Home is only a Chili's away

There is something about food which connects you to a place, and being so far from home I find myself instantly craving my normal foods.  While I do like most Indian food, after a few days I find myself wanting something familiar.

So, yesterday we decided to head out to Bangalore's newest mall- Orion.  I gotta hand it to them, it's gorgeous. 4 or 5 floors- very modern stores you would see almost anywhere in the world.  Marble, clean, very nice.  We entered the food court and to our shock- a Chili's!   We made a beeline and asked for the menu to make sure it wasn't too Indian-ized, and we found an almost duplicate menu (minus the steaks which are replaced with buffalo meat)

As we sat eating, we saw and endless stream of people coming in to check the menu and leave. I can bet they were not checking for American staples as we were, but surely trying to understand what they have.  I suppose finding out a margarita costs Rs. 450 was a little too much to take (almost 10 bucks) for the average Indian.  Roy says people come here when they want to show off, and while this might be true, that would mean there were lots of show offs around because the place was packed.  We learned from the manager they had just opened the previous evening at 6pm, so I think it was pretty well running for such a new concept here.

After leaving, we did a little shopping and ran across the cutest little boys in a Wal-mart type store.  They were racing kid sized shopping carts all over the store and I was egging them on.  They soon found an attraction in us and followed us everywhere. They were so sweet asking us questions and trying to impress us with their cart pushing skills.   At one point one of them ran into a lady walking by in which she screamed something in the local language I didn't understand and Roy didn't choose to interpret.  They followed us out into the mall and I took a few pics.  Roy asked them where their parents were and apparently one of their uncles owns an auto rickshaw and just dropped them off by themselves to run around all day.  They were only about 7 or 8, so not something I would ever allow. 2 of them didn't even have shoes on.  I gave them some loose change to buy candy and they were thrilled.

While leaving, I was going to make a quick trip to the ladies room but left frustrated and still in need of going.  Indians have this bad habit of being completely unable to wait in any kind of a line.  It is both annoying and frustrating.  I think its a clear reflection of the individualized feelings which leave this country unable to come together solving any problems.   As I stood there, ladies would walk in and immediately go ahead of me and anyone else standing there. I tried to push ahead of get them to get back behind, but soon realized I was in a losing battle for the 2 available stalls. 

At this point, we were exhausted and headed back home.  Roy wasn't feeling well- he had a fever and cough so he went to bed and Kaila and I soon did the same.

Today is the day we are leaving. I luckily logged into Roy's email yesterday to find that the flight was moved up an hour- 8:30pm and then we have to make a 4 hr stop in Mumbai before heading to Paris.  We will be home Wednesday by noon and then the 3 something hr drive from Chicago and guaranteed we will be dead dogs, but happy dead dogs to be back home finally!

I do love India, but forget how exhausting it is.  I frequently refer to coming here as a step above camping.  Its hot, buggy, dusty.  You never quite get a good nights sleep and wake up to the smell of campfires and bright sunshine.  The food isn't quite what you're used to, but fun for awhile. Your hair never looks very good and you never care much.  You take showers in fear of bugs jumping around and walk around with a less than cleanly feeling most of the time- either from sweat or dust.  The only thing is when you pay for a camping spot with electricity, it doesn't go out multiple times a day as it does here!

Oh well, India is what is it is and this is where my extended family is so it will always be my 2nd home- killer mosquitoes and all.

Next stop- ORD.  See you soon people.

Aaney Maaney?

It's not everyday you go to someone's house and ask this, but 2 days back this is what my husband did.  Kaila was super excited, and when we found out he doesn't visit the temple much anymore because of some incident, Roy asked around and found out where he lived.

We took an auto rickshaw there yesterday, its not far from here.  From the outside it doesn't look like anything too unusual, but upon entering the house, we did find something slightly different.   We brought along bananas and some spare change.  It was a once in a lifetime experience, and another 'Only in India' moment.

Yes, we went to an Elephant's House.

Back Alley Artwork

Kaila had been dying to have her hands painted with Henna (or Mendhi, which is the Hindi word), which is the temporary tattoo type decorations many women have put on their hands and/or feet here for special occasions such as a wedding or just no reason at all.  Upon consulting with Roy's sisters, we headed for the market today where there was a store you could go to and have this done.  I was slightly misled with the term 'store', as you can see from the picture below of Kaila. It's more of a street side cave where we were given small stools the size of little dinner plates to sit on while a middle aged man applied the Henna.

It's a bit of a complicated process.  You first pick out a design, then sit still for 10-15 minutes while the design is piped onto your skin from a small cake-decorating style type bag.  You have your choice of colors, in which we got black outline with red inside.   Its critical to stay very still while the henna dries on your hands, which is not an easy task in a busy street side market.  It takes the good side of an hour for it to fully dry and begin flaking off, after which you begin to leave spider corpse looking fragments everywhere you go.  It literally just flakes off and leaves your skin stained with color, which over the course of the next few days will continue to darken and darken.

