We made it back!

Hi there-
We did not have ready access to email in Vijayawada... so sorry for the break in posts! But, we're back! A bit tired, but all of us fared much better on this long trip than the last one.

We are getting settled in today, and I will be updating our blog with some pics from our time in Pedapulipaka - which was great. We all had a really good time visiting with Sri's family and attending a few India functions.

More pics to come soon!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hi Mom,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy 60th Birthday! We thought of no better way than posting it on our blog... as we can't be with you to sing and share the day.

Hope you have a great day and look forward to celebrating when we return.

Love,
Marci, Sri, Kaeshev & Noe

Update from Vijayawada

We left Bangalore on Tuesday, and thanks to a short flight… made it here for the first time without jet lag! We are welcomed by Sri’s parents, grandmother, as well as his sister (Padma) and her son (Maneesh). It’s so nice to be amongst family in India… food just shows up, all of our creature comforts are met, and Kaeshev has someone to play with (other than his adversary Noe). We are getting settled in and other than a nasty high fever and cold that Sri has had for the past two days… we are generally well.

Today was Noe’s birthday and she had so many new clothes she didn’t get a chance to wear them all. It is Indian custom (here anyway) that you receive new clothes on your birthday. She loves dresses and skirts, especially the long, flowing, shiny ones but hates too much attention when she wears them. It is quite comical.

We have a family function for Shivani (Sri’s brother’s daughter) tomorrow. So we’ll be all decked out, and I’m sure the pics will be colorful. Since the head photographer has been on the couch or in bed since we arrived, we have yet to take too many pictures. Hopefully, he’ll bounce back soon.

That’s all for this blog… I hope to post more soon. We still don’t have internet connection in PuliPaka, but I will post when I come into the city.

Love and miss you all.

Belur & Halebid- Off to Coffee Country

Belur- took 103 years to complete!

Went to Belur and Halebid this weekend... here's a few pics of the trip. The temples were amazing, built from the mid 11th to mid 14th century, they are so fun to explore. We spent the night (Friday) at the Taj Garden Retreat... which was bit too moldy, so we decided to just stay one night. But the kids had fun swimming and it was certainly beautiful outside! Kaeshev has another little bug (fever and cold), but is weathering this one well. Traffic was terrible coming back into the city on Sat- it took about 6 hours to get back (and 4 to get there)!

Sri has another day of work, and then we're off on Tuesday for Vijayawada. We decided to ditch the 16 hour train adventure for the 1.5 hour flight. So today (Sunday) we're spending time packing and last minute shopping. Kaeshev seems to be better today, we're keeping our fingers crossed that Noe doesn't catch this one.

Hard to believe that our time in Bangalore is winding down. Seems like the first week was a blur with illness, and the next two we spent getting to know things. Now it's time to pack up and leave. We think it will be easier when they are maybe 5 & 6. Between the diapers and fevers- it's a little stressful with small kids, but we're managing and clearly not letting it slow us down much!

We are starting to miss Chapel Hill and are reminiscing about our food, friends, and frequent haunts. We're looking forward to a couple of weeks at Sri's parents house, and then the long trip home. I hope to write a few blogs from "DJwada" as Kaeshev calls it... but I'm not sure about Internet connectivity. So, check back next week- and I hope to have more up by next weekend. Hope you are well, send an email if you get a chance to let me know you read this- lest I think I am writing this for cyberspace strangers!

Below are more pics from the trip. Amazing and totally worth the trip to see sometime when you're in India!Belur Entrance to Temple

Carving details

Kaeshev and Mama
Noe swimming at the Taj Garden Retreat

Halebid
Halebid Entrance

Halebid Details of sculpture- beautiful!


Sunflowers in Coffee Country (on the road to Halebid)

And here's a little info on Belur and Halebid...

Belur-Halebid go together like twin cities. Separated only by a short drive, both were home to the Hoysala dynasty for three centuries (mid-11th to mid-14th century). Coming upon one after visiting the other is like recognising a family resemblance. Both look similar being star-shaped. They were founded by a Jain, Nripa Kama, whose kingdom was sandwiched between the Cholas of Thanjavur in the south, and the Chalukyas of Badami in the north. Nripa Kama's son and successor was Vinayaditya. He is remembered by later generations that often, incorrectly, consider him to be the founder of the dynasty. But Halebid and Belur tend to defy history. It is rare to find a place that appears so untouched by time.

