Stop Horn Please

Oregon 2009

2009-07-03T08:33:00.001-07:00

Our first stop in America was to the Oregon coast.

My father-in-law John and his wife Anne have semi-retired to this paradise where the forest meets the ocean.

John grew up in a rural part of Canada and loves the outdoors, making him an excellent guide.

Although Anne was born in England she has spent most of her adult life in America. I’m glad she has not given up her love of English traditions such as gardening and a good “cuppa” tea.

Nana and Papa's house is nestled in the forest, but overlooks one of the bays.

Their home is surrounded by the wonders of nature. Whenever I'm there I want to sing "climb every mountain"... I think it has something to do with the surplus of oxygen.

When you hike around their property you might see their sweet little dogs Elsa and Buttons along with a deer or two, eagles, bunnies, ground squirrels, a bobcat (if you're lucky) or a bear (if you're unlucky).

The inside of their home reminds me of a little English cottage... Very cozy!

I joke about one of John and Annes hobbies... Feeding the hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are little and sweet and beautiful right? Not if there are hundreds! I think they become scary...their little beaks look like needles and the stealthy way they zip about... Sweet? HA!

It's a tradition for us to visit the bay front when we are in Newport.

We get a years supply of exotic flavored salt water taffy...

And have our fortune read by Zoltar... John's fortune started out talking about romance... he's convinced he got the wrong reading.

My favorite restaurant is the Canyon way... half restaurant and half bookstore, what could be better?

We dined alfresco in the garden at the restaurant... again with the excess oxygen... makes you a little giggly.

The main highway runs along the Pacific coast. It makes a scenic and beautiful drive.

One day we were driving down the highway and decided to stop and take pictures of of the ocean. The wind had picked up and made the ocean waves so big... hard to show how angry the ocean was with a picture.

I have a secret fantasy of running a sheep and filbert farm in Oregon.

What trip would be complete without a trip to the mall...

and an ice cream break? I know this sounds not so good, but it's the best ice cream ever... licorice! If you ever get a chance to try it... it's delicious!

The beaches are so beautiful and clean... it's a great place to take the "kids" for a walk.

Summers in Oregon mean berries!

On Saturday mornings they have a farmers market in Newport.

The local farmers and gardeners gather together to sell some of the fruits of their labors... literally.

The area has a lot of organic growers.

The vegetables are simply the best I've ever tasted!

Some of the booths had hand made crafts and goods... like bird houses...

specially roasted coffees...

Honey...

Hand spun yarns...

Made into Hand woven rugs.

The climate on the coast is perfect for flower.

It seems everywhere you look there are lots of flowers.

Near by farms are a nice place to visit for a day.

One day on our trip we did something I don't think I will ever forget.

John and I took a glass blowing class.

Scott took pictures.

Although it was hot... it was cool to do something so unique.

Fascinating working with glass that is so hot it's liquid and plyable.

We blew into a tube that was hooked into the pipe that held our glass.

It was interesting to watch the glass change colors according to how hot it got.

John made a green "crystal ball" that he can set on his desk.

I made a float I can hang in the window.

I made mine blue and green with a swirl of white... I wanted it to look a little like earth from space.

Our teachers name was Jeff.

He did a fabulous job of showing us what to do...

while keeping us safe.

I'm still trying to figure out how I can get the glass back to India without breaking.

The oven was so hot that it was difficult to stand in front of it.

It was interesting to see how many details and facts go into making glass.

John's favorite part was picking out the color for his peice.

After living in India for so long I was craving a cheeseburger.

We went to Flashbacks. It's a restaurant with a theme of things you might remember from your youth.

I saw a Donny and Marie Osmond doll there that were just like the ones I had when I was a little girl.

The beaches get so windy... it's a perfect place to fly a kite.

Or even better have a kite festival.

With the wind whipping our hair and clothes we found the best place to watch the kites was the restaurant that overlooks the beach.

