Indiana to India

Our 2nd Indian trip

2009-08-27T18:06:00.004+05:30

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Our second Indian trip begins on Saturday August 29, 2009. We start by flying to New Delhi (C)and then Driving to Rishikesh (B) staying overnight and then to Auli (A).

Auli, Uttaranchal A on the Map

Auli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand is renowned for the fascinating ski resorts and stunning natural vistas. Bounded by the snowy peaks of the mighty Himalayas, this hilly terrain offers the enchanting sceneries of oak fringed slopes and coniferous forests. At an average height of 2800 meters, this might be the single spot where the visitors would get the unusual opportunity of a nice promenade.

Walking through the misty slope provides one with the imposing spectacles of some of the lofty mountain ranges like Nanda devi, Mana Paravat and Kamat Kamet. Besides this snowy miracles, the boulevards through the slopes offers marvelous views of gorgeous apple orchards and fine deodar trees, which makes one’s morning stride a precious experience.

Auli proffers a credible past that dates back to the 8th century. It is believed that this pretty locale is blessed with the sacred visit of Sankaracharya. As a toddler in the tourism arena, Auli proffers an unspoiled ambiance. The harsh frosty storms, the sylvan peaks and the long stretch of snowy valleys would make idyllic surroundings for a skier. Aptly called as the haven for skiing activities, this hilly resort is turned to be the only tourist destination where skiing is the most sought after past time.

The erstwhile training ground of the Indo-Tibetan Police Force, Auli has gained the status of a popular hill resort with in a short span of time. The sheer inclines of Auli are a hot spot of courageous men who dare to explore the demanding environs. The snowcapped mountain ranges, the screech of the winds and the entertaining skiing, Auli is bestowed with all that is enough to thrill the onlookers. The nature at its full bloom gives a feeling of an awe inspiring time, which cannot be wiped out from our wildest dreams.

After 4 days we head back to Rishikesh and spend another day there.

Rishikesh - B on the map
A sacred town at the convergence of rivers Ganges and Chandrabh aga, Rishik esh is a naturally attractive place at the foothills of the lower Himalayas in the state of Uttaranchal in India. The importance of this holy city lies in the fact that it serves as a gateway to other religiously important centers like Kedarnath, Gangotri, Badrinath and Yamunotri.

Rishikesh, literally means Lord of the Senses, stands for Lord Vishnu and the city is blessed with the flowing of Holy Ganges. The city is a hub of many ancient and new temples, attracting thousands of pilgrims through out the year. The popular belief of Hindu devotees is that performing austerities in this holy town and offering prayers in the holy temples brings the much needed attainment of ‘Mukthi’, the salvation.

The main attractions in this exciting touri st and religious spot include Gita Bhavan, Nilkanth Mahadev, Lakshman Jhula, Swarga Ashram and Triveni Ghat, all the places having great religious importance. Rishikesh and other nearby places like Dehradun and Mussoorie makes a good interesting and amazing excursion plan.

Rishkesh is renowned for numerous Yoga centers, and perfectly termed as the World Capital of Yoga, which offers training of Yoga and other spiritual activities. This is a place to attain peace and tranquility. Many water sports activities like white water rafting and adventurous activities like wild forest trekking can be undertaken in Rishikesh.

The tourists who look for spiritual holidays as well as seclusion ar e welcomed at the lap of Rishikesh, with all its natural beauty and God’s gifts. It offers its visitors with experiences which nobody can forget for a lifetime. The sacred pilgrimage to four holy shrines starts from Rishikesh.

Agra - D on the map
Famed with one of the Seven Wonders of the World - Taj Mahal, Agra is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Agra is a virtual fort of history and architecture located in the state of Uttar Pardesh in India. Historical monuments, architectural grandeur ventures and the beauty of marbles, Agra thrives as the best picnic spot in India.

Agra, a medieval city, was assumed to be built in 1475 had been found its place even in the epic Mahabharatha as Agraban (means paradise). The renowned second century geographer Ptolemy spotted this place as Agra in his world map. Agra was the capital of many dynasties including Lodhi and Mughals.

Located at the banks of River Yamuna, Agra offers the tourists the richest of the man made beauties including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Agra forts, Fatehpur Sikri and Taj Mahal. It is the haven of Mughal art, culture and architecture.

Agra is the foremost tourist spot all over India and has been equipped with all kinds of infrastructure facilities for tourists. The city with multi colored illuminations providing a marvelous view at night offer hearty welcome to its tourists. Many high standard hotels and resorts add the enjoyment of the vacation and picnic to its pinnacle in Agra.

Tuesday March 17th 2009 - just a typical day

2009-03-17T11:32:00.000+05:30

I apologize to all of you who are anxiously awaiting an update. I'll start with today and work my way back to the beginning of the year.

Today I needed to go to the fruit market and supermarket.

The fruit market is interesting . . . they put their bad fruits in a crate and then the goat herder will come along and his goats will eat the fruit. Shopping in India is NOT like anything in America.

They have: watermelons, apples, oranges, grapes (both green and black), coconut, cantelope, bananas and chickoo - and Indian fruit that makes the most wonderful ice cream. The chickoo is next to the scale and looks like a potato. If you look closely - near the top to the right of the watermelon - you will see a picture of their god.

Here is the chicken shop. The man in the yellowish shirt is standing in front of it. The green stacks are eggs with green dividers. I didn't stop today - but I'll get more pictures later.

This is the supermarket I go to. It seems like every time I go I found something that I wouldn't think they could possibly have.

They carry my purchases to my car. While you are at the market you can take a moment to worship your favorite god. Ganesh is featured here - the elephant god.

Watch out for the stray dog sunning himself in the middle of the road.

Then my driver carries them to my elevator. Thankfully I only have a few feet to my front door. I come home and power is out. At least we have fans and the TV's (to do school) - but even though it's only 75 right now - it's sticky today. The high's have been creeping up to the high 90's now.

Today we are doing school for the rest of the day. Here is Joanna.

Sam is currently napping. He's figured out how to stand up in his pack'n'play and so now it's harder to get him down.

Next (or before this) a Sunday picnic BBQ with KBC.

