Living in a Blur

I haven't posted lately because I'm not really living in the moment to observe or notice things around me:) I'm so excited about our trip to the States next week that I've been living on Planet Packing the last 2 weeks. Also trying to get lots of schoolwork completed since we'll be playing hookey for over a month!! I have a one track mind right now. 6 Days!!!!

Here are a few recent pics of the boys...

Coorg

We took a trip to Coorg (the country), about a 5 hour drive outside of Bangalore, when our friend Pam was visiting us last week. We had so much fun with her. We missed having Brian with us--he was away for work (where he ran the Delhi Half Marathon in 1 hour 22 minutes!!)

We stayed on a farm that had guest villas. It was so beautiful and our hosts took very good care of us. We visited an elephant camp where the elephants were bathing in the river and we even got to take a ride on one. We drove up into the mountains to view beautiful waterfalls, coffee plantations, wild poinsettia trees and lush green valleys. We visited a majestic lake/dam at sunset and returned the next day to give the boys a taste of country life...throwing rocks into the stream as cows leisurely walked by us:) Our host took us to a nearby buddhist monastery which is home to 4,000 Tibetan monks. And his wife cooked delicious south Indian meals 3 times a day for us!

The fresh air and beautiful scenery were worth the 7 hour drive it took to get there:) ( there were numerous unexpected forks in the road that weren't included in the directions given to us:) The boys could have just gone to hold the puppies and stop at McDonald's on the way there and back and been happy campers:)

Ya Never Know

We heard drums coming down our street so I ran to get the video camera. I wish it had a longer zoom so you could see the unique dress of the men. They look like tribal warriors...shirtless, feathery armbands, black sarongs (official term: lungis), yellow turbans and bare feet. Percussion groups like these are often hired to perform at special occasions.

What was the special occasion? A new grocery store advertising it's Grand Opening:)

I really LOVE this!!! You just never know what you will see out your window here.

For the Grandparents

I think baby talk is really cute and thought maybe Kai's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and anyone else who finds toddler pronunciation entertaining, would find this enjoyable:) When Haddon was going through his ABC flashcards for school Kai wanted to get in on the action. He's learning the pictures:D

Bringing Out the Worst

Everyone has things that bring out the worst in them...I think. At least I do. I've recently realized the top 2 circumstances that bring out the worst in me. One is traffic. Ridiculous, chaotic, obstacle-course traffic which includes jaywalkers, cows, bicycles, rickshaws, buses, all at the same time. I sometimes feel the road rage bubbling within and when I'm behind the drivers seat I become very cynical. The sad part is my kids are in the backseat hearing all the moaning and groaning coming from mom. Such a bad example. So I'm becoming very aware of that after 2 years of driving here. Which also has caused most of the wrinkles on my face:) Thankfully it doesn't stress me out like it used to but I still need to work on the moaning:)

The second is orderly lines. This is the wrong country to live in with that pet peeve:) The word does not exist (well actually it does but it's called a queue:) People cut with no thought about it. At the grocery store if they have only one or two items they feel obliged to cut...maybe they don't think they should have to wait behind the lady with a full cart and since there are no Express Lanes this is the way to solve it:) The other day at the mall I was waiting in line for drinks. People were just going straight to the front totally ignoring the line that was formed. Usually when this happens I turn into the Line Police. I cannot help but inform people that there is a queue and they need to get in it:D One poor guy cut to the front and I pointed out the line to him in my Principal's Office voice. His head dropped with his eyes pointing to the floor like he was being sent to the corner (this is not the normal reaction--usually I'm just ignored:) and he walked to the back of the line. Little did I know he was just coming to pick up his order that he had already paid for! Oops. So I'm determined to not stress out about lines--which is so hard for me. But I'll have to remember "The first shall be last and the last shall be first":)

One thing that used to make me seethe was going to public places and strangers taking hold of Kai without asking, wanting their picture taken with him, and pinching his cheeks. I'm over it now but I did capture a little bit of it on film to show you. All 5 of these people had their picture taken with Kai (and all 5 pinched his cheeks:) but I only got my camera out right at the end. Notice the cheek pinching when he puts him down (which still drives this germ-freak momma a little nutty) and you can hear the cynicism in my voice:)

Camping Trip

We are so blessed to be part of a playgroup here with a core group of kids. Some of the moms are adventurous AND organized and come up with fun outings. Last week was our first overnite trip as a group. The moms and kids went camping at our local zoo which is about 1.5 hours away with traffic. Brian laughed when I told him I was going camping...I'm not much of a nature girl..."been there, done that" pre-kids and not so keen on roughin' it with 3 children:) But this was not what I would call "real" camping. The tents were more like houses made out of tent material. There were 3 twin beds w/full linens, side tables, a rack to hang your towels, an oscillating fan, a rack to hold your suitcase, a plug to charge your cell phone and an attached bathroom with heated water:D Not bad.

The kids had a blast with plenty of space to roam, dig and yell. In Bangalore, like most big cities, you can start to feel caged...like a billboard on I-10 in Houston used to say..."Stop living like bees" (Referring to apartment living, they were marketing home sales). Sometimes I feel like a bee:) So fresh air, nature and space to run gave plenty us of R & R.

Next to laying in the hammock, the safari ride was my favorite. We've been to the zoo several times before but the line for the safari ride is always ridiculous. This time we got to skip the line. There was a bear section, lion section, white tiger and tiger sections. We also visited the butterfly park and the zoo.

Poor Haddon was sick most of the time. And we were blessed to have to visit the village doctor which I wish I could have video footage of so I will remember how amazingly fortunate we Americans are with our clean, spacious doctors offices and private hospital beds. This place was about the size of walk-in closet and I was praying that we wouldn't get sick from just being there. It also acted as a hospital with two sick cots (which were both occupied). The doctor visit cost $1. Man, I have it so good.

So as not to end on that "preachy" note...one more thing to show that this was a plush camping trip...buffet at every meal:) We loved the pet deer that came up to us at the campsite and the kids LOVED the ride in the back of the Lodge's truck (see pics below). They could have just done that the whole time and thought it was a great trip:)

Bald and Beautiful

Something that fascinates me in Indian culture is that many little girls have boy short or shaven haircuts. Not all of them, and probably not even a majority of them in the city (many more in rural villages do) have hair this short but it is a prevalent practice. I have asked why and the info I have gathered is like usual: from observation and surveying friends so it's not cultural expertise:)

Religious reasons: Hindus do it as a sacrifice at the temple...they shave their heads as an offering. Like in this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAxo9gzOf1w which is disturbing to me but I have to remember it is cultural and not intentionally abusive.

Non-religious reasons (which means Hindus, Christians and Muslims all practice it ): My favorite and most common reason: if you cut/shave the girl's hair at one year and 3 years old, it will help it to grow into thick, beautiful hair and perhaps change the texture (if the hair is coarse it may grow back in as silky and smooth). Others do it for easier manageability, lice prevention or, if due to the texture, it wouldn't look good long.

I think what fascinates me about this is that long hair in India is a woman's prize and treasure. I would say over 99% of women have very long hair. It's interesting to me that little girls would have boy short hair when long hair is so desired. But it seems to be a means to an end....so that the girl WILL have beautiful, thick, long hair some day.