The Days of Our Lives...... in India

Monday Madness!

2011-02-07T10:41:00.002-06:00

We live on a dead end street and each individual lot is surrounded by a wall. At the entrance to our lane, one of the lots painted this sign on the outside of their wall:

You need to know that proper public restrooms are nonexistent in Chennai. It's unfortunate. Men, women, and children pretty much urinate (and other stuff) anywhere and everywhere. The men don't even try to hide it. If they're walking along the sidewalk and need to go, they just stop where they're at, unzip, and go! And people continue to walk around them. It's crazy.

We live on the beach and since many people like to frequent the beach, and there are no bathrooms, well...... you get the picture.

notice the wet spot below the sign

Maddening!!

Our Christmas Cruise - 4th Stop

2011-01-11T00:26:00.003-06:00

Saturday morning was Christmas day and we arrived in Bahrain (upper left corner). It didn't feel much like Christmas. First of all, we had exchanged gifts before we left India so there wasn't a Christmas tree with presents, etc. Second, it was so warm and sunny! But that didn't matter - we were enjoying ourselves immensely.

The kids opted to stay on the ship while Corey and I took a taxi into the city. We had a wonderful time walking the streets of Bahrain, talking, shopping, and eating. When we returned a few hours later, we spent the afternoon laying out at the pool.

Aahhh.....Now that is what vacation is all about!

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Our Christmas Cruise - 3rd Stop

2011-01-10T09:32:00.002-06:00

We woke up Friday morning in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. It's about 1 1/2 hour drive south from Dubai.

We didn't have a lot of time here so we jumped in a taxi and headed to "Ferrari World". It's a new indoor/outdoor amusement park with about 15 attractions including the world's fastest roller coaster - 250 kph or 156 mph. It was crazy fast!!!

It took us a few hours to hit all the rides and grab a bite to eat. We really wanted to stop at the Emirates Palace to see the most costly Christmas tree in the world - $11 million U.S., but we ran out of time and didn't want to risk having the ship leave without us.

What we saw of Abu Dhabi was modern, clean, spacious, and sandy. Again, the weather was beautiful.

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Monday Madness

2011-01-10T03:39:00.002-06:00

WHEN DOES THIS EXPIRE?

Please, just tell me the date!!!

Make sure you bring your calculator when you go food shopping. One thing maddening about grocery shopping in India is figuring out the date something expires. Yes, that's right, you do have to figure it out.

First of all, the way dates are written here are different than in the U.S. For example, if you want to write January 10, 2011 you would put either 10 January, 2011 OR 10/1/2011. So already I have to do a little thinking when I look at dates to make sure I don't read the above example as October 1st, 2011.

Secondly, most of the products put the "Manufactured Date" only and then somewhere else on the product they will put in very tiny print "best used before 120 days after manufactured date".

And sometimes they don't put dd/mm/yyyy, they just put dd/mm or mm/yy. Arrgghh!

So this is what I ran across the other day: Manufactured date said 11/10 and after 5 minutes of searching the product, I found "best used within 3 months of manufactured date".

Does this mean it was manufactured on October 11th and in this case the product would be expired, or does it mean it was manufactured on November 2010 and I still have a month to use it?

So, I asked the store clerk, just to be sure, and of course, he didn't know.

I was feeling risky so I bought it anyway. If you don't hear from me next week, you'll know why..........

Our Christmas Cruise - 2nd Stop

2011-01-04T22:23:00.003-06:00

Thursday morning we woke up in Al Fujayrah in the UAE. Again, we didn't sign up for any of the excursions and ventured out on our own.

We didn't feel like shopping today and since it was so nice out, we opted for the beach. We were advised to visit a private beach versus a public one due to the modesty rules, safety, etc...

At the port, we hopped in a taxi and found the Le Meridian Hotel and Resort about 30 minutes away. It was a lovely, peaceful, clean drive up the coast. For a fee, we had access to the pool and private beach for the afternoon.

Take a look:

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Our Christmas Cruise - 1st Stop

2011-01-03T09:06:00.003-06:00

The kids had 3 weeks off over Christmas break, so we decided to take a cruise in the Middle East.

We took a 4 hour flight to Dubai - which is a city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and embarked the Costa Luminosa (an Italian cruise ship) at Port Rashid Monday night - December 20th.

We arrived in Muscat, Oman on Wednesday morning and explored the city on our own. It was perfect weather - blue skies, dry, sunny around 80 degrees.

A few snapshots:

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Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T04:54:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Seasons Greetings!

Happy Holidays!

From the Wurtzbacher's to YOU!

We hope this year will be filled with love, happiness, peace, smiles, hugs, kisses, and a little craziness!

We are going to try hard to keep up on blogging this year, and would love to hear from all of you!

Monday Madness!

2011-01-03T03:52:00.003-06:00

I would like to start something new that I thought would be fun. You see, there are many things about living in India that are quirky, funny, weird, strange, unexplainable, and downright maddening! So each Monday, I'm going to share an experience with you.

For example - this one is just "quirky" (Ladies, you'll be able to relate better than you guys).

See here - a normal looking 12" padded envelope:

But what do I see being used as the paper that you pull off to expose the adhesive?:

Yes, you guessed it - Always Maxi-pad liner!!

And the stranger thing is that I can't even find a store that sells Always products????

Quirky...

Back In The Swing of Things

2010-08-11T21:05:00.002-05:00

We returned from our wonderful summer vacation safe and sound - Thank Goodness!

(However, I felt like I needed a mini vacation to recover : )

It didn't take long to get back into life. Here are a few highlights of our first week back:

Celebrated Eric's 13th birthday - teenager in the house!
Had a farewell dinner for dear friends who are moving back to the States - boo hoo, sniff sniff : (
Unpacked 8 suitcases and 3 carry - ons - still doing laundry.
Eric and Paige started school - back to packing lunches, ugh!
Swim practice has begun, resulting in my alarm going off at 5:20am!!!!! I guess I should be thankful that I'm not the one who has to swim : )
Have already had an Electrician and A/C guy out for various repairs - I'm positive they have a conspiracy thing going on.
Still cleaning up Mindy puke - could she be bulimic?
Smashed a gecko in the car door - oops, sorry!
Scratching away at several mosquito bites - netting over bed is going up TODAY!
Spent 5 hours in the doctors office for ONE APPOINTMENT - saw blood and urine that I didn't want to see.....

However, the highlight of my week was when I picked up Paige from a friends house only to find out she had TURNED BLUE!!! Yes, a Smurfette!! After the panic was over and our heart rates returned to normal, we found out that the girls were experimenting with blue food coloring by putting it in a spray bottle, spraying each other's clothes (that were still on their body's) hoping to "tie dye" them. When they saw their skin was turning blue, they jumped into the pool, but no luck.

After a shower and bath, most of it is gone. It only looks like she's not receiving enough oxygen or something......

WELCOME HOME!!!

Heading Back to the U.S.A!

2010-06-23T21:50:00.002-05:00

It's that time again! We are leaving tomorrow night for our "around-the-world" trip back to the U.S.A. Here is our itinerary:

First stop: June 26 - 29 - Paris, France

Second stop: June 29 - July 3 - South Carolina

Third stop: July 3 - 10 - Forsyth, Illinois

Fourth stop: July 10 - Aug 2 - Utah (Corey leaves on July 18th)

Fifth stop: Aug 2 - Aug 5 - Hong Kong

Last stop: Aug 5 - Home in Chennai

We would love to see as many friends and family as possible so let me know! Email, Facebook, or leave a comment on the blog.......

Line Jumping, Taking Cuts, Snaking........

2010-06-17T05:00:00.002-05:00

One peculiar thing that happens to us frequently here is........

When the kids and I are standing in line (in "the cue" as they say here) - usually at a store, KFC, doctors, etc. - the check-out clerk will often motion to me to come up to the front of the line, even if it means taking cuts in front of someone! I always politely decline because it goes against everything I've been taught growing up. The other people in line can clearly see what is going on and I want to send the message that I am not "special" and I can wait my turn like everyone else.

So, I've been here a year and a half now and have gotten to the point where I just ignore them or look away when they want me to line jump.

BUT, the other day, I gave in and took MAJOR CUTS!!! It felt weird and awesome at the same time!

I was at the zoo, no, wait.... I mean the Apollo Hospital downtown.... and it was CRAZY packed with people everywhere, going in every direction and I had no clue where to go or what to do.

Eric was scheduled for a check-up with a diabetes doctor - our first time. So when I got to the receptionist, I waited in line and I could hear her telling other patients that it was an hour wait for this particular doctor (which probably meant 2 hours). But when I finally spoke with her, she told me we were NEXT! So, what to do?

The little angel on one shoulder said, "NO, you should wait your turn like everyone else". I looked around me and there was no place to sit and everyone was in my space and staring at us like a fish in a fishbowl. That's when the naughty guy said "Just go ahead, - there is NO way you can wait here that long". So I gave in and went next.

Same thing happened at the phlebotomist (he had to have a blood draw for his hbA1C) test, and the pharmacy.

I left feeling guilty, but so happy to be out of there!!!

I guess I have some repenting to do,

I promise I'll never do it again!

*wink*, *wink* ;-)

Eric's Track & Field Meet in Bangladesh

2010-06-16T02:39:00.002-05:00

This year, the school's Track & Field Meet was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

8 International schools from Southeast Asia all met and held this track meet over a 4- day weekend.

I wasn't able to go (mom was visiting, plus it required a visa, etc) but Corey went with Eric and had a great time.

Again, practices were 4 days a week before school at 6:00am. He knew he would place in Discus and Shot Put because he was experienced from last year. But this year he started Long Jump and was surprised that he placed since he was new.

Eric's personal bests and placements:

100 m 14.3 seconds
200m 30.1 seconds
400 m 1.16 minutes
Shot Put 7.32 meters 6th place
Discus 19.4 meters 4th place
Long Jump 3.83 meters 4th place
4 x 100 Relay 6th place
4 x 400 Relay 5th place

We are so proud of his hard work and commitment!

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Surprise in My Bedroom!

