Day 22 Mar 24

Wednesday March 24 Day 22

Last night I was so tried that I almost could not eat dinner. I had done my first journey down the hill carrying my tripod and a pair of video cameras. No single piece weights very much but added together it totals around 8 to 10 pounds. Of course, the first day I carried this equipment I went further down the hill than I normally go to get the shots of the rhoddies on the hillside. The journey back up the hill was excruciating.

This morning I attended a rehearsal of the Advanced Orchestra. It was supposed to be yesterday but the entire school was shut down for “Curriculum Development”. In other words, writing lesson plans that don’t work. The orchestra was in decent shape and there is evidently a recital this afternoon after school. I shall take another trip down the hill to attend. On my climb up the hill I was stopped trying to catch my breath, when I heard an american voice asking if I was alright. It turned out to be one of the nuts of the hills. This man is working on an invention that will increase the efficiency of gas powered engines by 40%. I have found out that people who leave the US and come to live in the hills of India to be “interesting”. They all appear to suffer from delusions of one kind or another. I, of course, do NOT suffer from any delusions but could be viewed by someone else as having some of the same afflictions.

At 4:10 pm I attended a recital at Woodstock. It was a student recital which happens on most Wednesday afternoons. The music department is very strong and the music was rather delightful. Several of the students were giving their very first recital performance. I remember so well my very first piano recital given at age 9. I played a piece by Beethoven, simplified for beginners, but remember the terror and excitement of actually finishing the piece without having to start over again. I now know I am in better shape. I climbed back up the hill in 23 minutes. he long timers here told me on my 5th day that this particular trail was a 20 minutes climb. It took me close to 40 minutes to do it the first time.