The Belur and Halebid temples are cut from the soft stone called chloritic schist. It allowed for very fine detailing, evident in the intricately carved temple walls. The tradition of ivory and sandalwood handwork is reflected in the sculptures of these temples. As representations of South Indian styles they are comparable, perhaps, only to the temples at Khajuraho.

Of special interest are the engineering techniques used in `assembling' the temple, particularly the locking systems that used grid locks, interlocks and the pin and socket system! They were used for attaching separately carved panels onto the walls and ceilings, achieving a continuous and inseparable appearance for what are essentially disparate stone structures.

Getting Ready for the weekend

Thursday...
Today we spent the morning getting ready for our trip to Chikmagalur. We'll be leaving tomorrow- Friday, and be back in Bangalore on Sunday. We're looking forward to getting away for another break from the city. Here's a pic that we took today while at the mall. We read books in the book store for hours this afternoon, and we went shopping for birthday clothes for Noe.

Last night we had some friends (Sri's colleagues) over from NetApp. Lokesh and Amar joined us for dinner and play with the kids. The kids loved the toys and painting kits that they brought. Here's some pics before they went for a ride in Amar's car! Kaesh was so happy that he got to ride up front. Only in India! And he's ready to move here...

I'm posting this late, since we had some internet issues before we left for the weekend... so I'll update more on our weekend soon!

Out on the town for dinner!

We took the kids out on Sunday night for dinner at the Royal Orchid Hotel- which is between our place and NetApp. We walked over and took a few pics of the neighborhood. Here are a few from that night. It was delicious Thai food- and was a nice change of pace from the Indian fare.

Noe- the little princess gathered 3 flowers that night from admirers (ok- two were from her parents!) She has no shortage of charm and beauty!

Kaeshev loved the rooftop views, but even more the rooftop gym- where he got a nice tour of from the waiter. He even got to use the treadmill while we waited for the restaurant to open. They don't start serving dinner here until 7:30. Luckily the kids took a good nap- or we would not even have thought about it.

We have been getting a bit more daring lately and trying a few other "lunch stores" as Kaeshev refers to restaurants. We got some great Chinese one night, and even went to TGIFridays! Still maintaining mostly vegetarian- outside of the BBQ at the Oberi, which was fabulous!

I figured no blog is complete without discussing food:-)

View from the Royal Orchid Hotel Rooftop


Mama- we're hungry!



Shopping for Diapers at a local mart



Walking down our street with our "squirrels"

On the way to the Royal Orchid

Another Monday

Monday July 28-
We hit the gym this morning- Kaeshev's favorite thing to do... although swimming comes a close second. It's nice to just take the elevator three floors up, and get out a workout. Noe just comes along, and is so cute- loves to lay on the floor and pretend to do pushups. She learned that from her Nana- not me:-)

After our workout- we walked the neighborhood and bought some flowers and fruits for Himaja and family who we are going to visit today. She is Sri's sister's, husband's, sister's daughter (read niece of Raja and Padma). They live nearby and have been a great resource and in touch since we arrived. They have a 9 month old son that Kaeshev and Noe like to giggle with.

Things in the city are still a bit edgy given all of the terrorist activity in the country. But, there have been no more incidents in Bangalore- so we're crossing our fingers and moving on. The streets today were busy as ever with traffic and the only apprehension I felt was from an Italian woman at the local "Whole Foods" (an organic Indian Mart!) who was stressed about even coming out for vegetables. I have thought better of going to the local malls- but figured I can't keep inside for a week, so off we went about our daily business... and today the big find was organic food in India!

The food mart we found was filled with tons of imported goods- olive oils, mustard, chinese spices, olives, etc. They had a whole section of prepackaged organic dahl, rice, and oats. But to my amazement was the big section of greens (which my mouth was watering for, but my brain stayed strong!) They had all kinds of lettuce, probably every green leafy thing grown in the world. My thought was how this market was going to make it... I think it'll go out of business soon- unless there are a lot more Italian ladies lurking in Bangalore than I am aware.

We picked up a few essentials- natural peanut butter (with no hydrogenated oil!) oranges, jelly and some bread. I have yet to find the 'chicken ladies' eggs (otherwise known as farm eggs). I have amazingly given up my daily egg breakfast, and now eat a dosa every morning. I am so craving NC farm fresh eggs:-)

Well- that's it for today- kids will be up soon, and I have some special mac and cheese to give them:-)

Missing you all!

Hanging out this weekend

Hanging out this weekend...
After an exciting end to the week, and saying goodbye to our friends Kristin, Murali, Maya and Priyanka- we are taking it easy and just laying low this weekend.

