Nana in Delhi

Mom is here! I didn't allow myself to fully believe she was really truly coming to visit us all the way across the world until I saw her in the flesh. Rich had given her a scary prepping for the airport just in case we didn't arrive, but when I got there to greet her I was surprised at how not-scary it felt the third time around on the receiving end of the airport experience. Both times we arrived in the airport I felt so disoriented and scared. But I guess sometimes you feel that way in Chicago or New York or wherever. Anyway, we waited around for an hour dodging mosquitos and trying to distract Russell from slithering on the floor and she miraculously arrived! Russell was nervous to see her at first and didn't understand why we weren't getting on an airplane, but he's warmed up to her nicely since then.

Our first day we stopped to get Isaac at the school. Then we had lunch at the cafeteria with Marcia, Ellie and Tom. Then went home and Nanna crashed. Couldn't blame her after 48 hours of almost no sleep. Rich came home early, but by the time he came home I had totally lost it between some tantrum-ing children and eight unexpected merchants who all showed up within a couple of hour's time (and no, I'm not exaggerating! Three men to collect money for the generator, two painters to talk about painting but not paint, a carpenter to talk about fixing the gate but doesn't have time to do it until next week, a delivery man from the grocery store bringing cheese we didn't ask for, and a guy from the gas company to refill our canister but it turned out to be the wrong company). So Mom got a taste early on of how out of control and angry I feel sometimes in this strange place where I can't communicate and/or can't understand.

So on Thursday we went to school and Nanna played with the kids while I went to my Hindi class. Then we went to Khan Market to find contact solution and I bought a skirt and a toy scooter for Russell. We went home for a little nap, then met Marcia, Tom and Ellie at the school pool for a swim. Luckily Russell decided to get in after swimming lessons there last week where he refused to even get in. We chatted with Marcia, which is always fun, and then went to pick up Rich at work.

Friday was Good Friday so Rich was off work. We went to this water park called Food N Fun Village and Nanna swam with the baby and chatted with our friends who had invited us while Isaac and Daddy and Mommy tried out the slides. I went on one that was sort of like a toilet bowl, and it's definitely a rush to go on a waterslide that you know hasn't been checked by any lawyers or measures up to any US standards of safety! All that sun was quite draining so we went home and essentially went to bed.

Saturday we were slow getting out the door but eventually made our way to the India Gate Children's Park for a picnic and play. Then we drove over to Connaught Place and went shopping in an underground market where Rich bought a sahib suit to wear to parties. Then we got him just in time for Mom and me to go get our pedicures and manicures at this exclusive French salon for way cheap. Mom said it was her best pedicure yet. It was my first pedicure ever . . . had to move halfway around the world to learn how to pamper myself! Then we got home and Rich and Nana went for takeout food and a movie. They came home with yummy spicy Indian vegetarian and a cheesy Bollywood flick. We started falling asleep halfway through (as usual . . . all Bollywood films are like 3 hours long!), but what we saw was great.

This morning Nanna woke up with the Delhi Belly. Yuck, yuck. So we had to leave her home and she missed out on seeing the truly unique church experience in Delhi. We had a beautiful Easter sacrament meeting program and Russell didn't cling to me for the first time at church and we didn't have any major dramatic moments at any point during the meetings. So perhaps we are at last adjusting to church life in India.

Russell's Cool 3rd Birthday Party

We had Russell's birthday party on the same day as the Holi Festival of Colors so we let Isaac and Russell splatter colored sprinkles and frosting all over it in honor of the holiday. We had to do lots of talking and restraining to keep Isaac and Tom away at this moment for Russell to blow out his candles all by himself. Same deal with the presents. It's tough being the little brother!

Perhaps the coolest thing about Russell's birthday party was the monkey man that happened to show up at our gate and offer his services for $4. We invited him in and enjoyed the show! I love India--no need to plan activities, just put out some balloons and see who shows up.

The other cool thing about the party were the fun friends that came. We kept it simple and invited only Tom and Ellie (from Australia, our first and best friends thus far) and Joshua from the ward.

I think to Russell the coolest part of the party was the fabulous gifts--an airport terminal from Tom and Ellie, an airplane from Isaac, a water gun (or as he calls it, a rocket that shoots wa-wa) from Mama-Dada, and a battery-powered train set that plays Indian music from Joshua.

A Day in the Life of Mindy

So there’s never a dull moment in India. Here’s the play-by-play run-down of my day:

4:00 am Isaac woke up complaining his arm hurt. I think it’s growing pains. I gave him some Tylenol after distracting him didn’t work and he finally went to sleep.

