Interesting Things from Bangalore!

OK, I think that this will be one of my most detailed posts. I have to throw a lot of detail in there b/c it all comes together in the end.

At the end of my last post, I left off with me heading to get a pedicure. Well, on my way out I called the spa, and they did not have any openings to fit my availability. I was bummed... OH well, I figured I still had Sunday, so I booked an appointment for Sunday. Then I was off to find ingredients for pasta salad. That was what I had to make for my work potluck.

Shopping was good (by Bangalore standards, of course... it was no trip to Meijers). Got my things, came home and started to make the pasta salad. Came to the realization that I did not have a serving bowl big enough for the pasta salad (keep in mind our sea shipment has not arrived yet so we are still working with the limited things we had in our air shipment). Anyways, I figure I would ask my neighbor, Ritu, if I could borrow a bowl from her. I went over there, and she was telling me that she just got finished with her massage. I was a little curious... she proceeds to tell me that she has a lady come to her house that does full body massages and head massages for her entire family. I was really interested now. Ritu said she would send her over if I was interested.... I said 'SURE'. An half hour or so an old Indian lady that was missing a few teeth comes to the door. I was a little taken back my her looks (OK, maybe frightened may be the better word), it turns out she was the 'massage lady'. I talked to her, I was a little reluctant, but arranged for her to come on Sunday to do a massage for me.

Now, we speed up the details a bit.... Pasta salad was good, party was fun. I met all the GM people that are here from abroad. One family from Australia, 2 from Germany and about 10 from Michigan. It was nice to meet the spouses, and kids. Funny thing, 2 of the families from Michigan know my parents. I know, small world!!

OK, now moving to Sunday. I had my pedicure. I decided to get my haircut while I was there. This is a big step for me. Some of you know that I have been loyal to Roman (my hairdresser from home) for probably 13 or 14 years!! Really, no one else has cut my hair for all those years!! It was a big thing to have my haircut by someone else. Overall, the haircut is fair... it definitely is not like my usual cut. I just need to accept it... Pedicure was great! And of course, Mira was with me!!

After that we had brunch at Palm Meadows. They have a great buffet every Sunday. Very yummy food!!

Then we headed out shopping. At the party Saturday night the conversation was about how the tax on wine was going up 40% on Monday. So there was a mad dash of people stocking up on wine. We decided to do the same. The wine here is more expensive than what we would get back at home. It is at least $10 for a basic wine. It can go up to $20 for anything that is decent. These are the prices before the 40% tax hit....

After shopping, it was time to hustle home for the 'massage'. We got home and she was already over. Now, I had talked to Ritu before she came to get the 'details'. What is the protocol, etc... I turns out you have to provide your own oils. Ritu said that she prefers olive oil for the body, and hair oil for your head massage. OK, if you rememeber, the olive oil cost me $10 for a small bottle!! So, we get all set up and she went to town. It was one of the best full body massages I have ever had. And then she went to do a full scalp massage.... ahhh heaven!! It went on for over an hour and a half. It was great!!! Now, here is the best part.... she charged 300 rupees for the whole thing... body and head!! Quick conversion for you.... that is whole whopping $7.50! Yes, that is all!! That is less than the a bottle of wine that we bought!!

Guess who is getting a massage right now... yep, Vim!! Best part, she is coming back next Sunday. I think that this will be a weekly thing!! Rough life, eh!!

Sunday has been a day of pampering... Hair, nails, massage, nice lunch, wine shopping, etc... Now it is 7pm and I suppose that my day of luxury needs to end... I need to plan something for dinner!!

Pirate Party

The party yesterday was GREAT!! They did a great job with the theme and people went all out with the costumes!! I felt a bit under dressed.... or under 'costumed'! There were probably 50-60 people there... it was hard to meet everyone. The funny thing... I can't tell you how many times I got... 'Oh, your Vim's wife'. All the ladies knew Vim. Again, do I remember their names?? Nope..... OK, maybe some of them... but I am telling you.... it is a struggle!!