I had this idea of a picture of John jumping with the kites behind him... as he jumped I had a vision of him be pulled into the sky by the huge gusts of wind.

Here is John in a less windy spot.

Some of the kites were so big they looked like dragons floating in the sky.

Probably my favorite thing to do is go crabbing on the dock in Walport.

We went crabbing for the first time about 4 years ago.

Since then I've been hooked. (Hee hee... hooked get it?)

I've had a lot of fun perfecting my crab cakes recipe.

I don't care if we catch anything it's just such a peaceful place to sit and talk while waiting for the crabs to "come to mamma".

The first few times we went crabbing we used minks for bait... there is a farm nearby that sells the minks to crabbers.

Now we use chicken.

To go crabbing all you need is a crab net, bait and a license.

First you tie the bait to the bottom of your net... the net is two rings with net sides. When the basket hits the bottom it colapses and lays flat.

The crabs come to eat the bait and while they are munching away we pull the net up with them inside the basket.

You can only keep the crabs that are a certain size and male so you only get to keep a small portion of what you catch.

We have always had luck on this dock.

The best time we had was when my parents and grandfather came for a visit... we had a sink full of crabs.

Crabbing has been so much fun for us that it was only natural for us to evolve into fishing...

This brings us to the next part of our trip... Salmom fishing 15 miles off shore.

John watched out the window as we left our port.

After going under the Newport bridge the waters got a lot more rough...

Then rougher...

A gentle rocking motion would not be an accurate description... this was more of a test they might give to astronaut hopefuls.

John caught a couple salmon... I'm surprised we didn't catch a shark with how much we were chumming the waters.

We were so excited when we left the gentle bay waters.

Little did we know what was a head of us.

A cool crisp morning... blue skies, fresh air... HA!

Then we figured out there was so much more excitement in store for us.

There were 19 people on our boat... 7 of them were very ill. I did the math... that's a high percentage.

This picture of John standing next to the trash can is exactly what it looks like.

Our boat had two workers... a captain and a deck hand. Our deck hand was a scary guy... but such an interesting character. There were waves coming up over the edge of the boat and this guy managed to keep his cigarette dry. He smelled like alcohol and couldn't remember a name (John Smith) from the back of the boat by the time he reached the front of the boat... it wasn't that big of a boat.

Scott "having fun"...

When we were finished they cleaned and fileted the fish for us. Salmon need a lot more work than the rock fish we caught last year.
I will always think of this trip when I eat salmon and appreciate it all the more.

I thought this picture of John and Scott bowing on the bow would be a nice way of ending this entry.

I always enjoy our time in Oregon... I wish we could have spent another week there to do all the things we didn't get around to doing... like four wheeling on the sand dunes... a visit to the seal caves... low tides at seal rock (facinating)... the aquarium... whale watching... bon fire on the beach (s'mores... yum)... and just getting a chance to spend more time together.

Maybe next year...

Greece

2009-07-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Greece started with a flight to Mumbai, then to Frankfurt and to Athens.

When the airplane landed in Mumbai I looked out the window and was a little shocked. There are some houses built so close to the runway that when you look down as you land you can see people eating their dinner. I couldn’t imagine the smells and noises they put up with living there.

By the looks of the corrugated tin houses I would guess that they are squatters living there illegally.

We always try to avoid the Mumbai airport. The international is separate from the domestic airport. When you land in one you have to get your luggage and take a shuttle to the other airport. India is India… so the shuttles don’t run on an exact schedule, and you can bet there will be lots of really smelly people on an overcrowded bus.

The first time we were on one of these shuttles a guy tried to touch my breasts and blamed it on the fact the bus was so crowded. I would have smacked him but the bus was too crowded to get any momentum… I settled for an elbow jab.

We were told in Hyderabad that Mumbai has made improvements to their system and our luggage would be delivered to the international airport for us… they didn’t tell us it would take 4 hours. Good thing we had a 4 ½ hour layover.

