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!”