"Every night I have to read a book, so that my mind will stop thinking about the thing that I am stressing about" - Britney Spears b.1981 Louisana, United States.
I have just completed Ulysees for the fourth time, and Karen has finished the complete works of William Shakespeare. Britney knows a thing or two about mental illness so we took her advice and read ourselves out of our our state of near panic.
Stress levels are rather high at present as the packers have been in and the apartment looks like a cardboard box factory. Plans to visit Australia mean that our wordly goods will be in 4 different parts of the world during June, and fears of container ship sinkings off the coast of Oman mean that we have had to say goodbye to each and every piece of furniture as though it were a member of the family.
Life in Mumbai draws to a close for all of us Dumbrells - I will miss many, many things about the country, the city and the people we have met. I'll miss the incredible energy, desire and ambition of the people I have worked with, and the staggering confidence of the country to resolve the massive issues it faces. I will not miss the lack of oxygen, the constant dampness in all of one's bodily crevices, and the smell of the fish market that drifts across Mumbai on a daily basis.
I've written about the problems that Mumbai faces. Here is one way that India is tackling things.. ...... Bandra-Worli Sealink aimed at fixing the Mumbai traffic problem. I suspect it will be a jam packed car park from the day it opens but it does look impressive.
During May, we have had delightful visits from the Fieldsend clan and Mr Blarney himself, Davey Dunn. Dave tootled up to Kathmandu and took a microlite flight around the Himalayas,whilst the Fieldsend folks stopped in Mumbai to sample the delights of the T20 IPL. We managed to 'facilitate' some tickets for the Aussie fatboy's team versus Delhi Daredevils - fantastic atmosphere in the ground - a full house of screaming, dancing
cricket nuts - Alex mentioned that it represented a stark contrast to the Lord's crowd that he had been part of a couple of weeks before - master of understatement, our Alex.
I finish work in Mumbai today and Conor finishes school tomorrow. Karen finishes a massage and reflexology spa treatment at about 2 o'clock. We all have that end of school year feeling - looking forward to the holidays but with a sense of loss. We are all looking forward to a kangaroo burger, staring at the Opera House, and saying 'Cobber' a lot for the next couple of weeks, but we are also very sad at leaving some good friends, a great lifestyle, and many good memories. Indian plumbing, Indian electrics, Indian holes in Indian roads aside, we have mightily enjoyed the experience.
The Local Education Authority at home (West Sussex - if anyone feels like writing a snotty letter) will not allocate a school place for Conor until we are physically back in the country -silly arses! So Conor may get a 10-week summer holiday again after all. My new 'Big School' is somewhere in Canary Wharf on the 13th floor (!!!) - my boss has promised me an extravagant potted plant to give it the tropical and homely feel of Southern India - we will have to switch off the air conditioning to get the full dripping Mumbai experience.
Enough babbling. I will post some shots of Sydney at the end of June to get all your creative juices flowing for next year's summer holiday, and perhaps spark some interest in you when you next hear of an ex-pat assignment at work.
Dumbers
I have just completed Ulysees for the fourth time, and Karen has finished the complete works of William Shakespeare. Britney knows a thing or two about mental illness so we took her advice and read ourselves out of our our state of near panic.
Stress levels are rather high at present as the packers have been in and the apartment looks like a cardboard box factory. Plans to visit Australia mean that our wordly goods will be in 4 different parts of the world during June, and fears of container ship sinkings off the coast of Oman mean that we have had to say goodbye to each and every piece of furniture as though it were a member of the family.
Life in Mumbai draws to a close for all of us Dumbrells - I will miss many, many things about the country, the city and the people we have met. I'll miss the incredible energy, desire and ambition of the people I have worked with, and the staggering confidence of the country to resolve the massive issues it faces. I will not miss the lack of oxygen, the constant dampness in all of one's bodily crevices, and the smell of the fish market that drifts across Mumbai on a daily basis.
I've written about the problems that Mumbai faces. Here is one way that India is tackling things.. ...... Bandra-Worli Sealink aimed at fixing the Mumbai traffic problem. I suspect it will be a jam packed car park from the day it opens but it does look impressive.
During May, we have had delightful visits from the Fieldsend clan and Mr Blarney himself, Davey Dunn. Dave tootled up to Kathmandu and took a microlite flight around the Himalayas,whilst the Fieldsend folks stopped in Mumbai to sample the delights of the T20 IPL. We managed to 'facilitate' some tickets for the Aussie fatboy's team versus Delhi Daredevils - fantastic atmosphere in the ground - a full house of screaming, dancing
cricket nuts - Alex mentioned that it represented a stark contrast to the Lord's crowd that he had been part of a couple of weeks before - master of understatement, our Alex.I finish work in Mumbai today and Conor finishes school tomorrow. Karen finishes a massage and reflexology spa treatment at about 2 o'clock. We all have that end of school year feeling - looking forward to the holidays but with a sense of loss. We are all looking forward to a kangaroo burger, staring at the Opera House, and saying 'Cobber' a lot for the next couple of weeks, but we are also very sad at leaving some good friends, a great lifestyle, and many good memories. Indian plumbing, Indian electrics, Indian holes in Indian roads aside, we have mightily enjoyed the experience.
The Local Education Authority at home (West Sussex - if anyone feels like writing a snotty letter) will not allocate a school place for Conor until we are physically back in the country -silly arses! So Conor may get a 10-week summer holiday again after all. My new 'Big School' is somewhere in Canary Wharf on the 13th floor (!!!) - my boss has promised me an extravagant potted plant to give it the tropical and homely feel of Southern India - we will have to switch off the air conditioning to get the full dripping Mumbai experience.
Enough babbling. I will post some shots of Sydney at the end of June to get all your creative juices flowing for next year's summer holiday, and perhaps spark some interest in you when you next hear of an ex-pat assignment at work.
Dumbers
PS. My money is on the Czech Republic
