So what's been going on! July 30th

So it's been a few days since I last posted and alot has been going on! It's amazing to think that so much has happened and I haven't even been in India for a week yet. 

Today is the first day of classes and I have 2 study halls together which takes me up to recess. The classes I am taking are: English, Algebra 2, Indian History, Beginner Hindi (For the lolz) Drawing and painting (Also for the lolz) and applied life science. For after school activities i'm doing: Astronomy, Rock climbing, Multimedia and Camping/hiking. 

The normal ritual is wake up at 6:30 have shower's till 7 (Thank god there's hot water) Have brekkie (The food is super good and different everyday) then get your stuff ready and leave for school at 7:30. The walk to school is an absolute pain, it makes auburn road seem like an escalator.  School most days finishes at 4:20 then we have after-school activities called enrichment which go till 6. Dinner starts at 6 and we have check-in at 7. From there it's study then relax time. So day's are pretty busy, but exciting because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Last night an American kid called 'Cory' and I made a hammock outside by attaching it to 2 concrete pillars. It took us about 40 minutes to make it high and tight enough so you didn't touch the ground. It was really cool and inside it was really relaxing looking up at the stars in the gentle chill of the night. 

The weather is really diverse here. It's monsoon season so most of the time it's like this.

But occasionally when the mist goes away it look's like this.

One of the most interesting parts of Woodstock is the monkeys.

Luckily I haven't been attacked yet but i've heard horror stories. There are very strict rules such as not going outside with food, otherwise YOU WILL be attacked by monkey's and their scratches can hurt. 

So that's going to be all for today. Ill blog again soon, with hopefully more stories to share with you all.

Until then, stay well
Lachy Wild

First impressions of this great land 27th of July

G’day, hope your all having a great day, I myself had a great one and I’m just ready for bed. Today was a huge day. I got up at 4 am, showered (Bad mistake, the shower head was full of mould) the  went down and talked with a couple of U.S.A kids I shared a room with the night before. They were both severely jet-lagged and hardly slept all night. At 5:30 we all gathered together to get on the busses for the train station. The bus ride was about 20 mins and was awesome. I saw my first cow in the middle of the road, which was quite hilarious. It was just chilling in the road just minding itself while people swerve around it, this country is just a whole new level of crazy. The sound of constant horns belting it out was funny and made the whole place feel alive.

The train station was insane! We got dropped off a good 200m from the station because there was physically to many people blocking the road. When we got off there was this dude just pissing within a meter of the bus and it did not smell good at all. I wish i had some pictures of the station, but we had to move fast so people didn’t get lost or taken.

Overall the train ride was good. It was a bit over a 6 hour trip. I spent a third of that watching Futurama (first season) the second third sleeping and the last third listening to music while looking through the window trying to understand this country.The train went through very rural areas of india as well as the main city centre of Delhi. In the city an interesting thing i noticed were that people slept everywhere, literally everywhere! People were lying on steps, on statues and in wagon's on the back of bikes. 

In the rural areas there were lots of kids walking along the train tracks, within a meter of the fast moving train. I also saw houses made of scrap metal in the back of carparks. I’m starting to understand why people call India such a diverse place, there is massive gap between the rich and poor.

When we finally got to Deradun, we immediately got on the bus for Mussoorie, the town where the school is. This trip was really spectacular as we climbed into the mountains, above the clouds. It was by far the windiest road I've ever been on but the views were spectacular. The bus trip was an hour and a half of constant turns and blind corners. 

The views were great and got even better the further you got up. I would of taken more photos but it was hard taking photos on a rusty old bus swerving and bumping up and down.

Finally we got to the school, and all that bus ride was worth it. The basic layout of the school is that the classrooms are on the top of the mountain while all the dorms are a good 15 minute walk below. The grade  9 to 11 boys are in this dorm called 'Hostel' it's quite nice and was refurbished 2 years ago. Here are a couple of pics of my room

I was lucky enough to have a room which overlooks the pool and basketball court which is currently being resurfaced.

The rest of that day I spent watching Futurama and diner. I hadn't met my roommate yet because he was a returning student and he would come in a few days. 

So that was my first full day in India. I'm really excited about discovering more about this country and sharing it with you all. 

Stay well, 
Lachy Wild

Waiting lounges are fun. 26th of July

So here I am waiting for my first flight to Singapore. I'm in this large room with one other person, it's really quite, so I decided to just write up this journal.

It's a weird feeling now. I've done all the goodbyes and now it's time for all the greetings. I'm not going to lie, there were tears shed last night. I had my mates over to play some basketball and 2 square down at the church hall, and when they all left, the waterworks started.

The plan from now is to get the plane to Singapore, then spend an hour In Singapore, catch a flight to Delhi. I then spend the night in Delhi with other international kids that are  going to the same school. Early the next morning we get a train all the way to Deradun, a city near the school. Since its a bit hilly after Deradun we get a bus, and that will be my first experience with Indian driving. I'm really excited about seeing Indian driving, it seems like it will be such an adrenaline rush.

Well that's all I'm going to write about now, don't wanna waste all my phone battery. I'll post again hopeful in India.

Until then,stay well
Lachy Wild

"Insert Epic Opening Words Here" July 25th

Well, here I go! Welcome everyone to my Wild Times in India blog. I plan on posting all about my time's in India at Woodstock International School in Mussoorie. You probably have no idea where Mussoorie is so i've included a little map below.

I have heard that the internet at Woodstock is pretty awful, but ill try my best to get at least one post up a week.

It's hard to describe in word's what I'm feeling right now as I'm writing this first post from the comfort of my room in Australia, just waiting in eager anticipation for the great excitement and challenges that will come my way during the next 5 months. These last couple of days have gone super quick, it's all just a blur filled with goodbyes and emotional hugs. It's easy to get this feeling that it's the last time i'm ever going to see them, so I have to keep reminding myself it's only 5 months. I am surely going to miss all my Australian folks. I may not show much of it, but i really do love all of you and will be thinking about you a ton. The support and love i have received in the lead up to this trip was amazing. One highlight was my best mate "Knoxy" throwing me a surprise going away party. It was a truly touching event seeing all my friends expressing their love and care for me, it was truly special. They got me an Australian Flag and wrote messages all across it. When i got home from the party and started to read all the messages, i got about halfway through before i started to tear up. I'm very privileged to have such great friends.

The church also threw a party for me. I got a bag filled with Aussie gifts, such as tim tams (Yes!), vegemite and wheetbix. I'll also miss the church family, we're quite a close bunch and im sure ill miss them loads.

I'm so excited about this coming months and hope that this blog will give you a little bit of insight into what im doing and how im doing. If you want to add me on Skype my name is "lachy.wild" and you can email me at "wildtimesindia@yahoo.com.au" I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you all, if you have any questions/comments/feedback don't be afraid to ask.