Wake Me Up when September ends...

Emma and friends at American School Picnic.



Emma had “mahindi” done on her hand. It’s when they paint a design
which dyes the skin. It’s done a lot for weddings or special occasions.
Emma still has hers but it will fade eventually!


Typical bus scene in the morning as students and
workers crowd to get on. What you can’t see
very well is that the bus is tipping to the left
because of the weight as people try to cram in.


Here are Emma and our neighbor, Annalies, on their way to the 6th grade dance! They had a great time.


This is Zach with our neighbor Sam who is originally from Iowa but has lived
in various states and France and Canada. Sam plays guitar along with his brother,
so the boys have been jamming!


Wake me up when September ends…

Sept. 24, 2007

As the song goes, we are pretty much riding out September and anticipating the October monsoons. Weather here has been pretty mild but October will be much more rain. (Not looking forward to that.) I’ve attached some new photos from the past couple of weeks. Our house is shaping up and we now have a spare bed in the bedroom so we’re open for business for anyone planning to visit !

I talked last time about Indian Standard Time being a joke since no one ever showed up on time. But there is a further, more irritating part to that, which is that most people don’t even go so far as to make an appointment! People are just constantly showing up with a smile on their face, ready to assist you----when you had no clue they were coming. Just this past week, our three new security guards showed up with their manager at 8:00 am. All smiles and “Good morning madam. We are starting today. Please speak to our manager one moment ma’am.” They hand me the phone so that the manager can assure me they will do a good job, that they can speak English, and to please call if there are any problems or concerns. I’m red in the face, standing there in my pajamas, saying as pleasantly as possible, “I didn’t know you were coming this morning!”

Farid finally had the first Saturday off in three weeks and a carpet dealer rings the bell cheerfully just before 9 am. “I have come to bring you some more carpets to look at and some cleaning solution to try to repair your rug,” he exclaims. ---Which would have been lovely if we had actually had a chance to have a first cup of coffee or some breakfast before he arrived with no warning! He left approximately an hour and a half later.

It has become such a joke, that now when the doorbell rings, we just have to shake our heads and say, “It’s Indian Standard Time!”

Update from India - August 6, 2007

Update from India: August 6, 2007

Kids started school today. Farid went with driver to drop them off. Felt weird not taking them to school but they insisted they didn’t “need” me! I was surprised they got up and went like it was just another day, but I think the orientation helped a lot and they saw there were some good kids and teachers there and realized there were many new students just like them. It’s been a little stressful living out of suitcases and going between the apartment and the beach all week---beach was probably not worth it for the time it took each day to get there. Kids didn’t do much swimming because by the time we got back there each night, we were all wiped out.

It’s hard to explain how draining it is just to drive anywhere. The streets are filthy and swarming with people, cars, motorcycles, buses and bikes and a constant honking and beeping going on. Sometimes you just have to shut your eyes and take a break. Zach zones out with his ipod and Emma usually ends of falling asleep which is just as well. Yesterday we went to Farid’s office( which is in a mall complex) to pick up kids packbacks and get a few groceries. Farid said he had never seen the mall that crowded and we had to carry several bags down 4 flights (escalators) and out to car. Everytime you go to store you have to buy several large bottled waters. However, that will change when we get into house. We’ll have big floor water dispensers that will be filled every week. One for kitchen and for every bathroom.

I’m very anxious to get into the house---hopefully by Wed or Thursday and get a routine going instead of every time I turn around, I’m asking “What do I do about this or that?” But I guess that’s just part of any moving process, it’s just more intense here. Thankfully Farid seems to be on top of everything and is more acclimated than we are so that’s making it less stressful too.

I’m being picked up at 2:30 to go get kids from school and we’ll see how their first day went.

Our Soggy Shipment

August 24, 2007

“Our Soggy Shipment”

This week has been very “challenging.” We have had lots of repairment/delivery people/installers show up, frequently at the same time, frequently with none of them speaking English. Most here speak Tamil, so in an emergency, I’ll have to call Farid’s secretary or our driver (if he happens to be here) and ask them to get on phone or come in and explain our conversation. Most workers tend to work late afternoon so all this week starting around 4 pm they start showing up. Sometimes I don’t even know what they’re here for, but the security guard will usually be able to tell me what they are doing or the name of the company. For example, two guys showed up for the intercom system and kept asking “Where?” After walking around like the three stooges, unable to communicate, I called Farid’s secretary who told me they were there to install the intercom system and I should show them what 3 places I wanted them located---which I did. They got that but kept asking about “BOX?” Another call and I find out, they also need to know where to install the main receiver box for system. Okay, great! But they keep looking around the house and I am clueless what they need. They ask for phone and I hand them my cell phone. No, that’s not what they want. Another call to secretary. At last we realize we can’t even get the intercom system yet, because we don’t have a land line phone yet!!! Only 30 minutes to figure that all out!

