It was trip number 2 to the er earlier this week! Guess who the patient was.... yup... it was Milan - Again! The injury this time, a big wipe out on his bike and a injury on the nose. Vim thought it was broken so we took him to ER for a check up. A couple x-rays, and a few bandages later, he was fine. When I see you in person I will have to tell you the story about how they do the x-rays here in India.... lets just say... there are not the same safety standards here as back at home. But that is typical here ion India... lack of safety standards, that is.
Anyways, this injury was on Tuesday. And to make matters worse, he fell at school on Wednesday on his arm (the same arm that he hurt a few months ago - ER trip #1).All Milan keeps saying is 'I am sorry that this happened Mommy, I am sorry'. It is really sweet. Last night he was sleeping next to me with a big bandage on his nose, and his arm in a ace bandage. It was a real sight!
Needless to say, today he is staying home and hanging out with Vim. Hopefully he can make it thru the day without another injury!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Weekend Update
Weekend update....
Friday we went to dinner with a few other couples... w/o the kidos. They stayed home with Manjula. We have not gone out without the kids in a really long time so we felt a little guilty! They were much happier staying home watching movies and eating popcorn!
Saturday... Mira got a hair cut... several inches off!! It took a lot of persuading but everyone (Mira included) is pleased with the end result!
BEFORE!
AFTER!
Saturday night was a big event.... a big first for me.... We went to the movies. First movie outing since being here in India. Now here is the big kicker.... it was a Hindi movie.... and the big shock... I stayed awake thru the whole thing!! Most of you are well aware that staying awake in movies is a struggle for me to begin with... couple this with the movie in Hindi (w/o subtitles), I thought that for sure I would be out...Surprise, surprise!! So... I am sure you are wondering what the movie was... Dostana. It was actually a pretty progressive story line. The 2 lead actors move to Miami and pretend to be gay and have a girl room mate. The verdict... not so bad! Here is the best part of the movie... Gold class seats! This is the way to go! They have these huge plush recliners that fully recline and food service to your seat! It was great!!
Friday we went to dinner with a few other couples... w/o the kidos. They stayed home with Manjula. We have not gone out without the kids in a really long time so we felt a little guilty! They were much happier staying home watching movies and eating popcorn!
Saturday... Mira got a hair cut... several inches off!! It took a lot of persuading but everyone (Mira included) is pleased with the end result!
BEFORE!
AFTER!
Saturday night was a big event.... a big first for me.... We went to the movies. First movie outing since being here in India. Now here is the big kicker.... it was a Hindi movie.... and the big shock... I stayed awake thru the whole thing!! Most of you are well aware that staying awake in movies is a struggle for me to begin with... couple this with the movie in Hindi (w/o subtitles), I thought that for sure I would be out...Surprise, surprise!! So... I am sure you are wondering what the movie was... Dostana. It was actually a pretty progressive story line. The 2 lead actors move to Miami and pretend to be gay and have a girl room mate. The verdict... not so bad! Here is the best part of the movie... Gold class seats! This is the way to go! They have these huge plush recliners that fully recline and food service to your seat! It was great!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The World is Getting Smaller....
I posted some time ago about the connections we have made to other people we know being all the way here in Bangalore....Well there are more connections...
So, the friend that I posted about before, Jignasha.... well she used to work for the same company as a really good friend of mine from Michigan - Mamta. They both worked together at Freescale. They knew of each other....
The next connection.... it turns out that my cousin's wife from Flint (Madhu Bhabi) has a cousin that lives in the same neighborhood as us - Ozone. Yes, that makes another person from Madhapur (this is the name of our village in Gujarat) here in Ozone. Anyways, her name is Rattan and she came over the other day. Her and her hubby (Samji) are here from London. In the brief visit we learned that Rattan's husband knows my uncles from London.... It is really weird.... I am sure we will uncover other ways that we are connected to Rattan and Samji, we are going out to dinner with them tomorrow so I can post later about other random connections...
Case in point.... is it a small, small world!!
So, the friend that I posted about before, Jignasha.... well she used to work for the same company as a really good friend of mine from Michigan - Mamta. They both worked together at Freescale. They knew of each other....
