Playing Catch Up...... This is a long one....

FIRST: The Trip to the Maldives

Let me just say.... paradise!!! Sugary sand beaches, turquoise blue water and the best snorkeling we have experienced!! We stayed on a small island called Bandos. The only thing on that island was the resort hotel, plus some housing for the hotel staff. We flew into Male and took a speed boat to 'our' island. The kids had a blast, they both experienced snorkeling. Mira actually was less afraid. Milan just got a kick out of wearing the gear. He was too chicken to go into the water. The fish were beautiful and so was the coral!! Most of the people that visit the Maldives go scuba diving. I think that would be even more spectacular. Oh... did I mention that there were sharks in the water.... yep, right where we were snorkeling!! OK.... So they were only 'reef' sharks and essentially harmless... but still, knowing that they were 'sharks' was a little scary.

Maldives was definitely worth the trip.... it was an amazing trip!!

A shot from the plane!












NEXT: Ozone Christmas Party

Before we left for the Maldives, our neighborhood had a Christmas Party. It started with a bike parade paired with a marching band. OK... maybe not the type of High School Marching bands that we are used to back at home... but it was a band and they marched.... check out the pictures. They played some holiday tunes and the kids rode their bikes along. The party ended up at the park and they had a mini-Christmas program. It was a very nice evening. The best part... it was warm and sunny... probably 75 or 80 degrees.... Did not feel quite like Chirstmas with the warm temps.... but I am not complaining!!

Check out the pictures...





NEXT: School Programs

The day before we left for the Maldives the kids had a program at their school. Essentially it was the entire elementary school kids. Mira was in a dance and Milan was singing... The peformance was good and the kids were so excited leading up to the big performance. The pictures are great. Mira looks so grown up!! The best part... the school took care of the costumes and makeup for Mira. I just had to show up!!

Milan had to sing a song about Spring (the season). His costume was cute for a bunch of 5 year olds. I am sure that 10 years from now, he won't want any evidence of the 'flower' costume!!










NEXT: Christmas Packages

We received a care package from 'Santa' back at home!! It was GREAT!! 'Santa' was great... he even sent a little Christmas tree along with ornaments!! The kids loved their presents!! Yes... we opened them early!! Sorry! We were too anxious!! We are so lucky to have a wonderful 'Santa' in our family!! Thank you Santa!! You guys are the best!!!

Oh... let me tell you Santa should be warned that FedEx had some 'difficulties' delivering the package... There is a great story that goes along with it.... I will save it for another time!!

LASTLY: Visitors

Saving the best for last.... We have visitors from back home!!! I FINALLY got to see my nephew!! He was born after we left and up until now, I had only see pictures... He is adorable! It was great to see him and hold him. Mira and Milan enjoyed playing with him too. We have more visitors coming tomorrow.... and more after that.... we are excited to see everyone!!

Off to the Maldives!!

We are on our way to the airport in about 10 mins!! We are off to the Malidives!

Here is a bit of information about the Maldives:

The Maldives (/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ (help·info) or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), or Maldive Islands, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between the Minicoy and the Chargos archipelagoes, and about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, of which two hundred and fifty islands are inhabited.

The inhabitants were Buddhist, probably since Ashoka's period[citation needed], in the 3rd century BC and possibly Hindu before that. Islam was introduced in 1153. The Maldives then came under the influence of the Portuguese (1558) and the Dutch (1654) seaborne empires. In 1887 it became a British protectorate. In 1965, the Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldive Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of both population and area; it is the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world.

Here is the location of the Maldives. It is off the West coast of India:



This is an arial view of all of the islands.

Botanical Tour thru Ozone

Being middle of winter back home and in the single digits, I thought that I would try to brighten your day with a botanical tour of Ozone.

Every weekend I take a long walk thru the neighborhood and enjoy the fresh crisp morning air, and take in the lovely sights and sounds of Ozone. It starts with the crows crowing and drowning out the sounds of the birds. The sights are all kids of things... flowers galore, green trees, lush grass, and fruits on trees!! Occasionally the sounds will include a whistle or two from pressure cookers. All Indians know that the sound of the pressure cooker is a daily occurrence.... Then you can smell the fresh crisp air and the hint of the flowers as you pass them by. Occasionally you will get a wiff of something that is not natural.... but some good ol curry cooking... it is enough to make your mouth water. I pass and wonder... hmm, what are they making!!!

After the walk, I am refreshed, energized, and hungry from smelling the various curries cooking as I pass the houses.

The 'Lunghi'

Does anyone know what a 'Lunghi' is?? This is the male version of a 'saree'. Essentially it is a long piece of fabric wrapped like a sarong or a skirt. Yes, you can call it a 'man skirt'!!

Well in south India this is common street wear for men. At least 40-50% of the men walking on the streets are sporting the 'man skirt'. I am sure that it is more comfortable and probably cooler than pants on a hot sunny day. But still, it is a skirt... on a man!! Further... they are worn at different lengths. The full length is down to the ankles and some men that are feeling a little daring (or just a little hot) wear the mini-version.

The question is how many men back home feel confident enough to sport the 'man skirt'!! And more so.... how many of you can sport it walking arm in arm with another man!! See the picture below!!