We got to the party around 8 and they had a really nice rum punch.... it was yummy, maybe too yummy! I had to leave by 10 b/c Manjula had to go home. Vim proceeded to stay. This morning he is feeling a little rough around the edges.... I think it was the rum punch. He thinks it was the food.... What do you think??

Today we have a gathering for all of the GM People that are from outside of India. The gathering is a few houses down and in the open areas. It will be nice to socialize with everyone. Hopefully Vim can 'sleep' off his bug and have the energy for the evening.

The kids are at the pool, Vim is on the sofa sleeping, and I am going shopping and to get a pedicure!! Priorities!!

Night Out with out the Kids!!

Today is the first night since we have been here (almost 2 months) that we are able to go out without the kids!! This is a not the norm for us. Back at home we had a luxury of my parents near by to babysit whenever we needed so we were able to go out quite often.

Today Manjula is coming over at 7pm so Vim and I can go to a neighbors house. They are having a combined b-day party. The party theme is pirates. Unfortunately, we don't have the full garb to totally dress up. And there isn't a Target right around the corner that you could run to pick up some things... so we will make do!!

Anyways... I will post tomorrow about the party...


Oh... another thing about today (friday - aug 29). The kids had a 'School Fair' for the Primary Block. This is for both Mira and Milan's grades. It was a family thing. I took off of work early for this big day! It was a good time. The best part was to see all these other kids and to see Mira and Milan socializing with them all. It was nice to see that they had made friends in such a short time. Funny thing.... we were walking back to the class rooms to pick up the kids back packs. As we walk by a group of older girls that were sitting in the play area - they all say 'hi milan'. I look, hmmm.... they are all older... how do they know Milan? I figured thru Mira. Then we were sitting outside waiting for the driver and another few girls walk by and say 'hi milan'.... hmmm... now I am noticing a trend.... Little Mr. Milan is quite the social butterfly among the girls!

I guess.... that is the same with Vim these days. While being home during the days he is socializing with all the ladies in the neighborhood. Every so often I will get some lady come up to me and say 'Oh your Vim's wife'!!

The Water

I thought that I would post about the water here in India. Now, if any of you have been to Mexico, or anywhere like that, you know about the warnings 'don't drink the water'. Well the same goes for India.

On Sunday when we had our friends over for dinner, we were chatting during dinner. Our guests were Nick and Jen from Australia, and Scott from Michigan (all are 'white', or should I say non-Indian). All of them had stories of when and where they have gotten really sick. The topic of 'the water' came up. Now, since they all have had experiences of getting really sick, they are very cautious (or maybe too cautious) when it come to the water. Anyways, Scott proceeds to tell us they he does not drink anything but bottled water. He brushes his teeth with bottled water, and washes his fruits and vegs with bottled water too! Then, Jen says that she does the same. Then they both say, yes, we only cook with bottled water too!! Even when boiling pasta. OK, now if you were paying attention, you would know that I had served pasta for dinner (see previous post). Did I cook my pasta with boiled water? Nope!! I used straight up, tap water!!! So far none of them have told me that they got sick from my dinner.... it is probably better that they don't know about the little secret!!

So, the question is.... do Indians have a more resilient digestive track that can handle the water? Maybe it is the spicy food that helps?? Who knows...

Knock on wood, none of us have gotten really sick.... I had my little issues within the first few weeks but it quickly passed. So far the rest of the family is doing fine.... Lets hope it stays that way!!

Making Dinner!

Well, now that we are in the house you would think that I would be making dinner more often, right? Nope, not so much!! Thanks to Manjula, on most days dinner is ready and waiting when I get home. When Manjula is not cooking, we either have plans to eat out or meet up with friends!! So what happens when you don't cook for a long time? You forget what and how to cook.... ok maybe not, but it definitely does not come as easy!! So today (Sunday) we invited some work friends over for dinner (Another family from Australia). Initially I told them that we would either order in, or I would cook something. I contemplated.... order, cook, order, cook. It was a tough decision, but I decided I needed to cook. The next dilemma came on 'what to cook'!! I decided to cook non-Indian b/c I think that Nick and his family probably get too much Indian at home (they have an Indian cook too).

