Related Rates

July 15, 2015 in Africa, France, Sabbatical | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

At times it seems as if it’s a count up, as my todo list seems to be growing instead of shrinking (despite the fact that I am checking things off of the list). So I am recalling those related rates problems from my calculus days many years ago, hoping that the equations will change over the next week so that the list does start to shrink. And then again, when my plane departs, only minutes under 2 weeks from now, whatever is done will be done and I’ll just have to make due. Somehow I don’t think that will be a problem.

Of course there are the things that can’t be ignored, such as one last post-sabbatical trip out to see mom (and the preparation for temps over 100 that comes with that), 5 final days of work, and getting all the documents that I need for various Visas, etc. organized and in one safe spot in my carry on bag.

I do also hope to have all of my travel plans solid, and I am very close on that – just waiting on a final booking of a spot in the south of France for my first week there, and the train tickets to and from there. And I want to learn at least a little bit of Nyanja before getting to Zambia (maybe I can do that for at least part of my flight time to and from mom’s this weekend.

So I am glad that while I finish up my pre-sabbatical work next Friday, I am not flying until the Wednesday after that, and I will be able to hopefully change those rate relationships during that time. And I will be able to pack while not feeling rushed. And that will be after a relaxing yoga weekend at Stonehouse Farm.

 

Wish me luck!

Wendy

Or So I Thought

March 16, 2015 in Africa | 1 comment

All was set. I was in a cab, on the way to the airport, and on my way to Africa for the first time.

Or so I thought.

Part way to the airport I got a message that my flight from Chicago to New York was cancelled. OK, my flight to JoBurg isn’t until late morning the next day. It’s only early afternoon at this time. And there are TONS of flights between Chicago and New York.

Or so I thought.

Being a seasoned traveler, I figured it was best to continue to the airport and just get in line at the ticket counter. They’ll easily be able to help me.

Or so I thought.

The glitch was that this leg of the trip was booked on Jet Blue. And they only had one more flight that day. And it was full. And they don’t have good relationships with the other airlines to let them accommodate passengers.

So, the first option, which was actually booked for a bit was to go back home, come back the next day and fly via Istanbul to Cape Town meeting up with my group a day late. Well, at least I was going to get there and there would be less of a chance of another cancellation since both of those flights were on large planes.

But I wasn’t going to go away that easy. I left Jet Blue land and headed over to where I am much more comfortable, the United counter. There were some options here as there were flights that day, and I could just buy a ticket if I needed, maybe even with miles. Heck a few hundred bucks was a small price to pay given the whole cost of the trip. However, since I now no longer was booked on the JFK to JoBurg flight, I had to go back to Jet Blue to get some more help from them in order to make this work.

So off I went, back on the shuttle with both bags (thankfully we had to pack very light for this trip). And a couple of hours later I finally had a Delta flight to LGA and was back on the JFK to JoBurg flight the next day. Whew. I am so thankful to the folks at Jet Blue who worked this for me, they were fighting with a system that is not set up to handle things like this yet they got it done. They even got me water from behind the counter when I was getting very thirsty after dealing with this for such a long time.

In the end, I got to New York a bit later than planned, and had to cab it from LGA to our hotel near JFK,  but I was going to make the flight to JoBurg, with the rest of the group (most of whom also had issues getting to JFK). And not miss a day of my long awaited trip.

 

Wendy

A Different Kind of Trip

March 15, 2015 in Africa, France, Sabbatical | Leave a comment

As the dates of my second sabbatical got closer, I got more serious about spending at least part of it doing volunteer work and the other part continuing to learn French at the same school where I studied during my first sabbatical (I’ll even be staying in the same super cute studio).

When I originally thought about the volunteer portion, I was hoping to find a location where I could use my French. However, as the time got closer this did not seem very practical. Thankfully, without out much searching I found that IVHQ had many opportunities, and shortly after that I was registered and planning for spending 5 weeks teaching in Kenya.

Since my break officially starts on July 27th, and I don’t leave for Kenya until July 29th, I was also able to slot in a weekend yoga retreat to kick things off. It’s at a center near Chicago so it will be easy to get to and from.

Even though the trip is 137 days away, I already have a pretty extensive packing list created. And I am sure the time will go fast now that it is warming up here, and I have a lot of things to get in place (immunizations, visa research, etc.). And I have to make a few plans for the week before and the week after my time at the school when I will be in France, but not necessarily in Aix.