Sunday March 15th - A KBC BBQ

2009-03-17T09:50:00.000+05:30

On Sunday the 15th we had a picnic with our church (KBC) to say farewell to the Smith's (going to the states for furlough) and Silas.

Silas is graduating Monday from the Pastor Training Institute and is going back to Myanmar (Burma) to plant a church. Silas was Sam's buddy and he would tease the girls that he was going to take Sam home with him for the night. Madeline was NOT happy with this idea and she let him know

.

Madeline hung out with Hannah - her best bud.

The girls will miss Abby as she is going back to the states with her family for 3 months.

Madeline and Hannah with an impromptu "tea party" Caleb - Hannah's brother tried to help.

Not all the pictures are mine. Thanks Caroline.

KBC Camp in Panchgani, India. 2/27-3/1 2009

2009-03-17T08:59:00.001+05:30

I'm posting a slideshow - the pictures speak for themselves.

January Pictures

2009-03-17T08:00:00.000+05:30

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T22:56:00.003+05:30

It's an hour before Christmas day and I thought I would do the equivalent of a Christmas letter - blogstyle.

The cookout with our church was fun. The Burmese students spent most of the day cooking/preparing the meal. We had chicken and beef kabobs, tons of rice and some other things that I'm not sure exactly what it was - but it was good. We talked and then sang Christmas songs. We stayed 4 hours. Sam is quickly becoming a favorite with the college students. As soon as he is fed it seems he is whisked away by someone. I spend most of the time just making sure where he is and seems likes it's a different person every time. Sometimes even when things change - some things stay the same. Same thing would have happened at our church.

I was clearing off our video camera to make sure that we had plenty of space for Christmas video and was watching some of Sam's birth. I didn't realize we had gotten Mom planting flowers with the girls and then at the hospital she and Joanna had made a "bet". Mom said he would have brown hair and Joanna said he would have black hair. Mom kept saying "you're right Joanna" and I didn't get it until Joanna told me the whole story. I was crying.

Tomorrow will be busy. We are opening presents in the morning and then going to a hotel for lunch (same one we did Thanksgiving at). All of the Cummins Ex-Pats are meeting. Then for dinner we are going to someone's house (another ex-pat) and having Christmas dinner. There should be kids there that night - so I'm hoping Joanna and Madeline meet some new friends.

I'll post more tomorrow.

Merry Christmas.

Scott, Dawn, Joanna, Madeline and Samuel Zook

Fireworks . . . in December?

2008-12-15T15:49:00.002+05:30

Last night during dinner we heard an unusual boom and quickly were informed (by the girls of course) that fireworks were going off. Fireworks in India do not have any of the regulations as they do in the states. They were being lit off quite close to a neighboring building and no one seemed to bat an eyelash at it. We were just thankful it wasn't our building that was next to them. The girls were excited and after dinner we headed out to the deck to watch them. By this time it seemed that they were having problems because after an explanation of what a "dud" was - Joanna proceeded to count 29 of them before some real ones were lit off.

We had another enjoyable Sunday. It is wonderful to meet with Christians every week and we miss the weekly Bible Studies that are cancelled until next year. We have a nice time of fellowship as we eat dinner after church every Sunday. Home-cooked Indian food is soo different from what you will get in a restaurant in the states.

I'm starting to branch out. I've been using pre-prepared dinners that all you cook is the rice and then heat up the sauce. Last night I had picked up a packet that all you had to add was water & chicken - when I looked at the ingredient list - it was just spices and oil. Everything else I made from scratch :) I've also developed a fondness for sauces with coconut milk in them - VERY good!

Not much is happeneing this week. Scott was just contacted about having a formal Indian welcoming ceremony. We shall see about that one - should be worth another blog entry.

Joanna's birthday is Saturday and I've invited 6 kids over to spend the afternoon. 4 of the 6 are boys and not her age, so not sure what they are going to do. I don't think I'm going to do a "real" party since she already had one - but we can do pizza and a playdate.

Dawn

Don't panic

2008-12-08T13:27:00.002+05:30

We where with out land line phone (and subsequently DSL Internet) since about 4 pm on Saturday. We will resume our regularly scheduled blog posts....what...we don't adhere to a regular schedule on this blog....well never mind...I am sure you get the idea.

Anyway, allow me to summarize the event thus far (since our last post):

1. Great Sunday meeting at Keruso Bible Church. Good message (about the genealogies in Nehemiah...no kidding)

2. Invited some friends in the church to visit our house on Tuesday. Very excited to get to do this as these folks have a little girl of just the right age.

3. This morning Dawn is sick with some stomach flu. (thankfully, she only has vomitted once, so she is keeping hydrated but she seems to have some fever with it too).

4. I am staying home today to feed and school kids and take care of Dawn as she requires. (If you didn't guess this is the husband writing this, very happy that the net is back on).

cheers

The good days, the bad days and the mundane days.

2008-12-03T09:19:00.002+05:30

I have to be inspired to write here. So when life is not that interesting or less than pleasant it's hard to write and be dull and depressing. Questions and comments inspire me :) Or if I come up with a particularly catchy title. So if you want more information - ask away.

The good, the bad and the mundane. Seems like life reflects life back home.

Life in India is good when:

The baby sleeps right when you want him to and takes nice LONG naps.
The girls spend all day playing with minimal fighting and don't trash the place.
They focus on school and do everything without balking.
They are thrilled to be able to cout to 5 in Hindi. (If we can get them to 9 they will be useful if anyone needs to call customer service. Thanks Adriane for that one.)
The girls actually eat Indian food and ask for seconds.
You have a maid come in and wash your floors and bathrooms every weekday.
Your maid teaches you how to make Chipatti's (similar to a tortilla)
You discover cooking with gas is a piece of cake.
You get a little more settled every day.
You find something imported at the store that's just like home! Cause for rejoicing!
They have Kentucky Fried Chicken in India.
They have Papa John's in India - and they DELIVER to your building.
You meet other people in your building complex from the states that have kids too.
You hear from people back home and know you haven't fallen off the face of the earth.
You think the next 49 weeks will be a piece of cake.