Now, my struggle became more difficult. I don't have an oven. I don't have all my cookware and serving ware. We are still surviving on the limited things that we brought in our air shipment. So, what to cook??? I decided to make pasta (this was always a favorite standby by back at home). Off I went to buy the things I needed. Much to my surprise, I was able to find fresh basil (a large bunch for $.50, not bad eh..). I thought, this is a good start. Then I was off getting the rest of the veggies. I got most everything except for mushrooms. But that was OK. Then the last thing I needed was cheese. I know good cheese is hard to come by here. I found come cheddar and Parmesan. I was golden!!! Last thing I need was olive oil (my stash is coming in the sea shipment). I went to pay.... I was a little shocked at my total (usually this is shock b/c the total is so low). In this case, I was wondering what I bought that cost so much. As soon as I paid, I looked at the bill. Guess how much my olive oil was? $10 for a small bottle!! Guess how much the Parmesan cheese was, yep, $10. And the cheddar cheese, again... $10!! Yikes!! The good thing is that the veggies and bread were really cheap so that off-set the hit!!

So, you might be wondering... what is for dinner??? Right? Penne pasta with grilled veggies, bow-tie pasta with white sauce, and most importantly - bread with pesto! Yes, I made pesto! Mira was really excited b/c she would love to make pesto with me back at home.

Next time I am faced with the dilemma.... cook or order.... I am going to opt for the latter!!

Our House....

The Front of the house

 

The handsome little pair!

Back view of the house

Gate to the back of the house

Heading to the back yard

Jonquil Close (our street)

Indian Lawn Mower

The gardener cutting the grass

The Amphitheatre

Kids enjoying a rickshaw ride

Main Fountains!!

Open Play area

Clubhouse

The swimming pool

Ahhh...  the spa!!

The clubhouse

Play areas

Main Street

Corner of the play area

Main entrance for residents

Street towards clubhouse

The pool.....

The infinity edge of the pool.... :)

Enjoying a cold refreshing Coffee Day Drink

 Our house in a gated community called Prestige Ozone. Prestige is a large builder here in Bangalore. They have built several housing complexes in the area. Ozone has about 180 houses. All the houses are essentially the same. They have 5 different models. Starting with A Type moving down E Type. A type house is a 4 br, the largest model. The next one is the B type, again a 4 br, but a different layout. We have a B type. The other 3 styles are 3 BR houses. Looking at the houses from the front, you can tell what type it is. All the houses have balconies upstairs and they all have an outside patio area. The overall construction is fair, I think that it depends on how closely the home owner monitored the construction. Same as back home...., right! About 90% of the houses are rented. In these cases the landlords bought the houses for an investment (and it totally has paid off!). Some of the landlords live in Bangalore, while others are abroad (Singapore, States, Europe, etc...). There are very few people that live here that own the house.

In the complex there is a clubhouse. In the clubhouse there is a Thai restaurant, Gym, badminton, and table tennis. Within the next few weeks there will be a bar also. Connected to the clubhouse is a pool and spa. The pool is really nice. The spa is one of the more expensive places in town but I have heard that it is really good. Maybe one day I will check it out!

The biggest perk for Prestige Ozone compared to all the other 'gated communities' in town is the open play areas. There are 3 large play areas that the kids hang out it. In the pictures below, the areas look bare but on most afternoons and weekends, the area is bustling with kids and parents. On Sundays afternoon there is a group of dads that put of a volleyball net and have a pick up game. The boys play cricket and soccer. Girls are off riding their bike. It is a nice flurry of activity.

