Thanksgiving Pics

Here are some photos of Thanksgiving Dinner at the Savage Family home. They are so hospitable and have welcomed us for Easter, Thanksgiving and a soon-to-be Christmas party. It was nice to meet some new Americans too. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we woke up thankful that we don't live in Mumbai (Bombay). I'm sure most of you have heard of the tragedy so I won't retell the events. Bangalore is south of Mumbai by many hours so we aren't "living" the reality of this, but it is terrible news to have to digest. Thank you to those of you who sent emails and word of your prayers. Bangalore has had bombings as well in the last 6 months but nothing compared to this.

The amazing thing is I'm not afraid (and those of you who know me well know I have some anxiety issues in this area of my life:). I think this must be how there are still NY'ers living in NY after Sept. 11 and how there are still people living in many middle eastern countries that face bombings everyday. You have to detach yourself. We tell ourselves..."well we don't frequent these targeted places and we feel safe where we live". Now if these things that happened in Mumbai or Bangalore would have taken place down my street or in my neighborhood I know for certain I wouldn't be feeling the same...Brian would either have to stop me from packing our bags or help me pack them depending on how he was feeling:) (He is more rational in his faith than I am in a time of crisis:)

On a lighter note...my sweet hubby made a spur of the moment decision to send me and the boys to the U.S. to visit for 3 weeks! We bought the tickets on Saturday, leave this coming Monday and will be back Christmas day to be with him. I am just so excited I didn't think I'd be able to wait a whole week before we go!:) And the boys are equally excited. We will be running b/w TX and La. during those weeks but hopefully we'll get to see as many people as possible. This is such a gift and I thank the Lord for making this happen and giving me such a sweet husband to let us go away for 3 weeks.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Germ-Freak-Mom Still Freaking Out

One thing I haven't grown accustom to even after a year is the fact that food servers and medical workers do not wear sanitary gloves. For instance, when I went to have blood drawn a few weeks ago, the lab nurse put the needle in my arm and covered it with a band-aid without gloves on! I don't know who I'm more afraid for...me or her! And I've never seen any medical workers with gloves on. Granted I've never been in surgery so I can't say I've covered all the bases.

And for those of you who live in Houston, Marv Zindler would have had a field day in restaurants here:) I don't think there are any health code inspections. You know, I've worked in restaurants in the U.S. and I can't remember if cooks and food servers are required to wear plastic gloves or not. I think what freaks me out is that most of the washrooms (sinks) in restaurants don't have soap or towel to dry off so I automatically connect that to the hands of the cooks/servers that also have no soap or towel:) At one party we went to they were serving these snacks that could be compared to building nachos...the food server sprinkles all types of different things on a base of chips. But the problem was that he was using his fingers, not spoons and no gloves. I couldn't do it! Brian ate it and lived but I just couldn't risk it:) The thing is people's immunities have grown up exposed to this from birth. For foreigners being introduced to this type of dining you are certain to get stomach bugs somewhere along the way...which by now our stomach's have had plenty of their share. Our childrens' immune systems will be like steel after a few years here:)

The great thing is I love the food here too much to not eat out:) I just try not to think about it or take more than a glancing look at the kitchen...ignorance is bliss:) And with that said I know that there are many American restaurants that would gross me out too if only I saw the "slime in the ice" as Marv would say:)

A First

Yesterday we mailed our first letter from India! After 15 months!! There aren't many post offices near us so we had to drive about 30 minutes (really only about 5 miles, but with traffic). They had closed an hour earlier but the staff were still working and kind enough to sell me some stamps. They were not the self-adhesive kind but conviently the post office provided a large jar of glue and a paint brush to stick the stamps on. One of the staff did the gluing for me and stuck the letter in the letter box still wet. I hope it makes it:) This is test run #1. I've never seen another drop box around town but the woman assured me there were more. If anyone here knows what they look like can you let me know?

