joggling and other funlike things...

http://thejoggler.blogspot.com/ this is funny, guy holds a world record for juggling while running. coordination. I would like to see his other skills!

That is just the way of one of my many methods of distraction and not to think about those things which are difficult. Change is difficult for me. I have had so much of it in my life, you would think i would do it with ease, yet it remains a challenge. The current changes i have or I am planning to experience are: job - relationships - home - country

Thinking about changing my job is difficult, i love the kids I work with and there is so much more I want to do with the school health program and grow it or at least get it to a point I had visioned. Now I want to get it to a point to carry on at least, in some capacity.

I have been so busy in the past month, lack of posts excuse, with 2 new volunteers. Coming just at the end of my time on the job. My last day is December 1st, these volunteers will be here until the end of november, now one said she may stay until Feb.! One is from Australia working in counseling and the other is in health promotion and taking on a clean water project at the school from the US.

I am recruiting another volunteer, also from the US and she would be here for a full year. Hope to get her to carry on some of this work over the next year she is here. Will be interesting to see what works out!

Relationships - boyfriend and I decided to call it quits, have met new people and sadly will miss so many of the wonderful people I befriended in the crazy city of bombay. Sure it is a transient city overall, but I have made a great group of core friends who are rather like minded, in the work we do, love of travel and adventure and fun having abilities. I mean I would never have made best friends with a texas long horn if it was not for coming together in India! that is unheard of! and now we live together ; )

Similar situation in portland, so hard to leave the friends behind. Facebook and the net helps keep in touch, but not the same - annual visits. So makes me sad to think about, I am avoiding thinking about honestly.

Home - moved homes here in bombay in the past month and 1/2, thankfully a couple of friends had a spare bedroom and have taken me in - as i remember some great friends did for me in portland just before I was leaving for my international adventures! I am blessed with my friends.
Then to think about a new home, not even sure what city I will go to? looking for jobs, would love to go where my friends are, thinking about schools....lots to consider. Then my kitties would accompany me...so a new home for them and to re unite with mesa, if brother matt will allow that?! may be a dognapping in Oklahoma in feb 2009!

Country - I love India! with all the frustrations, heat, pollution, annoying honking, staring, corruption, dis organization....I love the food, languages, festivals, creative driving techniques, street vendors, colors, clothes, diversity, excitement, spirituality at every corner, friendliness....hard to think about not living here anymore. ok, getting tears in my eyes. really.

so future plans would include a return for work or school related projects I suspect!

Had a funny train ride last week, I ride a train a couple of hours to the village school - me and one of the volunteers were minding our own business and we are approached by an indian man. Ok, normal, they are excited to talk to foriegners. happens all the time, i try to just ignore. It did feel rude at one time, but that is the only way to deal. And 2 white girls on the train, general compartment too, i wanted to avoid any long term contact.

no luck, but this was a completely different experience. this guy actually wanted to talk politics. apparently he recognized i had an american accent. He approached me and asked if i was american, said he had a message to give me. To his dissapoint I either agreed or was at least aware of the viewpoints on the current administartion or even functioning of the US goverment. I think he wanted a debate, then left it at I needed to share the message with other in the US.

Not just the partisan politics of the current election, but real issues of government functioning. I was surprised actually to hear these leftist talking points from this guy, i was in second class train compartment this guy was going to gujarat. he mentioned a website on 'secret world leaders' and we talked about the use of fear in controlling people being a common practice among our democracies - US and India.

But then i told him i felt like he was using fear to persuade me as well, fear of the current system. And his body language was aggressive. He wanted my number, NO way. way to many random phone calls, i avoid that now. even if harmless, just annoying. So i asked for his card, which was strange, he did not have his first name only initials and was a shared card with his brother - after putting down pharma companies and their human trials, he proceeded to tell me i should take 10 vitamin C tablets, and promoted them over an orange.

So his arguements were confusing, did not always support each other. but it was a unique india experience for me, I usually have a few a week! some good some bad. Last week i also had a car i was driving and parked overnight on the road broken into, the stereo was taken. Guess that is why most buildings have security gaurds. I always feel safe here, using common sense and caution of course.

So that was a new experience, Indian police, fixing the window. Which I thought was really cheap, 1200 rupees or 25 dollars, but a friend's driver found a better price. after the fact! why do people do that. "you paid how much?" then call to find out the best price they could get, did not make me feel any better. I felt horrible, in the end the 1/2 day spent at the police station, on the road waiting for the single investigation unit to look into a burglarly from the night before, then take the office to the site of my car break in, turns out insurance was not going to cover the stereo and window so cheap better to pay out of pocket.

funny though, after the cop looked at the window break, drew a diagram of street and locaton of car for his report I drove him back to the station. We ran a red light!! I think the cop was stunned to being driven by a blonde, he did not realize. The other vehicles were running the light, I stopped since I had a cop in my backseat. I asked him 'lal, lal?" (red, red) for the signal, but he was in a daze. So i went. The language could have been a barrier too.

Even the bad experiences I get to laugh at - I will miss the good and bad of india!