Things are starting to come together!

My leave of absense was approved so I guess I'll be coming home to a paycheck . So to all of you people expecting a Christmas gift, you just might get one (albeit likely a bit late but...) Additionally my landlord has agreed to lower my rent so i don't have to worry about the possibility of subletting to a slimy leech or packing all of my worldly possessions (not that i have many) away! Bonus! they've also agreed to allow me to leave my car in the drive and even to water my plants! a couple less worries for sure! this thing is becoming more and more of a reality by the minute! i'll feel much better when i have my passport with visa back in hand and this darn tefl done! i'm supposed to be having fun with it but i must confess, i am not! I received a message from my in-country coordinator who sounds very nice and has informed me that I will be living on Glenburn tea estate about an hr from darjeeling with a family with two school-aged children and a roommate who I have yet to find anything out about but hope to "chat" with her soon! O.k. off to do some work!! Just a few short weeks to go!!

holy moly i'm going to india!

less than a month to go before i leave the bean for my 3 months adventure in india! i'm not quite sure how i'm going to accomplish everything i need to get done before i go and am somewhat panic-stricken but.... guess there are always pre-trip jitters and it's all part of the experience. anyway, the tentative plan starts with a definite 3 week volunteer project located on a tea estate about an hour from darjeeling followed by a group trek in sikkim which i hope to organize on a weekend during my volunteer project and then from there travel from kalcutta to varanasi to delhi and "the golden triangle" or some variation of it volunteering as I can in different areas along the way. also hoping to get to nepal and/or tibet but not sure where i'm going to fit it in. right now i need to focus on getting thru my tefl course which i'm having trouble finding the time for. yikes!! so, on that note, back to tefl...