Fish pedicure...yup, you read right

Wanted to start packing, but also spend time with the parentals.  Since we're coming to a close of our time here, mum's trying to cut down on too many grocery purchases and trying to finish off the stuff she has left.  I expect this coming week will be a lot of eating out, but that's the way it goes.

First we thought about checking out one of the buffets in town that my parents liked.  Now, i'm not too big on recommendations from "foreigners" about good Indian food, but if my mum says it's good, then it's good.  Well, she did say this buffet was good, but she couldn't remember it's name or where it was located...brilliant.  We spent a few hours trying to sort that out and in the end decided to drive out there. 

This restaurant was located a suburb quite far from us and once we got there, we discovered that the restaurant had closed and another one had taken its place.  Joke's on us!  There was a mall nearby, so we decided to check it out.  It was quite posh, with a lovely bookstore where we spent quite a bit of time.

This mall also boasted the only fish pedicure in the entire twin cities.  Not sure where the fish originate, i've heard southeast Asia as well as the Middle East.  Either way, you put your feet into a tank filled with these fish that are attracted to dead skin.  So, the theory is that, they eat away the dead skin from your lower legs and feet, leaving behind new skin - i.e. a pedicure.  This was so fascinating and we watched several people do it before we decided to have a go as well.  However, by the time this decision was made, the kids were hungry and restless, so we decided to grab dinner and then do the pedicure.  Dinner was McDee's (our annual visit) and couple of the sandwiches were actually good - kebab chicken with some great cucumber/spinach cream sauce...quite yummy.  (I can't believe i said that about McDees).  Alas, by the time we finished our dinner, we didn't have time for the pedicure. 

Well, we still have a week here, maybe we'll come back and "pamper" ourselves.  Stay tuned!

I don't think we can go to the park two mornings in a row...we need to desperately catch up on the sleep we lost the day before.  I could barely keep my eyes open this morning.

At breakfast, S. said that he did some research last night about the "investments" we were thinking about and felt quite uneasy about them.  We believe that the "salesmen" left out a few key details out.  Well, the deal WAS too good to be true.  In hind sight, we're quite glad that the power was out and we weren't able to make copies yesterday.  Once, we handed over our ID information, really, the whole thing would have been lost.  At this point, all they have are our names and signatures, but no money and nothing else tying us to those forms.  God is good...we were really saved from making a hasty decision. They were some pretty slick talkers.  Once S. and i talked about it, we decided that there was nothing here worth investing in that couldn't be done just as well stateside.  So, Dad and S. went to the bank and "talked it over" - really S. went to say that we were out, but had to do it in a manner that wouldn't affect Dad's relationship with the bank.  Yeah, it's all about guanxi here too.  S. said that they were pretty disappointed.  Of course, they were going to get a big commission and we would have left with a giant "SUCKER" on our head.  Yeah, for a gracious God, Who sometimes doesn't let us sink into the pit we dig.

While Dad and S. were there, i had troubles of my own, wasn't able to say "no" so easily.  Mum and Dad know a vendor who brings home made textiles to our home.  Mum and i have bought a whole bunch of stuff from him in years past.  Since they are textiles, they are not consumable goods, so we just keep accumulating these things - there's only so many napkins and placemats that you need!  This guy keeps showing up and we've even introduced him to other friends, so he'd stop coming over - no such luck.  I bought a couple things from him this time around and mum managed to keep her money.  No more!!!  We'll just have to tell him to stop bringing stuff.

After their nap, we decided to try out the park in the evening.  I'm not a big fan of evenings at the park here, but i was willing to give it a shot.  Mum wanted to check out another farmer's market, so they dropped us off at the park and would pick us up in a little while.  They didn't show up until much later and the kids were barely hanging on.  I'm so glad B. didn't have to use the restroom, cause there wasn't one around there.  By the time our ride (Dad) showed up, it was quite dark and the mozzies were in rare form. 

The kids are plum tuckered out...B. actually fell asleep by 10:00 p.m. - they ran around for almost two hours in the park.  J. took a nap this afternoon, so stayed up a little longer, but finally gave in.  Wow...my kids really have some energy - i have to practically run them raw before they'll willingly crawl into bed.  Well, they're there now and i'm enjoying some quiet time.

ARGH

The day started off well enough.  We went to the park and played quite a while.  J. even spent a little time on the swings - a flat board with chains to hold on to...not the snug little seats you find in the States.  But he enjoyed himself.  S. and i got a chance to talk and sort things out.  I'm still in a funk, but at least he and i are ok.

