All us adults were awake past midnight today...so just after the clock struck 12, we started singing "Happy Birthday" to S. My uncle even bought a small little cake for him. It was sweet that they stayed up to make his birthday.
Later...this morning we were going to visit another family related to us, on our way back from church. But, they decided to visit us between services on their way back home. Fair enough. Well, the first service ended late (what's new!), so they came to visit us late and we went to the second service late, but because of brown outs and the generator failing, we were early. The second service, which is supposed to begin at 10:30 a.m., began at 11:45 a.m., after the power came back. Since the service was all in Telugu, we didn't stay long, just for the singing. I can't even begin to describe the singing. The "worship leader" was out of tune and practically eating the microphone and we ended up sitting just below one of the speakers. Not only that, but it was all a cappella, so he had only himself to drown him out. Isabella was holding her ears in agony...unfortunately, we couldn't be that candid.
Right after we got home, my cousin, B and myself went to grab some special lunch for S's b'day. We got some pizza from Pizza Hut and a few subs from Subway...a real "American" lunch. We also got a few pieces of cake and a slice of "apple pie", which wasn't the same, but it was the idea. At least lunch was better than my McDees b'day dinner a few years back.
Pizza:
Hawaiian (Large); Paneer Veg (Med.); Veggie special (Small - came free with the medium paneer)
Subs:
Roast lamb; Club (turkey, "ham" and lamb); Chicken Tikka; Paneer Tikka
Cake (Slices):Chocolate Almond; Black Forest; White Forest; Truffle Nut; Honey Nut; Chocolate Vanilla
Apple Pie
It took us about 2 hours by auto to grab this stuff and we didn't go more than 7 miles. We got home with lunch around 2 p.m. and our train was leaving at 4:30 p.m. Talk about rushing through a meal...we gobbled it down and headed to the train station. India has to be the largest manufacturer of rubber neckers. On the way to the station we were caught in a traffic jam because of an accident. The vehicles involved weren't actually causing the jam, it was all the crazy people who stopped in the middle of the street to see what was going on. Good grief! I would not have been happy if we had missed the train....
The kids were back to their monkey business...climbing up and down. We were sharing our box with another woman and i'm sure she didn't appreciate two little kids jumping all over the place, but really...this was like a jungle gym for them. It was hard to contain their "enthusiasm"...it'll be a while (if ever) before they'll be on another train, might as well enjoy this. Not the best end to a b'day, but i hope it was eventful and hopefully memorable for S. Happy Birthday, honey!
Since it's the weekend, my uncle was able to spend the day with us. Since he's also the designated driver, this day was dedicated to the (obligatory) visiting of family in this part of the country. Apparently, most of my mom's side of the family has settled out here and i've been getting quite the family history lesson from my aunt R.
Here in Vizag, we're staying with my aunt and uncle (R &R) and my cousin (Si). My aunt R is not only taking care of ammamma (her mother), but also her mother-in-law, downstairs. There has got to be a special crown in heaven for her - i couldn't even pretend to be that amazing - and she does it voluntarily.
Little family background:
My mother's grandfather was the first in their family to become a Christian. Due to the stigma back then, when his wife found out, she committed suicide; they had 1 son and 2 daughters. My great grandfather later married the woman who would become my great grandmother...they also had 1 son and 2 daughters. Even though the kids were siblings, they were only half siblings, i.e. they don't share the same blood...so, the "half" cousins are able to marry each other.
Two of my mom's sisters (the oldest and the youngest) married their "cousins" - they all have the same grandfather, but different grandmothers. My aunt R's mother-in-law is also her aunt, my ammamma's brother's wife (my grand uncle's wife)...and therefore, we had to visit her. After "grand aunt", it was uncle R's older brother, who lived a couple houses down.
After a short visit with them, we headed over to my cousin's uni to grab lunch...but the campus was on holiday and only a couple of the "cafe's" we're open. We didn't care by then, w were hungry. The college students went a little gaga over our kids and were taking pictures of them with their mobiles. Only after the fact did we think to ask them not to post the pics online...oops. So, you might see our kids on a facebook (not ours) near you...
Next stop was another aunt's house. They live pretty close to the uni and are my mom's cousin on her dad's side...mom's dad's sister and her son's family. This grand aunt is 98 years old and the last time she saw me, i was 1. She even remembered my name...that's pretty impressive. Must be a shock - the next time she sees me, i'm with my husband, daughter and son...who's older than i was when she last saw me. The house they live in boasts a beautiful garden with the biggest, prettiest pink hibiscus you've ever seen. They were beyond gorgeous. I wish i'd taken a picture of the whole tree...hmm...maybe i can get my cousin go to back and get a couple snaps for me. I was more enamored with their garden than with my aunt. Ehh...how many grand aunt's can you care about.