Now just so you know... Vim wants a man skirt!! And he wants to wear it to a family wedding!! (Sorry Roopa, that would be your wedding that he is referring too!) I am sure that he is going to want to walk arm in arm with another man wearing the 'man skirt' too!!

Time is Flying By!

OK.... does anyone know how long we have been here???? OK, it is 5 months!!! (Some of you that were paying close attention would notice that in Nov, I incorrectly reported that we were here 5 months.... It was a test to see if anyone caught my mistake!!)

The interesting thing to note that it was just over a year ago that we had planted this 'Bangalore Seed'. It was November last year that I was first approached about this opportunity. It took a long time to go from that initial discussion with the Director to approvals, interviews, and all that stuff!! Now, a year later, here we are!!! Who knows what is ahead.... most of you have heard the news about GM. Not sure if that will impact us, or the assignment. We will keep enjoying each day and cherishing the opportunity!!

So, 5 months away from Michigan!! It has really flown by!! It does not feel like December here!! I suppose the fact that it is 80 and sunny every day has something to do with it!!

We are off to the Maldives next week Wednesday for 4 days!! YEAH!! After we return we will have visitors!! It will be a great way to wrap up the year!!

The Dentist

The trip to the dentist was 'great'.... OK as great as a trip to the dentist can be!! The office was clean and they used all the same 'technology' that we are used to back at home. The dentist was young and very friendly. Actually here, the dentist did all the procedures and cleaning as opposed to having a hygienist. Vim and kids have their appointment already scheduled! I think we have found our family dentist!

A new experience in Bangalore

Today I am going somewhere where I have never been to in Bangalore.... I am going to the Dentist! I am serving as the family 'guinea pig' and testing out a place that has been recommended by a few ex-pats like us.

Needless to say, I am a bit nervous.

I don't like trips to the dentists to begin with, now couple this with the 'uncertainty' of the practices and standards here in India. It is a little frightening!

Well, off I go! Hopefully I won't have any horror stories to report post mortem (heee, Like the choice of word there!!)!!

Christmas Cards!!

OK... I have to admit... one of the great thing about the holidays.... getting Christmas Cards... Especially those with 'pictures'!! So, being all the way over here, we did not want to miss out on the picture cards!! We want to 'see' everyone!! And this will be as close as we can get to 'seeing' everyone!!

I am giving my address below. This is a local address for all of you back in the States and a single stamp should do the trick (what is it, $.47 now?). From this address the bundle it all up and ship it to Bangalore. It is a pretty slick set-up.

Devyani Patel
C/O GM Bangalore
P.O. Box 9022
Warren, MI 48090-9022


So, there is no pressure, really! One word of caution... they only take cards/letters, etc at this address. You can not mail a 'care-package' or anything. Sorry... they have strict rules!!

Anyways... If I get on the ball... maybe I will send cards too... Or maybe do the e-card thing!! We will see!!

Slithering Things

OK.... for those with a deep fear of slithering things, please stop reading! The rest of you.... hold on tight!! : )

So, the slithering things that I am referring to are snakes!! Ew, is right!! Now, a little background about snakes and our family. There is someone in our family that has a deep fear of snakes!! I don't think that I need to tell you all who it is... most of you well know, it is Vim!! Anyways, in our house back home, we would frequently get 'garden' snakes in our back yard b/c of the woods. This would freak Vim out!! We would occasionally hear a high pitched scream when Vim was cutting the grass, and we knew that it was b/c he saw a snake!! Over time, he was starting to get used to the snakes, and instead of screaming.... he would call the neighbors over to 'check-it-out'!

Coming to India, we knew that snakes were more plentiful!! The major difference being.... these were not 'garden variety' snakes!! So when we were here for our trip in May looking at houses, Vim would occasionally ask 'Do you get any snakes here?'. He quickly learned that there were a few snake sightings in the 'gated communities'. This put him on guard!

Well it was about 2 weeks ago, our driver informed Vim that someone found a snake in Ozone (this is our gated community). To make things better, another driver was able to get it all on his 'video-feature' on his cell phone!! So, now Vim was able to watch the 'capturing' of the snake!! I watched the video and let me tell you... I was freaked out!! The snake was 6 feet long!! It was found in a grassy area near one of the play areas. The thing is that when I go for my walks, I pass this same area... I am within 2 feet of it!! A little too close for comfort!!!

OK, so this 'snake-sighting' had created a big buzz in the hood! It was the talk of the town for at least 2 or 3 days. This then sprouted all the other stories about previous snake sightings/encounters! We learned that someone actually had a snake in their house!! yikes!! Anyways.... it creeped Vim out, and I have to admit, it creeped me out too!!

So, as soon as we saw the video, the next question was, what kind of snake was it!! At first Vim said it was a 'king' cobra. I did not think so. Then he said it was an Anaconda. Again, this theory was quickly discounted when we realized that Anacondas are only in South America!! Now, the latest verdict is - boa constrictor!

So, a 6 foot boa constrictor had taken up home in Ozone!! Now the question is, what would Vim do if he came face to face with this snake??? I know what I would do.... scream and run for my life!!