Run in the Big Easy

This past weekend I was down in New Orleans for the Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon. At the expo on Friday, I met Mo Farah, Meseret Defar, Gebre Gebremariam, and Martin Lel. Very humble athletes and it was a joy listening to them. Mo and Meseret won, setting new personal and course records. At night I went out for dinner and listened to some great jazz at the Palm Court Cafe. Then I did the Bourbon Street thing. Saturday was rainy but I did a short run and then laid low. We had our pasta party then were early to bed. Teammates Jana, Betty, and Becky are awesome and all finished with great times and smiles on their faces :) My time was no personal best but I realized I want to take the half marathon distance more seriously. I think it's a good distance for me-I felt strong, and if I train smart, I can definitely keep improving. Also realized winter training is tough so summer and fall races are better. Another highlight of the weekend was seeing my friend from home, Michelle, who lives in New Orleans and does Teach for America. She said living down south has been an adjustment but she is used to it now and enjoying it. I got a grand tour from her and will study up so I know the lay of the land when I come back in April for the Final Four. Michelle will join the party in April and I'm also hoping to meet up with Team teammates Becky and Betty since they'll be around! Another race and another fun weekend in the books-with awesome new friends!

Early rise for the Big Easy

Well this is a first! I'm at the airport and waiting in line for security because it hasn't even opened yet! My flight leaves at 630 which meant leaving new haven at 3 am. I made it harder on myself by going out to cafe 9 to see Rosie Ledet and the zydeco playboys...it was the perfect opportunity to prepare for New Orleans, how could I not! Crawfish are callin'

Old hobbies...

This week I have had the chance to reignite my love and enthusiasm for a couple hobbies: snowboarding and rock-climbing. Over the weekend, I went to Double H Ranch, one of the camps in SeriousFun Children's Network. Double H is unique in that it is the only SeriousFun camp with an Adaptive Winter Sports Program. There are instructors and equipment available so that children of all abilities can experience the extreme fun of skiing and snowboarding. The weather was beautiful and I had a wonderful time connecting with my own family pals as well as other campers and families. Meeting new people and spending time with kids really fills your spirit and gives you great energy :) In addition to all of the warm and fuzzies of the weekend, I had a chance to get back out on a snowboard. The last time I hit the slopes was probably middle school, so we are going on over a decade! Fortunately I was able to dust the cobwebs off over the 3 day weekend and am ready to venture out for another weekend at a mountain.

Last night, Tuesday, I went rock climbing with Blaine, a New Haven friend who is an avid rock-climber and fantastic teacher. We went to City Climb in New Haven and I spent a couple hours learning the ropes (haha) and climbing 5-6 routes of varying levels. Blaine taught me how to tie in as the climber and we also went over the role of the belayer though I think I'll need another lesson to master that. It is a great arm workout, something I have been lacking these days, so hopefully I can fit in a climbing session once a week or so!

On Friday I am off to New Orleans to run the Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon! I will be sure to send updates from down south, as well as eat, drink, and dance my way through the crazy city :)

Home snowy home

Tim and I landed safely at JFK this morning, welcomed by 40 inches of snow and closed roads. The flight went quick, I watched 3 movies, all which I cried at! I highly recommend Chasing Mavericks :) now off to meet Nemo in my toms!

Oh, Nemo!

I thought the culture shock was going to come last week when I set foot in India for the first time...but I think I am in more shock with all this snow! I am not certain of the exact snowfall in New Haven but Nemo dumped 40 inches of snow in Hamden and Milford, CT, both neighboring towns. Now, two days after the storm and the roads are all one-way with snow piled 5 feet high on the sides of the road. It was in the 40s and rainy today which probably helped the melting process a bit. The scary part is that if the cold temps turn everything into ice, the roadways will be even more dangerous tomorrow.

Miraculously, our driver made it to JFK on Sunday to pick us up. He came from nearby West Haven, so he knew what the roads were like and prepared us to be in the car awhile. When we crossed the NY-CT border, we heard a traffic alert saying a tractor-trailer jack-knifed on 95 North in Milford. So when we got to exit 34, the traffic came to a dead stop. The 1 lane on 95 that was cleared and open was now closed with a truck blocking it! We took the exit and drove the Post Road until we could get on 95 beyond the accident. Upon arriving in our neighborhood, both Tim and I realized there was no way either of us would get dropped off at our doorsteps. And coming from India, I had a long sleeved dri-fit and my Toms on. Tim wasn't much more prepared with his canvas sneaks and fleece sweatshirt. We both made the treks through snow with our luggage and made it inside, missing the heat of India.

Everyone's got a little cabin fever thanks to Nemo. Tonight I walked next door to work out at New Haven Strength and Fitness and I'll tell ya, nothing beats cabin fever like a good workout. Some of the girls in the class walked 3 miles to come-love that spirit!

Hugs and hot cocoa,
Mary

P.S. Yes, those are cars under there...

Day 4...how many people can you fit on a motorbike?