Living at Ozone, with all of its amenities, is what has made the transition to Bangalore a lot easier.

Maybe you will come visit us at Ozone!! We are off to the pool!!

Capacity Overload!

Being here in India for almost 2 months... one thing is for sure.... I think that I have met more people in the time being here than I have met over the last 5 years!! Really!! There are new people I am meeting everyday at work! It took me a month to remember the names of all the people in my team. There are only 14 people, so it should not be so hard!! Then meeting all the people from other teams... Then you meet people in the halls and they say hi to you by name, and you just wave and say hi. As they pass.... you think.... 'who was that'!! So remembering everyone at work is a challenge.

Now, when I come home, there are people that I meet in our neighborhood. Now I have to remember the husbands name, the wives name, the kids names.... Many times, these are families that the kids play with and I don't always know them by name. Sad, I know! There are mom's and kids that I meet at the bus stop... again... trying to remember the names. Along with the names comes remember where they are from. Everyone here has a 'story'. Most people are from somewhere else. Most from the US, some from England, Australia... and so on. Then you have to remember what company brought them here. This is all part of the 'small talk' conversation. Oh, and lastly, you have to remember the house numbers for all of these people!!

Do you know what happens with all of this information overload? Serious lapses in memory!! Keep the 'you're getting old' jokes to yourself!! Really! I am not able to keep all of this information straight!! Today, I met this lady (she lives 2 door down) she told me her name, I repeated to her (hoping that it would help me remember), ask me now if I remember... nope!!

I am definitely in need of a memory upgrade.... added ram would be good too!

Tomorrow will be post about the house with pictures. Stay tuned!!

School Update

We are now into week number 2 at school. I thought that I would write a little bit about how it is going.

All in all, they are enjoying school. They both have made friends, and like their teachers. Milan's teachers names - Dipti and Archana, Mira's teachers - Priya and Richa.

The bus picks them up at 7:50, they get to school at 8:30. The morning starts with breakfast, then off to class. Mira's schedule is more rigorous. Swimming, yoga, dance, soccer and piano - all are one day a week. And the academics are squeezed in between. The hard thing is remembering what she has on what day. Mira was able to make choices for some of her activities. Swimming and yoga were mandatory. For her sport, she could have picked from badminton, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, cricket or soccer. Yes, she made Vim proud by picking soccer. She is the only girl!! Either she will get really good at soccer or she will become a tom-boy! For her musical instrument she could have picked sitar, or piano (there other choices but I forgot them....). Anyways, she picked Piano. It was all the pleasant memories from when she took lessons from Ms. Fisher. It would have been cool if she picked Sitar. The last choice that she had to make - Karate or Dance. We picked dance (I think if we left it up to her it would have been karate). We did not want her to totally become a tom-boy!! We had to help balance it out. The dance is traditional classical Indian dance (bharatnatayam). She is enjoying. She was showing me some of her 'positions' today.

Milan has swimming 2 days a week and yoga one day a week. No other sports or activities for him this year. I think that he gets to enjoy most of his day. Compared to all that Mira squeezes into her day, I am wondering what Milan does all day!!

The good part is that they come home and they are exhausted by 8pm!!

The other good thing about school here is that we don't have to pack lunches!! They both eat the school food. There were many days that Milan came home so excited to tell me what he had for lunch. He said he 'loved it'!! They have a big variety so I am sure that they will find something that they like!

As soon as they get off the bus, they run into the house and change their clothes and they are off. Both of them hop on their bikes and head off. They both go their separate ways meeting up with their Friends. Our housing complex has a huge open play area right outside our house. The kids hang out around there. Milan has his friends that he goes to play with. He is off roaming around meeting with his friends. The sad part is that I can't keep track of all of his friends!! I don't know who they are or where they live!! The important thing is that he can keep track!! The other day he was off socializing and we had to go look for him!! Mira has a few friends that she hangs out with. We usually know where to find her.

