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.

Week in Review

After 2 "dry" weeks there were some "blog postable" moments this week:)...

Kai got his hand stuck in the elevator as the door opened! Every mom's nightmare...if they think of that one:) The door was half-open and stuck with his hand wedged inbetween the door and the wall of the elevator. He was crying, Haddon was crying, I was panicking and hoping my adrenaline rush would be able to pull the door shut to release his hand, but not so:) Some neighbors ran to get the security guards. When they arrived one was smart enough to bend the door back (it's thin) so that Kai could get his hand free. So easy. Why didn't I think of that? Well it was traumatic:) But he was fine. We put some ice on it and he could wiggle all his fingers so I knew there were no broken bones. He was playing w/toys 20 minutes later and had a story to tell Daddy when he got home from work..."Daddy...hand....stuck...hurt":)
******
I grocery shop once a week. I go to the same store around the corner. Most neighborhood grocery stores are the size of a convenient store. At this particular one there are usually about a dozen employees around 19 yrs old all for this small store and I go at a non-peak time. Because of these factors and b/c I look different, I'm usually inundated with greetings from every staff member, offers to help me, stares, laughing and talking in their native language about me, and the 4-5 different employees who randomly stop at my cart and stand there watching what I'm putting into it. They obviously don't have much to do. After 2 years of this it doesn't bother me, I'm used to it. But this week a nerve was struck.

Since I do the shopping for a whole week worth of food and most Indians shop for about 2 day's worth, I spend MUCH more than most customers. I also have 5 mouths to feed with American tastes which cost more than Indian foods. So, at the check-out, the cashier at the next counter who wasn't checking anyone out kept leaning over the computer monitor to see what my total bill was. She gawked, made big eyes and laughed... she'd done this another time before. Gotta blow it off. Well, there were 4 employees at my little checkout counter, all staring at the monitor, all speaking in their native language, using english numbers, guessing at how much I was going to spend and commenting on what the total was at the moment. I was boiling at this point. I told the guy who speaks the best english that I would not come back if people sat around and marveled at my bill. He told the guy bagging to stop but he still kept trying to guess the total! Ahhhh! I already feel so guilty that I get (am blessed) to buy so much food so I think my frustration was part guilt that what I spend on 1 week of food is what these employees make in a month (for my American friends, the grocery bill for 1 week here is comparable to shopping in the States...it's about the same), but also that I feel like a "freak show" and I just want to blend in like a chamelion so I'm not stalked and gawked at in the store:) Will I shop there next week...yes, I have other choices but this one has more food:) and it's convenient...so i'll learn to deal with this too...it's a part of adapting that never goes away, you just learn to ignore it.

2 Year Top 10

This week marked my 2 year anniversary in India. Brian had his in July. To commemorate the occasion I thought I'd post the top 10 things I love about India...in no certain order except for #1:)

1. Friends, who are family

2. Bangalore weather--year round flip flops!

3. Being able to hire someone to do the dishes and toilets. And we love her which puts her in the #1 category on this list.

4. Getting clothes ironed for 5 cents a piece. Which translates...no ironing in our house...ever!

5. Seeing an amazingly complex culture and National Geographic-like sightings unfold around us each day.

6. The flat bread...roti, chapati, naan, paratha, the list goes on

7. Public transportation, rickshaws and sharing one car...it's so not American:) (Never thought sharing a car would make a top 10 list!! It helps to live close to work. Btw, Brian gets all the credit for taking public transportation/rickshaws not me:) but b/c of it I can keep the car a couple days a week)

8. Cheap mangoes, avocados, pineapples and text messaging:) $5 doctor visits and $10 pedicures (for my Indian friends: I know this is way more than I should pay but it's at an amazingly beautiful outdoor spa and my American friends can vouch that this is so much cheaper than the stinky nail salons in the U.S. :)

9. My friend Sini's cakes...she is also in the #1 category.

10. Everyday reminders of how 95% of the world lives...in poverty.

I could really keep going but I'll try hard to make it a "TOP 10"

Birthday and Farm

Haddon turns 4 tomorrow! And to celebrate we had a big shindig at Pizza Hut (the India equivalent to McDonalds back when we were kids:) on Saturday. There were 19 kids plus parents! This was our first "big" birthday party. It was a lot of fun and the best part was we didn't have to clean up:) Haddon had a great time and he had his favorite superhero decor and cake...Ben 10.

