Something to Sing About........

This Land of Ours!

We are getting better and singing adds some variety to the English Support class activities.

Connecting with Canada in Chandigarh

On Thursday, we joined other Canadians abroad and some friends of Canada at the monthly social held at the Consulate.

Urvashi Sandhu is an employee at the Consulate and also the mother of a UFV Chandigarh student.

The Consulate and UFV Chandigarh are missing former Consul General Scott Slessor.  The staff is awaiting the appointment of Scott's replacement.

Abbotsford was well represented at this month's event with five young interns and two old instructors joining the celebrations.

Friday!  Another dinner out and another new restaurant for us.  Ghazal is a very classy spot to dine in Sector 17, and we accompanied the Anands to sample a sizzler.

And sizzling it was!  This was the most delicious, and largest, ground chicken patty I have ever had.  It was served sizzling hot on a bed of spinach.

No surprise when Gurneet is around.  No matter how large the dinner, we must stop at Giani's for ice cream after.

 Gurneet's Bad Day (A Children's Story?)

On Saturday, Gurneet had a very bad.  "Where is my bag?" he said in the morning.  "It contains my life!  It has my computer and my backup drive."  He was in a panic and accused everyone of playing a prank.  But no one knew where it was--except Radhe.  Fortunately, he had found it outside on the step the night before and put it away safely.  Gurneet bought us all Indian Chinese for lunch to celebrate!  Minutes later, Gurneet said, "Where are my car keys?  I have now spilled food on my shirt and must go home to change."  Again, panic and accusations.  The keys were found.  At the end of the day, Gurneet was back to saying, "Where is my bag?"

The lesson in this story?  Even good guys have bad days!

On Sunday, we took a sentimental journey back to our old neighbourhood and the park where we jogged many kilometres last year.  Terraced Garden is just a 25 minute walk from our new guest house in Sector 44.

Work has begun to prepare the beds for planting.  By the time we leave in December, the park will be in bloom with all varieties of chrysanthemums.

We weren't surprised to see a friendly and familiar face when we arrived at the park.

UMT Barbers are still doing a great business everywhere around the city.

Monday's Organizational Behaviour class was busy working in teams that were formed based on their learning styles.

I think the differences in the ideas generated convinced even the skeptics that we learn and think in many different ways--and they are all good!

We had a huge storm on Sunday evening.  Lightning!  Thunder!  Strong Winds!

Many trees, dry after the long, hot summer, just broke apart or toppled over.

On the positive side, the storm seems to have cleared the air.  It is fresher and less humid.

On a very sad note, we learned that a student at SD College (where our campus is located) was killed in the storm when a brick wall fell on him.

Life goes on day after day...........

And all of a sudden, we are in week three of the semester!

Time has a way of flying by when you are busy--and not just with teaching.

This week, Ninni took us to the huge new Elante Mall.

 This amazing facility of 1.15 million square feet just opened in April.  What is almost as amazing is that when we left here last December, no one we know even knew it was being built!

It has everything from Brooks Brothers to Body Shop to Zara to Marks and Spencer to Swarovski to............  There are movie theatres, an arcade, a food court, several restaurants (including Chili's where we had lunch) and a central plaza area.  We understand that soon there will be a five star hotel attached as well as an office block where, I believe, the Canadian Consulate will be relocated.

Even with three levels of underground parking and several outdoor spaces, parking is a problem at times.  Everyone from the surrounding cities in Northern India is coming to Chandigarh to shop!

Such a change for this city!  It is a bit sad, though, to see how important "western ways" have become.

 Were we surprised to see Sat and Aman Gill at the mall?  Well, no, when we finally contacted each other by phone, we were at the mall and they were on their way.  Maybe we were surprised that we could actually find them when they arrived.

We enjoyed a beverage with them, Ninni and Aman's family at India's answer to Tim Horton's, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD).

This week we also welcomed our new temporary roommate from UFV Abbotsford, Holly.  She is here to continue Daniel's work and help with the recruiting process.