Life in India is bad when:

The baby is fussy ALL day long and doesn't want to do anything but eat
The girls fight all day long and trash the place.
When the girls aren't fighting they are playing with the baby - even when you've just gotten him to sleep.
They look at you like a deer in headlights when you ask them to pick up and frustration turns to anger lightening quick.
You are so tired you want to curl up in a ball and just hibernate for the next year.
Your whole body just aches.
You have to stop at 2 different stores just to buy bread and milk.
You want to cry, but if you start don't think you will ever stop.
Just about everyone is hard to understand - and they think the same of you.
You can't sit around and eat bon-bons while someone else cleans your house - so you spend each afternoon trying to do as much as the maid does.
You don't have the right kind of flour to make Chipatti's correctly - and you had no idea there was more than 1 kind of flour.
You still have piles of stuff on every horizontal surface and despair that you will ever get it all put away.
You fail to do the calculations on the prized imported item at the store - only to discover you paid $11 for a normal sized container of parmesan cheese.
Philidelphia cream cheese is $6. Thank goodness I didn't buy it.
It's the middle of the day and I can't talk to anyone because it's the middle of the night back home.
I'm too exhausted at night to stay awake to talk to anyone back home.
It's the beginning of week 3 and how am I ever going to survive the next 49 weeks.

Life in India is mundane too.

We get up.
We call people back home.
We try to get the girls to clean up, get dressed and start school
It's lunchtime before I know it.
The maid shows up and the race to clean begins.
We try to finish school
Madeline will occasionally nap in the afternoon
The maid leaves and it's time to start dinner.
Dinner is a pre-packaged Indian dish (think indian food in an MRE type package) and I heat it up and make rice to go with it.
We spend some more time on the computer with people back home.
We put the kids to bed.
We stay up a bit longer and fall into bed - only to do it again tomorrow.

Thanks to all who have emailed, posted on here or on facebook, chatted on here, facebook or skype. Scott now knows what he has to get to get our Indiana phone # working over here. I will let you know when it's up and running.

I love hearing from everyone.

Dawn

We are all fine.

2008-11-27T09:49:00.002+05:30

We didn't even know anything about the turmoil in Mumbai until my mother-in-law told us when we woke up this morning. India is about to have elections and there are some groups stirred up hoping to impact the outcome of those elections. Pune is a small (by Indian standards) and likelihood of us being in danger is minimal.

We are taking precautions and are being safe.

We are looking forward to our first Thanksgiving in Pune.

I'll post more as we know it.

Dawn

Random Thoughts

2008-11-24T06:01:00.003+05:30

I'm up at 5:30 again this morning. I think my body just doesn't like the rock hard mattress, but I have an egg carton mattress pad coming in our shipment later today. I'm also learning to enjoy the quiet of early morning. The kids are getting up later and later as they adjust to the new time zone. Maddie came to me yesterday and said she got up early to watch the sun rise. We have a gorgeous view of it every morning from our kitchen window.

I found a book about how to adjust to moving among my Mom's things. It is very good and helpful - I just can't read it without crying. I can almost hear her telling me the exact same thing. I'm starting to miss her very much.

One of the hardest things to adjust to is feeling incompetent at everything. I haven't figured out where to go grocery shopping yet. I'm having to re-learn basic household chores: dishes, laundry, cooking & grocery shopping.

The girls have been having a dietary rebellion. Joanna is the leader. She is insisting that she doesn't like something - without tasting it. We've been gracious up until this point - and I'm not overly fond of Indian food either - but she is learning to at least try something before declaring "I don't like this so much".

Our first Sunday at church went very well. I think Madeline was nervous because she pretty much just sat there for the first 30 minutes taking everything in. Sam was somewhat fussy but eventually fell asleep for all of 20 minutes or so. The service was similar to back home - just in a small room and nothing for the kids. Joanna and I got into a funny situation. She was reading a book and asked me what a word was. It was "whisper". When I told her she thought I was telling her to whisper and we went back and forth. I don't think she ever caught on.

Today will be another adventure in unpacking. This time a whole lot more than 11 suitcases.

Continue to pray. It's easy to get discouraged and exhausted and overwhelmed.

Dawn

Did you think we fell off the face of the earth?

2008-11-21T05:43:00.003+05:30

well . . . we just fell off the grid - the power grid. Welcome to India.

Wednesday morning we lost power for a few hours and that knocked off my internet. Then @ 4 PM that afternoon we lost power again. Unusual for the second time in a day I thought but since it was my third day - I could go with the flow. And I kept waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting. Power eventually came back on Thursday night. I was over 24 hours without it! Now the explanation is typical - even for the US. They were putting in sewer lines for a new apartment building next door and they don't have a call before you dig program.

I do have a battery backup that will run a fan in every bedroom and the living room, the lights, certain outlets including the TV.

The high on Thursday was 91.

I went grocery shopping Thursday morning and was at least trying to buy the essentials so I can cook. I couldn't buy many perishables with the power outage, so I still can't cook - but at least I have staples such as flour (which isn't called flour) and sugar and spaghetti (Joanna's favorite) I even found Parmesan cheese! I went to the "western" store - so I will post again when I go to a real indian store.

Wednesday also brought a new indian thing in my life. A maid. I quickly learned that the floors (tile & laminate hardwood) get dusty and gritty very quickly. The kids' feet were black from just walking in our own apartment. There was no way with unpacking and trying to adjust that I was going to be able to do it. The maid for another ex-pat (ex-patriot, i.e. foreigner) couple was looking for more hours - so we hired her on a temporary basis. She gets paid 4000 rupees a month for working 4 hours 5 days a week. Translation: @ 40 rupees to the $ it's $100 a month. Right now the rupee is 50 to the $.

