Well, today we were able to tour a couple of training sites. It seems to take an hour to get anywhere--the city is huge and traffic makes it very difficult. It began to rain on our way to the sites, light at first but sounded a real downpour while we were meeting (maybe just because of the roof?). some pics from the ride to and from are included. My camera battery's charged and ready to go! The first was at the St. Thomas Boys School. They have an Air Conditioning and a Computer Hardware Repair course that are being supported by Jadavpur University's Office of Adult and Continuing Education and we were able to visit with the Asst. Principal, two instructors, and the class of AC students, in their lab and in their classroom. JU approves ... read more

This is 11 February and I've just reviewed the entries and realized that this one didn't get published!!! It's "old" but interesting so I'm sending it on now, anyway. Sorry I didn't hit the right button at the time, it appears. Well, we arrived safe and sound, a few minutes before arrival time, actually. Our exchange partners met us at the airport and brought us to the Guest House at Jadavpur University where we unpacked and were settled in by about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, we had jam toast and tea as we got up and moving, then went to the Rabindra Sarobar Lake Park. Later, we were able to attend a Hindu wedding ceremony (the bride's reception--the groom's reception will be Tuesday evening). I took the pics of the rr tracks and the neighborhood behind ... read more

What’s the Deal? Susan works for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), in Workforce Services. She’s taking part in this year’s exchange program between the VCCS and Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Her exchange partner, an economics teacher from JU, came to Virginia in October for two weeks and Susan returns the visit (with 3 other VCCS professionals) January 25-February 9. Susan’s husband, Mike, will come to Kolkata near the end of her two weeks at JU and they’ll spend another week in Kolkata and Mumbai. In Mumbai, they’ll tour and visit family of a friend of theirs. ... read more