Epilogue ?

Spending a couple of days in the French countryside in Ardèche after all the noise and excitement of Ludhiana.

Not unhappy to have missed one month of winter this year :o)

Peach blossoms in Ardèche

Spring is almost here, time for new projects and new opportunities...

"The Long and Winding Road"

It's almost time to take the long road back home...

We will be spending a short night in Delhi, very short for those heading out to Latin America as their flights leave in the middle of the night, but I'm hoping we can still find the time to have one last drink together and say goodbye.

This has been a fantastic experience, and I have been given the occasion to meet and work with some very talented people. We all got along very well, and it almost feels like we have known each other for a long time... I sincerely hope our paths will cross again.

The hospitality here in Punjab has been amazing, and it wasn't easy saying goodbye to all the people we worked with, and all those who invited us several times into their homes to share a meal or a cup of tea.

Nevertheless, it has also been a long time away from home, and despite the sadness of leaving India and my friends behind, I'm very happy to be heading back home to my family. I just wish I could bring the weather back with me as well :o)

Last look at the hotel where we had a very pleasant stay

Last walk around town

The A-Team

Minutes away from our final presentation at the College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology...

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

In the background is one of the process flow diagrams we created, this one is for the college's student course registration process.

Last Weekend in India

All dressed up for the Saturday night party !

Baba Chicken... some had a little too many that night

Picture cake

8 in a rickshaw, plus the driver !

Sunday stroll in a busy street

Cow lounging in the sun next to the hotel

Swabhimaan School

Last week we did a half day of community work in a Swabhimaan school for underprivileged children. We held various educational activities, mainly around learning English, and the children were very attentive. It was a fantastic experience, though not always easy since some of the little ones had very little knowledge of English.

We had prepared little certificates with stickers which we gave away each time the groups finished an activity, the kids loved it. I think a lot of them also appreciated very much Kazu's origami stand !

We finished in the school's playground, the kids all wild about the idea of taking pictures with everyone. Needless to say this raised a lot of attention in the neighborhood, and a small crowd started gathering from the rooftops of the surrounding houses.

A great moment in the week.

Miscellanées

La mère de toutes les crêpes !

Ne pas creuser n'importe où

Juste un chameau

Tout un programme

Service client au péage sur "l'autoroute"

Rappel car les feux sont rares ici

Cochon mangeur de briques ?

Porte bonheur, pour éloigner les mauvais esprits

Toujours pas compris le sens de ce message...

La taurine c'est vraiment végétarien ?

Coiffeur pour narcissiques

Tractor Driving Lesson

Last Wednesday at the Agricultural University we got a chance to drive a tractor on the student's practice field.

Our colleagues and friends from the PAU (and active members of the  very exclusive green tea drinkers club!),  Dr Rohinish Khurana and Dr Satish Kumar, arranged a tractor driving session for us after our work day.

Dimitri, Dr Rohinish, Dr Satish, the tractor instructor and myself

Mastering the basics

I think we weren't supposed to drive any sort of vehicle during the assignment, but this was on a closed road and under expert supervision... and anyways I'm a strong believer that rules are made to be broken.

In the evening we all went out for a bhangra dancing lesson, but I'm not sharing any pictures of that experiment  :o)