Now i know why my cousin chose to attend this uni, i would too, if i'd know what was less than a 1/4 mile away - the ocean!!! (Bay of Bengal). Are you kidding me...all i got was a prison and a corn field 1/4 mile from my college...man, i was so gypped. On our breaks we went to Taco Bell or Wal-Mart...they get to go to the beach!!! So not fair! Well, that's what we did - we went to the beach. The water was unbelieveably warm and the shore was swarming with college kids. The kids had loads of fun and got drenched (as expected) and covered with sand. It's so sad to see a marvelous beach like this buried under garbage...why can't people take pride at least in special spots. We couldn't stay too long as we had more relatives to visit and meetings to attend...well, just my uncle. On our way back to the car, B saw a horse and was able to get a ride...she was thrilled! Both kids are absolutely worn out...yeah! it'll make bed time a whole lot easier.
Next stop another grand aunt and son's family. This is my ammamma's younger sister and surprisingly i remember her son. I even remember him being one of the uncle's that i liked... man, all these family connections are making sense to me now. I'm going to put together a little family tree, so i can remember people and places...who knows when we'll be doing one of these reunion tours again. And i want something my kids can look at as part of their heritage - sordid as some of it might be.
My aunt (mom's sister) married a widower with four daughters. The oldest of the daughters was our last stop today. She lives here with her husband and two daughters and our visit to her was purely out of love for my aunt. None of us (my aunt's side of the family) like these daughters and can just tolerate the husband, but since they're now her daughters, we have to respect that. If i'd known this was who we were visiting, i'd have stayed downstairs with my uncle. This was like pulling teeth for us...she has been the source of grief to a beloved aunt, who continues to love her. Even though India has "progressed" in many ways, it is still a very patriarchal society, where a woman is nothing without a man. This marriage would not have happened otherwise. And we would not have been associated at all with this woman that we had to visit. Grrr....obligations for love
Well, we're pooped! But we're sand free, clean, fed and the kids are fast asleep. All in all, a good day
For who read this in the West, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics most likely dominate your sports news now. Not so here in India. I open the sports section of "The Hindu" newspaper every day....not a word about the Olympics. Nothing on Indian TV. (Might have a little to do with India's small 3-person representation.) So what are the big stories in Indian sports right now? What else but cricket!
What's a "double century", you ask? It's 200 points....the equivalent of someone scoring 100 points in an international basketball game. Few have come close, but no one's ever actually done it....until this past Wednesday. Individual performances of half-centuries (50 points) and centuries (100 points) are well-respected in cricket already. Getting a previously-unheard-of double century borders on superhuman for most cricket fans.
Here's what one half-page ad wrote as their tribute to Tendulkar's achievement in today's "The Hindu" newspaper....
For giving us a story to tell our grandchildren.
For making us believe that He still exists.
For making 50-year olds behave like 5-year olds.
For carrying a billion hopes on your shoulders, and still walking tall.
For making each one of us feel like a double-century maker.
For being the glue India needs.
For giving us sore throats.
For making us cry.
For erasing borders.
For making toothless grandmothers do a jig.
For giving us 24th February, 2010.
For being born an Indian.
For showing the world what 'andar se solid' really means.
For believing that no dream is too big.
Thank you, Sachin
Above, a school class honors Tendulkar in their own way....
A couple days ago, S went to get his eyes checked and was prescribed glasses...they charged Rs. 8000 for them! When he told me, i had another one of those "are you kidding me!?" moments. It had to be because he's a "foreigner". He paid Rs.1000 as a deposit and has to pay the balance when he picks up the glasses. Today he went to go ask them to cancel the order and get the money back. I'll let you guess if that happened. Of course, when we want something right away, they say it'll take a while. But when we want our money back..then "the order has already been put through..." What a crock! I've "advised" him to get his prescription and get whatever glasses he might need back at home. That's ridiculous - Rs.8000! What a scam! We're out Rs.1000 and will just chalk it up to the charge of a very steep eye exam.
The afternoon was spent packing for our trip - the taxi was there by 4:15 to get us on the 5:40 p.m. train. Well, needless to say, we had plenty of time to explore the platform...B was getting pretty antsy to get on the train. This was a 13 hour ride...as expected, we heard a lot of "are we there yet?"s.
Once we were on the train, it was novel for the kids. B enjoyed climbing up and down the berths, and J had fun "surfing" the train...his balance has improved in the last couple hours. We did indulge the kids by buying snacks from the vendors. I always wanted them when i was a kid...so of course, this was a little for me too, (now that i could afford it by myself) but my kids are a good excuse. We also had "train coffee" - it's a lot different from when i was a kid with the little clay pots and the quality has plummeted...still it was fun for the experience. I'll probably get it again once on the way back, but it has fallen from it's pedestal. I used to love the coffee they served on trains, it was always the only thing i wanted.