While waiting for Kaila to finish her application, I stood at the front of the roadside cave and watched passersby, or should I say the passersby watched me.  Many smiled or stopped right in front of me to look at the henna on my hands (even though this is a super common practice women would have done all the time).  Little kids ran over to look and I had at least 2 grown men on motorcycles stop right in the middle of the street to look.  Its slightly embarrassing, but I try and manage.  The funniest thing was there is a temple with a 2nd floor that overlooks the market where temple-goers were standing out on a back balcony getting some air and apparently watching us.  As we finished, a row of women began smiling and waving and eventually blowing kisses and giving the thumbs up sign.  They were super enthusiastic and excited to see our artwork, which was actually a little heartwarming.

As we walked the market streets, we were met with the same response over and over.  People stopping, staring and many smiling and looking quite pleased.  I really like the end result and it stays for a few weeks, which gives my work buddies something to look at. LOL.

Other than the henna, we bummed around a little and eventually ended up back home to find that apparently the baby fully warmed up to everyone in the house.  She was running around playing with them, giving hugs and kisses, and just being overall charming.  We sat last night and just laughed and laughed at her antics as she danced and played on the floor.  She is now repeating almost any word you say to her, so they have her say Bengali words which is thrilling for them to hear her repeat.

Time for bed now. Days are tiring here with the still lingering jet lag and the warm weather.  I have slept most nights quite well in spite of napping during the day and sleeping 3 in a bed, 1 being a small kicking monster.  We are on the home stretch now, leaving in just 3 days.  I always like coming, but going home is bitter sweet.  Its so hard on the family when we leave, so I will not think of those times just yet. Goodnight all.

I gave my Diet Pepsi to a donkey

India is a hard place to describe to someone who asks 'what is it like?'  For the most part, the stereotypes are true, but not completely.

It is hot.  But India also has parts which get snow and single digit temps. Even right now in the southern tip of India where Bangalore is- its 10am and about 60 degrees, no sun and very cold breeze.  I love it, but guarantee I'll see hundreds of people in winter hats and jackets. (the women with jackets over their sari's and tennis shoes are the best)

It is dirty. Most street sides are filled with garbage, empty lots used as dumping grounds, and just an overall lack of cleanliness.  You read that the Eastern countries have a different idea of cleanliness than the west, and it is true- at least for how the outside is kept.  Most people keep their homes so super clean, but think nothing of throwing garbage outside their window.  However, there are giant malls with marble floors everywhere, modern shops, restaurants of all kinds, and super clean bathrooms WITH toilet paper.There are and certain areas where the streets are all well maintained with beautiful landscaping and curbing, medians, stop signs- just like home. Big parks with trees and exotic flowers and small lakes where families go to walk or young people hang out.

It is crowded.  People per square mile in India: over 1000.   US- 80.  So obviously, its pretty crowded.  And the problem is that most cities were not planned, so it built quickly without a specific design in mind, therefore lots of the streets are small and don't flow well.  The buildings are on top each other and seem misplaced.  This is true in Bangalore where we are, as well as many other big cities.  Also, village people (not The Village People....people from small towns) come to big cities for jobs or to study. Bangalore has tons of world class colleges, so there is a big college district which I happen to really like.   I can't say much on this one, because it is crowded. I haven't been many places that aren't.  Its a little disorienting at times, but it is what it is.

Outside of the stereotypes, India gives off a vibe I have never experienced before.  It's very exotic. There are beautiful women everywhere. They dress in bright colors and tons of gold jewelry. They have long dark hair and piercing black eyes.  Most are slim built and shapely.  Its quite intimidating really.

Its very peaceful.  Being 80% Hindu, known for their deep religious beliefs most people are very kind and respectful and spend a fair amount of time praying or doing religious activities.  They say 'guests are god', so always want you to come to their home and are very proud to show off their culture.  They would give you the shirt off their back or share their only meal if you needed it. I don't feel scared or threatened here, even though we do get stared at quite a bit and for an uncomfortable amount of time.  But, most stares are innocent and inquisitive as there just aren't many white people around. They strategically place god pictures on walls that they wish to keep 'clean' writing 'do not urinate'.

It makes you realize what is really important.  Most people live with so very little and appreciate what they have so much, that it makes you really think whether than $100 pair of new shoes you wanted are really necessary or that $60 meal.  Americans are so excessive. Enough is never enough.  No wonder we have the reputation of being spoiled, when you think of how lots of people won't be caught dead in a 5 year old car or last year's jeans.  People here make due and are extremely resourceful in re-purposing things.  Its very enlightening and makes you really question your sanity when considering buying your kids the newest xbox when they demand that last year's is just not good enough for them.