2010-06-10T22:14:00.004-05:00

While Corey was away on business, I came home to a visitor in my bedroom. Lucky me? NO! He was there with all of his friends - HUNDREDS OF THEM!!!

Let me introduce you to Him, or Her, or It.......

the FLYING ANT:

Yes, he and his friends invaded my bedroom while I was gone. Snuck in through the french doors from the balcony and they were EVERYWHERE - inside and out.

So after I screamed, Paige and Eric came running. I ordered them to get the ant spray and electric bug zapper which they brought immediately. Paige ran to get a security guard - to feel more secure? - and Eric,.... well, Eric made himself scarce.

So Paige, security guy, and I zapped, sprayed, and stomped until they were all dead. Some did escape and I found them the next morning in other parts of the house.

And YES, I did sleep in my bed that night with my electric bug zapper in hand.......... and luckily no nightmares.

Aahhhh....... the joys of living in India......

Paige Receives an Award!

2010-06-10T00:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the end-of-the-year assembly for the 5th grade. Paige received the "Presidential" Award which recognizes her for outstanding academics in 5th grade and is signed by the President of the United States!

She was so surprised and happy!

She also had lessons in beginner guitar the past couple of months so her class was able to play a little song at the assembly.

The picture of her with the tall guy with the beard is her awesome teacher, Mr. Paul.

Paige had a great year and we are so proud of her!

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A Trip to the Taj Mahal

2010-06-06T02:30:00.002-05:00

A few days after we returned from spring break, my mom arrived in Chennai! Yeah!

We were so excited to have her spend 3 weeks with us and I was very proud of her for making the long journey all by herself!

And how can you come all the way to India and not see the Taj Mahal??! Even though it is a journey in itself to get there, we had to do it!

So we took a 3 1/2 hour flight North to Delhi, spent the night, woke up at the crack of dawn to catch a 2 hour train ride to Agra. In Agra we rented a car and driver and saw the Taj, Agra Fort, inlay marble exhibit/store, and embroidery market, and shopping!

It was sooo HOT!! We must have melted off at least 5 lbs. each! We did take a break at the local 5-star hotel to eat and refresh ourselves.

At the end of the day, we grabbed a large pizza from Pizza Hut and jumped back on the train for our 2 hour ride back to Delhi where we crashed for the night.

The next day we flew back to Chennai. We were so glad we went on this awesome adventure!

PS.... Corey didn't come with us because he had already been to the Taj with colleagues. Yes, we survived without him!

Here a just a few pics:

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Our Week in Fiji

2010-06-05T01:15:00.003-05:00

BULA!!

(That's hello in Fiji)

And you have to say it like: "Boolaa"

We flew from Auckland, NZ to Suva on the Island of Viti Levu. From there we took a puddle jumper North to to Savusavu on the Island of Venua Levu.

Oddly, a hurricane had just hit Venua Levu and we were worried the resort would be closed, but we lucked out and it had just re-opened a couple days before we arrived.

The staff members were apologetic about the surroundings not being as lush and beautiful, but we couldn't tell the difference. It was beautiful to us!

This was the perfect resort! It was quiet, scenic, and not built up with tourism. We really felt like we were the only ones on a deserted island! Everywhere we went our surroundings were in its natural state and not changed to accommodate the "tourist".

In order to go to the waterfall, we had to bring a gift for the chief of the village the waterfall was in. So we bought a kava plant and went to his house. He let us in and spoke to us (in Fijian) and allowed us to go. I didn't take pictures of him - I thought it might be rude.

We loved the island, resort, people, food, music, and everything about Fiji.

Since I've spent so much time blogging this trip, I decided to put our whole week on one slideshow. It's a little lengthy, but I really want to move on to blogging other things.

Enjoy!

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Spring Vacation - Part 5

2010-05-17T22:44:00.002-05:00

Finishing up New Zealand.........

My husband gave me this awesome "MacBook" for our anniversary last month and I have been working hard at making this cool video of the kids "Zorbing" in New Zealand. After clipping, editing, adding text, etc., the video was finally finished!!! BUT..... I can't upload it to Blogspot!! I think it's too large? I don't know. So I am bummed.

PAIGE and JESSA after their thrill ride!

If you don't know what "Zorbing" is, it is getting into a large plastic ball filled with water (like a hamster sans the water) and rolling it down a hill. Whee.......

COREY, ERIC, and LEVI after their ride

I opted not to Zorb. For $44.00 per person I figured I would have more fun watching them act like hamsters! (Sorry Jenny).

Towards the end of our stay in New Zealand, we decided to take it easy.

FISH and CHIPS is a MUST!!! We stopped at a local store, grabbed a bunch and went to the park to enjoy. The kids had a blast running around on this gorgeous day. They made an obstacle course, found a small "zip" line and happened upon some hot springs! I think they had the most fun at this "Low-budget" activity.

For our last night there, we had a wonderful dinner of juicy steaks, corn on the cob (remember, we can't get that in India), sweet potatoes, and veggies. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week!

Goodbye New Zealand!

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Spring Vacation - Part 4

2010-05-11T22:35:00.002-05:00

Still in New Zealand..........

We woke up to rain but didn't let that stop us. The kids really wanted to go to the Wildlife Center so we headed out. I privately thought it was going to be a bust because animals don't usually come out in the rain. But we were lucky!

This Wildlife Center had it all figured out. They provided food to feed the animals - and the animals all knew this! As soon as we approached an exhibit, the animals came to us right away! The kids loved it and had a wonderful interactive experience.

We also saw them feeding the lions fresh meat - that was pretty cool.

They claimed to have a spring with 99.9% fresh water that we could drink from. The kids drank and said, "this is the BEST water I've ever had!".

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I decided to create a slideshow of random nature shots:

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Spring Vacation - Part 3

2010-05-10T07:07:00.002-05:00

We decided to make Lake Taupo our home base and go on day trips from there.

First stop was a geothermal park just south of Rotorua called Wai-O-Tapu. The attractions are sculptured out of volcanic activity that has been going on for thousands of years. Bubbling mud pools, huge volcanic craters, Sinter terrace formations, geysers, and sulfur pools (P.U.).

Once we were used to the smell, it proved to be a very interesting tour.

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That evening, we drove into Rotorua to New Zealand native Maori grounds. They had prepared a traditional dinner that was cooked in an underground pit, took us on a walk in the woods, performed traditional dancing and singing, and ended the evening searching for the famous glow worms in their natural pond. We were able to see about a dozen - no pictures though.

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Spring Vacation - Part 2

2010-05-08T06:10:00.003-05:00

After our day in Singapore, we boarded the plane for a 9 1/2 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand, which is on the North Island. We met our friends, the Mitchell's, and drove 2 1/2 hours South to Hamilton where we spent the night.

It was the beginning of Autumn - about 70-75 degrees - beautiful weather. We did have a couple rainy days but after months of heat and sunshine in Chennai, we welcomed it!

The LDS temple is in Hamilton, so the next morning we spent a few hours there. After lunch, we drove another 2 1/2 hours South to Lake Taupo. The Mitchell's were friends with a family that owned a house on the lake and we were able to rent it from them for the week.

New Zealand is 7 1/2 hours ahead of Chennai and we suffered a little jet lag, but didn't let it ruin our vacation.

Here are some slides of our first couple days there...........

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Spring Vacation - Part 1

2010-05-08T01:26:00.002-05:00

First stop...... Singapore

We started out by taking a 4 hour flight from Chennai to Singapore - which brought us in at 6:00am. We had a 15 hour layover so we decided to explore Singapore.

There was a train at the airport that could take us anywhere we wanted to go. The Singapore Zoo was first on my list but got voted out due to the high chance of rain. The kids thought the animals wouldn't come out. The Safari was only available at night - so that was out. My next choice was a bus tour of Singapore - BORING was the reply. Can we split up?? No, let's stay together. Sentosa Island was it.

There was a ton to do on Sentosa. We tried to get in to the new Universal Studios but it was sold out. Sold Out?? Do amusement parks really sell out? I guess we needed to get tickets on line weeks ago. Oh well, we tried. We ended up riding the mountain luge, went to several "inter-active" exhibits, ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, toured the Hersey's store, and discovered yummy popcorn at Garrett's Popcorn of Chicago.

In spite of having to lug our 5 carry-on's around and getting soaked in the rain, we had a memorable time!

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Our New Neighbors

2010-05-06T23:41:00.004-05:00

The other day we came home from school and were greeted by new neighbors! They were waiting for us outside our gate entrance ...........

We live on a dead end lane quite far from main roads - guess they needed a break from the noise. We let them graze on the trees and garbage - Refreshments!

Luckily for us, they didn't overstay their welcome....... it could have become quite stinky!

Spring Break!

2010-03-17T23:04:00.002-05:00

Well, the much awaited time has come for us to take a break from India and go on vacation.
The American School gives us 2 weeks off so we are headed East to Auckland, New Zealand for one week and from there a little north to Fiji for one week.

In New Zealand the weather will be between 65 - 75 degrees which will be a little break from the heat for us. We plan on attending a temple session (there isn't a temple in India yet and we haven't been since last summer) in Hamilton and exploring the beautiful outdoors. Maybe even go to the mall or movies - believe it or not - that would be a treat!

In Fiji the weather should be in the mid-80's which sounds perfect. We are staying at an all inclusive resort and plan to lay on the beach and enjoy all the water sports we can!

We are excited to take time off from the grinding routine in India. Especially Corey - he REALLY needs a break. He has been so busy and stressed out that he needs this "rest and relaxation" time. I am tempted to accidentally "lose" his Blackberry for a day or two. It would be nice to "lose" his laptop, too, but I don't think I can pull that one off!

So here's to a Happy Easter and Happy Spring! Cheers!!

A COBRA!

2010-03-13T04:44:00.006-06:00

Well, not really........

One morning, I got up around 6:30am, went down to the kitchen to start making breakfast when the doorbell rang - which never happens at that time of the morning. It was one of our security guards (I think he was waiting until he saw a light come on to ring the bell).