Also there are pictures from the farm we visited...

Plague

Swine Flu is going around India and has claimed 28 lives last week, 5 in Bangalore. I'm sure some other disease has killed more people in the last week, but Swine flu is the one making people panic. People are wearing masks, schools are closed, hospitals are packed with people in the waiting room hoping to get tested. At the same time the "regular" flu is going around which doesn't help the situation b/c everyone that has regular flu thinks they could possibly have swine flu.

Our family fell ill to some form of influenza last week starting with Kai, traveling to me then to Corban. Brian and Haddon were spared so far. Thankfully the boys got through about 2 days of fever and were back to playing. Momma on the other hand had the intense version that managed to keep me on the couch for 5 days. Today was my first day out of the house since last Tuesday (except to go to the doctor) so I felt like I broke out of a cage:)

So I've been out of blog commission for over a week and hope to post pics of today's outing to a farm very soon.

Mall

This 5 story mall is being built down the street, within walking distance from us. They broke ground about the time we moved here 2 years ago and from the looks of the progress it's likely we won't get to enjoy it in our time of living here:( When I went to the builder's website to get the picture it said the estimated completion date was December 2008:) I'm thinking December 2010. It would be nice to have a food court, arcade and 5 floors of shopping without getting into the car, but it's probably better on our wallet to not:)

The Boys

Corban doing a trick:)
Haddon's new "do" and his favorite shirt
The guy at the salon had fun "stylin" Kai's hair:)

Baby Naming

This past Sunday, Corban and I went to a baby naming ceremony for our househelper's grandson. It is a Hindu tradition to wait to name the baby for weeks or months. This baby is 3 months old. At the ceremony in their home, family and friends said prayers and put paint on the baby and mother's foreheads (the Hindu signs for spiritual "eyes") The guests sprinkled things over their heads... and my favorite...passed the baby between two people on opposite sides of his bassinet under and over the bed in a circle 3 times. Not sure what it meant but it seemed like a common ritual, with everyone clapping when it was complete. There were snacks served and pictures taken. I'm still not sure what his name is because I have trouble understanding names sometimes. It sounded like Cheriyan Jeevan to me but it's highly likely that I got it wrong:) He was very cute and napped most of the ceremony. His aunt (who speaks english) told me that he sleeps all day and is up all night. His mom wakes up her mom (our househelper) to take care of him during the night while he's crying. Poor thing...she doesn't get too much sleep and her daughter and grandson get to sleep all day while she works.

Solar Eclipse in India

This morning there was a solar eclipse over Asia. I learned about it yesterday when my neighbor came over to translate for our housekeeper. She told me that she would be coming late to work b/c of the eclipse. She told me that during an eclipse Hindus offer up prayers and from what I gathered they find it bad luck to go out during and a period after the eclipse. She said a lot of schools were starting late and Brian said he expected people to come in late to work. I read a news article about it this morning and below are some excerpts from it. It will give you a little glimpse of the Hindu religion. It is made up of mythology, superstition and fear. (I don't say this with disrespect, one of my Hindu friend describes it to me with these same words.) Sadly, this morning, a woman was killed and others injured as a stampede occurred on the banks of the Ganges River while people were trying to get into the sacred water to cleanse their sins during the 3+ minutes of the eclipse.

Did I view the eclipse? If you know me, you know I wasn't awake at 6:30 am to view it:D

AP News: "The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered to watch the phenomenon. But millions more, seeing the eclipse as a bad omen and gripped by fear, shuttered themselves in. India abounds in superstitions and fables based on Hindu mythology, one of which says an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun. In some parts of Asia it lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds. One of the best views appeared to be in the Indian town of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River, sacred to devout Hindus. Thousands of Hindus took a dip in keeping with the ancient belief that bathing in the river, especially on special occasions, cleanses one's sins. Millions across India were shunning the sight and planned to stay indoors. Even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay indoors in curtained rooms over a belief that the sun's invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect. Krati Jain, a software professional in New Delhi, said she planned to take a day off from work Wednesday to avoid what she called "any ill effects of the eclipse on my baby." "My mother and aunts have called and told me to stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," said Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child. In the northern Indian state of Punjab, authorities ordered schools to begin an hour late to prevent children from venturing out and gazing at the sun. Others saw a business opportunity: one travel agency in India scheduled a charter flight to watch the eclipse by air, with seats facing the sun selling at a premium."

