Home Sweet Home

Don't EVER leave Alabama. We live in the best place EVER. Trust me. I'm so so so so so very glad to be home! Oh, it's GORGEOUS!!! I got home at 11pm on Friday and it's surreal to be back, but I couldn't be happier that I am back. Check out the links to the group blog and lindsay's blog for stories and pictures, but, I also have pictures on my myspace (or will, in just a few minutes). If you can't axcess them, just let me know and I'll show them to you a different way. Anyways, give me a call and we'll hang out. Trust me, I've missed EVERYONE!

Still Alive

Hello, y'all! Only one week, exactly, left until I get on a plane to come home. I think it's 9 days till my feet touch Bama soil again, but, soon...very soon. The internet cafes here wont let you download pics from cameras. Wankers. So those will have to wait until I get home. As far as any update, I've been deathly ill for 2 days on bedrest, BUT, I got some meds yesterday and am totally fine now. Don't worry, Mama. So, as far as activities, there's been lots more temples, tons of writing, and one Tibetan Buddhist settlement. I have loads of pictures to show you all when I get home. Don't know if I'll get a chance to update this before I get back, so, if not, pray for my safe return. Flying over the ocean is creepy. FYI.
Love you all! Miss you all!

Elephant Blessings

Last night at the Rajarajesvara Temple in Tanjore, we all were blessed by a really sweet elephant. I got to dance with him/her!!! So cute! Just so you all know, India ia awesome and I'll be posting alot more when I can, but, for right now, not alot of time to do so. In the meantime, here are some pictures!!!

An Update

Check it out here: http://uabinindia.blogspot.com/
and there's pics there too.

Last Day

Okay, this is it. I stand on the precipice. In 24 hours, exactly, I'll be on a plane to Houston which will put me onto a plane that goes to Dubai, India. ...India. I'm going to India!!! WHOA!!! It's real. It's here. This is actually going to happen. Oh, I'm nervous and I know I'll get homesick, but it's still going to be an amazing trip. I'm sssssooooooooo excited. I'm all packed except adding a few more CD's to my Ipod. I'm gonna miss everyone, but I love y'all and I'll be back soon. Hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll try to post in here as much as possible and put pictures up ASAP, hopefully while I'm still there to keep you all updated.

Hey someone-I-live-with, can you put that check from UAB in the bank? And maybe pester the St. Clair Times about the spot they said they were going to do on me? Nick, I'll miss you! Kiel and Kaleb, I'll miss y'all more. Mama, don't worry. Daddy, I'm going to miss you most of all. ...as for the rest of you: na na naa boo boo I get to go to India and you don't :p Eat your hearts out! Bwahahahahaa

Last Week

Well, here we are. This is my last week before I'm off to become a world citizen. I'm excited and a little nervous. Will I like the food? Will I get sick? Will I get robbed? Will the world implode back in Alabama? I'm worried about my family; what if something happens while I'm gone? Well, there's nothing I could do here that would make any difference if anything DID happen, so being away doesnt matter in that equation. I guess what it boils down to is that I've never been away from my family like this. I've never gone to summer camp or been on a trip with friends where we couldn't drive home at any given moment. I've been to Las Vegas and Alaska, but that was with my family. So, those don't count in culture-shock-age value. I'm worried that I'm not cut out for this whole 'world citizen' thing, but there's not going back now. It's here. I'm going. Period. I'm scared shitless, but I'm going and I'm gonna have a good time even if it kills me. ...well, you know what I mean.

Packed!

I've got all the stuff packed but clothes. And just one more rounds of shots on the 21st and I'm good to go! I've got to pack my clothes, but, other than that (and finding a sleep mask and a chord lock) I'm ready!!! SO READY!!!!

The Month!

Well, here we are - JUNE. -insert dramatic music here- Yes, this is it, the last month of my entire life where I'll have not gone overseas. When I come back, I'll be totally different. I'm happy and nervous and everything else. Oh, and I'm working on my shots -_- no fun, at all, I assure you.

Scary

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/13/india.bombs/index.html

We can't let things like this intimidate us. We are only given a short time on this earth and I'm not going to spend mine in fear.