In excited, broken English he pants, "Madam, madam, a cobra, A COBRA!" as he points to the sidewalk. "WHAT?", I shriek as I look at the sidewalk. Well, it wasn't quite a cobra. To me it looked like a 4-5' brown garden snake. But I didn't want to burst his bubble - I could tell he was feeling proud and scared at the same time.

Then he says, "photo, photo". So he wants me to get my camera. I don't know if he really thought it was a cobra or if he just didn't know the word "snake". So I chuckle as I get my camera and take a photo of our very "brave, courageous" guard with his "COBRA"! : )

Later, I get the real story........ Mindy, our cat, actually was the brave one who caught the snake. Apparently, she was hissing at it in the bushes and the guards went over to see what the commotion was. They said Mindy bit the snake and pulled it out of the bushes! What a brave feline!

For those of you who want to know what became of our "cobra"........ the guards stabbed it with sticks until it was dead and threw it in a garbage fire down our lane. What a way to go.

It's Watermelon Season

2010-03-11T20:52:00.002-06:00

Now that I've lived here a little over a year, I think I've decided that this is my favorite time of year. It starts about mid February till the beginning of April. I don't know what season to call it because there really isn't a "spring, summer, winter, or fall" here. So I'm naming it "Watermelon" season.

The reasons it is my favorite are:

It's not too hot or too cold.
I can wear long pants or shorts.
The pool water is a wonderful temperature.
The sun shines every day.
It isn't super humid yet.
THE MOSQUITOES ARE GOING AWAY!!!!!!!
Spring break is just around the corner.
And there is delicious, sweet, juicy WATERMELON everywhere!

And the cost of these yummy, fresh-picked watermelon are so affordable! If I have my driver buy one off the street (without them seeing me) he can get a nice one for about 80 cents. If I buy it, it's about $2.00 - still not bad.

There are watermelon stands everywhere on the streets. Take a look:

We're Still Here!

2010-03-10T22:06:00.005-06:00

It has been a while since I last posted....... how do I catch up? I would like to let you know what has been happening these past 4 months, but think it might be nothing more than "boring old news". So I've decided to start from today and go from there. If I come across an old event I feel is "blog worthy", I'll post it.

I would like to start with this past weekend. Some of you are on Facebook and have seen this already, but several family members have not. Eric made the basketball team and the tournament was in Mumbai. So Eric and I headed up there this past weekend (1 1/2 hour flight) and his team WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!! We were so thrilled!! Unfortunately, Corey was on a business trip to Korea and couldn't make it. But I took lots of pictures and videos for him. I'll share some with you:

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Update

2009-11-24T21:32:00.002-06:00

Just want to give you an update of the happenings around here!
1. We are excited to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow and roast the turkey we brought back from the states last July (hope it's not too freezer-burned). Looking forward to a day off with the family and friends, and eating yummy food!

2. ERIC MADE THE SOCCER TEAM!!! Out of 25 kids, only 12 made it and we are so proud of him for his hard work and dedication to practicing hard and doing his best. He is very tired at the end of the day so he has been waking up at 6:00am to do his homework.

3. Because Eric made the team, we will be travelling to Colombo, Sri Lanka for the soccer tournament the first weekend in December. It is about an hour south of us by plane. I will be going with him and Corey and Paige will stay here. Can't wait to post pictures for you!

4. Corey is heading back to the US the same weekend Eric and I will be in Sri Lanka. He has business in Illinois and will be gone about 10 days. So, I've been busy on the Internet ordering miscellaneous stuff for him to bring back - mostly things I can't find here and diabetes supplies for Eric.

So life is good! We love our new house (I promise I'll post pictures soon), Corey's job is going well, the kids are doing excellent in school and we've made lots of friends. I think we're feeling like we can call India "home".

A Couple Pictures of Us

2009-11-22T22:21:00.004-06:00

In our own "American" way, we celebrated one of the biggest holidays in India called "Diwali" or "Festival of Lights". In basic terms, it's a time they celebrate light over darkness and good over evil. Lights are hung, candles are lit, prayers are said, and lots and lots of fireworks are let off (day and night). It is a time for new clothes, presents, and feasts.

We started on Friday night by celebrating with several friends at the Mitchell's home. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, enjoyed homemade ice cream, and lit a few fireworks of our own.

Saturday night, we were invited to dinner with friends who are native to India. We enjoyed yummy Indian food and more fireworks. It was a fun weekend! It was so fun, I hardly took any pictures - not enough to do it justice. Oh well, here's a few of us:

The entrance to our friend's home on Saturday night

Eric trying to eat popcorn while holding a sparkler

Paige with her sparkler

When it comes to fireworks, grown men become boys!

Me and Corey

Mehendi Party!

2009-11-05T06:15:00.004-06:00

Last month, the kids had a week break from school and on one of those days, a few friends and I hired 2 mehendi artists to come work their magic on us "Americans"

Mehendi is basically henna tattoos done Indian style. It is a temporary form of skin decoration that is used during special occasions like weddings and festivals. It is very popular for a bride to have it applied before her wedding.

Once the henna is applied, it needs to dry for 3 hours. Then it crumbles off and you're left with a tattoo. It continues to darken for 2-3 days and last about 2 weeks.

We just did it for fun!

Paige has one artist on each hand

A closer look

The designs were peacocks, feathers, flowers, lattice, etc.

Palms and wrists complete

This is what the tops looked like.
Can you imagine what it was like for her to keep it smudge free for three hours?

I only had my feet done.

All the women had their feet done

Eric had a little something done too. He originally wanted a cobra snake but his request got lost in translation and he ended up with a flower on his right arm. We quickly wiped it off but it still appeared the next day. Luckily his shirt sleeve covered it. So we told the artist to do something "manly" on his left arm and this is what he got.

However, in India, this isn't considered a negative symbol

Ayudha Puja

2009-11-02T23:28:00.004-06:00

I swear I am such a lame blogger. I guess I just haven't mastered posting events on a timely basis. There are about 10 different things that have happened in the past couple of months that I want to share, but just can't find the time to do it right after it happens.

Oh well.....better late than never.

This event happened the end of September. We just returned from Mumbai to celebrate an evening of "Ayudha Puja" with our staff. This is a day of thanks and blessing the mechanical equipment around your home. Our helpers washed, decorated, and blessed our cars, motorcycles, bikes, tools, generator, pool equipment, and other devices. In addition to decorating with palm and banana leaves and flowers, they spatter a paste made of turmeric and sandlewood. They offer special prayers (puja) of thanks and hope that this equipment will serve you well the following year.

Take a look:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

All Moved In

2009-11-02T23:21:00.003-06:00

This past week we moved to a new home about 15 minutes up the road. The landlord of our old home sold the house and the new buyers wanted to occupy it. Well, that is what he tells us anyway. It will be interesting to see if that is truly the case.....we've heard rumors otherwise.

SO, now the task of unpacking! The kitchen, dining room, living room, and family room are done. Still need major work on the office, guest room, computer area, and bedrooms. So far, we are thoroughly enjoying our new home. We are very close to the beach and love to see the waves and hear the ocean. When all is set - and it stops raining - I'll post pictures.

Something Gross!!!!

2009-10-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Eric developed swimmer's ear during swimming season. It is an outer ear infection/fungus that is caused by wet, humid conditions where the outer ear canal doesn't quite dry out enough. It is extremely painful and is treated with oral antibiotics along with antibiotic ear drops and of course, keeping the ear canal dry!

During our visit to the ENT, she accidentally cut Eric's outer canal as she was cleaning out the fungus. Due to the irritated, swollen condition, his ear bled for a couple of hours. Take a look:

We finally got it to stop bleeding and went back to the ENT the following day to show her. There wasn't anything we could do except let it heal itself. After about 10 days and many vists back to the ENT, it finally cleared up. One day, a big, dried, blood clot came out of Eric's ear:

As if that wasn't gross enough, Corey DARED Eric to EAT it!!! What a Dad, huh?

The first offer was 500 rupees - Eric said no and upped it to 1000 rupees ($20).

THEN HE ATE IT!!! UGH!

YIKES!! WHAT IS INDIA DOING TO US??

Eric's Swim Meet in Mumbai

2009-10-18T22:01:00.002-05:00

Eric joined the school swim team this year. They met each morning for practice at 6:30am. After 6 weeks of practice they had a swim meet called "The Big Bad Blue" Invitational. This was held at their own pool and included a few local schools. Since it's not possible to have swim meets weekly, this was a good chance to get ready for the big meet.

A week or two later, the team travelled to Mumbai for a 2-day swim meet that involved 7 other American Schools in the South Asia area. The cities present were: Mumbai (India), New Delhi (India), Chennai (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Lahore (Pakistan), Kathmandu (Nepal), Colombo (Sri Lanka).

Eric's events were: 50 m Breast Stroke, 100 m Freestyle, 400 m Medley Relay (Breast Stroke portion), and 400 m Freestyle Relay. He didn't place in his individual events and placed 5th in both relay events. We were so proud of them because this was the first year Eric's age group qualified for the big meet.

In addition, Eric came down with swimmer's ear (extremely painful) and missed a couple days of school and a week of swimming. I thought he might give it up but he didn't. He hung in there. The doctor didn't want him to swim for the rest of the season, but Eric was too determined. So, with ear plugs, the swim cap, and lots of prayers, he was careful not to get water in his ear so the infection would heal and he could go to Mumbai.

We were happy to travel as a family and experience another part of India! Plus we went to the Hard Rock Cafe' and got a nice, big, juicy burger! That should hold us over until our next trip!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Paige Turns 10!

2009-10-13T00:49:00.004-05:00

In September, Paige turned 10 years old! My little girl is growing up so fast!
One nice thing about having a yard with a pool is that both Eric and Paige were happy having their birthday parties at home - which made it easier for me to arrange. In India, we don't have a selection of venues in which to hold a child's birthday party.

One of Paige's friends lives next door and she brought over her

rabbit to share with the kids. Everyone got a chance to hold it.

Eating pizza from Domino's. The pizza is okay. Not much sauce and

the cheese is different. The pepperoni isn't pork or beef - not sure

what it is. But it's good enough when you're having a party!

Paige in the pool

Friends hangin' out!

