Eric's Birthday Party

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

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

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!

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A Top 10 List

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

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

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

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! : )

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