Power Outages

I've posted before about the daily power outages in Bangalore. I stopped complaining about it somewhere along the way b/c i figured out it doesn't fix the problem to complain:) So as I write this I'm not grumbling:) I just like to paint a realistic picture of life in developing countries for my friends and family living in the U.S. Knowing what you have that many others don't makes your blessings (like continuous power) that much sweeter.

I'm not up on the details of energy consumption in India but from our daily experience, I gather there's not enough to go around for 1 billion people, which is understandable. So each day there are multiple outages and even scheduled outages to conserve energy.

For instance, last week we had a hair appt for the boys at 12pm at a salon down our street. When we arrived the power was out...which we're all used to...so we just took a seat. They informed us that without the power they couldn't use the electric clippers for the boys hair. Most businesses and buildings (like ours) have back-up generators that bring low-voltage power back on until the main power is restored. Amazingly this popular chain salon didn't have one. So they told us to go home and they'd call us when it came back on. In about 30 minutes they called to tell us it was on so we loaded up and drove back. We got through 2 haircuts and just as they were beginning Haddon's the power went out again:( His hair requires full clippers so I should have had him go first but wasn't thinking strategically:) So we sat there and waited, about 45 minutes, and it never came back on. Finally, we went back home for naps. What usually would be about a 20 minute process took almost 2 hours. Last night we went back to finish the hair cutting project but not before I called to make sure their power was on:)

The city schedules 1 hour outages for each part of Bangalore. At our complex last week, our outages were at 6am and 6pm everyday. This week is 7am/7pm. I have to say it's better than when they were being scheduled at 2 am and 2 pm for about 2 weeks! What this means is getting out of bed to turn off the refrigerator b/c the current can't handle high voltage appliances. And unless someone switches off the fridge, the power surges on and off (meaning our ceiling fans when we are sleeping). Thankfully it doesn't wake the boys up, but for me the silence/power/silence/power is a little too much to sleep thru:) Sometimes they even throw in an extra outage at noon. Although these are not peak appliance usage times for most Indians...it translates into meal prep times for Americans 12 pm:lunch, 6pm:dinner:) Also, when the generator is on, the high voltage appliances like microwaves, washer/dryer, and water heaters don't work. So many of our laundry loads get spoiled from sitting either wet in the washer or wet in the dryer for an hour at a time:) My friend who owns a home without a generator says her daughter does her homework by candlelight in the evenings b/c of their outage schedule:) She says her daughter thinks it's fun:)

But like I said, now it's like second nature...it doesn't usually bother me. But after the salon incident it did remind me of the beauty of continuous power:) And had to share. BTW as I'm typing this right now our power went out:) 7:15-8:15pm schedule. Everyone who owns a computer also owns a UPS back-up battery to make sure the computer doesn't shut down when the lights do:D Thank goodness for those!

Out and About

Brian's Day Off
Last week we went for a family outing to Wonderla...an amusement park outside of Bangalore. We went last year for Corban's birthday but didn't ride the land rides. So this time we did the waterpark and the rides. It was great b/c school is in here so there were no lines.
4th of July
On Saturday night I was so happy to be able to get together with my friend Lisa and some of her neighbors for a Girl's Nite Out. It ended up being 5 Americans and one British girl who recently moved from Cincinnati:) I'm not often around Americans so to spend the 4th of July with so many was great. And not to mention getting to have whole conversations without any distractions or interruptions (which is normally how moms interact) was a bonus:)
Perfect Weather
I hate to rub it in to my Texas and Louisiana friends and family who are surviving sweltering heat and drought...but just incase you are curious:) Bangalore has a very mild climate. We are past the summer months, which do get hot, but only last about 2 months. Yesterday with the windows open it even felt chilly...i had to put on a jacket. So if you need a break from the heat there's always Bangalore:)

Brian's Work

I can't remember if I've posted this previously.
This video describes what Ujjivan does. This might give you a better picture of what Brian is doing and what the word microfinance means. Brian's department is responsible for processing loans and making sure these funds get smoothly into the hands of their clients.