The next connection.... it turns out that my cousin's wife from Flint (Madhu Bhabi) has a cousin that lives in the same neighborhood as us - Ozone. Yes, that makes another person from Madhapur (this is the name of our village in Gujarat) here in Ozone. Anyways, her name is Rattan and she came over the other day. Her and her hubby (Samji) are here from London. In the brief visit we learned that Rattan's husband knows my uncles from London.... It is really weird.... I am sure we will uncover other ways that we are connected to Rattan and Samji, we are going out to dinner with them tomorrow so I can post later about other random connections...
Case in point.... is it a small, small world!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Pictures...
Here are some pictures from our Diwali Dinner at Ozone...
Joanie, Me and Charu...
Jignasha, Me and Charu....
Milan hangin' with the boys - Sajan, Grisham (both are Jignasha's boys) and Rohin (Charu's Son)...
Milan and Rohin... This is a great pic of the teeth coming in!
Me and Milan...
Mira and Aditi...
And here is a closing picture... Just thought that I would rub it into you on the weather here compared to Michigan!! 80's... perfect!!
Joanie, Me and Charu...
Jignasha, Me and Charu....
Milan hangin' with the boys - Sajan, Grisham (both are Jignasha's boys) and Rohin (Charu's Son)...
Milan and Rohin... This is a great pic of the teeth coming in!
Me and Milan...
Mira and Aditi...
And here is a closing picture... Just thought that I would rub it into you on the weather here compared to Michigan!! 80's... perfect!!
Vonage Up and Running!
YEAH!! We are back in business! Vonage is up and running!
It took many calls to Vonage, shipping things back and forth between us and Vonage (DHL made a pretty penny off all of this!) and a switch in Internet Service Providers but we are in business!
One of the tradeoffs with Vonage up and running.... random calls in the middle of the night! That is what happened in the middle of the night last night.... 'ring, ring', my initial thought was 'what is that and make it stop'... then I realized... that is a small price to pay to being able to be connected with friends and family!!
Hopefully now that we are up and running we will talk to you soon!
It took many calls to Vonage, shipping things back and forth between us and Vonage (DHL made a pretty penny off all of this!) and a switch in Internet Service Providers but we are in business!
One of the tradeoffs with Vonage up and running.... random calls in the middle of the night! That is what happened in the middle of the night last night.... 'ring, ring', my initial thought was 'what is that and make it stop'... then I realized... that is a small price to pay to being able to be connected with friends and family!!
Hopefully now that we are up and running we will talk to you soon!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Brothers and Sisters... Sibling Love or Sibling Rivalry?
Now that Mira is almost 9 (I know... where did the time go!) and Milan is 5 going on 15.... It is interesting to see their dynamics as brother and sister.
I think that they fit the 'typical' model of a brother and sister relationship. You know, loving, caring and completely dedicated to ensure that the other is happy.... NOT!!!!!
They are the exact opposite! Milan is really a little cheeky-monkey and crafty-guy who knows just how to push her buttons. He can get Mira so wound up and she is bursting into tears screaming because he is 'frustrating' her. And you look over at him and he has this look on his face... a smirky-grin (toothless grin!), and he is thinking 'yup, I did that!'. It is really entertaining to watch... I try to get Milan to stop, he does for a minute or two, and then he is quickly back on the mission to annoy the older sister. I think part of it is personalities, Mira does tend to get more wound up over things (brother-instigated, or otherwise), and Milan just does not care about much. OK... take that back... he cares a lot about his puppy!
Anyways... this begs the question... is the dynamics that we are seeing in Mira and Milan due to their personalities or is it because Brothers are always looking for ways to irritate their sisters??? Personally (from personal experience) strongly believe that it is the latter!! I have my own stories of being tormented by my brother..... And have heard of many other 'brothers-tormenting their sisters' stories. So when does it end.... when can we expect some peace between Mira and Milan? I am thinking... it will probably get worse before it gets better. Until then, I will sit with my bowl of popcorn and enjoy the entertainment!! Just kidding! I will try to do my best to parent thru this, but you all have to understand, I am trying fight the behaviour of brothers bugging their sisters for the fun of it! Is there any hope??
