India

I have indeed arrived. So i got into india two days ago. After getting up at 4:15am on friday to catch three different trains to paris. One which the one to paris from geneva i didn't have time to print off a ticket and almost had to pay an additional 77 euros, but i sweet talked the frenchie, even though i've decided in the most ethnocentric way all frenchies are snotty (no offence Em and X). And then took an hour long subway ride into the city, to catch a flight to london, to wait and catch a flight to Delhi, which got in at 6:30am. I did get a little sleep on the last flight, because it wasn't full- like 3 hours. Then i booked another two and a half hour flight into bangalore, and caught a 40 minute bus into the city, spent 4 hours looking for a guesthouse--all of which were booked because of an event taking place last weekend, so decided to catch another 3 hour bus down to mysore, where i got in at like 9pm, got a room, and locked it. Gosh i need to eat something.
So it's been a lot of traveling in the past 48 hours. The good news is culture shock didn't set in immediatley- from the time i landed in delhi til about midnight last night, i felt really satisfied. Really excited but also really peaceful. then the frustration of public transportation and the hours of looking for a place just to take a nap combined and as my head was touching the pillow last night, i asked myself (outloud) What am i doing here? I should be in the studio, working on some clay.
don't worry, i talked myself down. And slept rather peacefully. The talking down (again, outloud) mostly consited of, ok don't worry, you just need to finish your proposal, need to take a ton of pictures, make friends, your going to be fine. this is going to be an amazing experience.
i was too tired to try and argue back.
ps jet lag sucks. i might have it eternally.
So I spent the day in Mysore yesterday, running some errands, and there was a Jain festival going on. Jains believe in total non-violence, they won't eat food that was grown in the ground because of the violence it would cause to worms, insects, small mammals, etc. So I snapped a few photos, ate an incredible South Indian meal (1 dollar all you can eat rice with 7 different veg dishes), got an electrical adaptor and caught a bus to bylakuppe. Bylakuppe, like a lot of Tibetan settlements is a protected area, and requires a permit in order to spend the night there. We are still waiting on these, but for now I am staying in the Sera Jey Monastery's guest house. What a cool place. I still have lots of walking around to do.
Thanks again dad for an incredible Swiss Family Johnson, it was an amazing trip. My blog for school is criminalmonkeyfeed.blogspot.com. The second page in the Hindustan Times two days ago was about the criminality of feeding monkeys in Delhi. And since IndiaEx, Indiaexp, exindia, expindia, marcinindia, visualindia, and about ten thousand other options were taken, i decided this name would be best.

JOHNSONS | Paris Version

tomorrow is the day! i cant wait for all the fun we shall have together! but also, i have started a blog, just about life and everything. just wanting people to know! the sight is http://www.beddaboo.blogspot.com
i love you all and can wait for our trip!
bedda

DAD

Happy birthday dad!
I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me, and how much i will miss you these next two years. I wanted to share one memory that will be with me forever, and is one of my favorites with you. Two years ago in june we went to Alaska, for a business trip of yours. We went rafting and hiking for the two or three days we were there and i loved every minute of it. One of my favorite parts was the light days. We were there for the lightest day of the year, and i just remember coming home at midnight one night, and it still being bright outside.
Anyway, i just want to thank you dad for creating so many opportunities and memories in my life. also for the way that you lead us by example, and make it very clear to our family waht you believe in by your example. thanks for everything dad, and i love you.
Paul

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dear Dad,
Happy Birthday!
I am so excited for our trip to France and Switzerland, we are going to have so much fun! Thank you so much for all you have done for me and our family, we are so lucky and blessed, you are awsome, and all of your hard work. Thanks so much for Tuffy and Kay, my horses and our dog- Sammy. I love you so much.
Love, always,
Mels

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad. When I think about what you've meant to me in my life, these two pictures encapsulate a lot of what I've learned from you. In the first picture, you are reading to me when I was still so little. Reading has been such a crucial and pivotal thing for me, my whole life long. When I was younger, I read like crazy to escape and explore other people and places. In jr. high and high school I often preferred the shelves of books in our house over social situations. In college, I'd read books to remind me of home when I felt so homesick that first year. I read every Ensign from 1978-1999 on my mission in the evenings when we couldn't go out at night because it was too dangerous. When I was pregnant, I felt like a sponge and read everything I could about childbirth and labor. I still think my favorite thing to do on a cold day or a long summer night is to read. Reading inspired what sometimes feels like an insatiable appetite for learning in me. Reading also made me more empathetic and sensitive to other people. And you taught me to love reading. When we go home and I see you reading to Andrew at night, I think how fortunate and blessed we are to come from a home where learning was so cherished and demonstrated so readily.

The other thing you've inspired in me that was such a gift (and still is): a spirit of adventure. In this picture, Marc, Paul, you and me are near the top of Kilimanjaro. I remember writing to you while on that trip in East Africa for your birthday to thank you for taking me to that continent. It truly inspired me and changed my life in so many ways - since then I have spent a good portion of my time there and much of my thoughts there. Almost every paper I've written in graduate school thus far has been about South Africa. And I hope to take John and Joyce there to see and meet the people that have meant so much to me. It is rare and so precious to have the kind of exposure to faraway places that we have had growing up. Thank you for that.

It does seem a little strange to be thanking you on your birthday for all the gifts you've given me, when it's a day set aside to bestow gifts upon you. But I don't think I could give you much more than my gratitude. I know you can buy anything you might want for yourself and you're not really one for homemade trinkets - so thanking you for the many things you've given me seemed like the only thing I could do. I love you Dad. I hope you had a good one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD-------> I think I can speak for everyone - we cannot wait for Switzerland!

All of us have benefited immensely from your passion for travel and for family. The two combined mean spectacular trips every year and great memories together. I love you Dad. Thanks for being so generous and so committed to your family. I'm certain that you are on a memorable hike as I post this with the kids at home - no better way to spend your birthday. We will have a big celebration in Switzerland in your honor. Love you - Em