After we got the kids bathed and fed, they went down for their naps in time for mum and i to go shopping.  We went to General Bazaar - haven't been there yet and it's chock full of stores...yeah.  We actually bought quite a few things that i'd needed and unfortunately, because we went to other places first, we found that many of the things i was looking for were much cheaper here than at the stores where i actually bought them.  ARGH!  Next time we're coming here first!  I'll have to bring S. back here, i'm sure he'd enjoy it.

When mum and i got back home, the kids were still sleeping - yeah!  But S. and Dad couldn't get as much done since they had visitors.  Guys from a bank who came to talk to us about investing with them. The plans they were giving us sounded too good to be true with excellent interest rates.  No taxes or fees?!  Really!?  We were ready to sign on...but since the power was out, we couldn't get copies of our IDs made.  They left, promising to return with the necessary paperwork.

They did come back an hour later...but the current was still out.  ARGH! What is going on!?  We signed a bunch of forms and promised to make copies as soon as we got power and send them over to the bank.  S. was a little skeptical at the speed of signing...the guy just gave us blank forms to sign and said he'd fill in the rest later.  That is a little how they do things here, but i'm glad S. asked to read some of those forms.  Still, the number of forms and signatures was a bit daunting.

Power remained out till just after 7:00 p.m. - 8 hours!!!  How is anyone supposed to get anything done?  And they give us no prior notice, or anything...just shut it down.  Guess why?  Yup - they were cutting down another tree.  Somehow our side of the street has the power lines, so anytime a tree has to be cut, it's on our side of the street..ARGH...how did we get the short end of the stick?  They should have put the power lines in the middle of the street, where it would be easy to chop down a branch or two, instead of felling entire trees.  A few years ago, we had to chop down three of our coconut trees - very sad, since we had wonderful coconuts. 

Well, anyway, we had to start making dinner by candlelight...thank goodness it's a gas stove, but still very hard to see what you're making.  By the time the power came back, mum was halfway through preparing dinner - it was a fun dinner, since she didn't want to take too many risks with curry.  Just after we had finished, another couple guys showed up from another bank to talk about investment options.  I can't believe they came this late.  They spent more than an hour talking to us about our options. ARGH! I sat for a few minutes and listened, but had to get the kids ready for bed - thank goodness i had that as an excuse.  In my defense, you really can't expect to show up that late and have people stop their lives for you, especially when young kids are involved.  Well, we promised to "think through" what they said and bid them goodnight.

It's late.  I've listened to too many big words like "compliance policy" and "ulip vs. term life" and i can't remember...i'm tired.  Been up since 6:00 a.m. to go to the park...no nap...no fan for 8 hours...can't think anymore...

Picked a fight w/S. last night because i was crabby after the phone call.  Still in a funky mood tonight and don't feel like talking to anyone.  We ran an errand to the bank and S. looked into investing there.  The manager said he'd come and talk to us tomorrow.  Fine...i don't care.

Spent the rest of the day at home...still "processing"

Ugadi and an outing

I am emotionally spent as i write this.  My thoughts are very distracted, so please excuse my rambling.

Today is Ugadi - the Telugu New Year, and since we are Telugus - it only applies to our state.  So, it's a holiday for everyone here.  Mum and Dad took us on a little outing...to a mall.  It's has six floors: the top is a Pub (probably quite pricey); then a theatre - only hindi and telugu movies; then the food court with a small department store, a hallmark type store and an arcade.  Kids enjoyed "riding" on the broken carousel, the motorbike games. We got a few snacks here - 12% tax - yikes!.  Next floor was the men's: clothes and electronics, then the women's and then the grocery/restaurant floor.

It was a fun excursion, although a bit far - we got lost twice.  Also, this place is quite pricey, like shopping in downtown Chicago vs. small town Missouri.  But it was fun just to look around and we were able to "afford" couple juice boxes for the kids.  Oh...and i got some cinnamon and cardamom at a great price.  Might mean nothing to you, but it's wonderful enough for me to write about it.

Came home around 9:00.  Made a phone call at 9:30...have been in a daze since.  I'm sure you're all wondering what the phone call was about.  It was just one of those supremely unexpected conversations that has left me dumb founded, drained, puzzled, saddened and still processing...  We've all had those, haven't we?

Rs.10 KFC icecream cone - definitely worth it!

We relaxed this morning and went in the evening with mom to get some shopping done.  I know i've talked quite a bit about going shopping, this includes everything from groceries to knick knacks...so everyday we do a little bit of shopping since most things are fresh and used straightaway.  Back in the day (when i was growing up) we didn't have refrigerators, so our meals consisted of what the local vendors would sell.  Any non-veg. was sa special treat and only made when we had company.  A regular meal was rice or chappathi and whatever veggies the vendor had and maybe dhal. Simple but yummy!