Fraser stared lovingly at Uncle George as we rode home from campus one day--or maybe he was deciding if he could chew that nose.

And back to Satluj School.........

We received an invitation from the Serai family to again visit the school they own in Panchkula (one of the three cities in this tri-city area).

It was like coming home!  Again, we were greeted warmly by staff and students.

Our classroom visits included the new areas that have been opened since our last visit (the music room and art room), and a stop in the science lab where they have introduced 3D video.  It was a chance to get up close and personal with DNA.

We were usually asked to demonstrate our skill in whatever the students were doing.  So, in the music room, we sang, "Old Macdonald had a farm........"  After hearing the song, one young girl stood up and sang it perfectly!

Our day at the school ended with a short meeting with the teachers.  The first question asked was "How can you handle a class that has a wide range of abilities?"  The issues are the same wherever you are!

Principal Serai warned George that these were adults and he should not attempt to hoist one on his shoulders!

The Serai family then treated us to lunch at the beautiful Panchkula Golf Club.  There wasn't much golf happening at the time as golf is more a winter sport here.

Dad, Krit, is the Principal of the school of 2000 which was started by his father.

Mom, Rema, works at the school and runs the afterschool program for about 200 students.

Krimit is their younger son.

Reekrit is their elder son.  He has just graduated from the UFV BBA Program in Chandigarh and was a student of George's last year.

Reekrit is an author of three published books, a Bachelor of Education student, an employee of the school, and he runs his own consulting company.

Krimit is the golfing enthusiast in the family.

We had an enjoyable time with them all!

Fresh bananas are still available daily from the carts that pass by our house.  The sound of India--vendors calling out their wares as they pedal down the street.  It seems the junk food (chips and pop) vendor doesn't want to ruin his voice.  He is blowing a whistle!!!  But who is buying junk food at 6 am?

Backpackers!  The place for weary travellers to go and get omelettes, toast, scrambled eggs and all those other comfort foods foreigners need every now and again.

Even the decor makes you feel at home.  Note the old CPR poster advertising the Chateau Lake Louise.

And then Monday evening finally arrived!  Boys went for facials, girls fussed about their outfits.  It was the night of the Freshers Party!

This is the event to welcome the new batch to UFV Chandigarh.

George and I again had the honour of choosing Mr. and Ms Fresher.

Our choices this year, Harcharan and Anindita.

The now very knowledgable second year men just sat back and observed.  Tarundeep (baseball cap) has now relinquished his Mr. Fresher title.

Karanjot has already made his presence on campus known, having not one but two second year girls (Gurpreet and Sapna) in his arms.

Of course, the administrative staff like Dilmeet and Simlee are always there to support the students.  Running UFV Chandigarh is a 24/7 job (passion?) for Gurneet and his team.

Tejeshewar and Jyotbir were the main organizers of the event.  With so many senior students transferring to Canada this year, they had to work hard with their team to get the job done.

The place:  7th floor of Hotel Altius in the club called 10 Downing Street.

The atmosphere:  Lively!  LOUD!  Lights!

Did we old folks survive?  Yes, indeed!!!

In India, life is one big meal.......

So, it is good that we have our beautiful Garden of Annuals close by to be able to jog in the morning or join the 200+ neighbourhood folks who do some serious walking in the evening.

First, we had an invitation for lunch from Dr. Ghuman, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor of Public Administration at Panjab University.

Gary Fehr had just arrived from Abbotsford with the four interns who will be working with Dr. Shaw and DIR in the bustee this year.

We were joined by other faculty members from Panjab University.  I had a good visit with a very impressive woman, Dr. Surinder Shukla, Professor of Political Science.

Next, we made what seems to be a traditional visit to Barbecue Nation with Gary and the interns.

Sarah will be working here for the next three months....

as will Ashley, Jessica and Alyssa.

At Barbecue Nation, one will eat more meat (barbecued right at your table) than you will normally see in a month here!  And that is just the appetizer!  A big buffet dinner follows.