As things get closer, I may have a few more stories to share, and once I am there I will share as much as I can, dependent of course on connectivity.   Wendy

Candlelight Dinner

April 4, 2014 in India | Leave a comment

At the end of a long week, I had a candlelight dinner, of sorts.

It all started out like a pretty typical Friday. Finish up the last few things at work and then head home to drop off bags before heading out to dinner. Yes, sometimes there is a stop along the way, but not tonight.

Then things changed. During the short stop over at our bungalow, we started refreshing a bit and getting ready for dinner, when there was a flicker and the A/C went out. We had been having issues like this over the last couple of days, and have had to get used to surviving with the generator (ceiling fans, no A/C). While my friends still freezing in Chicago may have no sympathy, it is quite hard to sleep when it has been around 40C during the day and only hot air is blowing over you as you try to rest.

This time, it turned out that our whole neighbourhood (Koregoan Park) was in the dark. So we did what any people who are hungry, thirsty, and hot on a Friday night in Pune would do, we headed out for dinner. For those of you who have not been to India, you might be surprised that we ventured out during a black out. But what you may not know is that these are common, and just about every place has generators so that they can keep functioning when this occurs. So off we went, our path lit by the flashlight of a cell phone, to one of our favorite watering holes.

Since indeed they were in the dark, but serving, we grabbed an outside table and where given a candle which we could use to read the menu and place our orders. Part way through our stater (a karari roti) the lights came back on, and we were very hopeful (rightfully so) that we would have A/C back at home after our dinner.

So, it may not have been one of the candlelight dinners of my dreams, but I should be able to dream well tonight, sleeping in a room that can be kept at a moderate temperature.

Wendy

No Turkey For You

November 27, 2013 in India | Leave a comment

Hi all,

I know that I have been remiss on blogging much during the last 2 months while I have been in India. Things have been so busy that while I have many ideas in my head, I just have not been able to get them into “print”.

However, I felt that I needed to get these thoughts out in a timely fashion.

I think that it was last week sometime that I realized how nice it was not be getting bombarded with annoying Black Friday commercials just a few days before Thanksgiving. Yes, I have had a few adds show up in email, which is annoying enough. And I must say that now knowing what the hottest toy is or the must have that will be this year is quite refreshing. Have a respite, brief as it may be, from commercialism and consumerism makes me realize how out of control these things are in the US.

Christmas, a holiday, that has a special meaning to many people is getting more and more corrupted every year. Now I am not saying that we shouldn’t spend time with our families during this time, nor that we should express appreciation for what they provide for us by exchanging some simple and meaningful gifts. What I am saying is that the pattern of spending more than one can afford just do have more boxes under the tree has gotten old, at least for me.

I am also not saying that I don’t believe in buying nice things, those of you who know me well will know that I like to shop and like to support the local economies by doing so when I travel. And I have definitely done that during this trip to India. However, I spend within my means and I don’t borrow money to do so.

And along those lines, tomorrow will definitely be a different type of Thanksgiving for me. I will be with some very special new friends and spend a little time pampering myself as well with a facial and a manicure after work. And for an evening night cap, just as those of you in the US are stuffing the bird, I will likely be hanging out at Shisha, listening to live jazz.

Happy Turkey Day to those in the US. Don’t eat too much and don’t spend too much on Friday.

Wendy

Hotel Pune

October 13, 2013 in India | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Now that I have been in Pune a week, and it is Sunday of a three day weekend, I have some time to post a few observations about my first day.

Since I was in the last row of my flight to Pune, I was also at the back of the line to clear Customs which took about 45 minutes. Thankfully my driver was still waiting and I found him very quickly.

Around 5 am we arrived at my temporary housing for the first week (although I didn’t know it was temporary – more on that later). After they got my bags out of the car they asked me if I knew the property, which I did not. I think they thought that I had been there before and was just returning when in fact I needed keys and directions to where I would be staying.

Out came the mobile phones, and sadly at least one of my co-workers was woken at this crazy hour to figure out what was going on. And within about 10 minutes (an actual 10 minutes not what those of you who have been here before might be imagining) we were headed to an apartment, keys in hand.

But, that one wasn’t ready, so we moved to another unit and waited a short bit for someone to find the keys. Thankfully that one was ready and I was able to get in and see an actual bed again after 26 or so hours of travel.