4:30 am Couldn’t sleep so I emailed and blogged on my newly set-up computer

6:30 am Took a very quick shower in order to have hot water before it ran out

7:30 am Sent Isaac off to school with Rich and the driver

8:00 am Tried to figure out how to direct Sarita and Sudhir to do the things I want around the house and while I was thinking they were working and I realized they’re doing pretty much everything I would ever do and more. The only thing we’re really missing is a good cleaner to scrub the bathrooms with so I can see how really bad or good they are. Still looking for that . . . Have yet to see Comet or anything like it.

9:00 am Received a surprise visit from the American Women’s Association (AWA) Welcome Committee Chair Sandie Axelson. She lives down the road and was stopping by to make sure I was finding my way to the meeting

9:30 am Sent Sudhir to the market to buy laundry soap, bread, and stuff to make cholle for us (which turned out to be garbanzo beans).

10:00 am Went to the AWA meeting at the Delhi Golf Club. It was extremely posh, and I was (again) very under-dressed and the only one with my children. But I brought Sarita with me to help and it was nice. I met several moms with young children and got an idea of what AWA is all about. They do shopping trips and culture meetings and community outreach programs.

12:30 Picked Isaac up at school and we had lunch (hamburgers and mint chip ice cream cones) in the cafeteria with Marcia and her kids (Thomas & Ellie) along with several other families from Belgium, Australia, Korea, and somewhere else in Europe.

2:00 pm Returned home from school and fed Graham.

3:00 pm Received a visit from a merchant selling stools made of rope and bamboo. I told him I may be interested in buying some and he said he’d come back in a half hour with the stools I was talking about buying.

3:30 Received a visit from our driver’s sister. It turns out he sent her because he doesn’t speak English very well and wanted her to tell me that he doesn’t want to work for us anymore because he can make more money as a taxi driver and wants to make sure we can survive without him. The irony of this is that we have another driver lined up for next month and were trying to figure out how to tell him!

4:00 pm Merchant returned and I bought two stools and three cute little kid chairs and a table for 1000 rupees (about $20).

4:30 pm Went to this amazing fruit and vegetable market called Ohkla Market with Sarita, Isaac, and Graham while Russell stayed home with Sudhir and did puzzles. While Graham slept in the car with Maraj (the driver) we braved the market. It’s basically this long dirt road with people sitting on either side with big piles of produce in front of them. It’s loud, smells of animal dung, but the produce is beautiful. Sarita walked the whole line asking prices and then we turned back around and got the things we wanted at the best prices. We got a huge bag (so heavy that Sarita and I had to carry it together) of potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, ginger, and cilantro for about 100 rupees ($2).

5:30 pm We got home and Sarita realized her cell phone was missing. I think someone stole it from her at the market. She went to her room to make sure she hadn’t left it there and came back and I could tell she had been crying. I would cry too if I’d lost a cell phone that had cost me almost one month’s wages! I wished they'd stolen mine instead. I called Rich and he suggested we just buy her a new one. I agreed—after all, we call her all the time and use up her minutes anyway.

6:30 pm I fill up the bathtub a whole three inches or so for the boys to take a bath (that’s all the hot water there is). We read “Homer Price” (Thanks, Aunt Amy!) in the kitchen so we can watch Sudhir make chapatis (like wheat tortillas).

7:00 pm Isaac and Russell eat their chapatis at their new little rope bamboo table with cheese and apple juice. Daddy gets home and holds Graham and practices saying his numbers in Hindi (he’s been learning them from Maraj while he drives him around). We’re so glad when Daddy comes home!

7:30 pm Isaac slips on the water draining from the washer and bites his tongue and starts bleeding. Daddy flees to the bedroom for two hours of conference calls (he added that part—I’m not bitter!). Russell asks me to pick him up and take him to bed.

7:40 pm Two men show up to assess our air conditioning needs. They say we need 12 tons of AC power and Freescale has currently only allowed 7 tons. We’ll see what the next guy says. The landlord’s daughter returns my call from earlier that day and assures me that she’s sending someone to REALLY fix the leak in the wall upstairs so it stops growing mold, but it will take a week or so. Glad we haven’t moved up there yet!

7:50 pm Isaac goes up to the roof to hang laundry, which he’s been begging me to do all night. Last night he was lamenting that he has to go to school and miss out on all the laundry fun (“When I go to high school, it will be even worse. I won’t get to do ANY laundry!”)

8:00 pm Isaac goes to bed.

8:15 pm Sarita and Sudhir finish cleaning the kitchen and I finally get to try their yummy cholle (garbanzo bean soup with cilantro, red onion, lots of garlic, and tomatoes) with chapatis.

9:15 am My day goes full circle and here I sit doing the email thing again. Phew!

Graham Growing Great

Graham keeps on growing and tolerating new places and people on every turn. We've made friends with an Australian family staying in our hotel in similar circumstances, and when we've arrange playdates Marcia (the mother) asks when Graham will be napping. I always laugh and tell her he's had absolutely no schedule since we've arrived. He does sleep most of the night though, so that's been nice (I only wish I did--it's 4:30 am right now!).