Corey is lighting this fancy flower candle. When it's lit, the flower

opens up and plays "Happy Birthday to you"

Opening presents

More presents

The whole gang!

In this group, 2 girls are from France, 1 from Australia,

2 from India, and 5 from the US

A Toy for Corey

2009-10-12T02:04:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago, Corey bought a two-wheeler. Don't have much to say about it except guys gotta have their toys! It has come in handy at times when our drivers are gone and someone has to run an errand. I haven't gone for a ride yet. I'm waiting for Corey to get a little more experience driving it around here. The kids love it!

Corey's taking Eric over to a friend's house.

Yes....Corey does wear a helmut - he just didn't have it on yet.

Corey's Birthday

2009-09-29T22:39:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Corey's 39th Birthday this month! A kind family from our branch invited us over to their home for dinner and birthday cake. We had a lovely time!

Preparing the dinner table

Making homemade Dosa

The Birthday Boy enjoying his feast!

Since Eric was at a school dance, Paige invited her best friend.
I was so proud of them for their good manners and tasting most of the food.

Chocolate Birthday Cake.

They even took the trouble to find the candled numbers "39"

Our Friends

Weddings

2009-09-29T04:04:00.007-05:00

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to attend 2 weddings. I wanted to share a few pictures from each.

The first wedding was an arranged marriage of one of our security guards. When we arrived, we were immediately taken to the front of the ceremony and given chairs to sit in (everyone else was on the floor). It was an awkward and embarrassing moment for me. Luckily, my good friend was there - who is experienced in this sort of thing - so I followed her lead and stayed calm and smiled.

This is the reception hall. We planned it so we would arrive for the reception only, but they were running 2 hours behind so no one was there. We jumped back in the car and drove to the ceremony.

Me and Paige

Now we are at the ceremony where the bride and groom are receiving advice and blessings I guess. It was all in Tamil so not quite sure. The minister had a bible out so that was a good sign.

As you can see, I was so far up front that I was practically facing the bride and groom.

They had a small band that would play music in between the talking. Sounded very much like polka music.

The vocalist

It is official! They are married. Don't they look so happy? This was the expression on their faces the whole time. My friend and I were waiting for one of them to pass out or lose their lunch, if you know what I mean.

A group shot at the receiving line. Since everything ran so late, and it was a school night, we opted to go home instead of back to the reception.

Three friends!

The second wedding was also arranged. The groom was a co-worker of Corey's. The ceremony for this one was at 4:30am - customary for Hindu weddings. We opted to go to the reception which took place in the evening. It took 1 1/2 hours to get there - we waited in line to say hi to the happy couple - ate some food for a few minutes - then 1 1/2 hours back home. I think our total time at the reception hall was 30 minutes.

The bride and groom. Why the long faces again? I really don't know.

A traditional Indian wedding dinner. Little piles of food and bread on a large banana leaf. To be eaten with your right hand. The kids ate a little bread and the ice cream. I actually ate all of my food (while quietly praying inside that I wouldn't regret it the next day). I was hungry.

Family shot.

What you don't see are the two guys directly in front of us that "babysat" us while we ate. I think they were assigned to "the Americans" to make sure we knew what we were doing. It was very thoughtful of them but awkward to be stared at the whole time. You'd think I would be used to it by now.....not yet.

TIP: Did You Know......

2009-09-03T00:09:00.002-05:00

Did you know that if you......DOUBLE CLICK ON ANY PHOTO IN THIS BLOG IT WILL GET SUPER BIG and you'll be able to see it much better? Try it!

Back to Real Life

2009-09-02T23:20:00.004-05:00

The First Day of School:

The kids have been back to school for almost a month now. I thought I would let you know what a "routine" week is like for our family.

I wake up at 5:15am to DRAG Eric out of bed for swim practice. He is out the door by 5:50am and insists on not brushing his hair because the kids on the swim team have a contest on who has the best "bed head". He practices from 6:15am - 8:00am. School starts at 8:30am so he has time to shower and grab a snack before he is due in class.

Now that I'm the only one awake, I take this precious quiet time to eat breakfast and read the scriptures before I wake Paige up at 6:45am. And SHE TAKES SO LONG TO GET UP!!!!!! She doesn't get downstairs until 7:30am and all she's done is showered and dressed! So now we are in a rush to get her fed, packed, and out the door by 7:55am. So wake her up earlier you say? It doesn't work. Some subconscious something tells her she can't be downstairs until 7:30am.

In the midst of the morning, Corey is bustling around getting ready for work and leaves anywhere between 6:30am and 8:00am.

Okay, so it's 8:00am, everyone is gone, what do I do? Well, I keep myself busy by:

doing household chores
exercising
emailing, blogging
FamilySearch Indexing (very fun)
scrapbooking
shopping for food, clothes, or other
going out to lunch with friends
planning Sunday lesson
taking care of projects around the house
reading
socializing with friends at the school
and more shopping : )

School is out by 3:15pm for Paige and she usually has an after school activity that lasts until 4:30pm. This quarter she is taking yoga, jewelry making, and an "environment saving" class. Eric is out by 3:45pm and he hangs around with friends until we FINALLY make our way out of the school and home by 5:15pm.

We jump right in to homework, practicing piano (lessons on Tuesdays), dinner, family scripture study, and in bed by 8:30am with lights out at 9:00pm! Corey gets home at all different times of the evening. He really tries to make it home for dinner, but then usually has meetings via telephone in the evening with people in the U.S.

And then there are the special things that pop up. Such as this week, we have 2 weddings to go, plus Paige and Corey's birthdays. Friday night we are going to celebrate with friends who are Indian and Saturday night we are celebrating with our expat friends.

AND we've had a wrench thrown into things...........it is believed that our landlord has sold the house so now we are back to house hunting. We will be spending most of this Saturday doing that lovely task. So I think there is yet another move in the near future.

So it's a simple life, maybe even boring at times, but our family is together and having fun. We have been truly blessed with many spiritual and material things of which we are so grateful so you'll hear no complaints here!

At the Beach During Ganesh Festival

2009-08-31T23:26:00.002-05:00

According to Paige's Indian Studies teacher, Ganesh's Birthday was a week ago Sunday. Part of the celebration is to make or buy a statue of Ganesh made out of clay. Within 10 days after his birthday, a puja (prayer ceremony) is performed and Ganesh is returned to the sea, back to mother earth. This is done as a rejuvination for the coming year with hope that it will bring prosperity and good fortune.

I was hoping I could see Ganesh returned to he sea and thought I would head down to the beach on Saturday or Sunday. We had our good friends, the Klingonsmith's, over for dinner on Sunday and decided to take a walk to the beach after we ate. We were somewhat bummed when we arrived because nobody was there. After walking 15 minutes up the beach, we decided to turn around and head home. As we got closer to our lane, a lorry pulled up loaded with people and Ganesh statues - Yeah!

The following is a slide show of some of the shots I took on the beach that afternoon. Luckily, Indian people LOVE having their picture taken (they come right up to you saying "photo please") so it was no problem capturing this event.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We're Back in India

2009-08-10T22:14:00.002-05:00

We had a WONDERFUL visit to the U.S.!!!!
Our first stop was South Carolina where we visited Corey's family for 3 days.
Then we drove 14 hours to Forsyth, Illinois where we visited our old stomping grounds. Eric and Paige had a blast seeing old friends from school and church. We even got to see a couple of baseball games at the park and buy hot dogs and popcorn at the concessions!!!! I loved seeing my friends, too, but was also frantic about purchasing certain items to take back to India, dentist and doctor appointments, and putting our food shipment order together.
After 10 days, we flew to Saratoga Springs Utah where we stayed at my parents home. Some of the things we enjoyed doing:

Going to the movies
Fishing
Hiking up to Mt. Timp and exploring caves
Shopping, shopping, shopping
Going to the temple
Reading (Great & Terrible series)
Swimming
Working Out
Fun at Cowabunga water park
Fun at Seven Peaks water park
Did I mention shopping?
Eating lots of yummy food!
Putt Putt Golf
Go Karts
Playing Canasta (Kim and I still rock!)
Triple Birthday Party
Ice cream at Sub Zero
Bridal Veil Falls

Anyway, you get the picture! We were sad to leave family and the comforts of the US, but glad to get home again.

Eric and Paige started school yesterday - 7th and 5th grade respectively. They are such troopers - getting over jet lag in a flash and anxiously ready to go to school without complaint. I'm so blessed and proud of them! Now if I could just get back in the swing of things. I am definitely keeping up with my work out program (I feel so much better when I do). And today I think I'm going to scrapbook after I lounge in the pool for an hour (after I work out, of course).

Give me a few more days and I'll get back into the blogger mode. Stay tuned........

Back in the USA!

2009-07-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

After 6 months abroad, we are back in the good old U S of A!

I've had mixed feelings about coming back so soon because it feels like we just got settled into our new life in India and coming back to the US could make us feel homesick again. But we decided to come anyway. Only time will tell.

Our flight home was supposed to be simple. Fly 2 hours up to Mumbai, then 17 hours straight to Atlanta. It didn't quite work out that way. Our flight to Mumbai was late so we missed our connection to Atlanta. The Delta office told us we would have to wait 24 hours for the next flight to Atlanta. Well, Corey wasn't going to settle for that! He got us booked on a flight going East (instead of West) with Korean Air to Seoul, Korea and from Seoul to Atlanta. Total travel time was about 33 hours with 24 of those hours up in the air!!!! We were only 12 hours late getting to Atlanta. THEN, we rented a car and drove 4 hours to see Corey's family in South Carolina.

What a trip! Honestly, I can't believe we lived through it, but we did! With the exception of Corey getting a cold and Eric's allergies kicking in, I'm grateful that we were all together and nothing got lost or stolen and we are safe.

After our wonderful visit with Corey's family in South Carolina, we drove 13 hours to Forsyth, Illinois and are staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites - again! We will be here until July 10th when we fly to Salt Lake to spend a couple weeks with my family. On August 2nd, we will return to India.

I have a long list of things I want to do, eat, and shop for. I am expecting our time here to be wonderful!!! I hope I can see many of you!

