Finally Almost Ready

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November 9 2010
So, here we are just a day + out from leaving the USA. It is almost a month exactly since my last update, and a lot has happened.
Firstly, special thanks to everyone on this almost three-month long adventure who opened their hearts, hearths and dinner tables to us. Our one-month hurrah-and-off-we-go became a travesty of bureaucracy and strange events. So, thank you very much for putting us up (and putting up with us) to:
Kim W
Ellen & Jay
Benji
Angie & Drake
Beryl (senior)
Perky & Dan
Heather O.
Tempest & Kevin
Isaac & Heather
Willow & Ed
Rahne & Terence
Frank & Jen
Shelly & Dan R
Holly & Paul J
Rowan & Jim
Jill B
Sara W
And a special shout-out to those who made time to see us through unusual providence of time and space: Kate N, Alex, Ingrid & Jeff, and Solomon, Tessa & Donald, Sarah S & Adam.
There are a lot more of you we wanted to see- especially in CT & NH- and I am sorry we didn't get the chance. I know you probably understand, but still... *sniffles*....
So.
We just received our visas a week after the last update. Angie and Drake were excellent hosts and friends to us while we suffered, sweated and were generally miserable until the call from Jill came, telling us they had arrived.
We had promised to baby-sit our hosts' dog, Ziggy, to help them while they went off to a special soiree in WI. Since we had a week to chill and make our final preparations we took a few days to visit B's mom again up in WI. The visit was short, but very pleasant. During our dog-sitting stint (which we were thoroughly happy to do) I bought our plane tickets. For some reason (that seemed to make sense at the time) I bought the tickets to leave for India from JFK in NYC... even though we were going to be here, in the Boston area before we left. So the last couple days have been spent finding our way from Gloucester to NYC in time for our flight.
On our way out here we once again visited upstate NY, although the visit was brief and incomplete, with us just staying long enough to rest, and visiting with only one-third the normal number of households.
We have also been spending a lot of money making last minute preparations- traveler's medical/emergency insurance for B, a few more supplies such as back-up hard drives, electrical plug conversion kits, sundries...
Some news from home made this last trip difficult too- my mom has a new tumor in her breast and my sis is as sick as ever. On the plus side, our cats are doing well: Button is fatter & happier than ever, and Oliver is bigger than the adult cats were sitting for at the professor's house! Also, my aunt and dad are both well.
We have been staying at Chez Jill- my soul-sister's house in Gloucester. While here we have packed, repacked and then repacked more to make it all fit- all while getting in final visits with some dear friends in this area. Tomorrow we will make a couple last visits and then we are gone.
We have a busy day ahead of us on Thursday November 11- starting at 4:45 am. We are taxiing to Boston, then shuttling to NY then taxiing to JFK -For those interested we are going to be on British Airways flights # BA0112 and BA0035. Wish us free of complications and confusion on our flights, if you will! Also, once again, the website for our new home in India is: auroville.org
Once in India we hope to have lodging and taxi service to Auroville- we have nothing confirmed yet... even after all this time. I have been assured however, by Auroville guest service, that things will work out. We are excited to get going, and I look forward to having more to blog about aside from bureaucracy woes and our frustration- and I do apologize for the negativity that has sometimes come through. I'm working on it, really.
Anyhow- time to ready for the next day, and relax a bit before bed. I wish you all well, and thanks for your interest and positive energy (or at least, thanks for the attention!) as we take the next steps on this trip!
Peace,
Stacey

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