The Grocery Store is Here!!

Today one of the two grocery stores that is opening near our apartment had it's grand opening!! I was ecstatic since I haven't done any of the grocery shopping since arriving a month ago. To give you an idea, grocery stores here are about the size of a gas station convenience store in the states. And imagine the aisles in a convenience store...trying to push a cart and get by all the other people who are also excited that the store is open:) Makes for tight quarters:)

In my excitement I got a little carried away, atleast by Indian standards, and bought about 8 bags worth of groceries. Compared to a Walmart run in America it was only about a 1/2 of the items i used to buy, but here I felt like a greedy westerner. People here shop daily or every other day. Not for the month like we do in the states:) I won't be loading up again... I took up a lot of time at the checkout (one of two) and I felt so gluttonous walking down the street with a stroller (with no child) full of groceries. And because of my large purchase (again 1/2 of what I would have spent in America) i won the grand prize--a sterling silver swiss army knife that the manager hand delivered to me. I just wanted to crack up when he gave it to me but i was thankful for my prize:) Here is a pic of the store from our balcony and another building going up across the street. The other grocery store opens up on Monday and has real cheese!! A rare commodity here. Yea!

Pics from Our Dinner Outing

We have been trying out restaurants on Saturday nights. A family of five (four eaters) can eat really cheap here. This week we tried Magnolia Terrace, a Thai restaurant. It was terrific. And it was Kai's first time to sit in the high chair at a restaurant. It made my life much easier. You have to bring your own high chair wherever you dine. Every restaurant here serves mint covered fennel seeds and toothpicks at the end of dinner. Doesn't sound good but it is. But this restaurant served little packs of orange tic tacs and toothpicks instead:)

p.s. that's a face mask on Corban's head:) we bought some to ride in the rickshaw taxi's--lots of pollution.

Saturday Outing #2

For our Saturday outing I had planned on going to the new grocery store opening near us and then to a park. We set out in the strollers to the grocery store. It was a quick walk but the store had delayed its opening til Monday. So by the time we got back to the apartment it was too late to take a taxi to the park. So we went just down the street to a new store that is the Indian version of IKEA. Not very exciting but atleast we ventured out. I took pics of the boys outside.

Street Scenes in Bangalore

We've Found A Church

Last Sunday we attended Bethel Baptist Church.( We had visited several other churches for the past month.) We enjoyed the teaching, the people and they have a small group near our home. It also was an added bonus that it's about 10 minutes from our house! Brian had lunch with the pastor on friday to ask him more questions. He is a super nice guy and is very "real". Brian loved him and decided that that would be our church home. It feels good to be able to start getting to know people. I took some pictures this Sunday of the inside of the church and some interesting sites outside of it. It's really a picture of what many streets look like here I just haven't had the chance to take many shots so I decided to do it today.
P.S. Tuesday is Ghandi's birthday--a National Holiday--so Brian has the day off!! Yea!

Kai Turns 6 Months...

Kai is now on his way to manhood...he has eaten his first week of rice cereal and is about to upgrade to carrots (once his momma takes the time to cook them:). His first bites on Sunday were ones of disappointment and disgust, but by Friday he was gobbling it up. He very much wants to help hold the spoon which makes a big mess but how can I resist such curiousity. Here are a few pics...

My First Outing!

Saturday was my first outing in this big city alone...well with 3 kids and our househelper...but no hubby to navigate. I had to haggle with the taxi drivers who see a white woman and inflate the price three times what it would be. (the first driver wanted to charge me $6.50 when it normally costs under $2.00. To go about 6 miles!)

We rode an hour to a big city park (like Central Park to NY). Thankfully he dropped us off exactly where we needed to be...the kiddie park. There was a train, carnival rides, lots of playground areas, even a popcorn stand. It felt like i was back at a 70's theme park:) And they had fake painted Disney characters all over--very funny:) The kids had a blast. We rode the train and played on the playground. The landscaping here is beautiful so it kinda feels like you are in a tropical forest. The train cost 75 cents for 4 people:) good deal!

Afterwards we walked around to find a restaurant. A bit about Bangalore...not really the best place to walk around with a stroller...lots of holes, rocks, dirt and traffic... so i was looking for the closest place to dine.The first one we could find was one I had heard of...Koshy's. I chose the non-smoking section (healthy dining:) but it was a whole other restaurant--much more plush and expensive. Two meals cost around $11.00 which is good in the u.s. but expensive here. Our housekeeper just kept looking all around--i don't think she eats out much. and she obviously felt obligated to use the spoon that came with her rice b/c most indians use their hands to eat. I felt bad but since i can't communicate with her very well i just let her experience life with utensils:) After we left she said "food-$500 rupees" with an astonished look on her face. She must have seen me pay for the bill. It made me sad b/c she could never afford a meal like that. I said "yes, very expensive". What could i do? that was the only restaurant in sight. it shows me how spoiled we are in the u.s. A trip to Chic-fil-a costs more than that restaurant and we dish that out a few times a week there. I think we'll be packing a picnic lunch from now on.

Nonetheless, it was a great experience and i do think we'll continue to have Saturday excursions...it really helps lower stir-crazy levels!

Keeping Life Interesting

Well, I've been thinking of all the unique things that I'm discovering here in India. They are taking some getting used...and remembering to just smile:) I thought I'd list a few...
** Why drive a car when your family of five can ride in a green and yellow rickshaw (baby on lap) to go anywhere in the city! **Why use lanes when everyone can just mash up right next to each other in the road and at signal lights. Actually i've been told traffic would be much worse if people actually used lanes and followed driving rules!
**Why buy a $5 can of Ragu (really!) when you can just use the little Italian spice packets that came with your Dominos Pizza to jazz up that can of tomato sauce--it's actually pretty good:)
**We are buying a minivan--the only one on the market-- and it comes with (you can't opt out!) pink and purple racing stripes on the side! Really increases resale value too:)--for real!

**Did you know that American accents are really hard to understand in other countries that speak english? Try adding a mix of Texas and Louisiana accent to that and you'll be repeating yourself over and over:) Brian just uses an Indian accent and they understand him:)
*Why buy tyson frozen chicken breasts when you can go to your local chicken butcher, pick out your favorite chick (live ofcourse) and leave with skinned chicken parts in about five minutes? Smells delicious!:)
**And last, but not least, why have a boring door bell when you can have "THE" doorbell that plays a different "techno" song everytime it's pushed! Got- to- have it!:) oh, and our water purifier plays music while it pours as well.
There are many more differences--good and bad--but i'll save more for later. These just make me laugh.