The good part is that they have made friends in school and near the house. This has really helped with the adjustment!!

In my next post I will write about our house and the housing complex.

Socalizing

We have been lucky to have made some really good friends already! On Friday night we had some of our friends that we met at Palm Meadows over for Pizza. We ordered in. They have Domino's and Pizza Hut within 'delivery' distance. Yes, it tastes just like back at home. The twist is they have some 'Indian' Pizzas too. Masala, Paneer, chicken tikka, we have not tried them all yet but I am sure they are good.

So Friday socializing with friends from Syracuse NY, California, and Michigan (the Michigan family is a colleague from work). It was really nice. The kids had a blast. It got really loud at time because our house still echos. It is all the granite and marble coupled with the fact that we have very little furnishing to absorb the sound. Our sea shipment should arrive within the next week or two. We can't wait!!

Saturday we started the day with a trip downtown for some shopping. I scoped out some places that I need to hit up for some 'Inidan clothes' shopping. The kids were not up for it and it was really crowded. I am planning on going next week w/o the kids and Vim.

Saturday night we went to visit with my sister-in-law's (Aman) cousin. They live about 2-3 kms from here. They have been here for a year and a half, and they have 2 kids. Mira and Milan had fun hanging out with them. We had dinner at their place and watched the Olympics. We really enjoyed their company. It was nice getting tid-bits of info from them since they have been here for some time!!

Today is Sunday, we have plans to go for Sunday Brunch with another family from GM. This family happens to be friends with my parents (small world, isn't it!). They have been very helpful ever since we got there. They are always checking in on us to see if we are ok. We are looking forward to seeing them soon.

It is nice that we have made friends and are socializing. It is definitely helping with the adjustment. It won't take the place of our friends and family that we have left behind, but it will help bridge the gap until we are back home again!!

Random stuff.... Pedicure, Tea and BO

This post is going to cover several unrelated topics, all were noteworthy and I did not want to forget them, so here they are:

Pedicure:
Summers back home were times when the toe nails were tended to more closely. With the sandals and flip-flops, I was more aware of the 'state-of-my-toes'. This usually led to more visits to get a pedicure. Now being in India my toes are exposed more, and will be so all year round. In addition the marble floors were leading to 'cracked-heels'. To sum it up.... I was in desperate need of a pedicure. So this past Sunday, Mira and I were off to search for a suitable place. I started off at the Spa in our housing complex - it was a little pricey, and they did not have any openings. OK, off to another place. Now we went to Palm Meadows (the same place where we stayed before we moved into the house). They had openings so both Mira and I decided to go for it. IT WAS AWESOME!! They sloughed off so much dead skin, I think my feet shrunk at least one size (OK, maybe not). Anyway, the true pleasure came when it was time to pay. We had 2 pedicures - and they cost......$10..... FOR BOTH OF US!!! Can you believe it!! With prices like this, I can justify a weekly trip to tend to my toes!

TEA:
Another bargain that I just discovered at work. The other day I was in a meeting with some colleagues and we decided it was time for a coffee break. I was ready to head to the vending machine, the usual place that I go, its not great, not bad, but its free. Well, they led me away from the vending machine and to another place. We had to walk down this hallway, and make a few turns... but soon, I could smell it. It was chai 'Indian tea'! There were 2 guys making chai and coffee in a little 'kitchen' area. The tea was really good 'masala chai'. You could smell that it had been brewing for some time. I indulged in a cup, it was great!! Now it was not free like the vending machine. It cost a whole 4 rupees... that converts to 10 cents!! Bring it on!!

