Lal Baugh

Today we went to a Botanical Garden called Lal Baugh. It was so beautiful and peaceful. The boys did really well considering we were walking around looking at trees and flowers for 2 hours:) So to finish off our tour we ate ice cream. There are lots of pictures of the beautiful orange trees that are in bloom right now.
Yesterday Melissa and I got to go on a girls' trek to Commercial Street which consists of rows of streets with anything and everything for sale. Melissa was looking for fabric (beautiful and cheap in India) and other gifts. I was looking for nothing, but ofcourse couldn't leave without buying a few fun things:) We each bought shirts made out of cool fabrics and had them tailored to our desired length (they came long). Tailors abound in Commercial street and will do alterations while you wait. We also found this really cool shoe stand--his electricity was out (which has happened everytime I've been to Comm. St. but most stores have back-up generators) so it was sort of a blessing that we couldn't see all the shoes b/c we might have bought lots more than we did:) And Melissa was overwhelmed with meters and meters of beautiful fabric! She got some good deals and great material.
Tomorrow we are flying out to Kerala--the land of coconuts, bananas, palm trees and seafood! We'll be staying in the coastal city of Ft. Cochin then setting sail on a house boat for 2 nights and then off to visit South India's largest wildlife preserve. It should be lots of fun, really hot and beautiful! I'll post pics when we return.

Surprises in the Bag

It felt like we were having a big party as Melissa opened her suitcase full of goodies for us!! Mind you, she brought two bags...the carry-on suitcase was for her clothes and the large check-in size suitcase was full of our surprises!!!!!!! Wow! We were amazed at the blessings. Melissa had asked if she could bring anything from the states for us and ofcourse I took her up on it:D I told her to keep a tab and we would pay her back. Well, to our surprise some of the church families back in Pearland had signed up for things on the list and purchased them for us!!!! They also sent cards and letters. I was so amazed. And the best part of what they gathered to send as an extra surprise was everything needed to make ENCHILADAS!!!!!!!! I can't wait. I had included my old enchilada recipe in one of my past posts. Afterwards I thought that was pretty dumb to have included this unnecessary, long list of ingredients in a blog but i'm so glad i did b/c Melissa used it to gather the goods to make my favorite dish!!
My mom and grandmother also sent us a package of fun goodies and Melissa came bearing MANY, MANY space gifts for the boys!! T-shirts, soap, toys, a book, pictures, school activities and the greatest of all...an autographed photo of the 7 astronaut-crew that will be on the next mission!!!!!!!!!!!! Now tell me what boy wouldn't think that's the coolest thing ever! It may not fully register now but just wait til they're about 10! It'll be an even bigger deal! Melissa is so thoughtful and GENEROUS especially to get so many people involved in bringing us joy. I took some pictures of the goodies and the boys in their space gear but what I can't figure out is how I managed to not get a picture of Melissa yet:( I've always been one to miss photo ops--like picking her up at the airport and out sightseeing yesterday!!)--so I will be diligent about taking and posting lots of Melissa shots to document her trip here.

Good and Bad

THE GOOD
Well we went on quite an adventure yesterday to the other side of Bangalore (which was probably only about 5 miles away but took an hour to get there!) We drove thru the crazy traffic to visit an historic Fort and palace. Both were uneventful and are far, far away from making the list of "to do's while in India" as you'll see from the pictures--Bangalore isn't known for its sightseeing. But we did get a great taste of culture...this part of the city is called "Majestic" and is quite a contrast from the wealthier IT parts of town. We received many stares and seemed to be the only foreigners around:) There were bazaars and markets set-up along the sidewalks selling colorful produce and clothing. We braved a drive thru the crowded City Market which comprises rows of streets lined with tiny shops selling anything and everything. There were so many people everywhere--especially in the bus loading area--which we passed thru to and from our car. I had to fend people off from pinching Kai's cheeks--I've learned to do it with a smile:) It was definitely "another world" of Bangalore that I had not explored yet. My Indian friends laughed at me when I told them where we had been. They said "even we Indians don't go to that part of town"--I'm assuming she meant Indians from our side of town:) I had no clue and took my vacationing friend on quite the introductory tour:) She was such a great (and PATIENT) help with the boys!
THE BAD
I'm so sad to report that Melissa got a stomach bug on day #2 in Bangalore. We didn't eat out so we're assuming it was some of the fresh vegetables we ate last night at our friend's house. I was so sad when she told me this morning. But she has been a good sport and even managed smiles while conversing. I am praying that it's a 24 hour thing and that she won't encounter another bug while here.

