Family United.....

Today my brother, sister-in-law and little nephew come into town.

The WHOLE family will be staying in my parents house.... 3 grand-kids, daughter, son-in-law, son and daughter in law.... This is the pinnacle of happiness for my parents!! (at least I think....)

This is the first time we will be staying under the same roof like this... It will make for some good times!!

Milan has been getting the house ready for Kavi. He has been walking around removing hazards, making sure the house is baby-proof. He has also made a bed for Kavi next to where he and Mira are sleeping!! It is really cute!!

Friends, Family.... and everything else!

Been home for a week and we have been running around since we arrive. Our calendar is filled with social visits everyday... No, not complaining, it is a great thing.... But it does not leave much time to just chill and do nothing! I suppose we will have to wait til we get back to Bangalore for some 'down-time'! Until then, we will keep running around trying to squeeze in all of our social visits!!

Back in Michigan!!!

We are back!!

We arrived Monday night and it has been busy since we got here...

Meeting friends, family, shopping.... all fun stuff!

The first meal that we had when we arrived.... yep.... I am sure you guessed it.... TACO BELL!!! YMmmmm ymmmm good!!

Three weeks and tons of people to see.... hopefully we can make it around to see everyone! That will be the challenge...

Music

Do you wonder what music we listen to hear in India?

Well, let me tell ya....

There is a radio station here in town that caters to the young crowd (yes, we are still trying to pretend that we fit in to this crowd....). It's format is similar to 95.5 back at home. They do the morning 'phone scams', they have catchy jingles. Their slogan... Radio One for the 'Fa-ta-fat Generation'. Fa-ta-fat means 'to go quickly'. So translated - 'For the Generation on the Go'!

The best part of the radio station... all Hindi music!! Now we all know the latest tunes from all the new movies, and best part, we can all sing along!! We have come a long way!! Yes, I do miss 'Doug FM' and '95.5'. But here in Bangalore, I will have to settle for my 'fa-ta-fat' music!!

Monsoon Camp

I am sure you are wondering 'What is Monsoon Camp'? Well this is what is better know as summer camp back at home.

So, we found this really nice place near our house that a few other families in the 'bubble' decided to use. It is just like the facilities back at home... very clean, nice facilities, etc.... The place is called 'We Care'... or pronounced (insert thick Indian accent) 'Vee Care'! : )

So the kids have been going there for the past 3 weeks. Initially it was off to a rough start, more so for Mira since she was one of the oldest kids, but since then both Mira and Milan love the Monsoon Camp!

So there are a lot of great things about the camp:

1. They serve breakfast, lunch and snack (OK this is good for the moms and dads since we don't have to pack food, the kids - not so thrilled b/c it is Indian food!)
2. They are doing some fantastic art work. Everyday they come home with some really elaborate projects.
3. The teacher is Gujrati - Her name is Ms Karina.
4. It is close to home (10 min drive)
5. AND the best part..... the cost!! It is $50 per week for each child! What we pay for a week of Monsoon Camp is equivalent to a 1-day charge at summer camps back at home.

Vee love Vee Care Monsoon Camp!!

Perspective

OK, I was aware that the typical Engineer in India does not get paid like a typical engineer in the US.

Without getting into details, it really puts it into prespective on how fortunate we are.

The Conquest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday afternoon snack consisted of the following:

Fresh Guacamole (with perfectly ripe avacados that were just picked from the tree)
Fresh Salsa
Colby Jack Cheese
AND............... Fresh Tortilla Chips!!! YES!!!!!! FRESH!!

No, this was not a dream and Yes, it did really happen here in Bangalore!!!!

Let me fill you in....

It all started last week when a friend informed me that you can get really good Chips and Salsa from Chili's (yes, there is a Chili's in Bangalore). The chips are just as good as back home..... the salsa is OK, but take into considersation that my standards are high, for the average salsa-eater, it is pretty good. So, for 95rs (yes, that is less than 2 bucks), you can get a big bag of chips and a container of salsa!!! So Saturday my friend Hiran and I were out shopping, we stopped at the Chili's To-Go area and got hooked up!!! 200 rs and we had 2 big bags of chips and salsa!!!

We quickly got home, I whipped up some salsa and guacamole and we totally pigged out!!!! Hiran and her son Shyl and the 4 of us feasted on chips, salsa and guacamole!!! We were in heaven!!

The best part, we can now get Tortilla chips whenever we want!!! Move over Tostito's we now have Chili's chips at our finger tips!! Devraj will now be making a weekly run to Chili's to get the chips!!

You are probably thinking, 'Who gets so excited about chips and salsa???', sadly, we do!

Sad News....

Mango season is over!!! :(

I did not get a chance to relish the last mango of the season before it passed.... I am a bit sad because the mangoes were AWESOME...