Insignificant Thoughts

Here are some random bits that have no importance but thought I might share to further the glimpse of our life in India:)...Nugget Depletion
As I reported a month or so ago, McDonald's introduced chicken nuggets to India...apparently with much success. Although I don't care for them, the kids do and it brings along some great sentimentality of the U.S. But after a few short weeks here the supply has run out (represented by signs at each cash register in every McDonald's we've visited recently (3:). It says another batch is coming which I assume means they are being flown across the ocean. We are back to our Chicken McGrill (a spicy, orange chicken patty with green mint chutney sauce which we opt out of) happy meals. But despite any shortages I am thankful for McDonalds in India...a slice of home.Threading
After almost 2 years of living here I finally succumbed to the torturous act of having my eyebrows threaded. There is no eyebrow waxing here only the amazing art of threading. This requires the stylist to use a long loop of thread, catching your hairs in between and painfully twisting them out. Since mine were long over due I believe I got more pain than is normally required. Even though neither threading nor waxing is pain-free, I do think its better to pay $1 for threading than $15+tip for waxing in the U.S.! Here is a demo for those interested in seeing the process. Ignore the statement at the beginning that it is painless--not true:) And to get the full effect wait until she shows the close-up version:) (Couldn't embed it, sorry) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK6Y12IpCpMWeaned
As I observed an Indian women buying toilet paper, paper towels and Ragu sphaghetti sauce (which costs over $5 a jar here!!), I assumed that she must have previously lived in the U.S. at some point in her life. These 3 items are not usually on an Indian's shopping list unless they have lived abroad or are hosting foreign guests:) At that moment I had an amazing revelation... I have been weaned off of paper towels for 1.5 years now!!!! Really this is an amazing feat...just ask my mom...i can go thru a roll of paper towels at their house in about 2 days! How did I detox? It wasn't on purpose...it's just that the paper towels sold here are not that absorbent so I didn't see the point in them. Now I use a hand towel to dry my hands and dish towels to wipe up spills, etc. Which, i agree, is more eco-friendly but this doesn't mean that I won't bask in the luxery of paper towels when visiting the states:) And btw, I usually buy a 4-pack when staying at my mom and dad's house to make up for my serious over-usage:)

Domino Packets are Good for Something
With every order of Dominos pizza you get little packets (and more little packets) of Oregano Seasoning and Chili Powder. Since Italian seasoning is not available in stores I use the packets of Oregano to make sphaghetti sauce (can't do the $5 Ragu jars...just can't do it) and season salads. I know a few other foreigners (and probably many more) who do the same thing:) We all eat alot of Dominos:)
Washing's not Enough
Recently learned from a doctor that sewer water is used by many farmers to irrigate their crops. Ah, yummy. I already detox our produce in special cleansing suds then rinse with purified water, but she said anything that grows in the ground (i.e. carrots, spinach, cabbage) should sit in a covered pot of boiled water for 20 minutes. The sewer water, carrying parasites and bacteria, contaminates the produce. That could explain our on-and-off-again family stomach issues the last 2 years, including ecoli. So now I'm sold, and scald our carrots, spinach, etc. I'm a raw veggie girl myself but gotta do watcha gotta do. Not all doctors agree with her. Our pediatrician laughed when I told her. Makes sense to me.

Graduation Day!

I've always thought elementary/middle school graduations were silly. What are you really graduating from or to when you finish 1st grade or 5th grade? You're going to the next grade...big deal:) But after completing our first year of homeschool I am all about GRADUATION and celebration now! Why yes, there is cause to celebrate after completing kindergarten!! Not only for Corban but for me:) Btw, I found kindergarten much more informative the second go round:) I actually learned some things I don't ever remember learning:) Just think of all that I will learn in the next 15+ years of homeschooling!

Today was our last day of school so we made a construction paper graduation hat and a cookie cake to celebrate. And we went for a swim...one of Corban's favorite things to do. It was a great day.

