Second last Sunday

I have just been reading the Faculty and Staff bios for the Semester at Sea Fall 2011 voyage and they are both impressive and, to me, intimidating. They seem to be a brilliant and truly well travelled group. There are so many whose lectures I would love to audit I'm not sure how to fit them all in. There are at least two, and possibly three, women who have studied HIV/AIDS in South Africa and other gender issues that it will be difficult to choose between them. I would like to have something in depth worthwhile to bring back to the Grandmothers of Steel in the way of knowledge and new information. But (never start a sentence with 'but')they are such an amazing bunch of women and there is nothing new under the sun so this endeavour may prove fruitless!

I am, without telling my husband, going off to look for a large and light suitcase. Mine seems to have shrunk! I would rather drag around one oversized than two or three smaller and as they are manufacturing lighter and lighter ones it's time to cash in on one of those.

We visited the agency which supplies Indian Visas, George for the fourth and myself for the first time, last Thursday. What an eye opener in polite but devastating inefficiency that was. So many people were there for the second time, at least, and were still being sent away to correct some small error on their application forms on- line. They had finally put a camera at the back of the room so that the new/ correct sized photos could be quickly done...at a price. George was greeted as a long lost friend by the security officer and the woman who checks the forms before you get anywhere near the three desks where sit clerks who receive the completed forms, ask a myriad of questions and send them off to be approved. Fingers tightly crossed, we made it that far! We must now wait 5 working days before picking up the visas.

We now have all our necessary medical 'stuff' and we'll look like a travelling pharmacy. However, it's worth it because if we need anything while on the ship we must pay..forget OHIP!

Later: Larger lighter suitcase procured! George now doubts they will take it on the plane....now he tells me! It really isn't that large so I'm going to have my fingers crossed. Risky but there you are.

Off to walk the dog. She is very moody at the moment...hates suitcases.