The last part of this craziness was that there wasn’t a set of keys to give me a set at that time and I was told to just call for them in the morning. Thankfully the door on my room had a lock that could not be unlocked from the outside, so I at least felt safe for the night in a new place. Not that it would have kept me from sleeping given how tired I was from the journey.

In the morning, yes it was morning, about 11, but morning, I started looking into the key situation and realized that I was in sort of twist on a Hotel California (or Hotel Pune) situation. I could leave my room and wander around the apartment, but if I left the apartment, I would not be able to get back in since the door would lock behind me.

Having no local currency and not sure where the ATMs were, especially ones that would work with my card, I started making some calls, very thankful that I had been given a local phone with some of the important numbers programmed in. The response was great, shortly I had keys and information about ATMs and nearby restaurants I set out to get my first look at the neighborhood and some lunch. I had success in both.

With a full tummy I realized that I was still very tired so I broke all of the rules about how to survive jet lag and took about a 3 hour nap. All I can say is that after doing that and staying up until midnight, my jet lag has been about the least that I have ever had. Yes, I have been a bit tired during but as far as waking up in the night, it has happened but I have been able to get back to sleep much more quickly than other times (in the minutes rather than the hours).

Wendy

Let the Jet Lag Begin

October 5, 2013 in India | Tags: , | Leave a comment

So I am sitting in the lounge at the Frankfort airport with very little energy and droopy eyes, basically just about enough energy to get this post out.

I spent the last week prepping and packing to spend the next 2 months in Pune, India as a trainer for my company’s training program for graduate hires. It is an assignment that I have wanted to do for quite some time and in the past it has always fallen through with my being needed somewhere else (a good thing in and of its own right).

The flight from Chicago to Frankfort was pretty uneventful, well at least after getting a very last minute upgrade to Business Class (a good event). It was a bit turbulent, but that only really got in the way by delaying getting to the restroom prior to conking out for the night.

Crazy as things are, I did run into a co-worker in the lounge in Chicago who I hadn’t seen for awhile and was on the same flight, as he is heading to Bangalore now and will be in Pune in a few days. It was not only nice to see him, but also nice to have someone to hang out with in the lounge. Not to mention someone who could lend me a power adapter since while I packed my India & UK ones (for an overnight transit on the way back), I forgot about needing one in Frankfort on the way over.

OK, I am fading fast, good thing I only have just over another hour until boarding, then if I wind up getting a little more sleep, it won’t be while worrying that I won’t wake up to board my flight.

Off The Beaten Path

June 13, 2013 in Turkey | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Greetings from Istanbul, yes you read right, Istanbul.

I must admit, that when things started getting violent here a few weeks ago I was worried that the trip I had planned for months would suffer, but so far, so good.

20130613-221004.jpg

I am here a day ahead of the rest of my group, so have just sat down to dinner at the rooftop restaurant of my hotel with this as my view. And so far I have not seen any sign of the issues that are developing daily.

That said, they will affect us a bit as we need to be a bit more cautious about where we go, and tomorrow before my friends arrive I have been told to stay close to the hotel or to walk towards the port. Neither of which seem to be bad options, and it wasn’t so much that other areas would be dangerous, more that streets might get closed between my going and returning such that I might have troubles getting back in an area where I don’t know my way around.

The journey also had a few issues, but I am sure all will be resolved soon. There were crazy thunderstorms in the US yesterday and as such my flight was about 2 hours late leaving and nearly as much arriving. This made what was to be a leisurely connection be not quite so and resulted in my bag not making my connecting flight.

Of course the ensuing paperwork took so long that I was sure my arranged ride to my hotel had left so when I didn’t see a placard with my name I didn’t even thing to retread the instructions to make sure that I was looking in the right place, which of course I wasn’t. Thankfully after a few text messages and some probably expensive calls to the US I was able to connect with my driver.

The drive was also interesting, we kept getting off of what appeared to be main roads to wind around and then join either the same main road or another one, I couldn’t always tell. Sometimes it looked like we were heading down a dead end only to have a new route appear just in time. I think out was to avoid traffic, which was quite slow but I’m not sure it helped all that much.