Corban also learned to tie his shoe last week. We watched a few youtube demos, he sat down and tied his own shoe in about five minutes! It goes to show that if you wait until they are ready it goes ALOT faster. I had tried teaching him before but it didn't compute. Now he's tying every time. I'll have to remember this as I start Kai on hardcore potty training next week. When he's ready he'll do it...i'm just afraid from what I've seen so far he may not be ready for another year:) But atleast I can say I tried:)

Favorite Billboard

This is a picture of our favorite billboard in Bangalore. It is for a famous retail chain that sells gold jewelry. (Gold is the jewelry of choice for both women and men) Although this "look" is nothing unusual for India, he appears to Brian and me to have that Used Car Salesman nuance:D So, all this to say, most people in Bangalore probably don't think twice about this billboard but we think it should say...
ARE YOU BEING DUPED....BY ME? :D :D :D

Celebrating Corban and Brian's B-days

We had a great weekend celebrating Corban's b-day on Friday and Brian's on Monday. We spent Friday at an amusement park called Innovative Film City--a copy of Universal Studios. It included a Dinosaur park/museum complete with a life size T-Rex with a dead, bleeding man(nequin) in it's mouth! Is this place really for kids? Go-carts, skating rink, minature golf, Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, wax museum, arcade, 4-D movie, kids dress up area, etc. It was a great day and ended with yummy cake before bed:)
Saturday Brian and I got to go to Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate his birthday early...and alone. Burger, fajitas and nachos plus brownie sunday--nothing better in Bangalore. Monday we had more cake and ice cream from our dear friend Sini plus Brian's other fav--apple pie.
Corban is now 6 and Brian 31. Growing boys:)

Last Week In Review

Our house-helper returned after being gone for a week and a half. I wanted to do kartwheels when I saw her at the door--i wasn't sure when she was coming back. Her daughter had a baby in their hometown so she went for the delivery. Her absence reminded me yet again of the hard work American women daily endure--cleaning their their big houses:D--without the thought of paying someone else to do the heavy load (ok, there are plenty of thoughts but not enough to convince themselves to pay someone else hundreds of dollars a month to do it). So washing the dishes and folding clothes for a few days made me appreciate my house-helper and the luxery of living somewhere where we can afford one. BTW, her daughter is arriving back in Bangalore today, riding the public (overcrowded, i'm sure) train with a 10 day old baby! A little different from doctors orders in the U.S. to keep a baby out of public for 4 weeks!

I have a theory that when husbands are away on business freaky things happen...which I've reported here before...bats flying in the house, E.R. visits, being locked out of the house. So once again, last week as Brian traveled, the "strange" occured. First, it happened not to me but to Brian. He was flying to Kolkata where a cyclone just so happened to be touching down as they tried to land. (I don't think Indian airline companies are into meterology...they obviously didn't check the latest weather reports...or maybe they just didn't care:) So after a sickening bout of violent turbulance they diverted to a nearby city where he spent hours in the airport waiting to see if they would be flown to Kolkata (in the cyclone) or sent back to Bangalore. There was a riot by the passengers and one man arrested. The decision was made, after 15 hours of travel, to fly to Kolkata. They landed safely and amazingly he was able to work. The other freaky things that happened were Haddon falling out of bed onto the hard marble tile on his forehead. (Corban fell out of bed onto his head last time Brian was gone! They never fall out of bed when he's here!) Kai, woke up at 3:30 am, came out of his room and tried to jiggle open my door (over and over), which was locked. This is a first for a child who always sleeps thru the nite. And yes, i freaked out b/c when Brian is gone I'm expecting someone to try to open the door:) (i'm a wuss) so my first thoughts were not that it would be Kai. And last but not least a rickshaw played bumper cars with me and hit the side of my car while driving. He said I hit him but we were both going straight. Who knows, but glad I didn't have to pay off a raging rickshaw driver to let me get by which happens so many times to foreigners.

Last but not least...as you may know an Indian-American won the U.S. National Spelling Bee. She was the 7th Indian-American in the last 11 years to win and the 2nd back to back wanting to be a neurosurgeon! Wow! She turned 13 the week before the spelling bee and didn't celebrate b/c she was too busy preparing. But with $40,000 in prizes I'm sure she is having a great party now:) The documentary "Spellbound" is a insightful movie about the lives of students training for the Nat'l Spelling Bee and features an Indian-American winner.

A Few Odds and Ends

Just a few random notes today...

The Heavy...

Thankful for those who gave their lives to serve our country to keep us safe and free. I'm thankful for my brother Ryan and Brian's brother Ben who are giving/have given many years of their lives to the military and so glad they are both with us this Memorial Day.

