there were many Indians on the trip...and I guess they couldn't be with out Indian food for a week...so they cooked indian stuff for them...which was really sad in my opinion...because the food was really excellent...and it really limits your experience if you just eat what you normally do...ie. Indian food.) Sukender was really excited to find out that I lived in India...and he was from Gurgaon, which is a suburb of New Delhi, so we lived only a few hours from each other.The crew on the ship was really international. Everywhere you looked there was someone from a different country. Their name tags also indicated what country they were from. I think I heard that they had people from 50 different countries. Our assistant waiter was from Bali, and he was so cute...smiling all the time. He also did some really bad tricks for us one evening after the meal when everyone had finished their deserts...Our cabin assistant (the guy in charge of cleaning and room service) was from Goa, and his assistant was also from India. He was really happy to find out that I spoke a little Hindi, and would always greet me every day in Hindi and ask me how I was doing, really enjoying my answers!

changes in the air....

Testing one two...testing....

Yeah...some changes are happening right now.

Moving from Vrindavan to Bangkok. I got a job teaching little Thai kiddies drama and music.

I'll be heading there on Sep 15th or so!

I'll keep you posted!