Mussoorie - June 13-27

Following INVEST we traveled up the hillside to Mussoorie where we stayed at the Ivy Bank guest house. There were so many experiences packed into a short two weeks. Our intent was to rest and recuperate from the first year in India and reflect on what's ahead in the next year.

Both were accomplished - perhaps not in the ways we'd anticipated, but nevertheless we certainly do feel refreshed and have some great insights about the next year.

A highlight in our time was re-connecting with a family we met two summers ago. This was the same family Janis had taught the mother and two daughters about sumi-e painting. We spent several evenings together and had many other interactions during our two weeks. We even got to meet the wife's parents who visited unexpectedly from Saharanpur. All seven of them came to the guest house to have a final meal together on our last evening in Mussoorie - what a delight and privilege!

We're exploring the possibilities of a 2-week home stay exchange - we return to Mussoorie to gain experience speaking Hindi and learning daily Indian life, and they come to Delhi to gain experience speaking English and exploring many of the Mughlai sites.