Packing and the Party

So, Friday the group going to India had a meeting at Cathleen's (Dr. Cummings') house. She's got a big but sweet dog named Duke, and the group has one guy now, Zach. Poor boy. Not only will India be a culture shock but he'll drowned in estrogen! LOL The party was lots of fun. I was SO tired, having just been inducted into the 'godmother club', as it were. Besides having a great time, we went over lots of tips and, more specifically, packing. Here's a list Cathleen sent us about packing.

Packing
A backpack or a large, soft, zip bag with a wide shoulder strap is recommended; a duffel with wheels would be ideal. Make sure your bag has a lock. In addition, for traveling on trains it is helpful to have a cable lock to allow you to secure your bag to the luggage rack.

These days, especially in India’s cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore, anything you might need or want is available, including clothing and toiletry items (women should, however, bring their own tampons). Bring as little as possible! Laundry service is available (for a fee) in most hotels.

Be sure to take with you:
-- passport and Indian tourist visa
-- Most ATM debit cards can also be used.
Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, if you want backup support.
-- approx $70 spending money per week. Bring traveler’s checks.
-- film for camera (if applicable)
-- notebook or journal, mechanical pencils or pens


Toiletries
-- any prescription drugs needed for the entire stay
-- Lomotil or other medicine for digestive upsets or diarrhea
-- sunscreen, high-factor.
-- tampons
-- shaving gear
-- disposal wipes are useful as is a small tube or bottle of disinfecting hand-cleaner

soap, toothpaste and shampoo are all readily available in India, although you should probably bring travel sized items with you so you have something for at least the first couple of days.


Clothing:
-- comfortable walking shoes
-- sandals
-- underwear
-- swimwear
-- one or two pair of cotton trousers (jeans will be too heavy)
-- one pair of shorts (men only)
-- one long cotton skirt (women)
-- a few t-shirts or lightweight shirts
-- one set of “dress up “ clothes
-- a sun-hat of some kind and sun glasses.
-- socks
-- a sweatshirt, sweater, or pullover (especially useful on overly air-conditioned trains!)

Women: refrain from wearing skimpy or tight-fitting clothing, and going bra-less. You may want to buy an inexpensive salwar kameez (traditional Punjuabi long tunic and trouser combination) when we get to Chennai – they are comfortable in the heat, practical, and are considered to be quite respectable attire.

Misc.

-- a Mini-Mag light is very useful for poking around in dark caves and inside dark temples.
Some kind of small, portable light is recommended.
-- a voltage-converter and converter plugs if you are bringing along any electronic equipment
-- earplugs are very useful to shut out the din on trains and in other situations, and a light sleep mask is also helpful
-- collapsible umbrella

Potty Mouths

done!!!! sent 4/18/2008 6:19 PM:
http://fuzztime.com/?p=479
done!!!! says:
Hi!
Merlin!! Bwaha!! says:
omg at that indian toilet
done!!!! says:
hahahahaa
done!!!! says:
I saw that and was like ....O.O poor Meg.
Merlin!! Bwaha!! says:
XD
Merlin!! Bwaha!! says:
guess i need to practice my squats
done!!!! says:
hahahahaahha!

How timely!

My friend Chris saw this link and I thought I'd share it.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/04/15/first.time.india.ap/index.html

Thanks, bug! <3

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

This has nothing to do with India stuff, but, hey, it's my 23rd birthday! Woohoo!!!

Plane Tickets

I had the travel agent, Harini at Simha travels in Texas, order my plane ticket today. The B'ham-Houston and Houston-B'ham ticket was 200 and something dollars. Harini's still haggling with the airlines for the best international flight rate. Oy Vey!

Anybody else getting butterflies? I know I am. O_O

I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!

Dear Meagan Grimmett,



Congratulations! You have been selected as one of this year’s New Study Away Scholarship recipients for a scholarship in the amount of $1200.00.

Nothing Much

Nothing new, really, just a heads up that I'm going to my official orientation on April 24th and that I should be finding out any day now if I got a scholarship. -crosses fingers-

Insurance

So, I turned in my app and my visa info. App got accpeted and they emailed me back to come to an orientation on april 24th. That's cool, and I needed to look up travel insurance. Get this: HTH Travel Insurance, full coverage, any circumstance you can think of, covering from june 25th to aug 24th... how much? Only $164.00 Can you believe it!? I was really impressed.

