the lure of the east

[disclaimer: if you work with me, please do not say anything about this in the office; it will be announced officially on Thursday]

Dear friends,

For the past week or so, I have harbored a secret that has become increasingly hard to maintain. However, I only have a certain amount of time left to me on the sunny shores of California, and so I wanted to share with everyone as soon as I had let my family know about a recent abrupt change to my life. I told most of my family after coming back to Iowa, and so now I can make it official for the rest of you:

I am moving to India.

That's right, I'm moving to India. This is quite the shock, I'm sure, since I a) love beef, b) hate vegetables, c) have a stomach that does not respond well to curry, d) just moved into a new apartment, etc., etc. However, I found out last week that I might have the chance to work in the office in India for six months, and it was made official on Tuesday. Things are moving v. fast; I think I'm projected to leave around May 1, although I haven't finalized the dates or booked my flights yet. I'm probably going to stay at least six months (i.e. through October), so my intentions of grilling all summer in California are very much out the window. However, this is going to be a much hotter, more intense experience than Coachella, for example--average temperatures in May are 104 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average humidity of 70-80 percent.

It also means that Scotland is out, which makes me v. sad, but I'm so excited about the chance to go to India. I'll be in Hyderabad, which is in the middle of south India, working in our office there and living in a company-sponsored apartment. Hopefully I shall get to travel, since there is a multitude of places in India and around Asia that I would like to visit.

Anyway, this is why I intend to have the most insane, amusing, fun-filled six weeks in recent memory; you can think of it as though I have a terminal illness called 'India', and I have to live each day like there's no tomorrow until I go. So, expect some fun plans in the near future! I'll be back Sunday night, and then the planning can begin in earnest.

For those of you who are curious, I'm not abandoning Claudia and Terry; I'm leaving all my stuff in the apartment and paying rent so that I can move back in as soon as I return. This means that you are still welcome to come over and watch TV, although you'll probably find it in your best interests to befriend at least one of my roommates. I will also blog religiously, and will hopefully post lots of pictures to keep all y'all informed of my exploits. I'm so happy that I'm going on a new, grand adventure; it's the best of both worlds, since I get to have a crazy new experience and yet still come home to all my friends and my apartment and everything when I'm done. So yeah, I'm excited...watch this space for more updates as the time of departure approaches. My first adventure is getting all my shots and malaria pills on Tuesday...I can't wait!!

In other news, Iowa State beat Minnesota in the NCAA tournament today; I had fun watching the game with my mom, and she was v. happy that they won. I think they'll have a great team next year, since with the exception of their biggest player, all of their main players are freshmen or sophomores. This slightly mitigates the disaster they experienced in 2001, when they became only the fourth 2-seed to ever lose the first-round game against a 15-seed (ISU vs. Hampton College; I watched the end of it in Stern latenight, and apparently made a spectacle of myself, since most people were cheering for the underdog, of course). So, that was great too; all in all, my trip home thus far has been wonderful. It was completely fortuitous that I came home this weekend; I got my tickets a month ago, long before I knew about India, but it was nice that I was able to tell all of my relatives in person.

Happy spring break, for those of you still in school!