Our Visit to the Madras Crocodile Bank

2009-06-25T22:30:00.004-05:00

About 20 minutes south of our home is the Madras Crocodile Bank. It was built about 30 years ago on some land that originally was beach. They started with just a few crocs, and now they have hundreds with several different species. Plus snakes and turtles. The kids and I took an afternoon to visit.

As usual, we were the only white people there and had several friendly people introduce themselves and inquire about where we were from, etc. There was a local cable station there doing a piece on the crocodiles and ended up interviewing us about our experience and the bank, etc. Fortunately we don't have cable so we didn't get to see our hot, sweaty, insecure faces!

I don't think India has the same public property safety codes that the U.S. does. There were several questionable places just waiting for an accident. Luckily, it was so hot that the crocs seemed pretty lethargic and didn't move much or stayed in the water.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Sunday School Class

2009-06-25T21:43:00.003-05:00

From the left: Praveen, Mervin, Naveen, Zibiah, Rajesh, Eric

Every Sunday, I am privileged to teach the 12 and 13 year children in Sunday School. I have 6 that come on a regular basis. However, on the first Sunday of the month there are 25-30 children from an LDS-run orphanage that come. That is a busy class! We are literally bursting out of the room! But so rewarding to be able to associate with these special children. The culture and language make for an interesting class! But I love it! I hope they are learning as much from me as I am from them.

Amity Soccer Academy

2009-06-19T21:22:00.005-05:00

Corey home teaches a family that we have become friends with. The father and one of the sons have organized a soccer camp for underprivileged children called Amity Soccer Academy. Corey made a donation to the cause and was invited to attend the final game and awards ceremony. Thinking nothing of it, we accepted the invitation and planned to attend and sit on the sidelines.

Upon arrival, we saw a platform with 4 chairs for the "chief guests" on the side of the field. How surprised we were to find out that Corey was one of the chief guests!!! Trying to be respectful and not show how awkward he really felt, he was persuaded to sit on the platform. They tried to get me to sit up there too, but I preferred to take pictures on the sidelines. However, after the game, I sat up there with him for moral support.

He was treated like a king and was even asked to say a few words to the participants. His first words were "Good Evening" in Tamil and the whole group let out a big cheer! I'm gonna say it was because they were excited to hear an American greeting them in their native tongue and not just laughing at him. He gave a brief message about teamwork which was well received. Corey was happy to be there for them, but felt all the attention was not necessary - it certainly wasn't expected.

We made it through the night and felt honored to be a part of our friends special occasion.

This is the older team getting ready to play the final match

Corey greeted them all with a handshake

He was honored to blow the starting whistle
(our branch president is standing to the left of Corey and the father of his home teaching family is standing to the right)

They played at a community park. Most of the parks do not have grass - I think because it's too difficult/expensive to maintain it. This is a shot of the goalie.

As you can see, it is very different playing on the dirt. It becomes a cloud of dust as the players run around. Plus, there are several divots in the ground - prime for spraining an ankle.

It is customary to present the honored guests with a shawl.

Here's a shot of Corey with the other chief guests and the younger children

It was a great experience. Our only regret is that we didn't bring Eric and Paige. We thought it was just going to be an awards ceremony that we could slip in and slip out of rather inconspicuously. I'm learning that I should know better than that. Because we're American, it's hard to do anything inconspicuously, in India.

Eric's Birthday Party

2009-06-14T21:31:00.006-05:00

Eric's birthday isn't until August 7th (turning 12), but he really wanted to have a party before school was out because several of his friends were leaving India for good. And lucky for me, he wanted to have his party at our house. So we called it a "Schools Out/Birthday Party" and boy, did they have a blast!!!!

It was so nice because all the kids played together and got along perfectly. They all enjoy doing the same things - I guess that's why they're friends! Here are some pictures:

They started off playing basketball

When they got too hot and sweaty, they jumped into the pool

They didn't bother to change into swimsuits! I think it's because they started pushing each other in before they had a chance to change.

This picture is mostly to show you our gazebo. We love it!

Just wanted to show another view of our backyard. We are fortunate enough to have grass.

After swimming, they had pizza and garlic bread from Domino's. Not quite the same as in the US, but good enough. They also had papaya and mango, chips, and cake.

Now that they have refueled, time for a water balloon fight! And yes, Eric and I filled over 80 balloons (over the course of 2 days)! I was the one who tied them and my fingers were raw!

Eric is armed and ready

The 80 some water balloons didn't last long - but it was fun. Now time for cricket - a new sport for Eric to practice. They had quite a game going - I had to BEG them to come have cake!

Here's the gang! Starting from the left: Kavin from the UK, Rahul from India, Gaya from India, Divya from Sri Lanka/USA, Eric, Zach from the Philippines, Quinn from India, Zeke from Philippines (twin of Zach) and Sebastian from Germany.

It is heart warming to see these children from all over the world be accepting of each others differences, enough to realize how much they have in common so they can be friends.

Our Helpers

2009-06-02T22:34:00.005-05:00

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the local Indians who help us each day. Without them, our daily life would be much more difficult.

Lawrence is Corey's driver and drives the Honda Accord

Tamil and Krishna are our security guards who are keepers of the gate; snake, animal, and garbage patrolmen, pickers of fruit, playmates for Eric, and lifeguards (sorta). But mostly, they sit around all day.

Baruk and Sytha are the security guards on the night shift

Vamanan is our Pool Guy. Each morning, he cleans the pool and adds the appropriate chemicals.

Subyiah and Sumunathai (husband and wife, respectively) are the gardeners. They take care of everything on the outside of the house.

Poonkothai is the maid. She comes 3 days a week and mostly cleans the floors, bathrooms, and windows. Without her, the bottoms of our feet would be black all the time. She is in the middle with her daughter, Bagyalakshmi, and son, Arun Kumar.

Ayyappan is my driver and drives the Ford Endeavor. He is "head helper" and keeps all the other helpers in line. He is our main connection to anything India. Without him, we would have crashed and burned a long time ago.

My Husband.........My Inspiration

2009-05-25T23:37:00.002-05:00

Last year, Corey began running to lose weight and get "heart healthy". When he moved to India last October, his friend Shawn began running with him. They decided to set a goal for all of their hard work and chose to run a marathon. They searched the internet for one they could run in a different country and the Great Wall of China was it!

I must admit at first I was very skeptical because it was far away, it was an "extreme" marathon with steep hills and over 5200 steps, and we needed visas. But I really tried to be supportive and let him work at his goal.

I'm inspired by Corey because he didn't give up his training. With his busy work schedule, he managed to find ways to fit in his runs and also spend time with his family and fulfill church duties. He would get up at 5:00am on Saturdays and run; on his commute home, he would get out of the car and run 10 km then get back in. On days he worked at a closer office, he would actually run home! And that's not an easy task when you're running among cars, two-wheelers, cows, goats, rabid dogs, and tons of people. As well as having to run on part dirt and dodging road side vendors, pot holes, cow pies, (and human pies). He would carry a stick or stone to fend off the dogs. The children would excitedly wave, say hello and whatever english they knew and sometimes run along side.

But if you know Corey, you know that he is a determined guy and doesn't like to give up. Sometimes when I think of throwing in the towel on something, I ask myself, "What would Corey do?" haha! But I'm serious, he does make me push myself harder. And I am positive he has had that affect on some of you!

We were able to walk the wall portion of the marathon 2 days before the race. It was tough! My legs were so sore the next few days. And the guys had to run it TWICE! At the beginning and at the end! In between, they ran through the local villages. 42km total. They were allowed 8 hours to finish but Corey was determined to finish in less than 6.

There were 429 people who finished the full marathon and Corey met his goal by completing it in 5 hours 50 min. and was the 171st runner to finish.

He is so awesome.......he's my hero!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Top 10 List

2009-05-25T04:00:00.002-05:00

The Top 10 Things I Love About Living in India

#10. I’m never freezing when I come out of the shower. In fact, I haven’t used the hot water in 2 weeks!

#9. No Daylight Savings Time change. It gets dark at 7:00pm year round – the perfect time!

#8. Bottled water only costs a quarter!

#7. They add this awesome spice to their KFC chicken – very yummy!!

#6. Thanks to the geckos, we have live-in bug catchers

#5. Indian clothing is sooo comfy! It’s like wearing pajamas!

#4. All foods are “finger foods”. Eating with your bare hands in public is so fun!

#3. You can go barefoot anytime, anywhere – and nobody cares.

#2. No TV. We haven’t watched TV since last December. It's been wonderful!

And the number one thing I love about Living in India is…….

#1. Corey looks super hot in his Lunghi !!

(If I have enough requests, I’ll post a picture)

Eric's Track Meet in New Delhi

2009-05-12T00:35:00.003-05:00

Eric was a very dedicated participant on the track team this year! Due to the hot weather, the kids had track practice before school from 6:30am to 8:00am every morning. This meant Eric was up by 5:20am and out the door by 6:00am. I am so proud of him for sticking with it and giving 100%.

Instead of having track meets each week, they held one big 2-day meet in Delhi where 6 schools from around India competed. They were all International schools from Nepal, Mumbai, Sri Lanka, Chennai, and Delhi.

Eric competed in the 100 meter, 200 meter, discus, shot put, high jump, 4 x 400, and 4 x 100. In each event, there were about 18 kids competing in his age group. Eric was 7th in 100 and 200 meter, 5th in discus, and 7th in shot put. He didn't place in high jump and they came in 6th in both 4 x 400 and 4 x 100 where he actually ran twice - the 1st and last leg! He walked away with 3 medals -- not bad for his first time!!

ON YOUR MARK.............

GET SET...........

GO!