I still have yet to cook a meal (unless ramen noodles count). When they came to show us the stove - we have to turn the gas on from the container on every time we cook. They told us to open the window next to the stove and DON'T turn on the light. Needless to say I'm still working on the courage to use the stove. We had Papa John's delivery the first 2 nights and an oriental place the third. Thursday night we ventured out with the kids. There was a home store next to McDonalds - what more could you ask for (Joanna could). We were buying a dryer. Well . . . drying rack really. It even fit in our car. Then our first experience at an Indian McDonalds. No chicken nuggets, no hamburgers (of course). I was smart enough to get a McChicken with no sauce. Scott didn't have the foresight to do the same with the kids happy meals. Joanna and Maddie both just balked and refused to touch it. Joanna did pick at the top of the bun and Maddie took one bite. At this point jet lag was starting to catch up with me and I didn't care because personally it wouldn't have been hugely appealing either. Scott did his best to get them to eat and Joanna eventually at about 1/3 of her chicken after he scraped off all of the sauce. The french fries were good.

That's pretty much the latest. I have power. I have internet. I had 3 kids that slept til 6 AM. Life is good in India - right now. Today is adventures in laundry now that I have a drying rack. I do have a relatively new Neptune washing machine - even more high tech than my one at home.

I'll keep you posted.

Love and prayers - I miss you all.

Dawn

We have moved in and have internet!

2008-11-18T18:57:00.002+05:30

Now the blow by blow.

Everything started out very well with a nice breakfast at my in-laws and then we headed to the new Indianapolis Airport where the "fun" began and hasn't really ended. We checked in only to find that our 11 pieces of luggage could not be checked to Mumbai due to our extended layover in Amsterdam. We took what we could get and headed through check-in with our 5 carry on's, 5 personal bags (containing 3 laptops), diaper bag, camera bag, 2 car seats, stroller and 5 jackets. We made it just in time to start boarding and the flight to Detroit was uneventful - except for the fact that we had 20 minutes to make it to our connecting flight to Amsterdam. We were rushing and the plane was full and tried to get the kids and us settled ASAP. The kids were very good through the flight and the personalized entertainment center saved us many a headache. We also experienced our first medical emergency on a flight. I'm not sure what the problem was - but was interesting.

We arrived on-time in the Amsterdam airport and Scott went to check on our luggage to see if there was any way we could re-check it in. The kids were exhausted and I was trying to get them to rest while we waited when . . . Maddie threw up all over. We then began the arduous process of trying to leave the airport. We had a stroller, a train of carry-ons and 4 carts of luggage and a sick child. Thankfully Sam fell asleep right before Maddie threw up and slept the entire time. We would push a couple of carts, then go back for the rest throughout immigration and customs - then Scott saw a sign for baggage storage and we ended up getting lockers for the luggage. The kids and I waited for about 45 minutes and I found that the diaper baggies to hold dirty diapers also double well for a puking child. The kids and I proceeded on the shuttle to the hotel while Scott took the final load to store. We immediately went to bed as soon as the sun was coming up. We slept for about 8 hours and then had a very short Saturday - about 6 hours before going back to bed. We really didn't sleep well that night and Maddie was still throwing up. We even talked about delaying the trip and staying an extra day in Amsterdam - but decided not to. We left for the airport @ 6:15 local time right after Maddie threw up for the final time.

We arrived in plenty of time to get the luggage and get checked in. We were just headed to immigration when we were stopped by a KLM customer (NO)service. The lady was incredulous that Scott was pulling 5 carry-ons and told us we were taking too much baggage and we would have to check it. We had just spent $300 paying for an extra bag and I was not pleased. I tried to tell her that I had read the allowance on the internet and that it was within the limit and she just said she would call ahead to the gate to make sure they were informed. I was soo upset I couldn't decide if I wanted to throw up - or just cry. When we got to the gate we were of course told we had too much. I was arguing that we had 5 paying passengers and got it whittled down to 1 bag - when we asked how much - she said - no charge. What a relief! If we would have just asked in the beginning - there wouldn't have been a fuss. We ended up gate checking 4 of our 5 carry-ons and proceeded to Mumbai. The flight was uneventful except for our 2nd back-to-back medical emergency - they couldn't wake one of the passengers. We were close enough to this one to see that he was ok. Then we got to chaos. We had at least 3 porters eager to please (i.e. get paid) and our luggage was taken through customs and re-checked for the flight for Pune. The biggest obstacles were the customs guy not having a clue what caulk was and they were upset that we were leaving a "secured" area without our bags - but the porters helped us out of that one too. Even with just under 1/2 of our carry-ons still took 2 cars to the hotel that night. We had a decent nights sleep followed by a 24 minute flight to Pune. We were greeted by more porters - but this set didn't have quite the $$ signs in their eyes. We left the airport in 3 cars and found out through phone calls that someone could meet us with keys at our new apartment. We eagerly agreed and the drivers hauled everything up (using elevators of course) 8 floors.

Hindsight is - we should have stayed @ the hotel that night. Nesting instinct kicked into overdrive and I started unpacking immediately. By about 4 all the kids were asleep and Scott was too. We had NO food in the house (except a can of chicken soup that my friend Wendy convinced me to take - thanks Wendy). In addition to no food we had to local currency - which all the delivery places required. So Scott in a hazy sleep deprived state ventured out to get money and at least some basics. We couldn't figure out the gas stove - so our options were limited. Ramen anyone?

The night was rough - I just took Sam to bed with us and he was content as long as he was nursing. Then about 2 the girls started getting up saying they weren't tired. We tried to tell them to go back to bed. I think Joanna got dressed about 3ish and finally Scott went to lay down with them. As long as someone was with them - they would stay in bed. We ended up sleeping til 7 (interrupted of course) and then Scott headed off to work - a waiting cell phone was too much to pass up on.

Day 2 was in some ways rougher. I had most of the toys unpacked - so the girls were in hog heaven. I decided (soo unwisely) that Sam's problem was lack of a schedule. I decided I wasn't going to feed him except every 3 hours. I got him to sleep and about every 15-20 minutes he would start crying. Walking him in the stroller helped until about 10ish - I dutifully fed him, he played for awhile and then was tired and the battle that lasted the next 3 hours began. He screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Every time I put him down, every time I tried to get him to sleep. Finally 2:30 into this I gave in and fed him again. He fell asleep 1/2 way through but only for an hour. Finally after a round of baby food he finally conked out.

I'm turning into a pumpkin. Day 2 down - many more to come. We are working on getting a driver and our shipment so many more adventures ahead.

Dawn

We are now in Mumbai (Bombay to all you Americans...)