OK, the best for last.... BO.
I was going to post about this earlier but I thought that it might be offensive and insensitive. But as I go on at work, I see that I need to go there. Now, BO is Body Odor. Most Indians are aware that BO is highly prevalent in Indian people. Well, on one of my first few days at work, I had a 'office boy' come to my desk to move computers and things around. He came in and the 'smell' filled my area. It was so strong that my eyes started to tear up (really). Then he left (and I stopped holding my breath), but unfortunately the stench lingered. Now, I did not think much about it b/c he was an office boy. I figured he did not earn much. Maybe he did not have access to running water. I cut him some slack. Now more recently, I was in an all day work shop with some my peers. Again, I was bombarded with the BO. It was coming from multiple directions. Now these people are all educated, earning people. I don't think that I can cut them any slack. So anyways, this got me thinking.... why? Why is BO more prevalent in Indians? I am going to throw something out there.... It is really a function of personal hygiene? Or is it a resultant of the food/diet? Maybe the turmeric collides with the yogurt yielding to it?? I think that someone should research this... maybe it could be a good research project for someone in college! Until then, I will bring floral lotion and perfume and help counteract the negative odors!!

First day of School!!

The Patnode's from Syracuse NY

Milan ready for his first day at INDUS!!

Cheesy Smile!!

Big sister ready to take care of the 'little guy'

All Geared up in the Sports Uniform

Heading off to the bus!

And they are off!!

  

Lunch Time!!!  Yep Milan is eating an Idli!!

Yum Yum!!

Mira sticking to something a little more familiar - Corn Flakes!!

Walking the halls of the Primary Block

Picture of the campus

 This post was co-authored by Vim and Dev.

Today, Aug-11-08 was the big day!! The kids did great! Mira took great care of her little brother. You would have never known from looking at them today that they were the same kids that were irritating and annoying each other for the past 2 weeks!!

Mira was the one that was a little nervous about going to a new school. I (Dev) tried to reassure her that the unique situation with her school is that there were at least 10 other kids in her class that would be starting their first day at Indus too! She would not be alone. I think that helped.

Milan on the other hand was the happy easy going chap he is. He took to the room with a bright smile, had his listening ears on, followed the instructions and he also proceeded to make friends, even those kids that were quite or crying. This is a contrast to the days when I (Vim) would drop him off at Troy Montessori; he was either the teary eyed kid or Niagara Falls. Seeing both of them settle in so well, bought allot of assurance that they will be fine, and as the school days proceed very little to worry about.

Mira has to wear a uniform. She looked great in her green uniform. This is the PE kit as they call it. She will have a regular uniform too with a skirt and button down shirt. However, there was a mix up with the tailor so she has to wait another day or so for it. Milan does not have a uniform, but he is insisting on wearing his shirts and ties to work. This was what he was wearing at his old school. If you want to hear the whole story about that, drop me a comment I will post about it.

Anyways, back to the first day of school... they had breakfast and lunch at school, all buffet style with choices from Indian, Chinese or Continental cuisines. With the vast array of choices, breakfast started off with Milan tasting everything that was served to him, Mira was more conservative and opted for plain old corn flakes. The lunch choice was simple for both of them... Spaghetti. And yes, they liked it, considering we are talking about school lunch here.

The day did go by quickly without the kids today (for Vim). Before I(Vim) knew it I was at the bus stop waiting for them with Manjula our maid. When the bus arrived Manjula went up to greet them – yes she took the lead! I stood back. As soon as the kids off loaded from the bus, they hugged her, smiles all round, by passed yours truly and ran home!!!! Only conversation; Vim “Kids how was your day?” Mira, “Can I go and play with my friends? Ok Bye!” Milan, “Gooooooood”.

Milan was so tired after school, he fell asleep on the bus. It was good thing Mira was there to wake him up when it was time to get off the bus!

Conclusion to the first day... GREAT! Milan had the same smile as he had when he left the house in the morning. Mira, excited to go out and play with her new friends. Manjula, just went back to cooking dinner and I went out and played soccer with the other kids already at the park, with persistent calls from Dev wanting to talk to the kids and find out how their 1st day was, but no kids in sight and nothing to report until we all sat down at dinner.