Another productive day with the Camp Rainbow team! Tim wasn't feeling so hot and turned white as a ghost but is a warrior and pulled through :) We went straight to dinner from the YRGCARE office and got these massive dosas at the GRT grand hotel. Dosas are definitely my favorite food here, it's like a pancake but more savory and a bit crunchy. And masala dosa has this spiced potato stuff inside, also amazing! Tomorrow we will tie up some loose ends and plan the staff recruitment session for Saturday. This team works so hard and they are always smiling, gotta love 'em! Fun fact of the day-I met Dr. Sunithi Soloman, the Director of YRGCARE and also...(drumroll) one of the first, along with her colleagues, to document the first evidence of HIV in India. Kind of a big deal :)

Can't believe there is a blizzard this weekend, not feeling a warm welcome home,
Mary

Day 3...I love this team!

Today we headed over to the YRGCARE offices early and got a lot done with the team; planning, putting together work plans and setting deadlines for the next few months. Vinoth and Thivia, who are leading follow up programming, did a presentation including welcoming Tim and me like they did the campers, showing crafts the kids had done and sharing the stats, highlights, challenges and lessons learned. Impressive numbers, serving over 270 children through follow up activities...and Vinoth was so confident-it was also clear he sees the significance of follow up and wants to dig deeper to make an even stronger impact on the campers! Around 3:45 we were starting to get giddy so Tim introduced us to the 1 2 3 game. It's really simple, you and your partner count to 3, alternating each number. Actions for each number are added as you go. If you ever say a number out of order, you have to dance. Rochelle and I were super giggly...we danced a lot! Satish and Kumar were trying really hard to be serious but that didn't last long! We got back to the hotel around 6:45 and left for dinner about 730 where we played a competitive game of bananagrams :) right now I'm checking emails and finishing some notes then its off to sleep for another day!

India: Day 1

Hello from Chennai,
Today was our first full day with a meeting at CHES (Community Health Education Society), one of partners for our Global Partnership Program. It was wonderful to put faces to names and talk to Valavan and Dr. Manorama about CHES's work as well as get excited about camp together! CHES does a lot of in-home counseling and education sessions, trainings for caregivers and govt. workers, and a home/clinic for orphans with HIV. In the afternoon we met with Rochelle and Satish from YRGCare, our other partner in India. I also had the chance to meet Vinoth, also on the Leadership Team, on the way out! Such lovely people-I look forward to spending the rest of the week with them and getting to know them more :)

Today marks my first full day of Indian cuisine, however the only name I can remember is iddly (sp?), a light bread/rice cake. I will try to keep track of other foods and record the names and descriptions! Tim and I did not wake up for it, but we checked the Super Bowl score this morning. I was hoping the 49ers could make the comeback and was hopeful when it was 31-23...sad to see the final and now curious as to what happened since it was so close! Anywho, we are off to dinner in a few minutes. Tomorrow we will be visiting the site where camp will be held in May! So far, I've been fortunate-no sweat 'stache or the business...yet :)

Love from 10.5 hours ahead,
Mary

P.S. if you don't know what the business is, take a guess...'cause you really don't want to ask.
P.P.S I saw my first cow in the middle of the road....I knew it wouldn't be long.

Arrived in Chennai!

Safe and sound in Chennai, after a quick 3 hour flight from Dubai and pretty quick customs and baggage claim! Outside the airport, friends, family and drivers waited for passengers, lined up like it was the red carpet....minus the red carpet and the flashing cameras. Our driver Prabu navigated the 'organized chaos' which is traffic in India. There are lines on the road but no one pays attention to them, everyone is on the same page though and they have a system for beeping and alerting others when they are going to pass. On the drive over we passed a hospital that had a neon sign saying 24 hours...made me laugh. It's nice to be in warm weather, very humid though...AC in the place we are staying makes it manageable :) time to catch some z's and get my body in gear for the week ahead.

Hugs, hi5s and head bobs (which means yes here, I experienced my first one going through customs)
Mary

From Dubai

We have had some quality time at the airport this morning, mostly sleeping and walking through the place, shops and restaurants that go on forever, and multiple levels and multiple terminals! An announcement came on saying there was a fire in the building...everyone continued as usual. Fire? Nbd.

The plane ride was not bad at all, watched 3 movies: pitch perfect, salmon fishing in the Yemen and beasts of the southern wild. After the movies I still had time to sleep for a few hours and twiddle my thumbs for a few more :) We got 2 meals and a snack, all pretty darn good for plane food. The free g&t was nice going down too and helped me fall asleep. It is really neat to be somewhere and only hear foreign languages, makes you feel like you are in your own world when you are surrounded by hundreds. Tim and I grabbed some great smoothies and enjoyed the dance moves of the guys behind the counter, Call Me Maybe. Obviously :)

PS they have shake shack in Dubai!

And I'm leaving on a jet plane!

Tim and I enjoyed a nice breakfast sandwich at Tigin, the only sit down spot for gates A2 to A7 at JFK! We have about 20 more minutes til boarding call, then we'll crawl through baggage to reach our cozy economy class seats in row 83....yup, there are that many rows. Sadly, our efficient packing was not rewarded this morning, still had to check our 'carry on' bags because they were over 7 kg... Not cool. What is cool though is that emirates attendants wear these awesome hats with scarves hanging down. I will be sure to get the correct name of these hats at some point during the 12 hour plane ride :) Next time I'll be in Dubai...