I think that they fit the 'typical' model of a brother and sister relationship. You know, loving, caring and completely dedicated to ensure that the other is happy.... NOT!!!!!
They are the exact opposite! Milan is really a little cheeky-monkey and crafty-guy who knows just how to push her buttons. He can get Mira so wound up and she is bursting into tears screaming because he is 'frustrating' her. And you look over at him and he has this look on his face... a smirky-grin (toothless grin!), and he is thinking 'yup, I did that!'. It is really entertaining to watch... I try to get Milan to stop, he does for a minute or two, and then he is quickly back on the mission to annoy the older sister. I think part of it is personalities, Mira does tend to get more wound up over things (brother-instigated, or otherwise), and Milan just does not care about much. OK... take that back... he cares a lot about his puppy!
Anyways... this begs the question... is the dynamics that we are seeing in Mira and Milan due to their personalities or is it because Brothers are always looking for ways to irritate their sisters??? Personally (from personal experience) strongly believe that it is the latter!! I have my own stories of being tormented by my brother..... And have heard of many other 'brothers-tormenting their sisters' stories. So when does it end.... when can we expect some peace between Mira and Milan? I am thinking... it will probably get worse before it gets better. Until then, I will sit with my bowl of popcorn and enjoy the entertainment!! Just kidding! I will try to do my best to parent thru this, but you all have to understand, I am trying fight the behaviour of brothers bugging their sisters for the fun of it! Is there any hope??
Friday, November 14, 2008
Languages
Growing up in America made me 'English-centric'. Fortunately I learned Gujarati growing because my parents spoke it at home. Most people in America don't know any other language (and a small percentage of them would fail most grammar tests). Those that learn a second language feel it is a huge accomplishment. Don't get me wrong... it is not easy to learn a second language, and it should be commended.
However here, being bi-lingual, tri-lingual, and even quad-lingual (not sure if that is a word, but you know where I am going with this) is the norm among the locals. Most of the people speak their local language which differs by their region (states). They also can speak languages of neighboring states (Telegu, Tamil, Malayali, Kanada). In addition to that most speak Hindi, which is the the universal language in India. And it does not stop there... they all try to speak English too!
In addition to the locals, you will see multi-lingual ex-pats here that carry their mother tongue (example - Friends of Mira and Milan are able to speak Telegu, others are able to speak Finnish). In addition, you will see mixed marriages where they are keeping up with different languages. Example - German mom, American dad - kids speak German, and Norwegian Dad, Indian mom - Kids speak Norwegian. It is quite impressive.
It is making us realize that we need to teach Mira and Milan Gujarati (our language from our region/state). So far they both have mastered English with the thick-Indian accent so I guess that is a start!! Soon they will be fluent in Gujarati... if we keep working on it!!
I will post some specifics on Mira and Milan's 'Indian-English'. It is pretty funny to listen to!!
However here, being bi-lingual, tri-lingual, and even quad-lingual (not sure if that is a word, but you know where I am going with this) is the norm among the locals. Most of the people speak their local language which differs by their region (states). They also can speak languages of neighboring states (Telegu, Tamil, Malayali, Kanada). In addition to that most speak Hindi, which is the the universal language in India. And it does not stop there... they all try to speak English too!
In addition to the locals, you will see multi-lingual ex-pats here that carry their mother tongue (example - Friends of Mira and Milan are able to speak Telegu, others are able to speak Finnish). In addition, you will see mixed marriages where they are keeping up with different languages. Example - German mom, American dad - kids speak German, and Norwegian Dad, Indian mom - Kids speak Norwegian. It is quite impressive.
It is making us realize that we need to teach Mira and Milan Gujarati (our language from our region/state). So far they both have mastered English with the thick-Indian accent so I guess that is a start!! Soon they will be fluent in Gujarati... if we keep working on it!!
I will post some specifics on Mira and Milan's 'Indian-English'. It is pretty funny to listen to!!
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