Spring Break 2012

We had plans.  We changed plans.  We made other plans.  We settled on staying small and seeing more around home (here in Delhi India) for our Spring Break Destination 2012.  Both Kid three and Kid middle can be gross and enjoy a crude joke similar to other kids their age.  Kid one can be concerned for the environment and the effects we are causing to it. So when we canceled our plans to go to Sri Lanka the next logical progression for a quick step out to do something for Spring Break 2012 led us to the Sulabh International Toilet Museum.  www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org
We learned how villages all over the world have progressed with the use of differing toilets.  We saw examples of how different toilets are made depending on the materials available in the area it is being built.  We saw examples of loos in the museum.  Here is a little bathroom humor.

After an educational (and a bit crude) trip to the toilet museum all the family took a two day trip to near by Neemrana Fort Palace.  We enjoyed our room in the palace, the view and even took an adventurous ride on the zip line.

Disclaimer: At the end of this YouTube video there is an added picture from something else YouTube.  No idea how it came to be in my link but I can't get it to go away.  Yuck, so sorry.

Looking Ahead

Mister is due to arrive back here to New Delhi this week.  He is returning after being gone for a total of 17 days.  He has been gone longer and our family has all been displaced longer but those 17 days had returned him to his parent's home, returned him to road trips with his brothers, returned him to the house he grew up in and those days put their family unit of five back together again for his dear mother and loving father.  It was a beautiful thing that he was there for and with the family.  His dad peacefully slipped away into his bright horizon on the evening of March 14, 2012.  His loving sons and faithful wife of 50 years stood by him and gave him their blessing to move ahead.  I am so thankful my cherished husband was there for this event.  This man taught him how to be a father, exemplified how to be a loving husband, and showed him how to live his faith.
He was a wonderful man and all of us will miss him as we move through the years ahead.  January 20, 2012 marked their 50th wedding anniversary.  February 2 will have a slight void when celebrating birthdays. Father's Day at our house may produce some tears as well as Mother's Day since that was usually fishing opener weekend.  But we are sad for us and the changing of scenery we have been accustomed to. 
Decorating the Christmas tree will forever remind me of him.  In his family he would load the tree with lights, allow them to sit for a while and then decorate the tree.  He taught me to stand back and look real hard, sometimes even squint your eyes so I could see the bright spots and if there were any dull spots that needed more lights we could adjust things.  As we move ahead together as a family we will laugh and share the bright spots.  We will also look out for the dull spots and then adjust as needed.
In memory of Grandpa Mister
February 2, 1942-March 14, 2012

The REST of the Story

In India and all around the world we were all deep in thought and prayer as we learned the details of Grandma and Grandpa's journey from Florida to Mississippi then Mississippi to home, where the heart is, and the comfy chair by the window. The family made the journey together. They arrived safely to home in the mid-west with all the boys gathered around their Dad, as support for their Mom and are visiting with friends and family who are stopping by. The boys had managed to get Dad to his chair where he has been asking to be since he left Florida. Now the rest of journey Dad will have to go it himself. The boys are there for Mom and for each other as well as a reassuring support for their Dad. We are here in India sending all our prayers and love as other family members are doing from their parts of the world. We had wanted to FaceTime with Grandpa once he arrived to his home but for one reason or another it just didn't work out. Instead kid one and middle recorded Ode to Joy for Grandpa. It is the song Grandpa often requested when the kids would practice while visitng at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Music and conversations are still happening in the room where Dad in-law rests but he is now unresponsive. He has been moved out of the chair by the window and into the hospital bed that was delivered by hospice to make it much more comfortable for the caregivers who are lovingly tending to his needs. Dad in-law is peacefully resting and that is important. We all know that if God is calling for him to come home then we will continue on the road we have and someday in our far off future we will see him again when we are done with our adventure we call life. 

We love you Grandpa!

