The Key + The Garbage = A New Perspective

Okay, no pictures on this one, but I just have to tell you what happened to me the other day......
The driver was trying to get an extra house key made for the maid. The first time he came back with it, it didn't work. So the next day, he took the key back to the key maker and had it "filed". It still didn't work. In the meantime, Corey said he had an extra house key we could give the maid. Great! Problem solved. So I threw away the "filed" key that didn't work.

I told the driver not to worry about fixing the key that didn't work because Corey found an extra key. He asked me what I did with the "filed" key. I said I threw it away. "Oh, madam! You shouldn't throw it away" he said. I told him it was no big deal, don't worry.

Two days later, the doorbell rings at 6:30am and one of the guards hands me a small key. For a second, I didn't think anything of it....there are 5,000 keys in this house (to various doors, cabinets, etc) but when I felt it and looked closer, I realized it was the maimed "filed" key. What? I second guessed myself.....but I knew I threw it away. So I stuck it in my pocket. I could feel a conversation with the driver coming on....

So at an appropriate time, I pulled the key out of my pocket and showed it to the driver and said, "Ayyappan, look what I have". He looked at it and chuckled. I told him I was very shocked to see it. He explained that the guards (and probably everyone including him) goes through ALL of our garbage......EVERYTHING! Looking for things to sell or keep or maybe hoping to find money. And to be successful at finding that little key......somone had to do some serious searching!

Oh well, it just adds another perspective to all the other perspectives I have been enlightened by in the 6 weeks I have been here. And all day today I have been so self- conscience about what I've thrown away. I was just about to toss 3 overly ripe, mushy, black bananas but went outside and gave them away...they were well received.

What did you throw away today? .......are we a wasteful people?

India Day at School

This month they celebrated India Day at the school. All week long, the children learned things about India and ended with an assembly on Friday. It was good timing for Eric and Paige, since we had just arrived. Each of the elementary classes dressed up in Indian clothing and performed a skit, song, or dance. Paige was part of a skit where she performed a rain dance. The middle school didn't perform, but were invited to wear Indian clothing all week. I had a tunic for Eric but he didn't want to wear it because it was "too itchy and hot". Oh well. Here are some pics and a video of Paige:

Snapshots of India

Isn't she a cutie?

Housing on the side of the road

Auto Rickshaw......
Taxi Anyone?


More housing. Pretty typical all along the side of the roads.

These birds are everywhere! And they are aggressive!

I always have to close my eyes when I see this.

My fear is that eventually I will see a baby dropped.

Busses Everywhere! Usually the bus is full and the people (guys) hang on the outside.

I wonder if they only have to pay half the fare?

This is a police/traffic post on the corner of a busy intersection

Yes, the cows let us use the street sometimes

Tow-truck in reverse?

Let me just say.....I guess I'm glad they don't butcher the cows around here?

Produce section at Wal Mart......eat your heart out!

Lowe's...... in India

I wondered where Corey was running off to every Saturday?

Starbucks.....in India

Can't beat 4 rupees a cup!

(about 8 cents)

I took this picture in our backyard

Neighborhood boy

Just wanted to give you an idea of what some of our surroundings are like....

Stay tuned for Part 2.

The School

I guess it's about time I actually post something about India! I promise I will be more true to my blog title in the future.

One of the first questions people asked when I told them we were moving to India was, "What kind of school will your children be going to?" So this post is about Eric and Paige's school.
The name is, the American International School of Chennai and is located about 25 minutes north of our home. The children do not ride a school bus but are driven to and from by one of our drivers.

School hours are 8:30am - 3:40pm. Additionally, there are several after school activities (ie. paper quilling, pot painting, french tutoring, glass painting, dancing) the children sign up for that end at 4:30pm. By the time they (and me) chat with friends and buy treats from the school store, we end up getting home around 5:30pm.

The school follows an American-type curriculum and school calendar, honoring American holidays as well as Indian. It ends up being a little longer than in the states, starting the first Monday in August and ending the first week in June. That is due to so many holidays and longer breaks so people can travel. The student population is a melting pot of ethnicities with Korean being the largest followed by (not necessarily in this order) British, European, American, Australian, Indian, and other Asian countries. That is one of the highlights for the children - being able to meet peers from all around the world - literally!

There are about 15 students in each of their classes. Paige's teacher is from India. Eric's teachers are all American except for his French teacher. They both are making friends, adjusting very well, and love school. I think total students K - 12 is around 800 or so.

Although, Eric is a little bummed because they don't start band until 6th grade here and in Maroa-Forsyth, they started band in 5th grade. So Eric is one year ahead. To help with the boredom, he switched from playing the Clarinet to learning the Saxophone. Paige is bummed because she has to wait another year to start. However, we are in the process of looking for a piano teacher for both of them. On a positive note, they get to take French (Spanish was full) and are excited about learning a foreign language.

The layout of the school is pretty neat with the hallways being open to the outside as well as the pool, one of the gyms, and an eating area. Here are some visuals:

The view as you enter from the parking lot












A view of the courtyard in the center with hallways and classrooms around










One of the playgrounds














A Hallway with classrooms on the right











An eating area (there is a formal enclosed and air conditioned cafeteria)











The Swimming Pool
Each grade takes swimming as part of PE at some point during the year











Playing Field












Outdoor Gym (there is also an indoor gym)

We Finally Arrived!

On Friday, January 9th, 2009 we finally arrived in India! The flight was a long 23 hours, but we did it. We moved into the Asiana Hotel because our sea shipment with all of our household items had not arrived yet. Yes....our 6th hotel in 2 months!

Paige enjoying the flight:
Eric enjoying the flight:

We only had the weekend before the kids were to start school on Monday. We were tired!! Chennai is 11 1/2 hours ahead of Illinois and we found it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to really get over jet lag and feel normal again. But we were happy to finally be at our destination!

Our Disney Vacation

On December 30th, we left Utah and went to Orlando, Florida. We spent New Year's Eve at Magic Kingdom and it was AMAZING!! At midnight, they had the most spectacular fireworks. It was very crowded (prepared us for India) but worth it! We stayed four more days and went to Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studio's, and the Epcot Center. The weather was a beautiful 75 degrees.

Next, we boarded the Disney "Wonder" cruise ship and sailed to the Bahamas and Disney's Castaway Cay Island. We shopped, went to the beach, rode motorcycles, rode bikes, swam, snorkled, ate, ate, and ate! Again, the weather was beautiful, and no one was lost, hurt, sad, or sick.........so I would say it was a SUCCESS!

Because we took hundreds of pictures, I made a slideshow to recapture just a few of our fun times:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jayson and Kim's Wonderful Day!

On December 20th, 2008, Jayson and Kim were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple. It was a wonderful, beautiful, exciting event. I've made a little slideshow to capture the day. Enjoy!


(Somehow the slide show starts in the middle - so when the frame goes blank, please keep watching for more pics - 28 pics in all)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Paige's Solo Career

We delayed our trip to Utah so we could attend Paige's 4th grade Christmas Concert on December 16th, 2008. She was so excited (and nervous) to sing a part all by herself! She was playing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a song called "Where have all the reindeer gone?" Maroa-Forsyth always performs entertaining concerts for the parents.

*Sorry for the poor video quality......we were far away and I was using my camera.....did my best.

Playing Catch-Up

Wow! It has been a while since I've made an entry! Now that I am feeling a bit more settled in my new surroundings and have had a chance to get my thoughts in order, I'm ready!
First, I am going to back peddle to December 2008 to share the exciting things we experienced over the holidays and in a few entries, I'll be up to date!