Interesting Observations

Can one of the computer tech-ies help us out on this one. Our Internet is temperamental. It sometimes works, and other times does not.... OK, we can write it off as 'this is India', and accept it. The interesting thing is that in most cases when the Internet is down, the vonage still works. Hmm, vonage works off Internet, and it is functional, but the Internet is not working. Is this something that can be explained???

Switching subjects.... I have to write about Milan again. For the last few weeks there is this little girl that come up to me at the bus stop and asks 'where's Milan'. He is usually lagging behind with his buddies. As soon as Milan makes his way, this little girl's eyes light up and she says a big hello to him. Now, I did not think anything of it, initially. However, this past weekend, we were at the neighborhood Ganesh parade, well this little girl kept asking about Milan and whenever she spotted him, her eyes lit up!! I noticed it... it was very obvious. I mentioned it to Vim and he noticed it too. I think that this little girl has a crush on Milan. The good thing... she is a nice Indian girl, she comes from a good family and most importantly - she is Gujarati!! Should we just arrange the marriage now?? We are in India after all... the land of arranged marriages!! : )

Another thing that is worthy to discuss.... does anyone know what a finger bowl is?? Think about it for a minute. I was first tipped off on the finger bowl when I came to India last time (12 years ago) and thought that it was a novel idea. So the finger bowl is something that you get at a restaurant at the end of meal to clean your fingers. This bowl is filled with warm water and a lime. This is perfect for cleaning out all of the 'Indian food' from your fingers. It is great! So now, the kids are loving the finger bowl concept. Many times we use the finger bowl and bribery. "if you don't finish you meal, you won't get the bowl", it works like a charm. As soon as they clear you plate the finger bowl is not far behind. Usually vim or I are first to finish, hence first to get the bowl. The kids are then motivated to finish up so they too can get their bowl!! It works great. Now the locals use the bowls for just their fingers, usually just the Right hand, and they are done in 20 seconds. Our family is a bit different. We are both hands in, and full hands, not just the fingers. We are swirling our hands, squeezing the lime, and enjoying the warm water. We usually are playing in the water until the water gets cold, or the waiter comes to take them away!! After they bowls are gone we all take a minute to smell our fingers and enjoy the lemony-fresh scent!! Milan usually makes all of us smell his hands! We are probably making a spectacle of ourselves with our finger bowl process!!! But, that is OK, the end result is clean plates from the kids and clean fingers too!! Bring on the finger bowls!!