M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i

When we lived in the US we took many road trips over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go.  Kid middle and three grew up in the back seat of the van traveling when they were weeks to months old riding peacefully for the six to nine hours it took to drive from our house to the grandparents.  We traveled over the Mississippi river to get from here to there and the kids learned at a young age how to spell Mississippi and said it again and again as we drove over the bridge. 
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i
Fittingly then as we are here in India and we received the message that Grandpa is not well and wants to leave Florida where he and Grandma go for the winter to head back for Grandmother’s house they go.  His pulmonary fibrosis is getting the best of him lately and it has become increasingly difficult for him to breath.  His wishes are to go home to the mid-west and get some rest.  The three sons are doing their best to coordinate what they can and take as much stress off of Mom as possible.  Uncle one and Uncle three both flew to Florida to help with the journey while Mister has made arrangements to fly to the home state airport early next week.  One of the hazards of living overseas is we cannot all pile into the van and drive over the river and through the woods.  It is far too costly for all five of us to pile into an airplane.  So we sit and we pray and we cry and we wait for calls and we try to go about life as normal knowing that Grandpa is not well.  In the two days of travel thus far, Grandpa’s journey has taken him only as far as northern Mississippi.  He has needed to stop for a blood transfusion once and at another hospital he needed some antibiotics because of a high fever.  Still sitting in Mississippi and not even half way to home where Grandpa wants to rest.  As we cross this bridge I find myself mindlessly spelling.
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i

What do YOU do?

We have had so many opportunities to live in ways we have never lived before and participate in groups and activities we never knew about in small town suburbia USA. It has been very enjoyable to step out in these other shoes for a bit. Exciting, new and all a learning experience.

One organization I have been a member of is the AWA (American Welcome Association) www.AWADelhi.com I joined this organization because of the Outreach Program they have available. The Outreach committee keeps files for NGOs in the greater Delhi area and has a system by which NGOs can request help and donations from the organization and/or the members. These are established NGOs with credible standing. I have had the pleasure of going on some visits to different NGOs with other members and have become the contact person for AWA to one NGO in particular. The Highpoint India organization www.facebook.com/HPI09 is a beautiful enhancement and empowerment organization affiliated with Highpoint Community Services Association in Singapore.

Another organization I have been introduced to most recently is the Diksha Project. www.Dikshaindia.org  Once a month the AWA members host different Cocktails for a Cause parties. The number of cocktail parties Mister and I have attended since moving to Delhi is humorous. It’s more than the college days but everyone is cleaned up and better behaved. This particular AWA January Cocktails for a Cause was held to sponsor a day of feeding at the Diksha Project. We had the opportunity to sign up for a day of our choosing and sponsor the total cost to feed 150 children participants for our special day. We chose anniversary dates. Our first celebration was huge. The kids ate in honor of my mother and father in-law’s 50^th wedding anniversary. We were not in the US to celebrate with the family but we know we increased the party size and total spread by many miles (or in India kilometers). For our other parents/grandparents reading this blog please politely forget this posting when it approaches your anniversary in May and September, or know that we planned ahead for your celebration. If you are looking for a way to celebrate a special occasion please visit the sites I have listed here or contact the directors themselves for ideas.

India really is a great place to live most of the time. XO to you Mom and Dad

The Golden Triangle

While enjoying the holiday break and visit with my brother and sister in-law our family of five plus two visitors took an adventure around the Golden Triangle of India, Delhi-Agra-Jaipur.  Because we live in New Delhi we started our tour on this point of the triangle and worked from there.  Many tour books are available for exploring Delhi but if you have kids, and even if you don't, there is a new book by an author friend of mine titled Delhi Bound A Book For Kids by Naomi Hattaway.  The book can be purchased at any Playclan Store (Meher Chand market or Saket mall) or through http://delhiboundforkids.blogspot.com/

We began our tour from the doors of home early on day one, 5am pick-up time and left for Agra by van.  We rented a TempoTravellor (seats 9) through SRM Transports India and had the delightful experience of having Raj Kapoor for our chauffeur and another gentleman (his name escapes me) to help with the needs of the seven of us traveling.  The van was spacious, clean and had seat belts for all of us traveling; driver, helper and all passengers.  All of our suitcases were safely placed in the rear luggage area and the driver, Raj, was attentive to the conditions of the road and safety of his passengers.  Winter in Delhi brings fog for morning driving and the morning we left was no different.  The fog was noticable but not so thick that we felt we could not leave.  Raj drove slowly and carefully through Delhi and we reached Agra in approximately 5 hours. 

I had made arrangements to meet with a favorite guide I had the pleasure of meeting on one other trip to Agra. His stage name is "Bobby".  Any trip to Agra is sure to be grand if you have Bobby as your guide.  He is appropriately informative and yet leaves room for you and your party to explore the sight visited as you wish.  We did not feel bound by the guide nor overwhelmed with too much information.  He allowed for our questions to draw more information about the sights visited.  We first went to the Taj Mahal where tourism and lines have changed even in the year we have lived in India.  The Taj of course is one of the man made seven wonders of the world and is not to be missed for any visit in the northern India area. It lived up to the expectations for our visitors and we have many pictures as proof of our visit.