DISCUS

SHOT PUT

HIGH JUMP

TEAM

AWARDS

The Cost of Things in India

2009-05-04T21:43:00.003-05:00

The prices in India are somewhat reverse compared to the States. The items that I am used to paying a lot for are less expensive here, and vise versa. For example:

1. The cost of a haircut (for the kids and Corey) is about $1.50 and that includes a head massage!
2. I had a plumber come out and it cost $4.00
3. A visit to a Pediatrician - at a reputable clinic and who I like $6.00
4. Fruits and Vegetables for 4 for a week $10.00 - and we eat lots!
5. One of our air conditioners was leaking and it cost $5.00 to have it fixed
6. Full-time Maid $70.00 per month
7. Daily newspaper $2.00 per month

In Reverse:
1. A small box of Kellogg cereal $9.00 or more
2. Boxed milk about $4.00 per gallon
3. A good 4 oz. block of cheddar cheese $8.00 - other cheeses are even more
4. Nature Valley granola bars $6.50 per box
5. Basic gym shoes at Reebox $110.00 - and that's for kids
6. Small can of powdered Gatorade $16.00

Just thought it would be interesting to share the price of things I deal with on a daily basis!

Pisa and Rome, Italy

2009-05-01T22:44:00.002-05:00

Okay......I promise this is my last entry about our vacation!

Our cruise ended in Venice, Italy and we would have LOVED to tour, but didn't have time. That just means we have to go back for that Gondola ride, right?! : )

We rented a car and drove to Pisa for the night. It was a beautiful drive! The next day, we toured Pisa then drove back to Rome - another wonderful drive along the coast. Since we had already seen so much of Rome on our first visit, we decided to visit the Catacombs. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take pictures - bummer. It was quite a thought provoking experience.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of McDonald's, but we hadn't been to one since we moved to India, so it was a friendly face for us. And YES, we did stop there for lunch! I must admit, the fries did taste good!

We had extra time in the evening so we ventured out to find the Pantheon. Since we weren't with a tour, we had to find these places on our own. Needless to say, it was quite difficult. The streets in Rome twist and turn and all look the same and the names are hard to find.........but with Corey, being the awesome driver that he is, we found our way.

Here is the final slide show.......but this time......pause the music on my play list so you can hear the lovely Italian theme music! : )

Make a Smilebox slideshow

#8.......Dubrovnik, Croatia

2009-04-30T01:55:00.003-05:00

This is the last stop on our cruise. It doesn't have the well-known history associated with it like the other places we've visited, but it is beautiful! Corey and I think this is the perfect place to retire, open up a bed and breakfast, and buy a sail boat.

Dubrovnik is built with the "old" city (with it's walls around it) in the middle, and the "new" city built all around. We took a taxi to the old city and toured on our own. Instead of taking a taxi back, we decided to enjoy the 30 minute walk back to the ship.

Another perfect day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Athens, Greece

2009-04-30T00:33:00.003-05:00

After another night of sailing, we docked in Athens, Greece. We decided not to go with a tour group but instead, venture out on our own. Our main goal was to see Acropolis, eat yummy Greek food, and return to the ship on time.

After a nice 20 minute walk, we made it to the Metro station that took us to a bus that took us to the subway that took us to Acropolis. We managed to hit all forms of public transportation in Athens! It's actually fun to go out on your own in a totally strange place........kind of like solving a mystery. We had maps, asked the locals, and used common sense.

As for the food, we found a great restaurant and ate Greek salad, fried cheese (Opa!), and Paige said she had the best grilled chicken in her life! : ) And, there was no way we could come all the way to Greece without eating a Gyro. We were already stuffed, but Corey shoved one in for the team!

It was an absolutely beautiful day and in the end, we felt proud of ourselves for accomplishing our goal.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Stop #6 ........ Izmir, Turkey

2009-04-27T02:29:00.004-05:00

From the port of Izmir (refer to the map in a previous post), we drove about 45 minutes to the city of Ephesus. This is the place where the the apostle Paul preached for at least 2 years.

We ate a traditional turkish lunch and visited a silk rug factory before going to St. John's Basilica - the church that was built on St. John's tomb.

These ruins are just breathtaking! Pictures just aren't the same. Here are some highlights:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

And Then..........Ashdod, Israel

2009-04-27T02:03:00.003-05:00

Our next port was Ashdod, Israel. We booked a tour and were ready to go at 7:00am. It was a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from the port to Jerusalem. During the ride, our tour guide gave us a crash course history lesson on Israel from about 500 b.c. to the present.

Our first stop was the Mt. of Olives where we could see the entire city.....what a view! It made me think of the painting "Oh! Jerusalem" by Greg Olsen. Then to Gethsemane, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. There was so much to see and so little time. We would have loved to spend a few more days there.

Unfortunately, many of the sites in Jerusalem are more like "shrines". Various religions have decorated them with gold, silver, candles, paintings, etc. and have seemed to take the simple, sacredness out of it. I didn't include many of those pictures in the slide show because they look too "commercial" like. Corey and I decided we needed to draw from within ourselves and our own testimonies and imagine what it must have been like when Jesus was here.

The most spiritual moment for me was walking up the hill from Gethsemane to Calvary. I kept thinking of Jesus taking this same steep walk after he was physically, mentally, and spiritually hurt and exhausted.

We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the day here.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Next.......Haifa, Israel

2009-04-21T00:19:00.003-05:00

From Rome, we sailed for 2 days to the port of Haifa in Israel. If you get your magnifying glass out, you can see the port on the map below : )

At this stop, we were able to visit the city Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, and the Sea of Galilee. Knowing that Jesus and the Apostles have walked in this area, you can't help but ask yourself, "I wonder what happened right here?" or "Did Jesus see the same view I am seeing now?" Needless to say, it was remarkable!

So many pictures to choose from.....here are a few:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

3rd Stop........Rome, Italy

2009-04-17T02:43:00.003-05:00

We sailed all night and arrived in Rome the next morning. We were with a tour guide and visited the Colosseum, Vatican Square and Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel.

Ironically, there was a travel group of 200 LDS people on our cruise! We couldn't believe it! They had their own tours set up and we were able to go with them on this one. It was nice because the guide spoke English and they gave us walkie-talkies with ear buds so we could listen to everything he was saying without having to be close to him.

Everything was AMAZING! I love the way the ruins are right in the middle of the modern city. St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were just incredible! Unfortunately, the Basilica was so dark that my pictures didn't come out very well, and we weren't allowed to take pictures in the Chapel.

Eric woke up feeling awful. He was coming down with a cold and you know how the first few days are the worst. With all the walking, he was such a trooper and hung in there.

I love Italy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2nd Stop........Genoa, Italy

2009-04-14T14:15:00.003-05:00

After our day in Pavia, we drove about an hour south to Genoa - or Genova to us Italians : ) Refer to the map in my previous post. We boarded the cruise ship "MSC Poesia" which is an Italian cruise line. It was beautiful!

This is the 4th cruise for Corey and I - 2nd cruise for the kids. I think this is the largest ship we've been on.

Genova is built amongst hills. They are not quite mountains, just very large hills. It is such a site. These pictures really don't do it justice.

This is a view from the ship. A storm was rolling in but it never rained and passed quickly.

A view from the other side

When I look at this picture, the background doesn't seem real - but it is!

BON VOYAGE!

1st Stop.......Pavia, Italy

2009-04-14T13:28:00.003-05:00

We returned from our vacation this past weekend and had a wonderful time! Everything went very smoothly - beautiful weather (70-75 degrees) the entire time and we were able to see everything we wanted to!

As many of you know, my maiden name is "Pavia" - which is Italian and from my father's side. Since we were starting our vacation in Italy, we decided to fly into Milan (northern part) and drive the short distance south to Pavia, Italy and spend the night there.

Of course I took a million pictures, but will only post a few. Don't want to bore you : )

We spent the afternoon walking the streets of the city, eating, and spent the night in a lovely hotel.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of things that said Pavia on them! For most of my life I lived with a last name that was unfamiliar and hard to pronounce to most - it was so nice to see it everywhere.

A beautiful view from a bridge

A city street - so many people walk and ride bikes around here - very few cars, some buses and motorcycles.

Even though we were going to eat dinner, we couldn't resist stopping at a bakery and grabbing something yummy! We didn't know what it was, but it was good! Anything Italian is good!

Except maybe for this. In my opinion anyway. At dinner we ordered a pizza appetizer and Paige said she wanted "cheese" on her pizza. The waiter thought she said "chips", which translates into "french fries", so this is what we got! The kids loved it! The waiter must have thought we were strange - the cook must have cringed - those crazy Americans!

SPRING BREAK!

2009-03-25T04:10:00.002-05:00

Well, we are off to Italy for our 11 day cruise of the Mediterranean! We leave tonight and will be gone for 17 days total. Here is our itinerary:

Flying into Milan Italy
Driving to Pavia and spending the night and next day
Driving to Genoa - embark
Sailing to Rome - spending one day
Sailing to Israel - spending 2 days, Croatia - 1 day, Turkey - 1 day, Greece - 2 days
Sailing to Venice - debark
Driving to Pisa - spending 1 day
Driving to Rome - spending 2 more days
Flying back to Chennai

Wish us luck! I'll have lots to post when we get back.

Relief Society Birthday Party!

2009-03-25T03:18:00.002-05:00

It's funny how things can be so different, yet the same.

I was brought to tears as I sat in the midst of these beautiful sisters that live here in Chennai. I can't believe how fast I am learning to love these sisters! We don't have a fancy Relief Society room.....in fact, it is white walls with paint peeling everywhere, white floors, un-hidden electrical wiring about, mosquitoes, a weird musty/sewer smell that you end up getting used to, no tablecloth with centerpiece........just a bunch of wonderful women who love the Lord.

I felt the spirit when our Relief Society president stood and gave her message. I could feel her sincerity and knew she was speaking from her heart. I wondered what they would think if they knew the kind of RS room I was used too. Would it seem extravagant? Would it seem over-done? Would it seem like we focus too much on looks and the "foo-foo" stuff? I don't know. I just know that it doesn't matter what the surroundings are, you can feel the spirit, bear your testimony, pray, and love and serve one another.....anywhere!

Here are some pics of this wonderful evening!

Cutting the birthday cake. Sister Zita in the red Saree conducted and tried so hard to make sure we had a good time. The American missionary is Sister Dosdall from the Westland Stake in MI and they asked her to cut the cake because she was the oldest. The Indian sister in the turquoise Saree is our RS president.