2008-11-17T03:22:00.002+05:30

We just got through the ordeal at the airport. Bag porters are nice for when you got lots of luggage, except for the over paying....

In any event we are set up to go to Pune in the morning. Maddie is doing better. Everyone is trying to rest while Daddy is typing on the blog and confirming our ground transport in Pune......cheers

We just flew in to Amsterdam

2008-11-16T03:02:00.002+05:30

Daddy's arms are tired
Maddie had an upset tummy (very upset..... :-(

We are getting there.....Just got confirmation that our apartment will be available. Also our air shipment has arrived in Mumbai....lots to do when we get there. We leave Schiphol Airport at 10 am tomorrow morning. (it is now almost 11 pm here, so long and good night....or is that afternoon?)

Move Postponed

2008-10-24T00:13:00.001+05:30

Our move has been postponed until November 13th. See my Zook family news site for more details.

Our new "house"

2008-10-03T22:27:00.002+05:30

I know some of you have been waiting to hear about our new home. We have one picked out and here are pictures. I am going to get my oven! Scott's going to post additional pictures soon - so keep checking the slideshow for more pictures.

Back again in Pune.....

2008-09-30T17:18:00.007+05:30

Scott here: I arrived in Mumbai on schedule Sunday evening. There was a mix up in the booking of the hotel as there are two Hyatt hotels in town here. I asked for the airport hotel (the Hyatt Regency, evidently), but got put up in the Grand Hyatt. The domestic flight from Mumbai to Pune is a very short affair (less than 1/2 hour). I actually spent at least as much time in the air terminal as on the plane. It is hotter outside during the day than it has been at home, but not unbearable yet.

Not much has changed in a year, but you do see some new shops (including the Papa John's pizza that was under construction last year) open. India has very much maintained it's shocking mix of prosperity and poverty mixed with the tangled mass of humanity. I am still dumbfounded at the practices on the various construction sites. On the way to the office, yesterday, I caught site of a man standing on about a 7 - 8 in ledge on the third (or is that second) floor of a building. No rail, no safety straps of any kind. Reaching over his head to his full extension, white washing the trim of the building he was in. The tin shacks, the stray dogs, beggars and children, all of it is still here.

I got to go look at housing today. All seemed like nice places in their own rights, however, no one wants to provide a full power back up, so this is making me nervous regarding frozen and refrigerated goods. So goes the conventional experience here in India. They say the power cut offs are getting fewer and fewer, but in this new hotel I am staying in, I counted at least 6 times the lights dimmed out until the back up engaged.

About the hotel, this time I am staying in a new place called the "O". Very modern feel, very abstract artish. The room is comfortable (nice bath tub). They have ok broadband (only 256kbs :-( ), which is good enough for Skype. They have 2 restaurants (I have only so far eaten at the breakfast buffet and then a couple of meals all from the main one. The other is a Japanese themed place that I have yet to explore.

I got in contact with the same missionaries that we visited with last time. They have a church picnic planned for this Sunday, so I will be trying to join them if I can (kind of depends on the driver).

Unfortunately, the one expat couple whom we met last year is currently on vacation, but will return before I have to leave, so they did invite me for dinner on Oct. 9. I have a bunch of stuff we plan to leave with them in preparation to our landing with the kids.

That's all for now. My wife and I will be discussing the housing options this evening.

Halloween is IT!

2008-09-19T19:21:00.003+05:30

Scott's official start date is November 3rd. We will most likely travel on Halloween and be in Pune on November 1st. Scott leaves for a combination house hunting/orientation trip September 27th (or close to it - plane ticket still has to be bought).

Lot's to do in the next 6 weeks.

I'll post more as we know it.

Dawn

Visa's Come Tomorrow!

2008-09-18T23:19:00.002+05:30

The visa's have been our biggest obstacle so far. They should be overnighted and arrive tomorrow. Scott is having a teleconference tomorrow to determine our initial itinerary. We also found a possible buyer for our cars (an Indian doing an Ex-pat assignment here).

We are planning on doing much of our communication via Skype - an internet phone company. If anyone would like to install the program and contact us - email me and if we like you :) we'll let you know our user name. Our phone number will also work - just double check the time before you call :)

There is also a way that we can get mail and small packages - I will let you know more details as they become available.

I'll update again tomorrw.

Dawn

Update: finally!

2008-09-09T03:26:00.002+05:30

We finally talked to the move coordinator last night. She is in Shanghai, China - so we are working with a 12 hour time difference. As I was expecting, we got our first curve-ball. A major gut-wrenching curve-ball. Our shipping allowance was changed between the initial contract and the one Scott signed. It's just over 1/3 of what I was planning on. Needless to say this has me scrambling to figure out how in the world I'm going to do this. Scott found out this morning that we can appeal this amount and we are going to try to exclude the baby supplies and homeschooling supplies from this amount.

We discussed the rest of the contract and we will hopefully be setting a date as soon as the visa's come back (in about 10-14 days). So it looks like mid -late October is when the kids and I are going. Scott is going to try to do a combined house-hunting/work trip the beginning of October.

I'll post more as we know it.

Dawn

Not find what you are looking for . . .

2008-08-11T07:20:00.002+05:30

check out the new blog

There is a link in the upper right hand corner.

Scott thought all the pictures were cluttering up the blog and wanted to dedicate this one to news and updates about India. I'll post things as they come up. The other blog might be more active until things really start rolling.

Dawn

Birthday Parties

2008-08-05T21:32:00.002+05:30

We had a triple birthday party on Sunday. Scott (8/5), Scott's Aunt Melissa (7/30) and Madeline (9/17). We decided to have Madeline's so early because we don't know where we will be on her actual birthday. We did really well this year in keeping the physical size of gifts down. The big present for our family was a Wii. This is all of our 2008 Christmas and birthdays. I figured it was small enough to take to India and would keep the girls (and us) occupied without a huge mess. Our next quest is to try to find a Wii Fit before we leave.

I'm starting to make decisions on what to take/not to take. Things like - are diapers cheaper to ship or buy? Right now the answer is ship - but we are still investigating that option. So . . . how many? What size? How much of our shipping allowance does this take up? Is it still worth it? etc. I just found out that baby food is nearly non existent and that it can cost up to $60 (US) to cover a single weekend. So . . . do I make it or ship it? And that's just Sam's issues.