No homework on the first day. That will quickly change, they will be expected to do at least 20-30 minutes everyday. Both kids have a diary which has to be reviewed with comments from teachers, return comments from parents all of which has to be signed and returned daily. It was a long day for the kids close to 8 hours – now this will be typical, so by 8pm they were shattered out for the count. Only to do it again the next day!

Taste of Freedom!!

It started on Thursday. The kids and I had walked to the clubhouse and looked like it was going to rain. We could see the lightning off to the distance. We decided to go anyways. Just as we walked in it started to rain. No big deal, a little rain, right? Then is just started pouring. The kids were a little scared wondering how we would get home. I told them that we would just hang out til the rain stops. The storms typically blow right through. Just then we saw our car, and Vim was driving! This was the first time that he had driven since we arrived. It was the first big step that led to our freedom this evening!!

We were invited to an afternoon pool party at our friends house in Palm Meadows (this is where we stayed before we moved into the house). The party lingered into the evening and we were invited back to a friends house for Pizza. The issue became the driver/car situation. I suggested to Vim, lets go home, let the driver go and then drive back (mind you it is only 2 or 3 km away!). Yep that was it.... Vim drove on the main road out of the complex and the kids (and I) were geeked!!

Lets see what our radius of comfort is!! Hopefully Vim gets his local license soon so that it is all legit!

Until them, we will enjoy our 'secret' freedom!!

Tomorrow I will post about the open house at the school and post some pictures!!

Take care!

Rich... Poor

This is the land of no middle class. It is really evident. I just learned that our house is worth $800,000!! Almost a million dollars, really! It is nothing fancy. It is about 2700 sq ft, 4 br, not a huge yard. It is the fast rising real estate here that is driving these prices. Now, think about the driver that earns about $200 per month. How can he move up into a decent house? With these prices, not possible. The other end of the spectrum is the price of food. Not luxury food, but the basics, fruits, vegetables, etc.. Fruits and veggies are about half the price (or less)from home. Examples of some prices: large cucumber $.25, 4-5 bananas $.25 Bread loaf $.50 So the basics are affordable to support the lower class. Now, the imported things, or luxury items are 3 or 4 times the price. Example - pancake mix $5, prego spaghetti sauce jar $6, peanut butter $4 for a small jar. They mark up the things that they know people will pay for!!

It is like the 'haves' and 'have-nots'. I guess we 'have' a lot more being here in India. But with the 'haves' come the things that we 'have-not'!

Haves:
We have a satellite dish (similar to cable) - this is big deal since we never had cable at home
We have a flat screen tv - some of you know what we were using for the last 6 months before we left (a small 26 inch tv)
We have attached bathrooms to each bedroom
We have a driver
We have a maid
We have a gardener

Have-nots:
We don't have our family and friends near by
We don't have the freedom to drive
We don't have an oven (hopefully soon!)
We don't have taco bell

Really all jokes aside, I think that at the end of the 2 years we will definitely have a new appreciation for the value of the things that we have, and help those that have-not!

School Starts on Monday

Mira and Milan start school on Monday, Aug 11! Only a few more days of summer vacation. Today we went to the school for an open house. They had us pick up uniforms, bus schedules, class room assignments, etc... The kids were happy that some of their friends are in their class. Milan has a friend from back home, his dad also works for GM and they used to live in Troy. Mira has a friend that she met while we were at the hotel. She is from Syracuse New York. Hopefully this will help ease the transition on Monday!!

We had a nice morning call with my cousin and her family. It was really nice to speak to the kids!! Now that we have the vonage working it is nice to get calls from home.

I will post some pictures tomorrow from the school!

Hope all is well on your end.

1 Month has Gone By!!

Can you believe it, we have been in India for a month now!!

Really, it has gone by fast. What are some of the things we miss the most being in India?

I will start with my list (I will get the kids and Vim to add to it too!):

Driving!! Not that I want to drive here, don't get me wrong. But there is something liberating about being able to just hop in the car and go somewhere, anywhere you want!!