Another piece of non-important info (well except for Bangalorians)...
I recently saw signs around Bangalore advertising an all-in-one emergency response phone number...108. This would serve like 911. Before now, from what I could gather, there were multiple numbers in which you had to recall from memory in your time of emergency. For example...101 Police, 102 Fire, 103 Ambulance (there's also 1066), 104 for accidents, and I saw in Kolkata 105 for heart attacks. That's a lot of numbers to remember or program into your cell phone. I think 108 is much more efficient:)

Kai the Talker Part 1

Kai loves pretending to talk on the cell phone. Here's the end of one conversation:)

Kai the Talker 2

This video is from when we were visiting the Red Fort in Delhi. We stopped to take a break and Kai thought he would have a "conversation" with the camera. You can't hear his voice but his hands are doing the talking:)

Pics from the Trip

Delhi

We spent the weekend in Delhi and will be here til Wed. Brian had the weekend off so we visited some tourist sights like the India Gate (I'll have pictures to post when we get back home) and the Red Fort (a fortress built in 1638 out of red clay). Delhi seems alot like Washington DC to me. It's the capitol and has many monuments and federal buildings. The smog is very bad--taking pictures, even close up makes them very hazy.

We are staying in a popular shopping area of town for locals...Karol Bagh. There are row after row of jewelry, shoe, and clothing stores. We spent some time roaming the streets, riding the metro rail and visiting these sights. The boys even got to see a race car exhibition and a hot air balloon...perfect for them.

We didn't realize it at the time but our last room in Kolkata was a mansion compared to our room in Delhi:) I would love to give the details to show what hotel life in India is like but i'm afraid i would just be whining. We are getting to experience what millions of Indian families experience their whole lives...small living spaces with very little amenities. I'm not saying that the hotel doesn't have amenities...we do have hot water! yay!:) but we are in close quarters. We'll be happy to get back home on Wednesday.

Obama...the New Indian President

By the TV news and front pages of newspapers here you would think Barak Obama just became India's next president. They are crazy about him and think (atleast the media) that he is going to save the world or something. The funny part is that most of the articles or news segments are slanted with Indian interest..."What Can Obama Do For India?", "Which Indian American might possibly be selected for Obama's team?", "Obama spoke to Bill Clinton about leading US/India/Kashmir relations", "Who will be India's Obama?", "India's Prime Minister spoke with Obama to congratulate him and invite him for a visit to India (the headline read: Obama may be visiting India in the near future)".
I'm not downplaying US/India relations and their great dependence on each other but for some reason I don't think Obama had India on his mind the day after winning the election...or any country for that matter. I think he was just celebrating the win.
He does have a lot to live up to though...India seems to think he is Superman!

Kolkata

We are traveling right now...in Calcutta/Kolkata (English/Indian). I haven't seen much of the city. With 3 boys it's enough to get them dressed to go to breakfast, lunch and dinner @ the hotel restuarant much less explore the city:) We won't be sightseeing since we are here with Brian on business. From what I saw on our drive from the airport to the hotel, it appears more 3rd world than Bangalore. (I realize that my Indian friends may not appreciate the term "3rd World" but I just have to find a way to describe it to the Americans reading:) Granted we were driving at night but it felt like we were in a black and white movie...everything seemed gray and dingy. (Except for the line of 1950's yellow taxis at the airport:) just like the picture) I'm sure there are better parts of town. I spoke with an expat here and she said the gap b/w the rich and the poor is much wider in Calcutta than Bangalore. The IT business in Bangalore has created a large middle class.

It's funny because we are staying at a country club:) It's actually cheaper than staying at a mid-range hotel in America. I ate grilled fish and vegetables for $1 today! It's nice because I have things to do with the boys...playground, swimming, horseback riding. The club is pretty old but it is still where the elites hangout. Last night there was an elaborate outdoor party. I thought it was going to be a wedding but it turned out to be a birthday party...for a one year old girl! I think it was all her parents' friends attending:)

On Friday we head to Delhi where Brian will have the weekend off to explore. I'm thankful for this time to visit other Indian cities and to not be home without Brian for so long...i'm not a very good single mom:)