Reflections of the First Year

Today makes one year since we moved here(a year and one month for Brian).
As I was thinking about what life has been like I realized that if i could "blanket" the past year, it would have to be described as comparing (India to the U.S) and acclimating. The comparing has tapered off a bit since getting over culture shock around month 6, but it still happens unconsciously, everyday. It feels like most of what I blog about besides our kids is differences b/w India and the U.S. (usually with a bent towards the conveniences of the U.S:) so I thought today I would post what I love about India...
#1 The people. As a whole they are very friendly, caring and serving people. Hospitality is abundant here. They welcome foreigners and do not have anti-west sentiments (or atleast don't show them:)
#2 The culture...tradition, religion, 1000's of years of history, all culminate into a vast, complex and varying land. I've only scratched the surface of learning about Indian culture.
#3 The food. We love it! Cooking here is truly an art, one which I still have yet to attempt, after a year. Yes I am afraid to fail (and work so hard for one meal:) so I leave it to the experts and enjoy it when I get to eat out:)
#4 The Potential. Even though India is centuries old, it's democracy and economic development are still young. The cities are booming and improving. Life for many is much better than it was a few years ago. Hopefully this will continue to trickle down to the poorest people.
#5 A Simple Life. Even though we live very well by Indian standards it is still much simpler and scaled down than in the states. There is no pressure to have a "nice" home, stylish wardrobe or latest gadgets. Even though we weren't really "hip" in the u.s.:) the tempations are still always in your face. But here you can wear flip flops to every event, formal or non-formal, and the walls are made out of concrete so you can't hang anything on them even if you had the latest decor:) (well it is possible but i haven't figured out how to do it:) It's freeing.
#6 Being Sanctified. There's a lot to be "battled" with here. For me it's been being content where God has me vs. where I wish I could be at times. Or grumbling about little conveniences that I was used to having and now don't. Or trying to figure out how a stay-home-mom can help the masses of people living in poverty and then continue to do nothing about it. Or how to break thru in conversation with a Hindu about my faith.

Here are some interesting statistics about India...
It is a nation made up of more than one billion people speaking 1652 languages and living in 17,500 villages, towns and cities in 28 states and 7 Union Territories. On a global scale one out of every 6 persons is an Indian.

So, here's to India and to our next year of learning!

Singing to Haddon

For the grandparents...:)

Haddon Turns 3!

Haddon celebrated his 3rd birthday with 3 days of fun. Friday night we sang happy birthday and ate cake with our church small group. Our friend Sini is making homemade cakes so we could special order a Power Ranger cake. It was the best chocolate b-day cake I have ever eaten!!

Saturday Brian took the day off from work to celebrate. We went to the botanical gardens called Lalbaugh. The boys took their cars to roll down the big hill. We saw monkeys and climbed the roots of a very old tree. After naps at home, we headed to a nearby mall to play in the arcade and eat dinner.

Sunday was Haddon's actual birthday. He opened his present...Power Rangers...the superhero of the month:)...and went to church. All 3 boys got haircuts too. We had a great weekend eating pizza three nights in a row (there's a theme going on here:) and lots of chocolate cake! Most importantly Haddon has lived 3 years of blessing the lives of those around him. He is a precious boy and we thank the Lord so much for letting us enjoy him.

The Wedding Adventure

I like to use positive terms for blog titles (aka "Adventure") even though I will probably be complaining for most of the post:) We definitely set out on an unknown adventure Wednesday morning when I loaded up the boys to journey to my housekeeper's daughter's wedding.

The reception was actually the night before but b/c of the rain (monsoon season) Brian felt like we shouldn't go. His co-worker warned him how long it would take to get there. So the next morning I started out at 8:30 for a wedding that was beginning at 10:15 in the outskirts of Bangalore. I started too late...It took us 3 hours!!!!! It wasn't that far geographically...only 31 miles. But traffic is horrendous! At the two hour mark we hit a line of cars stopped at an intersection. Nothing new there, but a man came up to the car and motioned us to go around the traffic so I did. Come to find a communist party was protesting in the street. They were sitting in the middle of the intersection not letting people pass. Ok, I must confess I went livid at this point. The wedding was starting, I had no idea where I was going, and I had already driven 2 hours with 3 kids....I was GOING to this wedding! I talked to the traffic police and asked him why they were allowing this--he couldn't understand my English:) So I waited a few minutes and when I saw the start of a clearing I inched my way thru, honking people out of the way:) I finally made it out. I was so upset, almost in tears:)--what a bad example for my children, but I was determined:)

So we finally made it to the wedding after stopping to ask a dozen people where the place was. Thank goodness for an invitation printed in the local language. We arrived at what the invitation said was to be the end of the wedding but it was far from being over, thank goodness.