I will be looking forward to mango season next year!! And I will be sure to enjoy each and every mango!!

Until then, I will have to find a new fruit of choice. There is always the banana which is always in season, but quite frankly, a bit boring.

I will try for the guavas, mangosteens and passion fruits.... Though I am not sure if they are in season....

The Quest!!

There has been a quest over the last year.... nothing major, really, just some good nachos!!

So, when you have good cheese....the stuff my mom brought from home - cheddar, Monterrey jack, Colby... by the big Costco brick sizes.... there are no good tortilla chips around.

When you have good salsa, one of my recent specialties is mango salsa.... again, there are no good chips around...

Are you sensing what the issue is... yes, it is Tortilla chips. We can not consistently get good tortilla chips in Bangalore. This is not an exaggeration. There have been times that I have sent the driver on a hunt for tortilla chips and sadly he has scoured all the grocery stores in town, and he came back with nothing!! Now keep in mind that there is only brand of tortilla chips in town and they are OK. Sometimes you will get finally find a bag and it is pretty much crushed...

So a few weeks ago we were out on a shopping adventure and we ended up on Brigade road because Milan wanted McDonalds. We ended up with the sweet parking spot (which does not happen often), so we decided to make the most of it and do a bit of shopping. We strolled and wandered and then we stumbled upon this mall that was tucked into the street. In we went, it seemed a little dated, but we decided to take the tour around. On the main level there was this little grocery store. No bigger than the size of our kitchen and dining area back at home. In there it was a foreigners paradise!!! Fruit snacks, pop tarts, tilex, honey bunches of oats, and then as I was admiring all the things that are familiar from back at home, I spotted it... it was there, right in front of me. The blue bag with big black letters, T-O-S-T-I-T-O-S!!! I almost shed a tear.... I found TOSTITOS!!! I held the bag close to my chest and was so happy!!! I looked a the price, and I knew that this would be painful... yes, the bag of tostitos was 300 rupees... $6 dollars. I had to suck it up and pay the 300rs, because I could not bear to leave the store without the tostitos... Once they were home, we had to wait for the perfect occasion to indulge in the tostitos.

So, it was Friday night and our friends from Syracuse NY came over for dinner, this was the last time we would see the family in Bangalore b/c they are leaving to go back to US on Jul 10, this was the 'Tostito-worthy' occasion!! I made some salsa, we had some good beer and enjoyed... The Patnodes appreciated the quest for the Tostitos!!

So next time you are in the grocery store and you see a whole aisle full of tortilla chips, don't take it for granted!! There are some that are deprived of such a luxury!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Our 4th was celebrated with a walk to the mall that open just right outside our complex. Had dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant (Toscana), and ate Baskin Robbins ice cream for dessert. Afterward we went to a neighbors house and lit off some fireworks...

Hearing all that you would not suspect that it all took place in India...

Hope you all enjoyed your 4th!

July 3, 2008

July 3, 2008 is a date that we will remember forever!! It was the date that we left the US for the move to Bangalore!

Now a year has gone by, 365 days.... It many respects it seems like it was just yesterday and in other respects it seems far longer.

It is amazing when we look back to see all that we have experienced over the last year!!

Our Maid

This post is about Manjula our maid. She has become a part of our family, just like Devraj the driver.

I still remember when we met her for the first time. She same for an interview, it was clear that the family felt a connection with Manjula on that day. Including the kids…. They both said that they liked when they met her for the first time.

She quickly learned how to clean the house to meet the ‘Vim Standards’. She quickly switched from the straw broom that you have to squat on the floor to use, to the swifter mounted on a stick. This was by upon persuasion from Vim. But she adjusted!! She learned to use the dust buster… again, a change from her norm, Vim initiated. These are adjust a few examples of how adaptable she is.

Now, she was completely learned our routines and styles. She cleans the bathrooms, she puts away the kids toys, she cleans the kitchen, she does the laundry (including folding), she iron, she mends our clothes (buttons, hemming etc…), she does the shipping for all the Indian food (dahls, rice, flour, etc…) she cooks….. and on top of all that, she babysits Mira and Milan too!! She is a true gem.

I have to say the best is her cooking!!! She has come a long way…. She now can cook Gujarati food better than me!! She has been cooking for a lot of neighbors and they are all digging her cooking!! And I am loving it too!!

Now we try not to take advantage of her. Some people purposely leave dishes in the sink from the night before for the maid to take care of, or they will have the maid work 7 days a week. For us, we have Manjula work 4 ½ days a week. She has Friday afternoon and the weekends off. She will come if we need her, but typically she has that time to spend with her family, she has 2 young boys. We figure if we take care of her, she will take care of us.

Now only if we could bring her home with us when we eventually come home… oh that would be golden!!