Spring Break!

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!

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

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!

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:

Another free picture collage by Smilebox

Update

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

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!

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