Unfortunately we don't enjoy going to public events very much here. I know that sounds like Scrooge at Christmas but really we are made such a spectacle that it is overwhelming for us all--pretty stressful I should say. The two weddings we have been to have been so chaotic, people whisking away our children, pinching their faces, seating us in the front row (moving people that were already sitting there!), starring at us, videoing us, it's very loud--just crazy. Now I know why celebrities don't go out in public. I don't say that to suggest we are celebrities (ok, maybe Kai:) but just the way it feels makes one want to stay home:) Probably more realistically would be how a physically challenged person feels when people stare at them and their handicap everywhere they go.

So we stayed for an hour and then drove back 2 hours (traffic was a little better). I know our housekeeper appreciated us coming so it was worth it, but I'm glad it's over. Too much for this mom to handle:) I would love to view a wedding here as a fly on the wall:) I'm so curious about the cultural traditions but can't really take them in with so much going on around us. Maybe I'll just have to depend on the internet for that cultural learning.

Happy Birthday India!

Yesterday India celebrated 61 years of freedom!

Olympics in India

Brian and I both enjoy watching the Olympics. So almost each night of the games so far we have turned our TV to the Indian gov't channel that is airing the events. We've come to realize that living in another country means watching the Olympic events that this country prioritizes as "choice" rather than the American go-to's like gymnastics and swimming. During PrimeTime Olympic viewing, India, I assume from what's being aired, prefers air rifle shooting, badminton, table tennis, fencing, boxing and tennis.

Another difference is unedited footage-- i.e. large portions of badminton and table tennis:) I've come to appreciate highlights in the absence of highlights:) And we see news anchors commentating more than the actual games.

Ok, I've progressed to grumbling. Am I a spoiled American (accustomed to the brevity of Bob Costas and the editing of NBC)? YES. But regardless I have still been able to catch the Olympic spirit--mainly from reading the ticker tape at the bottom of the screen (i.e. "Phelps clinches his 7th gold medal":)

Kai Walking

This video is really grainy but thought I 'd post it anyway for the grandparents:)...

Back to Normal and a Laugh

We are finally back into our sleep routine!! Haddon and Kai spent the weekend battling high fever and colds. They are finally getting back to their old selves.

A Little Laugh...
I get emails from an Expat (foreigners) Yahoo group in Bangalore. People post things like items for sale, community awareness, gatherings, etc. Frequently people who are moving to Bangalore post a request to get suggestions on where to buy furniture, find good schools, etc before they arrive. One man from Canada was soliciting referrals for a housekeeper that spoke "English or Spanish, even broken Spanish". I had to laugh at this! No one in India speaks Spanish, except maybe a few International Language majors in college. Domestic workers know around 2-4 local languages but not Spanish:) It makes me think of all the misconceptions and assumptions I made before and after moving here and still do! Even writing some (probably many) in this blog:)

My Wonderful Husband and the Barbie Fridge

My thoughtful husband, aware of our shoebox freezer/ice cave (see pic), had eyed new refrigerators while we were gone. I was ok with the fridge we had--I accepted after about a month living here that fridges are about 1/3 of the size of most american fridges. It helps that you buy about 1/3 the amount of groceries and most packages are tiny here. No gallons of milk or dozen of eggs to try to stuff on the shelf. I was a little sorrowful though (in housework terms:) about our ice cave of a freezer. Many fridges here have a freezer box inside the main fridge. They aren't frost free so when the door on our freezer box broke it was all over. It would only fit about 2 things. Another plus (or minus when you "instant" cook like me) about living here is there aren't many freezer items for sale anyway. So we lived with our 3 ft fridge and ice cave.

But to my surprise, one night driving home as a family, Brian said he was taking us to a secret place. I assumed we were heading to the mall for the kids to play in the arcade:) But atlas, we pulled into an appliance store! He told me I could pick out a fridge with a seperate freezer! I was like a kid in a candy store! We opted for a quality brand--Whirlpool--to make sure it lasts.

The best (or worst) part about Whirlpool fridges in India are they all come with 6 Swarovski crystals studs--3 on each door handle! Oh yes, I am serious...fake diamonds...on a fridge!! I guess that leaves out any bachelors hoping to buy a Whirpool! I just wanted to laugh or find another fridge:) but it fit our price range and was the best brand. So now I have a "Barbie" fridge which seems a little too extravagant for me (the diamonds, not the fridge:) but I do have a freezer that holds more than 2 items!

Ice cave

New freezer

Little Updates and Side Notes...