Driving around today noticing many blue tarp tent houses, children with no bottoms on in the streets, and small children with no parents in sight, makes me thankful for all the many blessings I have that I don't deserve.

The Lite...

Still trying to figure out what really makes sense....when waiting in traffic at a signal...for long periods of time...do you turn off your car/motorcycle or let it run? I always thought that letting your car idle, even for hours, wouldn't consume that much gas but to keep starting it over and over uses more. So many motorcycles, rickshaws and cars here turn off their engines while waiting, then have to start them up when the light turns green which slows things down in itself. Are they trying to save gas, trying to turn out less pollution, just want their vehicle to have a rest? Hmmmm, if you know which is better tell me:) i probably wouldn't turn off my car even if it did benefit something (it has a stalling problem at startup:) but atleast i would know:)

McDonald's, as of last week, now serves chicken nuggets:) Oh the insignificant things that make a mom happy:) I tasted them and they were gross, but still...what is McD's without nuggets? Still waiting for cheeseburgers...but not going to happen. Even Chili's that just opened here doesn't serve beef burgers...how can it be?

Latest pics of the boys. Kai in his "new" hand-me-down train suit. Haddon with his amazing smile. Corban wearing his new "big boy" tennis shoes that he would sleep in if he could:)

Camp

We returned on Saturday from a week of family camp with our church. We traveled by train (the boys and my first train experience in India) and bus to get there and back. We had a relaxing week getting to know our friends and new friends better. And actually learning people's names after a year and a half! I struggle so much with learning Indian names!!

We traveled to KodaiKanal, a peaceful hill station, in the very southern tip of India. We were at 6,000 feet elevation. There were no mosquitoes!! And it was cool.

Some of the highlights of our trip were:
-We were greeted by a 7 ft 2 inch porter (carries your luggage) at the train station in Bangalore. He has to be the tallest person in India! He and another porter carried our huge suitcases on their heads up and down staircases to get to our platform. Just the train station alone was quite an experience. Wouldn't want to be there alone:)

-Kodai is known for its homemade chocolates. We had chocolate stores within walking distance and ate plenty of it!

-Our team at camp won! We were split up into 3 teams to play for the prized trophy. Brian and Kevin, our team captain, dominated the basketball court and we won the skit night. I'm not competitive so I really didn't care who won but it's fun when your team does rock:)

-First time to experience bucket baths:) So many people here bath this way to save water. It shows me just how spoiled I really am that I never thought of doing this before. Can't say that I came home a changed woman though:) A hot shower after the 15 hour journey home sure felt good!

-Experiencing an overnight train in India with 3 children, too much luggage and only 2 bunks for the five of us. I won't fully complain about it like I have been doing in my mind but lets just say if I could have secretly flown to our destination without the other 80 people at camp knowing about it I would have done it in a second:) I just couldn't be that spoiled American that was "too good" to ride the train and the overloaded bus winding down the mountains:) But here again, I'm revealing the true brat that I am:) And now I can say we did it--once:)

-Having lots of leisure time with our family. It's amazing what a week of stress free, non-busy living can do for our spirits.

-Watching the movie FireProof. That was worth the whole trip.

Here are a few pics from the week...

Haddon and Madonna

Last night we went to a local mall to dine at McDonald's. We probably go to this mall once a month and our ritual is that after McD's (if you eat all your chicken burger) you get a lollipop from the candy kiosk. When we were purchasing the 3 lollipops one of the guys behind the counter pulls out a folded newspaper and handed it to the watch salesman from the kiosk next to theirs. He pointed to a small picture (the same one above) and made a face saying, "is this you?"

I smiled and said, "Oh, no, that's Madonna and her son":) Then he pointed to the boy in the picture and said, "That's him" and pointed to Haddon!:) They said they remembered us from before and saved the article for when we came in again to show us:)

So a few things are obvious...there are very few Africans or African Americans in India...so hence if you see one he must be the same one in the newspaper:). Next, these men obviously didn't know who Madonna was to assume that I was her or that she would let me borrow her son to live with me in India:) And third, adoption is not on most people's radars in India so since Haddon looked different from us he must be the same child in the paper.

