A visit to the American Embassy School..

Yesterday I visited the American embassy School in Delhi - AES. I got an invitation to come and meet the Athletic Director at school to talk about swimming and coaching.

 It was such a nice visit....I met  with the Athletic  Director Brent and I got to meet the Head Coach and also two of the other swim coaches. Saw some of the campus, which is BIG, and of course I saw the pools.

 I actually helped out for an hour so that I got to see some of  the swimmers in action and get a feel of what it's all about at school. Met some really nice swimmers who of course wondered what I was doing there.

It was fun to help out with the coaching so I'm keeping my fingers crossed ....maybe I'm back at AES already next week...

I just have to tell you what happened before I even got in at school....

Just to get into the campus involves a lot of security ( especially this being the embassy school ). So when Im at the security gate I remembered that I needed a  photo identity to leave at the gate.....hmmm..didn't bring my passport and my drivers license is in another bag.....what will I do....then I remembered that my credit card here has my picture on it....so I ended up leaving my credit card at the gate, and that was a first I tell you....

the pictures you see are from schools website and from unknowns...I didn't dare to bring my camera the first day visiting because I don't know the rules about taking pictures on campus.

A better and more fun way of transport

This morning while sitting in the car home from the pool I thought it would be more fun to get to and from the pool with this way of transport,

don't you think ? and also better for the environment..no diesel fumes....

in the most intense traffic I think it would actually go faster even...

I haven't asked my driver if he can " drive " one of these though .....

what do you think ? camel or elephant ?

Bumbershoot ! ?

Does anyone out there know what a bumbershoot is ? I guess you've figured it out by looking at the pictures .....umbrella, parapluie (french ), rain shade, brolly, umbrolly, paraply (swedish )...the bumbershoot is american slang !...I don't know how you say it Hindi though...I have got to find out today ! promise I'll tell you later....

I don't think I have ever seen anyone use the umbrella as a sunshade while walking to the bus or whatever back home.....we use it when we are the beach, as a sunshade, or in our backyards - parasols..most often we use it because it's raining though......here the umbrella comes to use for many people every day as a sunshade whenever you're out ....of course it comes in handy during the monsoon also...

I haven't seen any male walking around with an umbrella as sunshade though ! 

Lunch at Khan Market

I decided to take the guys to Khan Market...another spot where they had never been...

sandals anyone.....

the goal with the trip to Khan market was actually to get some lunch so we ended up at 

recognise the name ?

Smoke House Deli.....again...just a different location....I so like the decor....

it's the same but still different from the one in Hauz Khas....here it was 3D....

this  place is smaller ....

but the food was as good as last time....I had red beats with chèvre as a starter....hmmmm...so good

and best of all.....I didn't have to cook today !

Arts and craft on Janmashtami

Lord Krishnas birthday - Janmashtami

is celebrated today which means school is closed and it's a holiday...again...I'm not complaining !

for devotes it's a day of fasting and praying

for me and M it meant that we got a  day to explore ... so we went to the arts and craft museum in Delhi 

together with our swedish friend Staffan.

terracotta statues from Tamil Nadu

...Mogul carrier with wooden wheels + some metal...imagine buffalos or elephants pulling this thing...

lots of wall paintings from different parts of India 

one area holds cult artefacts   

it's a really nice museum...takes about an hour if you don't spend more time in the impressive textile part of the museum....which I have done...today there was some renovation going on and no vendors outside but since it was M and S first visit it really didn't matter...

S hanging on to his roots.....what's the name of the tree... I wonder ?

After an hour of culture we headed for.....

come back later and I'll tell you.

Gurgaon does have areas with gorgeous villas

Gurgaon does have areas with gorgeous villas 

 The thing is that you don't see them unless you're in one of the areas....

so for me it's been like what I don't see doesn't exist...

by now I have seen some beautiful homes

different styles....big, bigger and huge.....some old and some very modern...

Remember my view from the balcony? ( on a foggy humid day )

outside one of the villas is this tree and I just have to show you...

it has got to be a " rasta flätor " tree or...

seriously..if you know please tell me...what's the name of the tree ?

Gurgaon, the city that barely existed two decades ago.

Gurgaon has grown from barely nothing to a city with plenty of shopping malls, golf courts,  apartment towers sprouting like concrete weeds and a futuristic commercial hub - Cyber city - that houses many of the worlds most respected cooperations. Today I stopped and looked at Cyber city from a distance

and tried to capture some pictures.....

Ericsson was actually one of the first companies to set up business in Gurgaon.....

Gurgaon is one of India's fastest growing districts....it has expanded more than 70 percent over the past decade..more than 2 million people now live here.

In the 70s this was a farming village whose name meant " village of the gurus ".  It had wild animals, similar to cows, known for their strange blueish tint. 

Those I haven't seen, but I sure wish I will.

So if anybody out there see the blue cows....please give me a call. 

An every day view from the car....

the vendors with the small stalls selling soft drinks and small shining packages of chips and nuts etc. are everywhere......

I see countless every day on all roads .....

I also see these guys every day on the streets.....just different breeds

then there's the auto rickshaws.....they are like bumble bees , flying all over, steering from side to side 

together with ALL the cars and the, Oh so wonderful sound of the horns

and there's the fruit vendors on all roads....

they all do contribute to a colourful India and one thing is for certain....

you always have something to look at

Outlet shoes...on a monday morning !!

I have a new favourite shoe brand....Vanilla Moon....and they have an outlet store here in Gurgaon.
Can life get any better than that ?
I have "weird feet" but this brand really fits me and they are so comfortable..
the outlet store is at Galaxy hotel where there's also some other good stores and restaurants....anyhow, I promised my mother , who LOVES shoes, that I would show them so....

Why is it so much fun with shoes ?

Speed date on a sunday morning !

I had a date this morning and it was with this guy

it was a good speedy date but I had to work hard.....

after Mr Bike I went on to meet

these guys....it turned out really good actually.

I think Mr Bike and Mr Weights where really pleased with my effort this morning.

What are your exercise plans for the day ?

Nu e de slut på veckan...or is it ?

Friday is finally here and the weekend starts....or ?

Living and working in India is different....the 40 hours of work a week that we are used to doesn't exist here...for instance, saturday is a work day at school. The kids aren't in school but the staff and the teachers are....well, at least every other saturday !

My girls at the schools swim team have workout every saturday morning at 7.30 !

So the week is almost over, and since we got an invitation to an after work get together from the swedish chambers of commerce .....of course we have to go. 

Instead of the famous chips and dip and half a glass of wine and then you fall asleep in the couch friday, we are actually going to socialise.

To all of you out there around the world, I hope you have a nice friday evening.

Swedish Book Club in Delhi

Yesterday my shoes took me to the Swedish Book Club in Delhi, not literary though!.....my driver drove through some very intense traffic to get there.....

It was so nice to be invited and to meet  these swedish ladies from all over our beautiful country ....me from the very south..Ystad and all the way up to the north...to Luleå.....Sweden is one long country I tell you, anyhow......

the book for the evening was

Never wipe tears without gloves by Jonas Gardell. Part 1 Love

We did discuss a lot of other things besides the book and we where served yummy pies and chocolate cake for dessert !

Thank you so much ladies for an evening of good company, lots of laughs and lots of good tips for a

 "newcomer " in Delhi.....