I dread going to the bathroom on trains. As a kid, i was always worried, i'd fall through...yes! they're squatties. There is actually no septic tank...it's just a hole in the floor of the train. During the day, you can see the train tracks below. (S says he remembers when Amtrak used to be like that, until they went "green") And the train is constantly in motion, therefore, there's no stability. During times of "turbulance" you're hanging on for dear life while trying not to wet yourself. (Pardon the mental picture, but you need it to understand the trepidation of such an endeavor). Putting all these factors together, of course, as a kid your fear is very real. If you fall through, not only will you die...but there is the larger fear of missing your ride and getting lost (if you survive).
As an adult, i'm not so much afraid of being swallowed by the potty as i am of the sanitary conditions and the spatial dimensions. It's like going in a squatty outhouse, the size of an airplane bathroom, that is constantly in motion...i'll leave it at that. Well, now there's the added factor of being a parent...and having to take your kid to the bathroom..so the two of you have to fit. Like that wasn't enough...this time we had a plugged sink drain.
Mental picture time: B needs to go to the bathroom bad. We didn't notice the plugged sink and by the time we maneuver both of us into the stall and shut the door, it's too late to turn back. B's about to squat, when the train hits a rough patch. The water from the sink starts sloshing out - wave after wave of nasty water aimed right at her head. So...we're trying to get as far away from the sink as possible (less than a foot) and i'm trying to shield her while she's screaming that she needs to go. Well, she goes and i'm all wet from the sink water...but fortunately, it's all empty for the next customer. Gross! GRoss! GROss! GROSs! GROSS! Worse...i have to stay in these clothes until we get to my aunt's house...tomorrow morning! Which means, i have to sleep in them tonight! (Apologies for the extensive use of exclaimation points).
S and i had the kids sharing the berth with us...S had J and I got B (did U get that?)...we're not getting much sleep tonight. Even though this is an air conditioned boogie (car), the air conditioning only reaches a couple people...who freeze..while the rest of us sweat.
The night was also interrupted by the train stops where we picked up more passengers...we still had two empty berths in our block (sleeps 8). During one of the stops, my dad had a skirmish with the TT (conductor) about my berth. (I guess testosterone will fly any time of day or night.) My bad...no one was in it when we went to bed, so i hopped in instead of climbing to the top...where my ticket indicated. Who knew that they'd need it at 11:30 at night.) The TT thought we were occupying more berths than we paid for, but after doing a count of the empty berths and seeing our ticket, he was satisfied...and let me stay.
Well, i'm definitely on the mend...although, i've been having dizzy spells all day, probably from not eating much the last couple days. I'm eating now...just had a chappati with curry - yum. Working on getting the kids into a regular eating/sleeping pattern...but why bother, just when we get something settled, they have one of these weekends.
Tomorrow we're off to an aunt's house in another town...about a 12 hour train ride. She's the youngest on my mom's side and is also taking care of her mom, my grandmother. Don't know when we'll be coming here next and if my grandmother will still be alive then...so taking this opportunity to introduce her to J and hopefully B will remember her this time around.
Stayed at home and recouped from the weekend. The kids especially needed a rest. I was pretty good about sticking to toast, curd rice (rice with homemade yogurt) and chappatis (flat wheat bread). I'm on the mend...yippee. Surprised that no else suffered from the "Andhra" curry...but then again, S took some preventive measures when he saw the effects on me. Kids are unharmed...although J hasn't fully recovered from last time. But he has his appetite and that's always a good sign.
Well, after last night's dinner...let's just say i relapsed. Without a doubt, i can trace it back to the "Andhra" fish curry. Argh...last night was not pleasant.
Today my dad had four shoebox gift distributions scheduled. I think sometimes he forgets he's not a teenager anymore...that kind of schedule is exhausting. He left in the morning and got home around 4:30 after only two... and we were leaving at 4:30 p.m. for the next two. Normally, we all don't go, but after the second one, we were invited for dinner...so off we went. Well, the rest of them went, i decided to stay home because of my "delicate" system. Actually, they went to the one and came and picked me up between the two...i felt bad that this family had wanted to host us and it seemed rude not to go. Better to go and eat very little, than not go at all.
This was a long program...i'm not sure any kids can sit through it, much less our kids, especially when it was all in Telugu. It must get really monotonous to do this everyday, multiple times a day...
