the year that was.

And what a year it was. It began with the awesome news that Boss was going to have a baby! After harassing her to have a baby pretty much from the time she and Kishore got married, I was thrilled when she told me she was expecting. It was the first time I had spent so much of someone's pregnancy with them, and it was pretty cool.

The first half of the year was a whirlwind of birthdays, parties, visitors from abroad, a few trips to the beach, Rob came to visit, a few Sports Days and field trips, two school groups, a few weddings, a friends trip to Coorg. July was when Prakash and I began dating -- 6 months and still going strong, if you can believe it.

Then came Veena's European Adventure:
I spent the first two weeks of August in Istanbul for the World Youth Congress, where I got to catch up with old friends and make some new ones along the way. Istanbul was awesome - albeit extremely hot - and we had a great time exploring bits and pieces of the city. Ellie came to visit, and then I finally got to see her family's trullo in Italy, where I spent 3 gorgeous days sipping red wine (and some Old Monk!) and napping under the fig tree in the yard. Following that Dorothy and I met up in Brussels and did some exploring in Belgium and the Netherlands (with Koudi for company). It was crazy to go from walking around in shorts (and sweating) in Turkey to bundling up in 3 layers and scarves and shoes in northern Holland, all in the span of two weeks! Both countries were a blast to explore, and I will definitely return one day when I have time and money.

From there I got to spend 10 awesome days in London and Bristol, catching up with lots of friends, navigating the Tube, exploring Oxford Street and Camden Market, playing with Maia and Iona, discovering Nando's, running around Henley's with Alex, visiting the Tate, and having ice cream at Harrod's.

I spent a few days in New York City with some friends (where I spent one night in Lenny Kravitz' old apartment!) before then heading down to Memphis. And the next month brought two high school reunions, a road trip through Nashville and Atlanta, a trip to Houston to visit the brother, and lots of lunch and dinner dates to fill up on all the wonders of Memphis eateries (mmm, Central BBQ and Kwik Chek).

Back in Bangalore, Boss had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, everyone had finally shifted to Chamarajpet, lots of interns had come and gone, a school group had come and gone, and many other things had happened in between. From the time I've been back it's again been a whirlwind: birthdays, parties, visitors from abroad (including having all the little ones here at once), a trip to Goa, a few weddings, and of course Christmas and New Year.

Already 2011 is shaping up to be another wonderfully crazy year. I'm taking the GRE next week (eeks!) and then heading to the beach for 3 days to chill out. There is at least one big school group coming before I finish working in June. I find out beginning of April if I'll be starting at the Clinton School in August. And - as always - a million little things in between. Missing approximately 5 weddings between April and June in the States, but I'm sure there will be at least one or two (not mine, for anyone wondering) happening on this side of the world for me to get to attend.

Here's hoping this year is even better than the last.

xx