Our worst day so far has been receiving our air shipment. I was so excited to finally get it here. But, par for the course, the generator and the back up generator were not working and the heat in the house was sweltering. As they carried the boxes in, I told them where they needed to go and then they asked if I wanted them to unpack boxes. I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to deal with another 2 hours of this in the heat, and they all quickly said, “Okay no unpack!” and jumped in the truck. I signed for the shipment, writing a note that all boxes had not been opened yet to make sure I could claim damages if something was discovered to be damaged. They leave and about an hour later, I decide I’ll open up a couple of boxes. The first box was so wet, it just came apart in my hands when I tried to take tape off. I panicked. I start opening every box and checking. Many boxes were wet inside the box. Many contained electronic equipment . So far, anything we’ve plugged in, does not work---including Zach’s digital drum set. He was ready to come home that night! About 10 of our family portraits were wet, I peeled them carefully off the glass and dried them, but they are damaged. Some of the frames were so waterlogged, the wood was splitting apart. Two of my scrapbooks were ruined. About 20 pages will have to be redone. I tried to salvage as many of the pictures as I could and set them out to dry. Farid’s large expensive Persian carpet he had brought from Iran was totally soaked and mildewed. All the colors ran and it’s ruined. Our printer/scanner was wet. We don’t know about computer yet. In addition, there are several items we didn’t receive at all. Some boxes had been opened and retaped. The moving company was very apologetic and the company here in India told Farid they had tried to their best to dry things off and that they had received it wet from Italy, but if that was the case, why wouldn’t they tell us that upfront when they delivered it. The delivery guys here were too anxious to get out of here and we think they probably left some boxes sitting out and they got wet. We had a lot of rain they day before. So I’ve been busy sorting, cleaning, and taking pictures of all the damaged items and trying to remember what all didn’t show up at all. We should get reimbursed for the damaged items but at this point, I would have much rather not had to deal with this hassle!!!

Well, I’ll go back to sorting. I hope next week will be BORING!

Love and miss you all,
Donna

Pondicherry

Emma looking through bathroom window!

Man sleeping in street below our balcony.

Dinner time.

A toast with sparkling juice!

Emma enjoying the stay!

One Saturday in October we spent one night in the town of Pondicherry which is a small coastal town originally settled by the French. Although our touring was rained out due to monsoons, we did enjoy the stay at the historic hotel which had previously been a mayor's mansion. It was remodeled into 21 rooms which are each unique and have kept features from the original property. A loft was added in the room to accomodate more guests and I'll have to say it's the most unique hotel we've ever visited! But as you can see from the photo of the homeless man, I hope no one gets the impression that we are living a life of luxury. India is a country of stark contrasts. When you walk out of any nice establishment, you are hit in the face by the poverty and misery all around you and you can't help but be grateful for everything you have and to say a prayer for everyone you see around you.

By the way, after our rained out weekend, the kids got a treat because school was cancelled that following Monday for a "rain day!" Excessive rains made travel difficult and even though we had no problems, people in the north part of the city did experienc flooding and downed power lines, etc!

Photos from United Nations Day

Zach enjoying the international lunch!

Emma with her sixth grade friends.

Japan's display.


Zach and Emma in the colors of USA
for UN International Day.

One Week in Our House

One Week in Our House
August 17, 2006

After almost one week in our house, here’s the scoop:

We have no stove. The first one was tooooooooooo small (20 in!) the second one was tooooooooooo big (35 in) and we’re hoping the third one is juuuuuuuuuuuust right!!! Especially because if I serve one more bowl of porridge---I mean, ramen noodles, I think the kids will throw it at me J