Our second stop was at the Agra Red Fort.  The Fort was as busy as the Taj with many winter visitors.  Another fun adventure experience and the story of Red Fort lends itself well to the Taj Mahal and our last visit of our day at Fatehpur Sikri.  After seeing Agra Red Fort and before going to Fatehpur Sikri we had a quick lunch.  Bobby suggested a nice restaurant that it seemed many of the tours were going to but we were able to request and receive our orders quickly so we could continue on the road.  Fatehpur Sikri was wonderful to see without a Fatehpur Sikri guide.  Bobby was able to fight off the locals who really wanted to be in our car as we entered the Fatehpur Sikri area.  Bobby stayed in Agra after our visit to Fatehpur Sikri and we continued our adventure to Jaipur without him as our guide.
We continued on our furious first day of the tour and drove/rode all the way to Jaipur yet that same day.  The drive from Agra to Jaipur was amazingly pleasant.  The road was nice, the traffic was civil and again the driver was the best I have had for a taxi driver or hired driver for that matter. We even felt it was like a drive through the US at times with other vehicles staying in lanes and using the passing lane as it would be used.  We arrived for check-in at the hotel by 8:30pm.   
Second day of the tour we woke later and left the hotel by 10am for the Amber Fort.  Our one mistake was we did not understand the elephant rides.  Elephant rides have typically been a ride in a large circle.  At Amber Fort there is a purpose, the elephants take the riders up the hill and into the fort.  Our entire tour group was not clear on this detail and we said no to the elephant ride and instead took a jeep up to the fort.  A jeep ride down is the only possible way down the hill.  Bummer for us when we discovered we could have arrived on the back of an elephant like in the mogul era.  Let this be a lesson to you, take the elephants if you do not have any issues with elephants or rides.

This same day we also visited the City Palace

and some market places.  We saw how to block print on cloth and make carpets.  We saw a gem cutters wheel and raw stones.  Both of these factory tours were followed by the hard sell from the salesmen but the information was fun.  We finished our day at a market at night, not a night market but one that was still operating after evening hours. 

We retired to the hotel and rested for the ride home the next day.  Unfortunately our evening was not as rested as we hoped.  Kid middle got the stomach flu during the evening and was up every hour and a half with reminders that her stomach was not well.  We planned to leave for Delhi at 9am but when the van showed up at the hotel I asked Raj and his mate to visit the Big Bazaar nearest the hotel and purchase two buckets for the car ride home.  Not only is Raj a great driver he is also very kind and without anymore than my request he left for a short shopping trip and returned with buckets, loaded our bags and began our journey back to Delhi.  This was the longest journey of the triangle.  We were on the road by 9:30am but did not arrive to Delhi until 5:30pm.  The traffic from Jaipur to Delhi was stopped, not moving, people had been parked since 5am that morning.  Raj safely maneuvered what he could and negotiated some help from other large buses and kept us all moving safely toward Delhi as best he could.  Thankfully we never had to use the buckets he purchased for the purpose of which we purchased them.  The buckets are now part of the cleaning equipment for some of the cleaners in our building.  A very enjoyable journey to remember our time in India.
Contact Information for our Tour:
Driver Raj Kapoor mobile 09971312789
Agra Guide "Bobby" mobile 919897328030 or email ioneindia@gmail.com

Christmas #2 in India

Christmas came and went in India.  There is a madness that happens in November and December time of year at every school and AES was no different.  I let it wear me down to the point of exhaustion, or so I thought.  It was really just that I hadn’t kept a close check on my thyroid medication and allowed it to run way too low for way too long.  Exhaustion set in and I am now starting to get a grip on staying up all day without a nap.  As I was catching up I knew I would not be sending out a Christmas card or a cute family picture.  Sadly this is the last year I have all the kids at home with us.  Kid one is rounding off her senior year in high school and we are doing some of our “lasts” for the first time.

Christmas Eve was spent with friends and upon our return home we saw Santa left evidence he had arrived at our home.  The kids were slightly disappointed because Christmas always happens on Christmas morning.  They changed their tune after opening the electronics that they could plug in overnight and wake up bright and early to play on their new “toys”.  Different CAN BE good.

After Christmas my brother and sister in-law, Uncle 6 and Aunt  were our first family to visit us in India.  We had great fun traveling the Golden Triangle, touring Delhi and shopping for gifts.  It was a Christmas blessing to have them here for this New Year and to celebrate their blessings to arrive in 2012.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all and to all a good night!