We have 2 options on a house-sitter while we are gone. We are hoping to finalize that by the end of the month. Either way I am going to have to pack up all of our personal items. Hopefully the furniture can stay - but we will see.

My Character Quality of the day: Flexibility - willing to change my plans with a good spirit. Phil 4:12 - "I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity, in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." I had to explain this one to Joanna when the original camping plans fell through. We are all going to need this in the coming weeks.

Dawn

Misc Video's

2008-07-30T02:58:00.005+05:30

Samuel "talking" to his Grandma

My twirling fairies @ the fair

Madeline the homerun hitter - sort of

NOT THE POKEY THING!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-29T23:06:00.003+05:30

Joanna has decided to go for the record at our pediatricians office. The contest: who can throw the biggest fit over getting a shot. She needed 2 more shots to round out her 5 year doses and it took 3 of us holding her down while she screamed "Not the pokey thing!". I dread that she needs one more before we go to India - that is scheduled for next month.

Samuel is a very healthy 2 month old with a bad case of cradle cap. He weighed 12 lbs 12 oz and is 24 inches long. That puts him in the 80th and 70th percentiles for height and weight. He was fussy because he got woke up from his nap and didn't like being naked - but other than that was pretty good through the 3 shots he got. MUCH better than his older sister.

Check out the July slideshow for more pictures of our county fair and Sam trying to hold his head up.

Dawn

We have accepted the contract - sort of

2008-07-18T01:51:00.002+05:30

Scott accepted the contract in principle - but we still have details to work out. So far our questions are being answered the way we expected.

Samuel's passport is being processed and we hope to have it next week.

I am starting to buy some things that we need/want for India and packing up some stuff while we are gone.

Dawn

The Fair

2008-07-18T01:38:00.005+05:30

So while my sister is posting pictures of her trip to paradise on her blog (http://garyandtiffanyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/07/acapulco-day-3-monday.html)

I'm posting pictures of:

That's right - PIGS! I think I'd rather have paradise!

We went to the fair this week and the girls enjoyed pigs, horses, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, chicks, and a whole host of other animals. Oh and we can't forget the overpriced rides and food as well. But the free face painting made up for it - I think. Check out the pictures in our July slideshow - updates as I get more pictures!

Dawn

India Update

2008-07-15T20:26:00.003+05:30

Not much is new but thought I'd share what's happening.

I had my 6 week post-partum checkup last week and that was the final hurdle Scott was waiting for. We are submitting the paperwork for Sam's passport tomorrow - with a week turnaround time (the company is expediting it). We will hopefully be getting some answers to our questions about the contract and will sign it soon.

Dawn

July 7th - Our first day of School

2008-07-08T01:19:00.003+05:30

One of the advantages to homeschooling is the freedom to start whenever I want. This is the 2nd year that we have started the week after the 4th of July. Joanna completed her first day of First Grade. Her favorite thing was being a scientist and discovering things using her 5 senses. Madeline had her first day of school ever and did K4. She was delighted just to finally be doing school like her big sister. She learned about chipmunks, especially Chester the main character of her class.

Samuel was fairly cooperative and slept most of the time- a relief to the mom/teacher.

Dawn

Fourth of July Weekend

2008-07-08T01:03:00.003+05:30

I have no pictures but thought I would post an update on my week and weekend.

On Sunday 6/29 Scott left for a 5 day business trip to Calgary Canada. I was nervous about being on my own with 3 kids - but it wasn't too bad. I had a friends pre-teen daughter come Mon, Tue, and Wed afternoons to help with the girls. On Wednesday the girls spent the night with their Aunt Emily and Thursday was the annual Aunt Zoo trip. While they were gone I was tending to a fussy Samuel, cleaning up the house for company and then picked Scott up from the airport. That night we had dinner @ my mother-in-law's house and met up with the girls. We walk in with a sleeping baby and set the car seat down. Joanna immediately starts poking him/playing with him. Before I can finish admonishing her to stop because she is going to wake him up - she announces with glee "Look mom, he's awake!" So goes life with a 5 year old and a newborn. Madeline isn't quite as enthralled, but she still manages to get her share of bugging her brother in.

On Friday we had friends come from Dayton, OH to celebrate the 4th with. They have daughters the same age as Joanna and Madeline. The girls were so excited to have their friends come and Scott and I were excited as well. We spent a quiet afternoon napping with all the kids - amazing even Joanna managed to sleep. After dinner we headed out to see the fireworks. Madeline has finally gotten over her fear of them and enjoyed herself. If you ever want to have a true appreciation of fireworks - take Joanna with you. She spent the whole evening doing a running commentary of each one. Words such as:

Humongous - which means really huge
Mushrooms - the shape
Trees - shaped fireworks
gimantic - which is Joanna speak for big

Saturday afternoon our guests left and I spent the rest of the day getting ready for school to begin on Monday.

On Sunday we had lunch at Scott's mom's and then that evening we gathered with a small group from our church for dinner. It was an enjoyable time fellowshipping in a small group.

I hope everyone else had a fun and safe holiday. Leave me a comment and let me know how yours was :)

Dawn

The Creation Museum: Prepare to believe!

2008-06-29T05:36:00.001+05:30

Today we went with Scott's parents and sister to the Creation Museum. We were part of a larter group from our church. The museum is just under 2 hours away near Cincinnati, OH. The museum is excellent. Although with 3 kids it was hard to read all of the exhibits - so I took pictures of the first half until Samuel got hungry. There is a petting zoo included with admission so later we got pictures of the girls petting the animals. I would highly recommend if you get a chance to go - do it!

And of course - my post would be incomplete without pictures of the aftermath:

P.S. I changed the settings so that anyone can post without logging in. Feel free to post now!

2008-06-24T23:03:00.000+05:30

We have another tentative date. Scott had another meeting and it's now September. We are going to finalize some issues on the contract and we have some repairs to complete on our house - then hopefully we are off on our adventure.