Yesterday (Sat) we stayed home in the morning and had a leisurely breakfast of idlis and dosas (as you can see Noe has her fair share of). In the afternoon we went to a real estate fair that highlighted some local builders in Bangalore. We are still thinking about investing here, but have serious reservations because of the the traffic congestion as well as the power shortage.

This past week, they started 8 hour power cuts, which for us was not that disruptive at our apt- due to a massive diesel generator that they run in lieu of hydroelectric power. The monsoons did not materialize in Karnartaka this year, and the city is facing a major power shortage.

India's power issue really effects the daily living of most people, as one might expect. Although, most of us really take our access to power for granted. Sri has thought long and hard about our personal electricity usage, and started a blog about it a few months ago- I've linked to it if you are interested. But, my point, which escapes me often these days, is that living in a place where we often don't have electricity without the added carbon effect of burning diesel has really brought to light the things I take for granted:

Cooking, using microwave, blender and other appliances whenever I want
Running washer machine whenever I need
Running fans/air conditioners whenever I feel hot
Having wireless access on all the time
Turning on the TV anytime to tune into cartoons (which I have resorted to here!)
Access to hot water anytime

And these are just a few of the things that come to mind. We are adapting our ways and learning to do the cooking and laundry in the morning, when there usually is power. Power cuts are typically from 10am to 6 pm. Don't get me wrong, I do also take full advantage of a decent amount of diesel (especially durning afternoon nap- when I'm all about making it the perfect temperature to keep the kids asleep:-)

The one thing that travel surely does is allow you to refect on your life 'back there' and think about the ways others adapt to seemingly less convenient situations.

One more week of work for Sri in Bangalore, and then we're off for a mini vacation in the coffee plantations near Chikmagalur (Western Ghats) next weekend. We're stopping off to see Belur and Halebid (old temples) and stay at the Taj. Then we leave via overnight train to Vijayawada next Monday.

Till next time!

Today is a gift

Yesterday we were out in the city... seeing a movie, shopping, going to the bank- when Sri tracked us down by calling our drivers cell phone to check on us. Yes, we were fine- but a the few bomb blasts in the city had people everywhere worried and headed home to check on loved ones. Luckily, we were so unaware of what was happening- enjoying the moment that fear never even struck. (I felt like a clueless tourist. I thought all the commotion was commonplace- we're in India after all!) All seems back to normal today in the city, and people here attribute the minor bomb blasts to radicals.

It gives us reason for pause though when things like this happen. We remember to cherish each moment, and appreciate the small problems we think we have.

In the Kung Fu Panda movie (I still can't believe that I took these two to a movie!) we learned a piece of wisdom from the animated Kung Fu Master himself-

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.

So, on that note- Sri's got the kids this morning and is taking them to NetApp to play some games, and I'm catching up on email and applying for jobs. Hope this finds you well.

Wednesday July 23

Another day in the city... although it is 3 pm and we have not made it out of the building yet! We have plans to meet up with our friends from Australia who just happen to be visiting Bangalore at the same time. What's amazing is that we met our friends, Kristin & Murali in Chapel Hill, while they were there for an extended gig at Duke last Feb. Kristin is originally from Cincinnati, and the coincidences don't stop there. They also have two little ones in tote- Maya (3) and Priyanka (~6mo).

They recently bought a flat in Bangalore and are sealing up some of the details on it, as well as celebrating Murali's father's 80th birthday. We have seen them a few times last week, and hope to today and tomorrow as well. They take off for Australia on Friday.

It has been such a fun time, miraculously knowing someone in Bangalore and having some sense of social connection with them. They are a great couple and often cause Sri and I to reflect on how to join cultures as well as they are doing. Sri is inspired to speak more Tele\ugu to the kids. I am inspired to have more patience with the laid back Indian way- as Kristin just seems to go with the flow of family, Tamil, kids, work, travel, sickness, whatever. We are lucky to have such a great connection with them.

So afternap- we'll meet up and do some more 'playing' and then maybe a dinner with them, depending on the state of the 4 little beautiful variables we have with us.

So, cheers to you all! We're thankful for all the great friendships we have back home and all of the things that we learn from each of you.

Another exciting day

Tuesday July 21

After a breakfast of idlis, dosas, and puri, we (the kids and I) went swimming first thing this morning and they loved it. Kaeshev wanted to ditch the floatie and give swimming a try- he's almost there. He's showing signs of digging and kicking enough to stay afloat! Noe is still a bit leery of the water, but at least got in despite cool temperature in the pool.