She Made It

Our friend Melissa arrived this morning! It was so good to see her face and give her a hug. We haven't stopped talking since she got here:) She was going to try to stay up til bedtime tonight but when it got really quiet in the house (boys' nap time) it became harder to keep her eyes open:) Jet lag is rough when you travel east. We will be showing her around Bangalore and then to Kerala next week to ride/sleep on a houseboat in the backwaters, visit a wildlife sanctuary (home to 1000's of elephants and other animals like tigers!) and visit the coastal city of Cochin. I'll try to blog and post pics when I can before and after our trip. For now here are some pics of Kai in his new outfit that my grandparents sent him along with birthday balloons that all the boys love!!

Dinner Guests and Random pics

Last night we had Brian’s co-worker and family over for dinner. It is a cultural tradition here for guests to come bearing gifts for the host family. Each time we’ve had an Indian family over for dinner they have lavished us with gifts. It’s very humbling. They brought each boy a toy, Brian and me a gift and lots of Indian snacks/treats. They also brought their wedding album, traveling pictures, their children’s report cards and a letter from Veera’s orphanage to share with us. It was great getting to know them better. Veera (Brian’s co-worker and father of the family) grew up in a Christian orphanage. They cared for him and gave him a good education. He was the first person to graduate from his village! After school Veera went back to his village and married Esther, his first cousin (this is common in rural villages to marry close relatives). Once Veera converted from Hinduism to Christianity his whole village (all his relatives) rejected him and will still not speak to him or accept his family. He just smiles when he talks about this but I’m sure he has been through so much pain knowing that he can’t speak to his loved ones. Even his relatives that live in Bangalore don’t associate with him b/c his village has forbidden them to do so. This is what a Christian convert potentially faces here. Veera seems to have a lot of joy and peace about his decision.
His wife speaks only her native language, Tamil (and I only speak my native language, English) so we didn’t get to talk much which was sad. His children Abraham, 9, and Angel, 8 speak English and go to a very good school which you can tell makes him very proud. He has told Brian that most of his salary goes to providing them this education.
So, I made shrimp pasta which they were kind enough to eat without making funny faces. I know Indians don’t really care for the food I cook b/c it’s pretty bland to them:) They are gracious though. I think they liked the dessert—ice cream pie with oreo crust—who doesn’t like sugar plus sugar?:)

What's Inside that Anthill?

I've noticed these huge anthills around the city--on the side of the road or in a dirt field. The large ones range from 4-6 ft that I've seen. I wondered why they were allowed to grow this big--seems like a like a health hazard to me:) I figured the ants must be sacred like most animals here in India. Come to find out snakes live in these anthills and snakes are considered hindu gods. To exterminate an anthill would mean messing with the gods (inturn one's fate) therefore noone's going to destroy the 6ft anthill that gets in the way of their soccer game--they just play around it.

Perplexing

After spending hours trying to solve our camera problem and hours of researching on the internet for the best digital camera to buy... i gave the ol' camera one more plug-in just to see if a miracle had taken place since last try and.....it had! It's working! Go figure.

This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened. Last week our internet modem wouldn't work. After investigating I realized the A/C power adaptor had gone dead. I called the internet company to report the problem. They said they would send someone over to take a look. I knew from living here for some months now that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon so I set out on a quest with 3 kids around town to replace it myself...to no avail. I ended up using an adaptor we brought from the states plugged into our power converter. When the repair man showed up a week later he asked me to plug the modem into the fried adaptor. And guess what? It worked!!! I felt a little stupid but it really didn't work before!

I'm so thankful that both of these gadgets have been revived!!

And what is the lesson I'm supposed to be learning from this? I'm not really sure, but if you are in the market for a new digital camera let me know and I can tell exactly which one to buy!:D