The Little Things

Today we thought we'd share some pictures of the little things that make life different for us so far in India. These are not major changes that we've had to make, they are just things that we have to get used to. The first is something that we haven't really had to use yet. I'm fairly certain that none of the buildings on campus have central heating. Much of Mussoorie was originally established as a summer getaway for the wealthy British elite. The hill gets pretty cold in the winter time so our house, built in the 1840s, needs some form of heating. Our living room has a big wood stove in it, and we'll probably need to get a propane heater for our bedroom.

The second item is one that we do need to use every day. The water in India is not the safest to drink in the world. When we're away from our home here, we always need to drink bottled water. Thankfully, we've got a water purifier installed by our kitchen sink. We use this water to drink, clean our food, and brush our teeth. It's kind of a pain to have to wait for the water to work its way through the purifier, but it beats getting amoebic dysentery.

Next is a look at the way electricity works here. The electricity supply at Woodstock is exceptionally good for India and particularly Mussoorie. At least a couple times a day, the power goes out. It takes about ten seconds for the school's generators to kick in until the power goes back on. The switches below are in our kitchen. One interesting fact is that the light switch on the bottom, and the one second from the left are on. This has taken some getting used to because we are used to the American way where up is on and down is off.

Below is a picture of one of our big new investments. This is especially important for someone that likes to bake as much as Beth and for someone that likes to eat as many baked goods as Dave. We ordered this electric oven at the electronics store in town and they carried it up for us. Thankfully, our 9x13 pan that we bought in Dehradun juuust fits.

The last picture is something that hasn't taken much getting used to. Although the monsoon mists cover the surrounding valley much of the time, we do get glimpses of things every so often. We're told that the monsoons start to burn off in mid-September and by October we have beautiful views all the time. The view below is from Beth's classroom window. Dave's classroom is across the hall and has breathtaking views of...nothing but the side of the hill.

We are definitely looking forward to October and the stunning views that we're told we'll have. We will also be sure to post plenty of pictures once we get them. In the meantime, you'll have to be content with photographs of light switches.

Dave and Beth