By the time we were done, it was pretty late and we'd have to go back and make dinner, so it'd be really late by the time we actually ate.  I saw a Dominoes nearby and suggested we chow there.  The kids were excited and Dad prefers tha to KFC...so we sent the men and the kids ahead while mom and i made one more stop.

I was really looking forward to dinner.  When we caught up with the rest of them, we found that they didn't order dinner after all, just a couple appetizers which they chowed down before we got there.  Men!  Can't depend on them to do anything.  Well, that's not true, but we felt like that when we walked in to the restaurant.  So, I ordered and we had to wait a while to eat...grrrr (i'm not angry, it's just my stomach growling).  Fortunately, the restaurant had a couple tele's on, one playing a cricket game, which was the favored show, and the other had random bits of trivia playing...kind of like when you're in a theatre waiting for the movie to start.  It entertained us long enough and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. 

After that (and my favorite part of the day), we went downstairs and bought icecream cones for everyone at KFC.  They're only Rs.10/piece and yeah, they don't fill the cone part, but for a less than a quarter, we're getting a decent amount of really good icecream, it's not ice milk either.  You can't  beat that.  We might make this a regular thing one warm nights, that and we only have a few more days here, so better make good use of this deal.

Another long day...

The church we visited today was quite far...in the same "suburb" as my "far" aunt. Since Dad was speaking, they invited us all and even sent transportation. *The driver was a lovely fellow - hard to find folks like him these days*

The church met upstairs - women on the left and men on the right. At some point during the service the children were asked to leave for their own thing...we decided to check it out as well. Of course, as soon as the kids saw S. they were mesmerized by him and he created quite a bit of distraction. The teacher asked us if we'd like to speak to the kids, but we declined, not wanting to draw any more attention to ourselves. (I think) since the kids were distracted by S., the teacher decided to engage them in entertaining us with English songs. About 30 kids stood up and sang at least 10 songs for us (with actions) and in the end we taught them a song as well. Once there was some downtime, S. became a celebrity with some of the young boys, peppering him with all kinds of questions, etc. B. also got quite a bit of attention from the girls. I ended up being the papparazzi...and if felt that way too, i could hardly get any clear pics.

After lunch, we visited with my aunt for a little while, before heading back home. We left the house this morning just after 9:00 a.m. and got back around 6:00 p.m. - it's been a long day. The kids are dirty and cranky, hopefully they'll sleep well tonight.

Sleeping in...

I can't believe it...S slept until past noon.  We were all so tired after this week, so the first opportunity we got, i.e. today. We slept in and woke up at various times.  I woke up at 9:30, J was next at 11:00 and both S and B had to be woken up for lunch just after noon.  I'm glad they got their rest...tomorrow is going to be a long day.

We did a little more shopping this afternoon...well, mom and I did.  We only have two weeks left...better start cracking.  The thing about shopping here is there is no one stop shop, you have different items in different places.  Ex: groceries, different kids of fabrics, steel wares, etc.  There is no super Wal-Mart here.  Plus, it takes us about an hour to get to all the good stores and in this heat, we can maybe go to a couple stores/day.  It's quite a process.  All that to say...yikes! only two weeks.

Another dinner invite.  The food was delish!  The corn and coconut was one of my favorites and the grape and pomegranate salad.  Man!  Gonna have to duplicate that sometime.  The kids were wiped by the time we came home.  J fell asleep on the way, but woke up once we got in the house...this kid and his power naps...took a little while to get him back to sleep.  

Mozzie death count today - about 20

Seen at the exhibition...

A month ago (how time flies!), our family attended a Hyderabadi exhibition (i.e. fair). Only now have I collected pix from that event and arranged them for this post....however, I figured if I back-posted it to the date it happened, it would likely not get viewed by our faithful readers (all five of you!), so here they are, a month later....



Rows and rows of colorful outfits


Bangles galore!


Kids munching on "kurkure" (sort of an Indian cheeto)


Auditioning for the "laughing house"!


A small train motoring through the crowds


Enjoying same train ourselves


Train ride -- view from above (watch your feet!)


Fountains!


"J" meeting new people


Yet another color-filled booth


Happy kid!


Yummy rooftop dinner


Another view of exhibition from same rooftop


The "faces of America" beckon exhibition attendees to sample their produce! (click above pic for larger pic).

And yes....know that even American corn is "100% Vegetarian"! :-D

Holy Cows!

As most folks familiar with India know, buffaloes, cows, bulls, oxen, and every imaginable bovine creature meander all around, showing up in unexpected places.  Like past our in-laws' house, as Dad and "J" witnessed (click pic below for larger pic)...

Note the brownish-red fence at the far left.  My in-laws and their neighbors had to put them up to keep these animals from grazing on their garden plants.  Pest-control of the sort seldom seen in the U.S.