I then got a great surprise, they had arranged for our tour guide to meet me at my hotel even though I was arriving a day early. So after checking in and freshening up a bit (thanks to the travel kit I got on board since I was in first) I was able to have a drink with him, chat a bit, and then he took me to a local shop to buy something to wear tomorrow.

Finally, I must admit it is a strange feeling sitting here waiting for my check and hearing Rhapsody on Blue in the background, not the normal setting that I hear that in!

When It Walks Like A Duck

March 6, 2013 in San Francisco | Tags: , , , , | 1 comment

photo (1)On my new, assume commute home tonight, on my new awesome bike, I was reminded of something that is more part of my day job, duck typing.

I was less than half way home, enjoying the freedom of my new ride, when a passenger in a car a couple of lanes over caught my attention. She wanted to know where Pier 39 was. Despite not being an SF resident, I have been here enough that it was an easy question to answer. And that’s when duck typing came to mind.

Just as we say when it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck, it seems as if when she commutes like a SFer and she must be a SFer. In this case, not exactly true, but it got the mission accomplished. Perhaps the unit test gave a false positive, but maybe I should also stop with these crazy analogies.

And, given that, I just want to say that at this point I wish I would have bought this bike sooner. Not only will my commute time likely go done, I’ll be getting some reasonable exercise at the same time. And I won’t be at all upset that I am trading off a bit of upper arm strength building while bracing for sudden starts and stops on an almost always packed as sardines bus for some good old fashioned aerobic work. This is even more true since I haven’t been able to run lately due to my foot being overly sensitive recently.

Sadly it is supposed to be raining in the morning, hopefully it will have tapered off by commute time, fingers crossed.

Wendy

Opposites Attract

November 28, 2012 in San Francisco | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 comment

I have spent the past couple of months splitting my time between Chicago and San Francisco and while there are many things I will miss from SF there is some craziness to my commute to work that I am not sure if I will miss or being saying good riddance to.

My corporate apartment is in the Marina district, which is a area I had driven through often in the past, generally only stopping occasionally at the Safeway that is now right across the street from me (very convenient when you don’t have access to a car). And that is where the commute story comes in. Without a car, I needed to find the best bus route to get to and from work as taking a cab every day would just get too expensive. So I headed off to the iPhone app store and found a few candidates, one which I rely on greatly and would highly recommend (which apparently also has an Android version). Apps in hand, I found that the 30x express would best suit my needs.

What the app didn’t tell me was how popular this route is. In the morning, the busses are only a few minutes apart, yet they are often “standing room only”, and sometimes “no room at the inn” by the time they get to my stop. Therein begins the craziness.

The standard mode of operation of riders, which now includes myself, is to arrive at the stop and look down the street to see if a bus in within a couple blocks. If so, then one waits and hopes there is room. If not, one starts walking toward where the busess are coming from, yes in the opposite direction of downtown, to the next bus stop, generally one block away. And the procedure repeats, but generally a bus is too close by then to walk another block. Of course, if after all that, there is no room on the bus that approaches, one walks to the next stop before the next stop and starts the whole procedure again.

I know it seems crazy, and sometimes after the walk the bus one alights does wind up stopping at the original stop, but not always. And on occasion when I haven’t played the game I have been left standing on my corner as the bus drives past without stopping.

Crazy, right? Well, yes and no. It is great that so many people are not driving that busses running every 2-3 minutes are packed. But can they run more often? Can some start mid-route to make sure those at the ends of the routes get served? Can larger busses be used? How does one get this feedback to Muni?

Enough of the commute comedy, on to some of the things that I will miss as I stop making regular trips to San Francisco, at least for now:

  • OK, so the commute reappears, despite all of the above, it does take me a half hour or less to get to work (not counting the days I fly)
  • Being lulled to sleep by the sound of the fog horns in the Bay
  • A grocery store across the street
  • A ton of great restaurants within walking distance
  • Yoga studios within walking distance
  • Yoga in Golden Gate Park
  • Opportunities to attend Girl Geek Dinners, well at least to enter the lottery, hoping that if I had stayed I would get to go to one
  • Awesome weather
  • Being a short 2-hour drive away from my nieces
  • The sound of cables running underneath the street

Of course there are a few things that I won’t miss as well

  • The flights, although I could still have something similar where ever I go next
  • Only have about 5 TV channels (and a very tiny TV)
  • Boring, and slightly uncomfortable corporate apartment furniture

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