Kaeshev is finally getting into having an Indian breakfast. He has requested pancakes for the last two weeks and this morning switched to puri (think carnival funnel cake without the powdered sugar). He asked me after breakfast to teach him another language. "Moma, can you teach me Kannada? Can you speak anything else besides English?" Of course my response is still... no not yet. I have yet to pick up even a kg of the local language (Kannada) or Hindi, which most of the auto rickshaw drivers speak. But, we're managing to make it around town fine. Most people know some English words, which I know makes me the ugly American... but who can keep track of a two and three year old, and pick up how to say "Take me to..." Oh well, for this trip I'm at ease with only using my Indian head nod and a smile. Maybe next time I'll learn another language:-)

Noe is so almost two. She has meltdowns about the slightest thing, like she wants to put her Teva's on herself... but has yet to master velcro. Oh the number of distractions we use with her daily are in the hundreds. Like "Look Noe- there's a puppy!" It works most of the time- but much like the fellow passangers on the plane I suspect that local residents have a good Kannada word for her that translates well into "the screamer." We love her anyway- and she has the cutest curls that make almost everyone here melt, including Kaeshev, her Nana and Mama.

Going out with these two is like taking two pet squirrels with you. They are very distracted by the scenes, and rightfully so. There is so much to see on Indian roads- people everywhere, shops, "hotdog stands" (as my dad liked to call them), puppies, cows, kids, beggars, autos, buses, cars, big trucks, construction everywhere, trash, broken sewers, dust, dirt, rocks, and the list could go on. The sounds of horns are near non-stop. The rules of the road here are honk and go. Drivers honk for everything- including if they are about to hit you. I have not mastered which honk means they're going to go and which honk means they are going to hit us from behind. Sidewalks have a different meaning here- they are reserved for shops and "hot dog stands", puppies sleeping, and sometimes natives sleeping. They are not always used for walking... so you can get a picture of me with my two squirrels on the road, trying not to get hit, flagging down an auto rickshaw and trying to negotiate in some Hindi-English mess of where we want to go that day. It can be comical at times, and only the first time was scary. I made sure that I brought a card of the hotel we were staying, just in case I could not find our way back and ended up across town.

We're (more like I) are getting more comfortable with the neighborhood we live in. Conveniently it is located next to the Leela Palace and for those not familiar with it- it is luxury in a cocoon. A very nice hotel with all the amenities you would expect for $400USD in a country like India. Way beyond our standards in the US- but fun to visit. The gardens are amazing and the food way over priced, but safe to eat. We even went for a swim there last week. When I need that little taste of fine life- we head there for some quiet, but it is so not the real India.

I am finding living in an Indian city a challenge- as I do have a high need to be around nature and trees. I think in the same way I would have a hard time living in New York or any other city. I'm just wired that way. Culturally it is a challenge as well, but I'm working on getting connected as best one can for a short time. I thought writing this to those out there who can't share these moments with me might help. I'll end there, as nap time is coming to a close.

More musings to come!

Figuring it out

Still working on getting our little adventures posted... so bear with me while I try to do this with the two little ones wanting to 'help'....
More to come soon!
Marci

Off to Safari

We headed out to Nagarhole National Park to stay at Kabini Jungle Lodge this weekend (July 20) for a safari to see tigers, elephants and the spotted leopard. While we didn't see any tigers or leopards in the wild- we got to see many elephants, wild boar, wild dogs, guar, crocodiles, and tons of spotted deer. The jeep ride was treacherous, as the roads were ridden with potholes and deep rivets- but the kids loved the open air ride, and we had a good time 'hunting' for the animals in the safety of a jeep.

The accommodations at Kabini left a lot to be desired, but the grounds of the lodge were amazing. Kaeshev and I got to climb in the monkey nets, and we played on the tire swings, and lay in the hammocks. It poured rain for about an hour- where we took shelter in a nice covered boat for awhile and enjoyed the smells and the sound of the rain.

The kids ate mainly pb and honey for two days- that with the Oreos we packed, seemed to be enough nutrition to keep them going. And did I mention they also ate 2 kgs of bananas? It seemed we were traveling with monkeys, not kids :-)




It was so peaceful leaving the city for 26 hours- it's almost indescribable how beautiful the Indian country side is. The smell of fresh air, verses the constant smell of diesel in the city was a nice change. As was seeing all of the green space. Clearly I am not a city person.

We are planning another trip out of town next week. I'll post more soon.