This is a view of one side of the room. Some of the older children joined us.

This is me with Sister Uma on the left who is in the RS presidency and is the branch president's wife, and Sister Irene on the right,who Corey home teaches - she dressed me!

Some primary children. I guess it doesn't matter that the walls are white because the clothing is so colorful! Aren't these children beautiful?

A group of sisters with children.

It wouldn't be a church function without food! Make it simple and easy.....everything in one or two pots - LARGE pots! No need for a fancy buffet table - it still tastes good! And who needs to sit at a clothed table with centerpieces? just more work and stress for someone. I would have sat on the floor with everyone else, but I wasn't sure how to do it gracefully in my Saree, so I just stood and ate.

No need for silverware or napkins either - save money and less garbage - I think they are on to something! This is the first time I ate with my bare hands (right hand only, please). I've eaten Indian food with bread like Chipati or Dosa, but never with my complete bare hand. Try it some time, it's fun! And you're allowed to lick your fingers too!

Me in my new Saree. I know the color is kind of boring, but don't worry, I'll work my way up the color wheel soon enough. This was taken in our living room at our home. The french doors open to the backyard.

The back

All I can say is - I hope they don't call me to be activities chairperson when I get back to the states........I'm kinda liking the way things are done here......you never know what you might get!

The Tailor

2009-03-23T01:18:00.004-05:00

After purchasing the Saree material, you need to have a tailor make the blouse for you and finish the Saree edges. The blouse is VERY form fitting and must be tight. She measured me in about 10 different places just for the blouse - no stretch material here! Typically, the belly area and mid back is left bare and only covered slightly by the Saree, but I asked her to make it extra long to be more modest. She was very understanding.

Saree Shopping

2009-03-23T00:55:00.003-05:00

Okay.......so I've lived here about 3 months now, I guess it's time I bought a Saree. The Relief Society is having a birthday celebration and the dress is "Fancy Saree" so off to the store I go.

The stores around here don't open until 10:00am or 10:30am so I arrived early while it was still cool and not crowded. Here are a few employees just waiting to serve.

There are several floors with rows and rows of material - pre cut for Sarees. There is so much beautiful material it is very hard to choose!

The employees lay out the material on the counter so you can get a better look. Plus it gives them something to do because they have to fold it back up!

This is the guy who helped me FINALLY make my decision. I also purchased 4 scarfs, 2 salwar kameez outfits, and 2 lunghi's for Corey.

Mobile Street Vendors

2009-03-21T03:18:00.002-05:00

One thing I think is very cool about India is they have vendors riding up and down the lane in front of our house selling various items. They are usually on a bike that is pulling a wagon loaded with their goods. Some of them have bells they ring or they might just shout out. I've seen wagons full of fruits, vegetables, flowers, milk, bottled water, eggs, pink fluffy stuff that looks like cotton candy, tea, baskets, buckets, cleaning supplies, clay pots, and so on.

Can you imagine how awesome that would be in the US? We've all had one of those days when we just don't have the energy or are just too lazy to go back to Wal-Mart for milk or eggs or whatever. Well, instead of rounding up your kids and lugging them to the store, or calling your hubby and begging him to pick it up on the way home from work, you can flag down a vendor - who will even bring it in the house and put it in the fridge for you!

Well, the other day, a guy came around with fresh fish and Corey couldn't resist buying some prawns. HUGE prawns. We bought 1 kilo* (I don't know how the guy knew it was 1 kilo, as there was not a scale around, but anyway) for Rs 450**. He even insisted on cleaning them for us (even though I was perfectly capable of doing it myself). Here are a few pics:

Our 1 kilo - are they kinda cute? Eric freaks out at them.......he stood WAY back!

The vendor showing off his catch

Cleaning them in our driveway - Mindy was liking this!

The prawns ended up in a yummy - and healthy - pasta dish that I made up:

1. Saute onions, garlic, fresh mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper in plenty of Extra V Olive Oil and butter

2. After a few minutes, add diced fresh tomatoes

3. After a few minutes, push these ingredients to the outer edges making a circle with a hole in the middle.

4. Add more Extra V Olive Oil and butter in the "hole" and turn up the heat.

5. Add the raw prawns and let cook for a few minutes til pink.

6. Add spoonfuls of angel hair pasta (whole wheat - that you've been boiling : ) directly from the pasta water to the pan with a slotted pasta spoon. This way, you add a little extra starchy water to your sauce.

7. Incorporate your pasta and sauce - top with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese ENJOY!

*1 kilo is 2.2 lbs.

** Rs 450 is about $9.00 US

Rising Star Outreach

2009-03-16T03:41:00.007-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, we took a drive 1 1/2 hours south of our home to an orphanage called "Rising Star Outreach". It is managed by several LDS people and Marriott Corporation is a major sponsor. This facility houses 120 children ages 4 to 16. There is also a school for these children. In addition, 40 children from local villages attend the school.

The parents of these children live in a leper village and cannot care for them. Once a month, the parents come to visit and the children spend the day with them and put on a show. We were there on "parent day". We didn't get a lot of pictures of the children because they were busy with their parents and we didn't want to impose. It was remarkable.

We also drove over to the leper village to visit an art school and buy some artwork created by those affected with leprosy. Unfortunately, the people were all resting when we arrived and were not able purchase anything. I didn't take pictures because I felt uncomfortable and didn't want to make a spectacle about the situation. But it was very touching - another perspective added to my list.

Entrance to the hostels at the orphanage. The children were so friendly and came right up to Eric and Paige, introducing themselves and asking what there names were in the little English they know.

One of the rooms - about 20 children per room. Most of them
sleep on the floor.

There are 4 bunk beds per room and the older children

are privileged to sleep there.

The kitchen - preparing for lunch

Checking out some of the equipment in the kitchen

There is not a cafeteria, so everyone eats outside or in their rooms wherever they can find a spot

Leftover breakfast meal

The Playground

A rice paddy - the children help take care of crops and sell

whatever they don't use

The School

A typical school room - keep in mind, no air conditioning

anywhere in the school or hostels

The library

Adding a new wing to the school - very little machinery - mostly manual labor. Where's CAT when you need them? :)

Parents ready to watch the children perform

They have practiced all month on making what they call "pyramids". Everyone clapped and cheered!

On parents day, they get to dress up. On all other days, the children wear uniforms.

Grand Finale

It was such a great day! Eric and Paige didn't want to go at first, but were surprised at how interesting it was. I'm glad they are old enough to understand the situation of these children. There is another orphanage called "Pathways" that we want to visit after spring break.

New Words and Phrases

2009-03-10T04:22:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share with you some of the knowledge I've been gaining by learning new words and phrases. The "helpers" around me have been so kind to correct me and make sure I'm using correct English - after all, it is their responsibility.

So when I need something sewn, I really need it "stitched"
And when I want to take the elevator, I really mean the "lift"
When Eric needs the men's room, he really needs the "gents" (or the side of the road : )
And when I'm trying to go to the 2nd floor, I really mean the 1st
What the heck is capsicum and why does it look exactly like a green pepper?
And I swear these coriander leaves look and smell just like cilantro!
I was a little leery when the security guard asked me for a torch - all I could think of was Indiana Jones going through one of those caves....... and soon realized he really meant a flashlight.
If I'm ever in need of a taxi, I really need an auto.

One morning I wasn't feeling well and mentioned to my driver that I had a stomach ache. He asked, "Are you having loose motion, madam?" as he pointed to his bowel area and made circular motions. Did he just ask me if I was having diarrhea? I am NOT having this conversation. I just mumbled and turned my head.

Another day we were driving and were stopped at a light. A man on a motorcycle (I mean two-wheeler) got mad at my driver for something and was yelling his head off at us (in Tamil). He was really ticked and trying to get my driver out of the car - I just kept praying he would stay in the car - and he did. After we passed, my driver asked, "Madam, were you scared?" I said, "A little......boy, that man was mad wasn't he?" My driver said, "Oh, no madam, he wasn't very mad. He saw you in the car so he didn't give the 'big shout'" I said, "Oh....was that just the 'little shout'?" And then he laughs at me as if I said something funny. I guess "big shout" is appropriate, but not "little shout". Big shout, little shout, medium shout...whatever.....I'm just glad Tamilians don't normally "pack".

And lastly, my driver likes to point out interesting sights to me - I think he's pretending he's a tour guide or something. Things like politicians homes, government buildings, places where the Tsunami hit, stores he thinks I would like, dead animals, dead people, and accidents (and he always explains to me exactly how the accident happened, even though we weren't anywhere around). So one day he points out a group of what I thought were women wearing Saree's and he said, "see those people?" I said "yeah", he said in his heavy Indian accent, "they are not women, and they are not men". What the heck? I looked at him confused and said "what are they?" not sure if I really wanted to know the answer. He said "I don't know English word, but not woman or man". I said, "how do you know" he said, "I am just knowing, madam". So the only thing I can conclude is that they were transvestites? Any of my expat friends, help me out.

As I learn more English words and phrases, I will be sure to share, so you, too, can speak properly..... Ah hem.

Fishing Village in Chennai

2009-03-09T03:23:00.004-05:00

Last week, Paige's 4th grade class went on a field trip to a local fishing village in Chennai. We saw what happened with the fish once it was caught, pulled up onto the boat, loaded on the wagon, then packed in ice and driven to local stores. They had to work fast with the ice blocks because they melt so quickly. Some of the smaller fish is dried and then eaten as is, or ground into powder, etc. It didn't smell too bad when we were by the water, but boy did it stink inland and at the dried fish area.

It was very educational and interesting. I've made a slide show with a few of the pictures we took. Hope you enjoy:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Key + The Garbage = A New Perspective

2009-02-26T10:01:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-24T03:04:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-20T00:46:00.010-06:00

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

2009-02-18T02:08:00.006-06:00

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!

2009-02-15T23:41:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-14T07:22:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-02-12T10:51:00.002-06:00

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

2009-02-12T09:11:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-12T04:07:00.002-06:00

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!

Alive and Well!!