While we were gone Brian had the car serviced. It now has A/C!!! We no longer have to breath bus fumes! And seatbelts were installed! Driving sanity has greatly increased now that Haddon stays in his seat:)

Kai, at 16 months, started officially choosing walking as his mode of transportation last week. He weighs 30 pounds and is now sharing clothes with Haddon--3T! We are constantly washing their clothes to keep up the supply:) He has now outgrown his cloth diapers which makes for many leaks:) Looks like we'll be potty training soon!:)

Haddon is close to completing the sleep transition. He's usually the "meter" to gauge if we've "arrived" at Bangalore time. He's the one that wakes up at 4am and doesn't know he can just lay there and try to go back to sleep--he's ready to start the day!:) But this morning he slept til 6:45--we're getting there--it's almost been two weeks!

Corban is doing well restraining from running and jumping with his cast. He's pretty good at using his left hand thankfully. He is itching to start school, but momma needs a little more time to get organized. He's at a great age.

Brian got a stomach bug that just keeps going:( His company is growing so quickly--they crossed 100,000 customers and 1,000 employees last month! He is a wonderful husband and my next post will show what a great gift he gave to me.

I'm doing much better than i expected to [re-entry] after having been away in the land of luxery for so long:D Today was a little trying but I did it to myself...I went grocery shopping with 3 boys:)...
Ever pushed 2 carts while grocery shopping? They are so small here that i have to use one to hold boys and one to hold food:)

Ever couldn't find milk? I went to 3 stores before finding some...i bought a whole case:) (Milk comes in boxes here)
Side Note: as an American my shopping list is usually long. It is rare when I can find everything on the list in one stop. Good thing we live close to 3 stores!

Ever shopped by candlelight? There's an energy crisis in the city so lights are out quite often. At our second grocery stop I literally shopped with a candle as wax dripped on my hand.

Ever backed up miles of traffic? I had to do a U-turn at a huge intersection which doesn't have a traffic light (most don't here), which due to small street widths and a non-compact car requires a 5 point turn. Cars/motorcycles/people were inches behind/infront of both bumpers. How am I supposed to move? Talk about being the "center of attention":)

Ever had your grocery bag of frozen goods picked up by the bag boy and accidently given to the person in front of you?
I discovered the goods had gone MIA as I unpacked. Although there was no phone number on the receipt, I knew I couldn't call b/c they wouldn't understand my accent. We had to drive back and tell the story and show the receipt to 6 people...thankfully they believed me:) I got to take home our shrimp and spring rolls:)

We did have a great time returning to playgroup today and we have new friends at church--a family from Ohio. It has been a huge blessing getting to know them. They have a son Haddon's age and another 8 months old. The boys love playing with the oldest son and he's happy to have his first friends in Bangalore.
Thank you Lord for friendships!

Blue Cast

Today Corban had his cast put on. It just so happens to be blue, his favorite color. The doctor we found worked in the U.S. for 18 years and started a hospital in Bangalore for orthopedic and spinal treatment. It was like most of the other hospitals and clinics we've visted...dark and gloomy, but thank you Lord for doctors and hospitals right? And it was incredibly cheaper to have it done here than it would have been in the states.
We got royal treatment b/c they marked our file "Medical Tourism". I'm assuming they did this b/c we're white--although i told the receptionist we live in Bangalore--and medical tourism is for foreigners who come to India just for medical care. I was glad she did this though b/c we got our own personal attendant who put us first in the X-ray line and directed us to the many different offices we had to visit. Otherwise we would have been lost in the chaos.

Corban cried when they put on the cast, a mixture of pain, heat from the cast drying and missing a nap. When it was all over he was laughing. For a special treat he got to ride in the front seat on the way home--something that can only be done legally in India:)

Minimum Wage

On Monday Corban and I are going to see an Orthopedic doctor to put a cast on his arm. It's scheduled during our "nap" time. It's already a chore to take 3 kids to the hospital let alone when they should be sleeping (i.e. cranky!). So I asked our househelper's daughter if she could come and stay with the boys while they sleep. There's really no such thing as babysitting here and that makes it difficult to know what the going babysitting rate is:)
As you'd expect min. daily wages are pretty low here. Previously, when our teenage friend from church watched the boys I paid $5 for 4 hours, and that's more than most people make in a day here. I felt cheap by American standards but I think she was happy.
So as I was trying to decide what to pay our sitter on Monday I looked up Minimum Wages for India on the internet. I was shocked to find out (although, i really shouldn't be) that the min. wage for domestic workers in our state is less than $2 a day! What floors me even more is that people can afford to eat here. Food is pretty expensive for that salary. I guess that's why people live on rice, vegetables and bread.
So if I pay her $5 she will be making more than 2 days salary. Incredible. Compare that to the going rate in the Woodlands, TX for a babysitter...$10 an hour!