David & Goliath: AKA Titus & Samuel

2008-06-23T22:54:00.000+05:30

Samuel went to go see his new buddy Titus - born 6/20 @ 6 lbs 12 oz. Wow what a difference. Samuel weighed 10 lbs 6 oz when the picture was taken. He is 4 weeks & 3 days, Titus is 3 days old.

Picture Pages, Picture pages I'm sharing my picture pages

2008-06-20T04:58:00.000+05:30

We had portraits taken today. Enjoy.

Kids do the darndest things!

2008-06-17T03:26:00.000+05:30

This is the latest picture of our new addition - taken today in his favorite place - his car seat.

Last night Scott was getting Madeline ready for bed and couldn't find her PJ bottoms. He holds up the first thing he can find and asks "Are these your PJ bottoms?" Madeline of course replies affirmative. Later when I saw her I thought it was odd - I don't remember anything like that in her wardrobe. It continues to bug me as to what she was wearing until I was putting Samuel to bed. - Madeline is wearing his pants that he wore to church! I have no idea how a 3 YEAR old can fit into 3 MONTH old pants - but alas she did. They were more like really tight shorts. I hope that she hasn't stretched them out too much.

This is Madeline asleep. I don't know how she can sleep this way, but apparently she woke up from her nap too early - and needed some more sleep.

The 100 year Flood

2008-06-09T19:49:00.000+05:30

If anyone has seen the news - out town was one of many in Indiana affected by the 100 year flood. We were lucky enough to only have to deal with about 4 inches of mud in our garage caused by excessive runoff. Our church wide trip to the Creation museum got delayed because all the roads to the church were covered with water. We got 8.8 inches of rain in just over 15 hours beginning Friday 6/6 and going through Saturday morning. http://www.reporter-times.com/stories/2008/06/08/news.nw-899552.sto

is our local newspaper story. In the one overhead shot the big blue roof if the top of our local elementary school. Most of these pictures are within 2 miles of us. My SIL is a nurse @ a hospital and the ER is flooded, her husband is a security guard at another hospital that is totally flooded.

Finally Here!! Welcome Baby Samuel

2008-05-26T23:10:00.000+05:30

Sorry it has taken so long to post. We got home a couple of hours ago.

Samuel Scott made his appearance Friday, May 23, 2008 @ 8:20. He was 9 lbs and 13 oz, 20 3/4 inches long and is healthy.

Now for the good stuff that you have all been waiting for:

I'll post more pics and maybe a video as I have time to go over it.

Dawn, Scott, Joanna, Madeline, and now for the first time Samuel

Mr SAHMIND takes a turn........

2007-10-26T09:29:00.000+05:30

Hello everyone Mr SAHMIND here.

My week here so far has been taken up with meeting various people at work and getting oriented to the way this subsidiary company does its day to day business. Security here is a lot tighter than back home. I have to carry a written pass to get my laptop in and out of the facility. There are uniformed guards everywhere. Folks are generally cordial though and would you believe that we get tea (chai) breaks provided twice a day. (And this is for everyone, I was out in the factory yesterday at about 2 pm and the servers where out passing around the chai and the workers get to stop and take off their shoes for break....all out in the assembly and machining areas all over the plant.......OSHA would have a screaming fit....)

Its really funny how much I stick out in a crowd over here. Their are a few other westerners on site here, but I have only rarely bumped in to any of them. To say that people stare as I go by does not fully communicate how surprised these folks are to see me.

I have been eating in the company cafeteria all week for lunch. While I am sure the setting is nice by Indian standards the closest desription I have that will get the picture across to Americans is think school cafeteria meets prison cafeteria. All the tableware is steel. Steel plates, steel spoons, steel cups, steel pitchers, steel tables......
The local cuisine is all vegetarian, but don't let that fool you, there is really quite a variety to chose from once you get use to the options. For instance, there are 4 service lines to chose from at lunch time. Bland (non spiced), Low Spice, Hot Spiced, and the Fasting line. The fasting line, of course, is there to accommodate folks during their local religious observances(i.e. Hindu). Yesterday the manager with whom I have been working chose to take food from the fasting line (partially for his observance, but I think partially to suit my curiosity). To be honest I think the Indians are cheating on this. For starters there was more on his plate than mine. The foods acceptable for fasting include boiled potato, fruit, and a little white grain called Subadana (it looks a lot like tapioca). If you know anything about Indian cuisine (real, traditional Indian cuisine) then you understand that dal (beans) and rice are the staple. So that has been constant in every meal, and the variety has come with regards to sides, deserts, and condiments - various pickled and powdered chile relishes, lime slices, sweet buttermilk, sweet corn soup, sliced apple, curried vegetables (so far they have had cauliflower and okra). Speaking of sticking out in a crowd. I am the one guy in the whole place that has to have bottled water ordered up for me daily. Everyone else drinks from pitchers provided at each table. On Wednesday, they really wanted to impress me, so they ordered me a Pepsi. So here is the only white guy in the whole cafeteria with his bottle of water and Pepsi sitting here eating his dal under the glare of 200- 300 Indians...many of whom who looked like they might want some Pepsi to...... When you are finished with lunch you have to set your tray on the return cart (which is fairly normal practice of a cafeteria), but then you go through the wash area. Keep in mind that traditional Indian is eaten by using pieces of flat bread to pick up your rice and dal. So after lunch you should rinse off well, especially if you are rather messy American.....

So far I have been in some meetings with the electronics folks here talking about some the things they need immediate help on. I have also toured almost the whole local facility and we also got to go see the location of one of our contract firms. The Contractors actually have a nicer office space than I do back home. Today we are supposed to go see one of our largest Indian customers. More to come soon.....bye for now

Update as of Wednesday

2007-10-24T22:38:00.000+05:30

After 3 days of being cooped up in the hotel - I finally got out today. Scott got off work early and we went to a mall. The entire mall had clothes, a small household section, and a grocery store on the top floor - almost a superwalmart - well not quite. They had quite a bit of stuff and mostly I was just looking to see what they had so I wouldn't have to buy it. Ragu was the equivalent of $6 a jar - but that is an US import and probably not as much demand as for basics. Their produce section was quite varied.