Nachos / Chips and Salsa!! I have not had nachos since being here! That was a staple in our kitchen. You would always find tortilla chips in the cupboard and shredded cheese in the fridge! Regretfully we have neither in house right now!

We will have our first visitor from back home in a few weeks (a family friend of my parents). We are looking forward to a familiar face from home!

One month down, and 23 more to go!! : )

Trip to Mysore

This was our first road trip. It was good... it was about 3 hours away. Distance wise, it was just over 100 miles, but the way the roads are and all the moving objects (cars, buses, rickshaws, ox carts, cows, goats, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, etc...) that share the road, your speed is limited!! Devraj was a good driver, and managed to avoid any collisions!! Check out the picture of the bus... what do you do when the inside of the bus is full? Ride on top!






The hotel we stayed at was OK. Not great, not horrible. The funny thing is that this is one of those places that look a lot better on the web! It is wonder what a little photoshop action can do!! Here is a picture from the front of the hotel



On Saturday we went out for our excursions. We started off with a trip to Chamundi Temple it is on the top of a hill. It was very nice. As with all temples, we had to take our shoes off. But here, the place where you remove your shoes is around 200 ft from the entrance to the temple. Needless to say, the ground was a little dirty. After the visit to the temple we quickly went to the car and used the wipes to clean our feet!! Check out some of the pictures below.




After the temple, we went to the Mysore Palace. It was very nice palace from the inside. There was a lot of beautiful architecture inside. Ornate doors and pillars, stained glass ceiling,... very nice. After the palace the kidS were getting a little tired and hungry. So next, we were off to lunch.




Devraj took us to a place for lunch... keep in mind we were on his turf (He lives in Mysore) so we let him be our guide. He stoped in front of this little place and we were a little leary. We walked in and the place was packed. We waited for a table. It did not take long for Vim to realize that there were no plates in this restaurant. All the food was served on a banana leaf. Yup... a leaf. And most of the people did not use any utensils... Vim was ready to skip out and head to another place. I gauged by the crowd inside and the steady stream of patrons behind us, that this place had to be good. I convinced Vim that we should stay. We found 2 older French ladies that walked in just after us. We ended up sitting with them. It turns out that this is one of the recommended places in the Lonely Planet book. Anyways, the food was awesome. We ordered vegetarian thali and they kept bringing out the food. Very yummy!! Check out the pics!! We started with the hands to eat, but after a while we had to ask for spoons!!







After lunch we decided to do a bit of shopping. We went to buy some sandalwood carvings. We purchased some really nice things. I am sure we paid too much, but the pieces were really nice. We also stopped at the city market. It was great! Wonderful sights and sound! Awesome colors of the fruit stands. Ladies making garlands from fresh jasmine! Check out the picture of the stall selling powder dye. It was so pretty all arranged in the mounds!






The last stop for the day was Brindavan Gardens. There is are fountains that are lit at night. It was really pretty. By the time we got there it was already dark so we did not get to see the full effect of the gardens, but the night show was great!

The next day (Sunday) we did not have much planned. I initially thought that we would invite Devaraj to lunch with us with his family. Well, it turned out, he made arrangements to have his wife make lunch for us at his house. I tried to convince him otherwise but he insisted. Keep in mind that he does not earn much. We pay him the equivalent of $200 per month. Yep, that is all. He told his that his house was very small, it is 1 bedroom with a small room and kitchen. He was very glad to have us at his place. We met his wife, mother and son. They all were very nice. They prepared a great meal. We really enjoyed ourselves. Before we got there, we made a trip to the store and picked up some things for Devaraj's son. He was grateful. Now, all of you that have been to India know that with this type of house comes a certain type of bathroom. No need to go into anymore detail. I whispered to Mira before lunch, 'hold it' you don't want to use the bathroom here. Of course both Vim and Milan had to go!! Mira and I held it till we got back home - 3 hours!!

All in all a great weekend trip!