What I personally like best is the odd moments and encounters I have had in my travels here and how somehow they seem totally normal.

 -Going down a back alley where a man is sleeping on the ground across from giant dirt piles littered with garbage in order to exchange your money for Indian Rupees, where a guy in a dress (they call them uniks) walks up and stares at you and then abruptly turns and walks away, and nobody in the shop is phased.

-Walking down a seemingly normal street which suddenly seems like a parade route as people walk out onto their overlooking balconies and stare continuously as you walk by.

-Purchasing crackers to feed to local street dogs who follow you down the street as onlooking walkers gasp in utter shock.

-Going to Taco Bell in a mall because you know they have unlimited serve yourself soda with ice (an extreme rarity in India)

-While stopped alongside the road, an auto rickshaw driver turns to put down a makeshift plastic curtain because its raining so bad.  I ask my husband to take above mentioned taco bell cup and put it down on the curb (still filled with soda) for the next homeless person who might be walking by, but then discovering a sad looking donkey across the road who I thought would prefer it. I ask him to deliver it there instead, to which to auto rickshaw driver retorts- 'mam, donkeys only eat paper' as he winks at me in his rearview mirror and flashes a toothless grin.  

Only in India my friends.

And just in case you were wondering....

They called and subsequently delivered our baggage early this morning.  I was beyond thrilled to take a shower and change into fresh clothes.  Although we did purchase some new things yesterday, its hard to find things here that are redimade and to my liking and size.  Women here are so super short and tiny that a more curvy person would find it impossible to buy things.  Even someone as small as Kaila, in terms of here, is a little more difficult to buy for.  Its a cruel reality check, but it is what it is.

Ok, going to try and sleep now.  The sound of thousands of barking dogs in the distance is a not exactly a soothing sound, but its India.

What India has to offer at 1am

Maybe you think we are out drinking and partying with all the exotic nightlife, beautiful women, and bollywood actors......NOPE.  I am laying here wide awake because I was so exhausted after our day of shopping I laid down for a short nap and never got up!   Same for Kaila who is currently asleep next to me or possibly faking it as she is silently cursing me for the bright light of the laptop.   Shivali slept most of today as well, but I think she is asleep at the moment- She is sleeping with Roy and his mom in the living room. I sure hope she doesn't somehow end up on the roof alone!

Outside of not being able to sleep and a brief power outage, that's about the extent of my evening.  We shopped today in the market which is so extremely exhausting with all the people, traffic and heat I felt like a dead dog when I got home.  Kaila was able to purchase a few items, so she was super happy.  Her and I gave the pashmina scarf guy a real run for his money today, but in the end I'm sure he is sleeping well knowing he made money on us, but she got a beautiful purple/green iridescent scarf out of it.  The guy also tried to sell me jewelry, which was nice, but I just don't need anything.  He told me Goldie Hawn purchased a necklace there 10 years ago, which I of course cannot confirm or deny but an interesting story nonetheless.

We ate at one of my favorite local restaurants here today.  I've been telling Kaila about it for years and she finally got to experience how good it is.  I am eating a lot less here because of the heat, I feel like I just want water and iced drinks when I can get them in a good place.  So hopefully between that and the endless sweating we can lose a little weight.

Tomorrow Roy and I talked of going to the passport office to see if we can expedite his dad's passport.  Somehow through a stroke of good luck his mom received hers the day before they were going to leave for here for a 3 months. (she applied over 5 months ago)  The system is so different here, if you basically don't bribe multiple people, things never run very fast. You could wait forever and still nothing would happen. They definitely do things at  a slower pace here- which I am confirming would frustrate any westerner to no end.

Other than that, we may go to the jewelry store. I have one of my favorite necklaces given to me by Jordan that has faded in color over time and I want to check into having it dipped in gold here. They do it cheap and I like the rich pure gold color.  Its also a good excuse to shop- there is SO much good stuff to look at. Love it.

I forget how tiring it is to be here. Not just the 20 timezone changes, but the weather, the traveling, the bugs. I try and not complain, but I have bug bites everywhere!   Its so strange because people here really don't think its hot.  They sometimes walk around with heavy winter jackets on just because there is a semi cool breeze and maybe only 75 out, but sunny.  I really don't get it.