We explained to the man that Haddon was our son and that he was adopted just like Madonna's child is. As we left, I told Brian I thought that was so funny that they saved the article....he said he thought it was scary:)

Nigeria + India= Church

For the past few weeks our church has been blessed to have some special visitors. A group of over 250 Nigerian students has moved to Bangalore to study IT (computer software).
50 of those students are staying in a guest house directly across the street from our church. Many of these male students, along with female students staying in another dormitory, are Christians. So now they are attending our church for the next year!! Our church went from fully Indian to 1/2 Indian 1/2 Nigerian in one week!! It is so cool.

This past Sunday, 4 of the students led a worship song in their native tongue for the church. Tears were streaming down my face as I listened to their beautiful language and felt how "alive" the song was! They were not timid at all and the students sitting in the pews sang along and one by one stood up, clapping and swaying. I wanted to jump up in my seat and say "YES! Can I dance and shout to the Lord with you?!!!" It was a glimpse of heaven--singing praises in all languages and I know there will be dancing and clapping there too!!

I really hope they get to come up front again to sing--i just hope i don't cry every time:)

The New Nano

TATA, an Indian company, has started taking orders for it's new Nano--the smallest car on the road--and the cheapest. This means that now someone who could only afford a motorcycle can now afford a $2500 enclosed vehicle. There has been concern that the already overloaded roads will be devasted by the new accesibilty of owning a car. And not only will it afford lower income families to own a vehicle but also middle class families to add a second car to their garage (although there aren't too many garages in India:). I only know one family in India with 2 cars and one of them is used to transport employees to their factory. Most families if they have a second vehicle own a motorcycle or moped.

TATA has received over 500,000 pre-orders and at $6 per pre-order they have raked in over $3 million dollars! One article said they expect up to 1 million pre-orders which would bring their profit before sales to $6 million dollars--alot of money! After the pre-order deadline on April 25, TATA will hold a drawing to see who the first 100,000 owners will be in July. Loans for the car can be taken out for 7 years.

We are hoping to go to our nearest TATA dealer and get a picture taken with the new Nano. I don't think Brian could fit inside one so we'll opt for the family picture standing next to it:)

And we'll see how the traffic changes here in the next few months.

Busy Days

The last few weeks have been very busy for us. Here's a break down in pictures...

Corban and Haddon have taken swim classes the last 3 weeks, finishing this past Saturday. They are now officially not afraid of the water, and as an added bonus, swimming! They both did great and at 3 1/2 years old I think Haddaon is on his way to an Olympic gold medal:) They loved their teacher, Mr. Nixon.


We spent 4 days at the Foreign Registration Office applying for a visa extension. Granted it wasn't full days but it surely wears you out driving an hour each way and sitting in line...waiting. The boys and I made use of our time by making funny faces. Here's some pics of those and smiles from the boys. BTW Brian went a fifth day and has to go back again tomorrow...that'll make 6 trips in all. They don't make it easy:)


On our way to the FRO we pass my favorite little neighborhood (I call it a village, but it's right in the city.) I think it's so colorful and visually stimulating. You really do feel like you've left the city and are visiting a rural community. There's also a pic of the Pappa John's I previously talked about and the typical pizza delivery vehichle in India.


We had a surprise visit by a beloved friend, David France, from Minnesota who now teaches violin classes in Bermuda. He travels the world and happened to be in India for 2 weeks. He had a layover in Bangalore so we got to spend a couple of hours with him. He is now in NY City performing in the YouTube symphony comprised of 100 talented musicians who auditioned on youtube, received the highest votes out of hundreds of contestants and will perform at Carnegie Hall. He took a few minutes to play for the boys who were thoroughly entertained.
David's YouTube Symphony Intro


Brian's work has been extremely busy wrapping up their "end of year" accounts and auditing. The month of March to the present has been intense with many long hours and stressful obstacles. Hopefully they'll be back to normal soon.

We celebrated Resurrection Sunday and the week leading it to it by making a playdough Calvery mountain and tomb. On Good Friday Jesus was on the cross for our sins and later placed in the tomb. On Saturday He was sealed up. This morning the stone was rolled away and Jesus was ALIVE! We also made "Resurrection Cookies" last night and found them ready to eat this morning in the oven. Our friends Sini, Sunoop, Nadia and Nayza came over for lunch. Just for fun we ordered this Alligator bread. The kids loved it and it was the size of a baby alligator!

