Hilltop Tower Kodaikanal

... so I try to focus on the stunning landscapes before me. Surprise waterfalls scattered randomly, sometimes even going under the road. This area is indeed beautiful and I look forward to the end of this long and arduous trip. But as expected, the 5 ½ hours turn into 7 hour drive, and by the time I arrive in Munnar, it is dark and I am tired, hungry, and generally broken. Turns out this tiny town is fully booked, and finding lodging proves difficult. But at the end I succeed ...

... this is a bit boring, sorry) that we go to an asian restaurant called Tibet and have THE BEST ****** CHINESE I’VE HAD IN MY LIFE. I nearly cry with joy and kiss the lady, its that good. Chef seems extremely pleased with my genuine worship of her wok ability. Crispy chilli vegetables. My god. I promise her we’ll be back.
Back at the barn we pay a guy for some firewood (which was 100rupees but his fire making skills were open for ...

... the heat of Cochin. It gave us the chance to do a couple of treks, the first a two hour walk through the local forest and plantations. The second was on Liz’s birthday and comprised of a six hour hike up to the top of one of Kerala’s highest peaks. It was steep from the moment we set off through tall elephant grass and unfortunately Ady had got bad sinuses and so our guide arranged for him to go back to the lodge – by motorbike. This was probably one of ...

... private Busgesellschafft nehmen, weil dies** Ort hi** ein bisschen vom Schuss abliegt (deswegen war das Ticket auch exorbitant teu**). Auss**dem haben wir mal wied** v**sucht, ein Zugticket zu buchen, dass uns dann spaet** weite Richtung Norden nach Goa bringt. Wir mussten dann mal wied** feststellen, dass es uns wohl nicht v**goennt ist ein Zugticket in Indien zu buchen. D** gute Mann vom Railway-Booking Office sagte uns, dass man **st 5 Tage vor ...

... I believe it should. The nicest elderly gentleman I asked for direction personally escorted me to Cauker's Walk, which is about a ten minute walk on the edge of a mountain overlooking the mountains and valleys below... in theory. In practice, which I found today when I visited this walk for a second time, you just kind of enjoy hanging out in the fog with about twenty feet of visibility, looking out at a vast shade of whitish-grey. Fortunately, this was not ...

... schools of fish in the sea. Julia too enjoyed the sea but with more caution than she usually displays, and Till took immediately to the water and really enjoyed it! Now we are looking forward to a few more days of vacation and family time before the next semester starts. We hope that you too have found some time for rest, reflection and family over this season. One more time: Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! May God bless you all, Till, Julia, Myra, Ulrike & Lars Dedekind

... likely last furlough took place. Although work at KIS continued, spring was already strongly overshadowed by the time in Germany to come. A lot was to be thought through and organized long before we left for our leave and in many ways the above described tension between what is and what will be has accompanied us throughout this year. In the "Here and Now" I was in particular engaged with and challenged by the new responsibilities the position of Acting Chaplain held. The more so, as ...

... the taxi driver. In conclusion, we wouldn't have minded the mice and the mold had we not paid $70 US per night, and had known ahead of time what to expect. Regardless, the staff was out of line with their lack of help and at times hindrance. On a positive note, Erin and I rang in the New Years (US time) at a lovely riverside cafe while eating ice cream floats! It all ends well.

... mussten. - Na und dann kommt das Spielchen: kommen sie an od** kommen sie nicht an. Wir hatten Glück im Pech. Die Pakete sind recht schnell angekommen, sogar die Heizung mit etwas V**spätung, was sehr **staunlich war, dafür waren sie stark demoli**t auch d** Inhalt und es wurde natürlich einiges h**ausgeklaut. Alleine das auspacken, säub**n und repari**en hat fast zwei volle Tage in Anspruch genommen. Dennoch bin ich froh das vieles hi** ist, vor allem die Kind**sachen und ...

... haben. Ja, es ist kaum zu glauben, wie schnell dieses Jahr vorüb**gegangen ist. Schon wied** näh**t sich ein Semest** dem Ende und die Weihnachtsf**ien stehen vor d** Tür. Es ist also all**höchste Zeit, ein wenig Rückblick auf das v**gangene Jahr zu halten, und Euch an uns**en Erlebnissen teilhaben zu lassen. Fangen wir also mit den letzten Weihnachtsf**ien an. Dezemb** 1999: Barbara, meine Schwest**, und ihr (damals noch "nur" Freund mittl**weile ab**) Ehemann Tobias sind bei uns zu ...