It was sad today in the market there are so many people laying on the sidewalks begging for money. Lots with missing limbs or some deformity.  I saw several moms with babies curled up on the sidewalk sleeping. The baby half naked and crying out of hunger or sickness.  Its so incredibly sad, I can't even begin to explain it to you.  I wish they were smart enough to not have children vs subject them to a life on the street with no education or prospects for a better life.   Life here is so hard I just don't see how they make it work.  We walked down a few blocks and there is a whole open field of tarp tents and little shacks made of whatever is around. I simply cannot imagine living like this with no power, air, heat. Its going to be monsoon shortly and they will probably flood out regularly.  Its such a sad life, but when you see the people they don't seem to be so sad.  Hmmm.  Makes you really wonder how or why.

I've been lazy about taking pictures, so I'll try and take some tomorrow and post them.  Lots of interesting things to share. Stay tuned.

Somewhere between Chicago and Bangalore...

Ya, that's where my luggage is......day 3, same outfit.  Apparently Air France chose to oversell the flight and then couldn't determine whose luggage to put on the plane, so they didn't put mine or Roy's.  They said it probably didn't make the plane in Chicago, so if someone sees it and can kindly mail me some new underwear, I'd truly appreciate it.  Apparently it will be here Thursday- better be early morning (which is still 1 day away).  So sickening!

Outside of the luggage fiasco, Kaila left her water bottle on the plane in France, which stinks, but isn't the end of the world when we overheard a lady saying she left her iPad on there.

Flights were fairly uneventful, long, but good.  Kaila did well- only her 2nd time flying.  The route from Paris was best because there were open seats, so Kaila got to move to the window and watch all things French go by and Roy and I got to sit and sleep while Shivali slept in her own seat between us for most of the 9 hr flight.   Got in by midnight and after finding out about our missing luggage, we proceeded to pick up our rental car (my husband insisted- against my good judgement) in which we found the rental place we booked a reservation through did not exist.  Three strikes and we are out.  So we headed home and went to bed.
Well....Kaila, Shivali, and I did.  Roy had to be back at the airport for a 6am flight to pick up his parents in the North (their first flight), so he just headed back after a quick shower.

Kaila and I got up yesterday morning and decided to explore a little.  Roy's sisters were home but 1 had College and the other was not feeling well and had  a doctor's appt.  I was confident going on my own, knowing we would just walk 5 or 6 blocks to a main street where I knew a Domino's pizza existed (well worth the walk!)  The streets were pretty crowded and Kaila was a little shell-shocked, but we managed ok with some strange looks and  a few minutes of getting lost on the way back.   We got home and slept for 3 hrs, just in time to socialize and wait for Roy to arrive back with his mom and dad.

So all is well (besides the still missing luggage), everyone is back home and we plan to shop today and bum around.  I feel pretty good- not too tired or hot (nice cool breeze here). Apparently we get a 100 euro budget to buy new things with the disappearance of our luggage (each), so as soon as I find out how many dollars that is and convert it to Rupees, I am totally spending every last penny of it. Take that Air France!

Here we go again....

Well folks, its that time again.  Almost a year has passed and we have not returned to India.  Our hope was that Roy's parents could come here and visit the baby and us, but thanks to Indian bureaucracy they haven't been unable to obtain passports yet.  And once they get passports, they need to travel to another area to apply for a visa, which is another test of patience, bribery, and time.  But, we'll keep working on it.

So, a lot has happened since last year.  Shivali is now a mobile monster with 12 teeth and a vocabulary of almost 30 words.  She is super smart and so much fun it almost makes me forget how crazy I am for starting over.  

Kaila has graduated high school and is attending UW Fox Valley for 2 years and will then transfer to Madison for Actuarial Science. Jordan is now at a private school proudly abusing his 'new boy in class' status and getting good grades and making us proud.

Roy and I are heads down working for competing insurance companies (go UHG!) and doing our best to balance family life and demanding careers.  Its not always easy, but we make a real effort everyday.

We had an awesome family road trip the first part of June touring most of the western US from South Dakota to the Grand Canyon and back.  Shivali did quite well in her car seat all those hours and the rest of us didn't consider too many times leaving her along the roadside in the WY grassland or backroads of CO- so all went well!

It became apparent to us that not visiting the family until Roy's sisters wedding in February wasn't going to be an option so we went ahead and booked it.  We leave Sunday and are staying for just over a week this time.  Its just too difficult to get away from work after our trip in June, but a week is better than nothing.

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This is Kaila's first trip to India, so will be easier with another pair of hands to help with Shivali, but will definitely be an eye-opener for her (and lots of material for me...hee-hee).    Jordan is staying with Lori and Tim and the kids- I always say he isn't ready for India and India isn't ready for him!  He is more than happy to stay back and has only requested a mini Eiffel tower from the Paris airport- so, easy enough!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read the blog and I hope I can continue to provide a view into India- with all its goods and its bads.  I can't promise you'll always agree with what I write, but I do guarantee you'll get my candid observations and opinions and entertaining insights!