They gather the kids around, then talk about:
- Samaritan's Purse and the number of kids in America that put together these shoebox gifts
- the different between a gift and a prize and the gift of love and salvation.
- go through the 10 commandments
- any special guests of honor get to talk a little too
- roll call for the kids that enrolled to get a gift
- lining them up and getting the gifts sorted for their specs
- then come the handing out of gifts and photo ops...
Even the adults were getting restless. Well, kids will sit through it...but not quietly.
The dinner was delicious...especially the biryani. I did end up tasting it and it was beyond yummy! wish i could have had more. Tomorrow it's only BRAT for me...well, all minus the apple sauce. We're going to be on the road in a couple days, i need to get all sorted by then.
We did go shopping again today and yes, we did capture the experience in pictures. Although this also was "indian" shopping, it wasn't the "off the street" shopping that is a daily occurrence. Today was more of an outing. Like making a quick stop at Target (yesterday) vs. going to IKEA (today) IKEA is never a "quick run" for me...i like browsing there.
Both B and myself needed different anklets as hers were too small and mine were worn and coming apart. Not totally happy - i liked what i had the best, but am ok with it...until the next time. Everyone felt sorry for B with all the red welts on her arms from the mosquito bites. She milked it! =D
Since this place is mostly a fabric store, S and Dad and J weren't too excited...and eventually B lost interest too. This is a mom and me thing. S and Dad were relegated to being babysitters, which is not easy in a store. Thank goodness J exuded enough cuteness for people not to be too bothered by him. OK...so i've learned my lesson - no shopping with the kids for longer than 30 minutes. It's probably easier for S and Dad to watch them at home - i'll have to remember that for next time. S was able to participate a little - we got a few shirts for him, and a scarf. We also got more fabric to make B some outfits (the mosquitoes are relentless here) to cover her arms and legs. Knowing it was going to be warm, i only got one pair of pants for her (for traveling), but she needs some linen pants to keep her legs covered and cool. Nothing decent here...so we're going to have to make some. J seems to have "yucky" blood - the blood suckers aren't bothering him too much. It would be very hard to keep him from itching.
After shopping we decided to grab dinner before heading home. Dad knew a place he wanted to go nearby, but didn't know the exact location, just the general direction. We walked a ways and then Dad decided to check it out on his own. So, here we are, Mom, myself, S, B and J...standing aimlessly on the side of the road waiting for some signal from my dad. Many auto rickshaws (taxis) meandered our way hoping for clients, but we disappointed them. There was a restaurant right across the street from us and after waiting a while we were tempted to can Dad's idea and just go in...but we had no way of letting Dad know the change of plans. Dad had his heart set on whatever place he had in mind...so we indulged him. After about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes Dad came back and said, he had found the place. It was the one across the street!!! Argh...we could have ordered and started eating by then...the kids were not happy. You just have to roll your eyes on this one.
They said it was family friendly, but of course, it was a nice sit down place with glass flatware, linen napkins, overpriced dishes and waiters who were getting paid to watch tv. We ordered kebabs as appetizers - they were good and the kids loved them. We also ordered chicken biryani, mutton curry and (by Dad's request) Andhra fish curry.
SIDE NOTE: If something is labeled "Andhra whatever" it's going to be spicy...i mean, really spicy. The kind where just taking a spoon won't help, you have to practically drown yourself in yogurt. "Andhra" is just another word of "you can't feel your tongue" spicy. I know - my family is from Andhra and my dad's side of the family cooks "Andhra" style. We couldn't drink enough water!
After the kebabs, the rest of the meal was a bust. Once we'd had a taste of the fish curry, we couldn't taste anything else. Plus - and my biggest grievance - they charged us Rs. 150 for plain white rice!!! That's like charging for water - you don't charge for rice...it should come with the curry. The rotis were Rs. 20-25...we should have just ordered that. This was insane!!! Of course, we wouldn't find out until after we'd eaten and got the check. But i made sure they knew my sentiments in their "comments" card. Told them if we ever came again, we'd be sure to bring our own rice. This is India - you don't charge for plain rice! Biryani, fine...pulao fine...fried rice...fine - but plain, unseasoned, white, rice - are you kidding me!
Ok...i'm done...need to get my heart ready for church tomorrow (that's not going to be fun)
The kids seem to nap a lot better here in India for some reason. They sleep a lot longer without waking up peridically (unlike in Seattle). We think it's because Thatha and Amama's home feels quite comfortable, balancing the outside warmth with soft electric fans and thick concrete walls, ceilings, and floors to keep the temperature down. It's been in the 90's lately....folks feel summer is arriving early. But inside our home, it's very nice. Under similar weather conditions in Seattle, our home there would be a stifling oven.