YES!!!

I've been invited to go interview for the big scholarship! SCORE!!! I'm nervous, but, hey, I got invited back, right? Great sign! Wish me luck. :)

Follow Up

Finally turned in the scholarship stuff and so I've got my visa and my in-campus app left. And money, of course. Still working on that.

Deadlines

March 1st - Scholarships and India Registration form
nearly got those done, but the registration form isnt even posted yet UGH

April 15th - turn in info for indian visa
oh boy x_x

So much to do! So little time! I'm really starting to get excited.

I finally got a camera. It's an Olympus Stylus 790
SW, 7.1 megapixels, and its orange!
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1314
it was $299.99 and the full coverage international
plan was $79.99, and then I bought an extra memory
card and a carrying case too. So, around $400 when
all was said and done. Yikes! However, they are the
best on the market, and with being waterproof,
dust/sand proof, and drop resistant, it was ideal
for the trip (and my clumsiness).

FYI

News! My friend Mandi, whom I play DND with on the weekends, is getting to go to India with me. It's her birthday present to herself and we're gonna have a blast. I can't wait. I knew I'd have fun, but, if Mandi goes, it'll even be better!!!

The dinner the other night at 'The Silver Coin' was lots of fun. And the food was pretty dang good too. Lots of deadlines (forms, money, etc) are coming up soon, so they'll be more updates as well.

Stay tuned!!! ^_^

It's (gonna be) a boy!!!

Visas

...anyone know how to apply for one? I'm at a loss.

Rushing towards the New Year

2008 - the year of the trip! woohoo!! I'm hoping to get some stuff for the India trip for Christmas. Less to worry about. It's lookling like the whole thing is going to cost (with spending money and tutition and plane fare added in) just at $5,000.00

Yeah, that sounds like alot, but, cm'on, how many time do you get a chance to go to India?!
Oh, and on Jan. 11th the people interested in going are going to dinner at this Indian place and watching a Bollywood movie. Sort of a bonding thing, I should think. It'll be fun.

More to come later! Happy holidays, Everybody!!!

Whew!

I know I haven't updated in awhile, but there's not been anything to update about. I got the passport back, but I've yet to go get my visa. With the end of term and the holidays, pfft, it'll have to wait. I'm swamped.

Passport!

Wow!!! I've already gotten my passport back! That was really quick, yeah? Anyone know how to get a visa? I need to get on that.

Passport

Getting a passport is alot easier than I thought it would be. All you need is Driver's license, birth certificate, 2 photo you can get done at CVS in no time, and $97. I sent off for mine last week and it takes 8 to 10 weeks to get back O_O Wow. So, when I get it back, I have to turn right around and get a visa. I'm sure that it'll be equally as easy if I throw more money at them.
-eye roll-
My Professor suggested today that I get a "Lonely Planet" book on India. Anyone know where to get those for cheap? E-bay, maybe? I really don't want to pay $30 for a book. Yikes. But I will if i have to.

What time is it in India?

So we can satify everyone's curiosity, I've added a widget to the bottom of this main page that shows what time it is in India! Neat, huh? Other than that, there's no more new updates as of yet, besides that I'm crazy excited to start getting ready. Step one? Try Indian food.

India --- The Beginnings

So, last week I had a meeting with my advisor who let me know that I could graduate Christmas of '08 if I took a trip to India in the summer. It's a study abroad thing through UAB and it'll count as an Art History credit and an English credit. Today was the first meeing that was just a taste of what to expect. We'll spend one week at UAB, four hours a day, soaking up as much as we can about India before we leave for three weeks. We'll be in the southern part of India and won't make it to the Taj Mahal, but I'll live. (Did I spell that right?) I don't know anyone that's going so far except for my professor. (How lame am I?) After the three weeks, we'll come back home and have a week to chill before our final projects are due. From what I understand, I'll have some internet axcess, so, when in India, I'll be getting online to update this and download my pictures for the day. I don't leave till May, but I'm going ahead and starting this so I can keep everything, from start to finish, documented! I'm really excited and I know there's more to say, but I guess that's all for now. Woohoo! India!!!