After that we went to the house of some Christian Americans that have a ministry over there. Another family joined us for Pizza Hut. They each had 3 kids (2 boys and 1 girl in each family). The girls were 7 and almost 4 and they loved to dress up. They wanted to know all about our girls and couldn't understand why we didn't have a boy. On of them said she would pray that we had a boy.

I am planning on going back tomorrow - one of the ladies can't go out with her kids - but another lady from their ministry is coming for lunch - and I will be able to meet her. Scott has an appointment at 3:30 with a person from HR - so hopefully we will have some answers tomorrow.

I will post more as I have time. Please leave comments and questions - I would love to hear from you all.

Dawn

Feet on the ground in Pune as of 10/21....wait or is that 21/10.....

2007-10-23T10:17:00.000+05:30

Sorry this has taken so long to post. We have departed the land of the FREE and now have to pay by the minute for internet access. I’m typing this up and my husband will post it from work.

Thursday Oct 18 – Indianapolis to Detroit to Amsterdam

Airport in Indy was no problem. While we were there we realized that our tickets were first class. Never ridden in first(business) class before. There was nothing special about the trip to Detroit – just over an hour long. When we entered the plane in Detroit – first class was huge. I couldn’t even touch the seat in front of me with my feet. The chairs almost fully reclined. I think I’ve been spoiled because the thought of several 8 hour flights in coach with 2 kids does not thrill me. There was video on demand and we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well as Die hard. The service was excellent and there were like 4 courses to our meal. It took forever to finally get to dessert and I felt like I ate the first half of the trip. Who can complain about eating constantly? J

We arrived in Amsterdam at almost 6 in the morning local time. We also discovered upon further examination of our tickets that we had just over 24 hours in the Netherlands. Our hotel was about 15 minutes from the airport. We slept the first 6 hours and then went to explore. We were pretty far from the historic downtown tourist section – and after walking for 30-45 minutes just to find a place that had food – I decided I was too wiped out to continue – but we did find out the lay of the land and know how to use the busses and train. We hope to do some more sightseeing on our way back. We ate dinner at the restaurant hotel – very nice and European. I had pasta and my husband had venison. I teased him that he had to leave the country to actually get deer meat. J

Friday October 19 – Amsterdam to Mumbai

We left Amsterdam at 10 in the morning and arrived at Mumbai (Bombay) at 10 PM something local time. We cleared customs rather quickly. Just showed our passport and visa and we cleared immigration, our bags were x-rayed and that was customs. The Hyatt had a driver waiting (not necessarily for us) and the hotel was about 5 minutes away. I was expecting horrible smells – but haven’t experienced anything as of yet. India is a land of extremes. We were in a hotel with marble bathrooms and a clear glass sink (I told my husband I don’t EVER want a glass sink – every water droplet shows) and across the street are shanty’s with people with no electricity and no running water. I didn’t sleep well that night and the next morning sickness decided to kick in full force. I skipped breakfast and our driver came at 9 for our 3+ hour trip to Pune. We saw many new things on our way. my husband said he saw several people going in the street and I looked to see a little boy peeing out his front door. I saw kids my girls’ age playing in a trash heap. I saw several families plowing their fields with a pair of oxen and a wooden plow. It reminded me of listening to “Little House on the Prairie” on our Branson trip.

{note added by SAHMIND's hubby: Mumbai (Bombay) is a city of 30 million people, Pune is a small town of only 4 million. everywhere is far more crowded than you will feel in Indiana, but you do get the sense that Mumbai is larger. }

Traffic in India can only be described as organized chaos. Everyone is cutting you off – but everybody yields as well. Many of the truck said “Horn OK Please”. Horns are used to let people know you are there and to get them to yield. I was not nearly as freaked out as my husband thought I would be.

We arrived at Pune around lunch time – for which I was very grateful. We got room service and I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak sub – yes I got beef my first meal in Pune. We are on the 8^th floor and our room overlooks a train station. Once again we are in the height of luxury and we can look out our window and see utter squalor. Our hotel has 5 restaurants: an Indian one on the rooftop (by the pool), an asian/Thai one, a multi cuisine bistro and a bar. We chose the Asian one and it was very nice. The servers hold your chair for you and put your napkin in your lap. If you leave your seat – they will re-fold your napkin next to your plate. We felt like royalty and not the middle class we are used to. Everyone is constantly asking if we had a good trip and if we like our rooms.

P.S. we will try to post pictures soon

Finally! Something Definite

2007-09-29T03:25:00.000+05:30

Here are the details for our survey trip. Scott and I will be leaving Oct. 18th and will get back Nov. 4th. As far as I know I will be cleared to go. I have appointments with a travel doctor Oct. 8 and my ob Oct 11.

Will let you know more as it develops. We will be posting pictures and updates during our trip. Feel free to leave messages and we can read them in India :)

Dawn

Guess what we found out today :)

2007-09-22T03:15:00.001+05:30

January '08

2007-09-06T18:25:00.000+05:30

We are pretty sure that Scott will be starting his new job in India - January of '08. We are still waiting on the offer letter which should spell out the final details - pending our acceptance of it of course.

Our survey trip is looking like it will be around October 17th or thereabouts - we are trying to work around other people's schedules.

Passports and Visa's are in the works.

Dawn

India - here we come! . . .

2007-08-29T21:10:00.000+05:30

. . . to survey the situation. We are planning on going October 11th through 26th - or thereabouts depending on when I get my passport and when my mom can come and watch the girls.

Dawn

Corporate Wheels turn slowly

2007-08-29T04:02:00.000+05:30

We are still waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting. We will turn in everything this week so the girls and I can get passports. Wednesday 8/29 Scott is supposed to have a meeting - hopefully we will know more.

Still waiting . . .

Dawn

2007-08-25T02:47:00.001+05:30

Hi Everyone!! Dawn here. We are proceeding full steam ahead now to transfer to India. We are working on passports for the girls and I and visa's for everyone. Hopefully we will have a date for a survey trip shortly.

In the meantime . . . September is proving to be hugely busy. Between stuff @ church and birthday parties - time is going to fly by. We are planning a trip to Branson the first week in October as well.

I will write more as I know more.

Dawn