and life goes on.

my apologies for skipping out on parts 2 and 3 of thailand. things got busy, as things often do, and the stories will have to be told in person. the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. january was filled with musical rehearsal. 20 of my colleagues and i spent the last 4 or so months rehearsing for "once on this island." it was the first time i actually had a role in a production that wasn't very backseat. my character was ti moune...it was magical. we performed in the "theater under the stars" aka 'outside' to a combined 2 night crowd of about 300 people! we raised almost $1000 for a local charity. it was such a great experience, so fun to be a part of something. it gave all of us the opportunity to get to know each other better in a place that is seemingly small, but realistically HUGE.

the day after the musical finished thinh and i went to bombay (mumbai) to see our friends tom and isabelle and their new baby margeaux. i think it was lunch on saturday when i realized what a trip my life has become. i was eating lunch with friends that i made in new delhi on my 3 day holiday in bombay. i love that once i leave here there will people i know (and love) all over the world. amazing how the world has become that much smaller in 1.5 years.
we loved mumbai. it was so much more liveable. but, then again, might we have felt the same about mumbai if we started there instead of delhi? we visited many of the spots that were bombed in november's attacks, bombay is suffering. the people are resilient and are joining together to hold their government accountable for the mistakes they've made. leopold's, below, opened the day after the bombings. it was SO full of life when we went, it embraced all walks of life and had a very special vibe. it was one of the highlights for me. lately so much has been going through my head. i've struggled to put thoughts into words, and sometimes i've avoided the thoughts by using other words. missing christmas at home seems to have made the year seem longer. i didn't get my wfb fix nor did i see my niece and nephew gaga over the excitement of it all. the little things that i've previously held onto seem much more important now, in retrospect. hard to balance the bliss of thailand with the loss of home.

time for bed, and shantaram. becky 630, the book 270. i'm getting there:)

i love thailand part one: chiang mai

there is nothing much more fascinating than arriving at the airport the night winter vacation begins. guaranteed to see fewer than 150 people that you work with or teach. we arrived in bangkok early morning just to board another plane up to chiang mai. we decided to leave bangkok for the end because of all of the fabulous shopping opportunities.
chiang mai was incredible. because of it's location on trade routes, they figured out tourism early on. It's one of the easiest places I've ever travelled, it was a great introduction to thai culture. chiang mai has "walking streets" on saturday and sunday nights in addition to a night bazaar every other night. the shopping possibilities are endless, as are the culinary options. we met up with gene and kendra one night and ate bugs. all sorts of em. we chased them down by sangsom, thai whiskey, which on that ocassion, and a few other throughout the trip, knocked me off my booty. it was so dangerous that eventually we had to declare "no sangsom nights." chiang mai was the adventure sport part of our vacation. we did a one day trek with elephants, rafting and "trekking." the following day we did the "flight of the gibbons," ziplining through the jungle. no gibbons sitings, unfortunately. you might have seen it on Amazing Race....super cool:) 11 lines, 2 bridges. it was def. one of the highlights.
post bug night we had a late start. ended up renting a motor bike and heading up the mountain to check out some wats, palaces a beautiful sites. we ended up visiting a coffee plantation in a hmoung village. it was actually about 3km from there when the tire went flat on our motorbike. and.......since it wasn't a vespa, we were in a pickle. long story short the first car to pass us was a pickup with just enough room in the back for our scooter and us. we were so grateful for the 36km trip back to chiang mai. killer story.
the next day we explored some more, and then jetted off to koh samui to start the beach part of the vacation.
check out pics...http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeccagalvan/Thailand200802?feat=directlink

natural gas.

in delhi, there is always something exciting hiding around the next bend. just so happens that we are in the midst of a natural gas strike. i just talked to laura and we admitted to knowing nothing about how the products in our house run, and what the real impacts for us, the off campus dwellers, will be. school has undergone a series of changes to prolong the efficiency of the gas we do have as well as our generators that run on diesel. at time of print school has enough energy of some sort for about 4-5 more days. this being said, it could get ugly in delhi, lack of food, heat, cooking gas, etc. although the government has declared this strike illegal as it is an essential service, the strike goes on.