Monday Madness!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!
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• Had a farewell dinner for dear friends who are moving back to the States - boo hoo, sniff sniff : (
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• Unpacked 8 suitcases and 3 carry - ons - still doing laundry.
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• Eric and Paige started school - back to packing lunches, ugh!
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• 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 : )
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• Have already had an Electrician and A/C guy out for various repairs - I'm positive they have a conspiracy thing going on.
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• Still cleaning up Mindy puke - could she be bulimic?
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• Smashed a gecko in the car door - oops, sorry!
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• Scratching away at several mosquito bites - netting over bed is going up TODAY!
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• 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!

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........

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Create a free digital slideshow 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

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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