Our washer is probably half capacity of what we’re used to, so I’m washing 2 sheets or 4 large towels maximum, which on a medium cycle takes about 2 hours!!!!!!!! Then since our dryer has not been vented yet (they don’t use them here much and the contractor acts like he is reinventing the wheel) I hang them on a drying rack in the spare bedroom which is nice and toasty since we cannot run all AC or we’ll have power overload---which happens multiple times a day. (I am beginning to understand the need for a maid here now.) The houses are not weatherproofed by any stretch of the imagination and it’s pretty dusty all the time---part of that is due to this being a new house I guess, and there’s still a lot of yardwork going on. Since it’s tropical most houses run fans and open all the windows. We requested screens and what we got is velcroed sheets that are stapled around each window. To open or close a window you have to peel off the screen, reach through the iron grates, unbolt a top and bottom lock for each side of the window and push it open. However whenever windows have been opened, we have found lizards in the house---gray, tan, brown, red---depending on what camouflage color they need and what part of the wall or floor they are on. I don’t think Emma has seen one yet, but Zach has had a couple in his room and they didn’t freak him out. Someone told us, “Actually the lizards are quite helpful because they are eating your mosquitoes!” J

Okay, even though I could go on and on about the “challenges” we are having, I should tell you about the positives here. The main one being the people. They are so open, friendly, helpful. I’ve heard “Welcome to India, ma’am!” so many times. They are very patient people. They seem to have mastered the art of waiting. Waiting for buses, waiting for traffic, waiting for people to arrive. Time is not all that important. When you need to get things done it’s so frustrating but I think when you’re settled down here, it will be freeing to not feel that the clock is always ticking. I was telling my neighbor –who is also American--- that that we had called some service company about coming to hook up our stove and had told them they needed to take care of it immediately and she just looked at me and said, “ You used the word “immediately” in India????” We both had a good laugh. And trust me, we need to do lots of laughing here because there’s not much else we can do sometimes!

I’m attaching some photos from resort, from our house, from the street and the last one is of our driver..

With love from India,
Donna

October in Chennai

From left to right: Pool man, gardener, helper, my driver with his daughter, security guard and Farid's driver.



At the OWC Ball.

Emma with Puna's daughter.

Oct. 31, 2007



We've had a busy October here in India. Sorry for not sending more news but this blog is an attempt to keep in better touch with family and friends. You can check in with us anytime and send us your news as well!







OWC Fire and Ice Ball - Oct. 13, 2007



Farid and I attended the OWC (Overseas Women's Christian) Charity Ball with our neighbors Lynn and Mark Vannette. We got to dress up for a night on the town where we enjoyed a nice dinner and dancing with friends. I'm not sure what the attendance was, but it seemed like every ex-pat in Chennai was there! We met some very nice people from the U.S and many other countries as well.







Puja Ceremony - Oct. 20, 2007



This was our first experience with an Indian ceremony and it was so interesting! Here's what my Google search turned up to explain this ceremony:

Pujas are typically directed towards different deity forms in order to invoke the attributes of that deity, connect with the light of God, and receive blessings. Pujas may be done for specific areas of life such as health, career, relationships, spiritual growthand so forth. During a puja elaborate steps are performed by the priest (called a “pujari”) in order to cleanse and prepare the space for worship; to invoke the deity and all his/her qualities; and bring in positive energies to the puja space, to those attending the puja, and to the world at large. Pujas involve Sanskrit mantra chanting along with offerings of flowers, fruit, rice, sweets, incense, milk, honey, water and other substances.



Ultimately a puja is performed for the purpose of honoring God and receiving blessings. By performing a puja, our minds and souls become purified and negative tendencies are washed away.



All the staff members at our house insisted that we have this ceremony. They spent all day cleaning the cars, the generator, the yard, the pool, and decorating for the event which had to occur at a particular time to be most beneficial. So at dusk, we went outside to witness this ceremony. They offered prayers for blessings on all the things used for the coming year--that they would work well and that they, their families, our household would be blessed for the coming year. One of our drivers, Puna, brought his seven year old daughter with him and Emma enjoyed meeting her. They offered us a tray filled with flowers, fruit, puffed rice and sweets. We, in turn, gave each staff member a bag filled with similar items, that thankfully, Farid's secretary prepared for us, since we were clueless about this event!







United Nations Day - Oct. 25, 2007



The American International School, where the kids attend, celebrated United Nations Day with a flag ceremony and a lavish international lunch prepared by the parents. Each country set up a display with foods from their home country and the entire school came through to sample all the delicacies. The school educates children from several different countries including- but not limited to - Korea, France, England, Belgium, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Canada, and of course, the U.S.! I believe Emma and Zach would say this was, by far, the best school lunch they've ever had!







Basketball!



Both Zach and Emma are playing basketball. The season here runs from October to the end of November. Emma has practice every morning at 6:45 and Zach's practice is after school until 6 pm. He was selected for the traveling team and they will travel to Bangledesh in mid-November for the tournament. He is very excited about this opportunity and we're glad he is enjoying it! The coach said of course Zach needed to defend the Kentucky pride!!!