Then, on to the Anand's where Ninni prepared one of her amazing dinners.  Restaurant food in Chandigarh is great, but nothing beats 'home food.'

We were introduced to a delicious sweet, Soan Papdi.  Only 597 calories in 500 grams!

Sunday lunch was with the Bhasin family.  Dilmeet's Mom is an outstanding cook.  Especially good are her fresh bhatura--deep fried and puffy bread.

Thanks to a great little iPhone app, Self Timer, we could all get into the photo.

Our usual dinner this year is a very upscale tiffin prepared by a friend of Ninni's--rice, veggies, lentils or chicken, and roti, of course.

In between meals, we do a bit of teaching.

The power in my BUS 203 class is on one side of the classroom where the young women (and Raghav) sit.  

We said good-bye to our first roommate, UFV Recruiter, Daniel Goertz, as he headed back to Abbotsford.

Funny we should come all this way to meet someone who is our neighbour in Auguston!  Daniel was a Business student of George's at UFV a few years ago.

We look forward to meeting Holly, Daniel's colleague, who will arrive in Chandigarh this week for her two weeks of helping with the recruitment for 2014.

And even more of Abbotsford is here.  Bethany, too, has been visiting high schools locally and throughout Northern India helping to spread the word about this very unique university programme.


Fraser, the new puppy living in the Anand home, has not been a part of the recruitment team--but maybe someday!

Dilmeet says she is so afraid of dogs, but wee Fraser has won her heart as well.







And so, as we continue to eat our way through the Punjab.......

And The Adventure Continues.......

Round Two - Just eight months since we returned home and here we were heading off again to India for another semester at UFV Chandigarh.

We didn't pack any lighter but maybe a little wiser.

This time our route was to the east on British Airways with a stop in London and then on to Delhi.

Departure was from YVR on the evening of August 20, and 27 hours later, we were greeted by Gurneet and Dilmeet at the Chandigarh airport.

Yes, we were back in India.  Somehow the sites and sounds did not seem so unusual this time.  What is noticeably different, though, is the decrease in the number of cows roaming the streets.  We have been told that there is a project underway to gather them up and take them to a place where they will be cared for.  Kinda miss them!

So, what else is new?

Well, we have a new guest house.  We are now living in Sector 44B and have a very lovely suite on the middle floor of this three-storey house.  Our neighbourhood is a very typical residential neighbourhood in Chandigarh.

We especially like the more modern kitchen-- though cooking is not on the agenda.

And the living area is so comfortable thanks to the tender touch of Dilmeet and Ninni (Gurneet's Mom).

It does feel like home!

We thought we would miss our favourite jogging route through Terrace Garden close to our previous home.  However, thanks to Monsieur Le Corbusier and the other planners of the City Beautiful, we have a great linear park just a block away--the Garden of Annuals.

With temperatures still in the 30's and the monsoons hanging around, the humidity is way up there.

Lots of sweat equity even on a short run!

We have no permanent roomies this year but will share our space with Daniel, a recruiter from UFV Canada, for one more week.

We had just a couple of days with Lorne Mackenzie from UFV Canada who is now coordinating this program from the Canadian side.  He had completed the Foundations program with the Year 1 students.

A welcome addition on the campus is the new Faculty office.  We now have desks as well as a gathering place for faculty.  We look forward to getting to know the Indian faculty better this time around.

Sanjeev Sandhu has joined the Administrative Team and is a great addition.

We all miss Jeevika and wish her well in her studies at UBC this fall.

Of course, there is "The New Batch."  This year has been a record year for recruitment at UFV Chandigarh--42 students!

George will have quite a BUS 100 class.

Some things never change!






Of course, one of the biggest changes for me is my teaching assignment.  This year, I am not a visitor to the campus, I have to work!!!  Today was the big day for me to return to the classroom and it looks like it will be a great semester.

Hopefully, I will have time for a weekly blog............