Tomorrow the boys will go to VBS at our church! School is still in session until June at the Frazier house but since it is summer break for the children here (their school year runs June-March) we are getting to enjoy all the fun summer activities. So I guess we're on Spring Break this week:)

We hope you had a blessed Easter! He is Alive!!

The 3 R's

Jack Johnson has a fun song from the Curious George cd that we listen to in the car...The 3 R's...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. And even though I like to sing along I am one of those Americans who even when the city of Minneapolis provided me with a green recycle bin and the trash truck picked it up for free I still did not take the time to sort out my trash and felt no guilt about it. (slap on the wrist)

Being here in India has shown me alot about the 3 R's. I think I'm a changed woman and someday if I ever have a green bin to fill I will do it, but for now recycling is made soooooo easy for me. There is always someone who will take your leftovers, rotten bananas, stained clothes, broken toys... in a heartbeat. I really have no excuse to waste A THING because my housekeeper will take anything (except long grain rice--she eats short grain only so i'm thinking there's some religious rules involved in that one:) She even keeps all the boxes, cardboard, plastic and glass in a pile and once a month takes it home. I think she must turn it in for money. So no driving to Goodwill or whincing as I throw out a full leftover meal into the garbage disposal like I did in the states. I have seen people digging in the trash on the side of the road eating food out of baggies. It's very motivating when people right outside are in need. I do wash ziplocs here--yes--only because i get them twice a year on my U.S. trips and my stash is not very big:) I wish it was b/c i'm trying to save the world from non-degradable plastic waste but my reasons are selfish:) Toys and books go to our housekeeper and our church nursery. And I think I am almost on the verge of bringing my own re-usable bags to take home the groceries except that I reuse those plastic bags to line the trash can...hmmmm...plastic grocery bags or buy plastic trash bags? Tough call. No paper bag options here.

And what's amazing, for all the trash that is out on the streets here, I really do see an effort being made to sort out trash which I'm assuming is for recycling purposes. I even see the trashmen inside the bed of the truck going thru the trash to sort it out--or maybe they are looking for treasures? Now that is a DIRTY job! I'm told that the cleaning ladies at our complex go thru the garbage each morning (we put our trash outside the door in the AM) first to find things to keep for themselves then to seperate cardboard for the complex. I do hear them rustling thru the bags and wonder "how much in need do you have to be to dig through the trash?". We see children digging through the trash pile behind our complex. I really can't imagine it.

So I'm sold...I'm a 3R girl now. Dare I say, even if I have to drive to a recycling center someday to drop off my glass, plastic and paper I will use my memories of India to motivate me. Please hold me to it!!!

The 3 Rs

Fine Dining Pizza

Three American pizza delivery companies have locations in India...Dominoes, Pizza Hut and the latest, Papa John's. They all deliver but they also have restaurants--fancy restaurants. I know Pizza Hut has dine-in in the U.S. but i think it's really interesting how nice they are here. Pizza is a novelty food in India so it's much more of a dining experience. Whereas for Americans it's a part of their weekly diet... you throw one in the oven or call up Dominoes and order 3 for 5-5-5 if you don't feel like cooking:) Here it can be a nice dinner.

We ate at a new Papa John's this past weekend and it is really upscale. i wish i could have taken pictures of the white leather chairs! They have "real" garden salads, desserts and the awesome PJ crust is the same. The best part is that at all these places pizza is served with ketchup:) I don't find it appetizing but from what i've observed it seems to be popular to combine the two...i guess like pizza and ranch dressing in the states...who came up with that?:)

The best part is that we got a full course meal...appetizer, salad, pizza and drinks for the same price we'd pay for a large pizza at PJ's in the u.s. Gotta love that!

Pizza Hut

Kai's 2nd Bday

We celebrated Kai's birthday last week although I don't think he realized it :) Brian did teach him how to say "two" and hold up the corresponding fingers when asked how old he is. His two older brothers are taking swim lessons with our playgroup friends so we invited them for cake after swim practice.

Kai is our family entertainment and since he's not quite speaking English yet he is still plausibly our "baby". I hope he stays chubby cheeked and speaking "Kai" language a little bit longer:) He is such a blessing and makes us all smile.