2009-01-12T00:27:00.002-06:00

We have made it to India safe and sound!! We are staying in a hotel until our household shipment has cleared customs and is delivered - probably another 10 days or so. Can you believe we have been living out of suitcases (8 to be exact and 4 backpacks) for 2 months now? I can't wait to unpack and settle into our new home.

Once we get into the house and settled, I will give more details and post pictures about the big wedding, Christmas, Disney vacation, and our surroundings in India.

We are all healthy and well (except for minor colds). Paige started school today and Eric will start on Wednesday (extra paperwork for middle school).

Stay tuned.........can't wait to share our experiences so far!

Hotel Life

2008-12-06T13:41:00.002-06:00

We've been in the hotel for 2 1/2 weeks now and are doing great! The kids love the buffet food each morning and evening and swimming in the pool. We've kept busy with the following activities:

*Went up to Peoria and spent Thanksgiving weekend with our good friends, the Alcenius', and had a blast!

*Eric broke his pinkie finger playing flag football - funny how he went played two seasons of real football and escaped without injury.

*Playing "monkey in the middle" at the pool with Eric's flip-flops (all our pool toys are packed).

*We had a going away party at a friend's house for Eric and Paige. There were 18 kids total and they had a super fun time eating, playing games, and being silly!

*Eric and Paige have been spending every spare minute they have with their friends before they have to say good bye.

*I have been studying tons (finals are next week), buying little Christmas gifts for teachers, friends, etc., taking care of last minute details before we leave Illinois, working on Primary stuff (still haven't been released), and making sure the kids don't get too bored.

Overall, things are going smoothly. Corey will be here on Friday, Dec 12th and we will prepare to head out to Utah for Jayson's wedding!

A Cyclone has landed

2008-11-27T00:59:00.004-06:00

A category ONE cyclone has just came a shore bringing a lot of rain and wind.

The Bad:
1) Schools, universities and government offices are closed
2) Some friends are having some leaks/streams in there house

The Good:
1) With everyone stay home riding out the storm the traffic is reduced and I made it to the factory in 1:10 mins, usually takes 2 hrs. Thanks Ayyappan! (our driver)

2) The storm has given me my biggest laugh yet in India. Let me explain....... Have you ever seen in the movies when a car goes through a puddle and splashes some one on the side walk and the person getting splashed is total caught by surprise? Well today I was commuting to the factory I saw a man walking down the road holding a umbrella and as my car hit a very large puddle (pond) this gentleman in a split second directed his umbrella at the wave of water. As the wave collapsed his umbrella and he was getting soaked his facial expression was of such shock and surprise...... Ayyappan and I laughed for a good 5 minutes.

3) Chennai's water supply very dependant on rain water so many of the locals and farmers welcome the rain... There wet, but happy!

4) The rain provides a good cleaning for the roads and houses and cuts down on the dust.

Take care everyone :-)

Corey

Moving Day!!!

2008-11-23T17:09:00.002-06:00

This is our new temporary home! The Homewood Suites by Hilton - located in Forsyth (less than a mile from our previous home).

So far, we have enjoyed staying here. We have a suite with 2 queen beds, a pull out bed, 2 TV's, and full kitchen. There is an office center (where I am currently typing this), an indoor pool, fitness center, laudry room, and to top it off---the school bus picks up the kids in front of the hotel! Every day Paige says "I really like this hotel, Mom".

Last week we were busy packing up and moving out. The packers came on Monday and had the truck loaded and gone by 4:30pm Wednesday afternoon. We had an "Air" shipment (about 80 cubic feet) that is carrying "most important items" and should arrive in Chennai in 10 days. Then we had a 40' cargo container that will carry most of our belongings to Chennai by sea and should arrive the 2nd week of January (we hope).

Corey has taken a total of 4 suitcases full of stuff as he has gone back and forth twice now. I took an extra suitcase of stuff when I went in early November. And if that isn't enough, I brought 7 suitcases and 4 boxes full of stuff to the hotel. PLUS we are storing 4 boxes of Jayson's stuff at a friends house (thanks Kristen!) Whew!

Following are pictures of Moving Day:

Eric and Paige playing on the dolly's

Packing up the mattresses

Eric on the truck ramp

Eric & Paige on the ramp

Paige doing a dance in the truck

Boxes, boxes everywhere!!

I couldn't resist taking a shot of Corey moving the trampoline to a friend's house. Does the word....."Redneck" come to mind?

It's a Good Thing We Love Mindy!

2008-11-13T08:32:00.003-06:00

We were in a dilemma about Mindy, our cat. There is a little history about how we came to adopt Mindy - that I won't go into now. Let's just say she was an answer to two innocent children's prayers. Leaving Mindy behind was out of the question!

This posed a problem because what were we going to do with her while we lived in a hotel for a month, went on vacation to Utah and Florida? I know I could not handle 2 months of "transient" cat. As we were debating what to do, our friend Teresa (in Chennai) offered to cat-sit if I could bring Mindy to India when I went for the home-finding trip in October. Great idea!

Little did I know it would be easier to obtain passports and visas for a family of four than it was to bring an 8 lb. cat to India! In brief I had to:

Contact the airlines and get their list of 12 rules for bringing an animal over.

Obtain and fill out the correct Department of Agriculture 7-part form.

Get a physical for Mindy within 10 days of travel

Update Mindy's immunizations within 30 days of travel

Get a copy of her medical records including ID and batch number of the shots she received

Drive to the Dept of Agriculture in Springfield (45 min) to show proof of the above signed forms.

Find someone in India who could help us clear customs.

Fill out about 6 pages of documents for India

Label her travel kennel with arrows, name, address, feeding schedule and somehow attach food and water and hope someone feeds her.

Somehow get Mindy into this tiny kennel - took 2 people and 4-5 tries - thanks Mom!

Whew! I was able to get everything done - just barely. We got to the airport

got boarding passes, checked the luggage and they were just about to put Mindy in the back when the ticket lady said "I think you might have the wrong kind of kennel". She checked and sure enough, it needed to be assembled with "nuts-and-bolts" instead of "snaps". I told her that wasn't on my list of 12 rules - it must have been rule #13. They wouldn't let her on. NO WAY!!! Here I was supposed to be leaving in an hour and after all this crazy paperwork and running around, she couldn't go.

Ticket lady said if there was some way I could obtain the correct kennel we could send her. So after I went to the car and had a mini-meltdown - teaching the kids that parents sometimes cry too when they're frustrated - I pulled it together, found a Walmart, bought a nuts-and-bolts kennel, zoomed back to the airport and put it together and checked her. DONE! Not quite......

My flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was late and I barely made my connection to Chennai. They had to re-open the airplane doors to let me on and I begged them to wait for my luggage and LIVE ANIMAL. They said they would try. After waiting at the baggage claim in Chennai for about an hour, I resigned to the fact that Mindy (and bags) didn't make it. Next flight in from Frankfurt was in 24 hours. Three days, $400.00, and lots of gray hairs later.....Mindy was in India!

Things I learned:

Changing kennels was a blessing. The nuts-and-bolts kennel was 3 times as big as her original one (she could stand up, roll around and do flips if she wanted). I didn't feel so bad knowing she was going to spend about 3 days in it.

I didn't smell too bad after 3 days in the same clothes.

Cats can hold it for a long time - if you know what I mean.
I can still feel the spirit at church.....even in jeans.

Where there's a will, there's a way. Hard work does pay off!

I guess I really do like Mindy.

Good Bye Phillip Circle, Hello Sea Shell Ave!

2008-11-11T14:09:00.003-06:00

We were very blessed to sell hour home within one week of listing it. However, sadness accompanied the relief. We loved our home on Phillip Circle - the traditional midwest coloniel - and our wonderful neighborhood. We will truly miss this home that has brought us happiness and comfort.

On Halloween day, I met Corey in India and the house hunting search began. We thought we had our priorities straight as to what we wanted in our new home, but oh!, how wrong we were! Thanks to our good friend, Teresa, who quickly taught us the art of house hunting in Chennai (she has been living their for 1 1/2 years). Our priorities changed from:

What's the square footage?
What appliances come with?
What is the neighborhood like?

TO:

How big is the septic tank, where is it, and how often does it need emptying?
What's the size of the generator? (power goes out at least once a day)
Is there a house stabilizer?
Is there a place for the guards to sit, go to the bathroom?

I actually felt nausiated after the first day and seriously wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. After meeting several other CAT ex-pat wives and seeing 3 of their homes, I felt better and had hope that we would find something. It wasn't until our last day and after several prayers that we decided on a home located on Sea Shell Ave:

I am confident that we will be able to make this our very own "oasis" in the midst of a third-world country and feel blessed to have this opportunity to discover another side of Heavenly Father's beautiful world!

Since He's Been Gone

2008-11-10T22:57:00.002-06:00

Since Corey has been gone, here are a few things I've been working on:

passports for the kids
passport for our cat Mindy
selling the house
selling our 2 cars
selling other stuff we aren't taking
going to school
studying for exams
decluttering the house
paperwork, paperwork, paperwork
preparing for my trip to India to find a home
about 8 trips to the doctor for 12 vaccinations - who's counting?
eye exams
physicals
dental appointments
mammogram
trips to the doc for kids vaccinations
Food Shipment

And on, and on, and on. The list is never ending!!!!! Just as I cross one thing off the list, 2 more are added.

Caterpillar is kind enough to ship food and other household goods to their employees in India once a quarter. So on October 28th, my good friend Jenny and I emptied our vans and went on a shopping spree! I loaded up my van with our food storage and stuff from Target and we also visited Sam's Club and Walmart. By the end of the afternoon, both of our vans were full! We dropped everything off at a warehouse in Peoria and Corey should be receiving it in a few weeks. Thanks Jenny, I couldn't have done it without you!!!

Corey is the First to Go!

2008-11-10T22:44:00.004-06:00

On Monday, September 29th, 2008, Corey left for Chennai, India to begin our family's new adventure! He reported for work at Caterpillar on October 1st and the rest of us will follow in January 2009. It was a sad goodbye. I told myself that with so much work to be done to prepare for this move, time would fly by quickly - and so far it has.