Finally we were on our way to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt we had a 6 ½ hour layover before our flight to Athens (I plan on researching a new travel agent). At least Frankfurt has a nice airport with yummy food and lots of places to window shop… and I got to play my favorite airport game. I call it “Oh God! Please don’t be American”. I see someone behaving poorly and wait to hear them talk to see what language or accent they have and this tells me what country they are from.

An example would be this guy I saw reading a magazine. After each page he read he would tear the page out of the magazine and rip the page into exactly 16 pieces get up throw the pieces away and then sit back down to read the next page. I waited a long time to see what country he was from… finally he put on a baseball cap that said Canada (Yeah).

Our flight from Frankfurt to Greece was for lack of a better word… fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane that felt more festive in my life. The isles were full of people laughing, talking, flirting and playing games (in a variety of languages)… I was waiting for someone to break out a guitar and we could all start singing. Scott and I referred to this flight as the party plane. In America the airlines might offer you soft drinks and for a price you can buy alcoholic drinks (in the coach section). In Europe, alcohol is part of the ‘package’. I have to wonder if this LKF contributed to the “atmosphere” of the plane.

I was a little surprised at how uninspired the architecture was in Athens. All of these plain buildings in need of repair nestled together under the Acropolis that sits on top of a small mountain in the center of the city.

Another thing I noticed was the considerable amount of graffiti. The only place in Athens that didn’t have graffiti was the historic landmarks and trains. (Mental note: open spray paint store in Athens)

Scott always does so much research on hotels and has never disappointed in the one he chooses. From experience I can advise you that a more expensive hotel can actually save you money on your vacation. They usually include breakfast (food can be expensive in large European cities) and they are usually located close to the sights you want to see or a train that will take you to the places you would most likely like to see. Otherwise you will need to take taxis and that can rack up the cost of a vacation.

We checked into our hotel… Wow! The Electra Palace… highly recommended!

It is so centrally located that on our trip we took two taxis, one to our hotel from the airport and one to the airport from our hotel.

After dropping off the luggage in our room (which included a bidet), we went in search of dinner. It had been a long day of flights and we were all tired. I was hoping for some food that was quick, recognizable and not far from our hotel.

The streets in Athens are tiny, one-way and the sidewalks are so narrow that most everyone just walked in the street (kind of like India). Parking is definitely difficult.

We walked a couple of short blocks and before us stood a sign… not just a sign, but an omen that this was going to be a fabulous trip… before us stood the Hard Rock Café Athens. Anyone who knows us knows that our family loves HRC. Scott has been to 21 of the restaurants, I’ve been to 20 and John 19. We even have a frequent diner card. Moussaka Hard Rock Café style… well, it ROCKS!

I would like to say we went back to our room to sleep after a satisfying dinner, but it was more like we went back to our room and passed out.

I would like to take a minute to rant here… I’ve noticed this trend at hotels lately. What is up with the firm mattresses? Mattress commercials say like sleeping on a cloud, not a slab of marble! Why even have beds if you are going to have rock hard mattresses? Just have your clients sleep directly on the floor. Different people like different firmnesses of mattresses. I would think a hotel wouldn’t go to the extreme of too hard or too soft… the smartest option would be right in the middle. Everyone would be happy.

Anyway… we woke up and had a fabulous breakfast in the hotel garden.

We spent the next few days wandering this sunny city looking at the sights and learning about the Greek culture… and doing what Smiths do best… shopping!

My favorite was the flea market… a little touristy but I loved it. Surprising how many “Made in India” things I saw. I bought some sandals (made in Greece) that have strings that wrap up your legs. I don’t know if I will ever wear them? This brings me to another subject, fashion.

There seemed to be three things in fashion in Greece; smoking, lots of bare skin and hairy women. I don’t think any of these need more explanation.

We took the train a couple of times. It’s a great place for my favorite sport… people watching. It always surprises me how many doppelgangers I see when I travel. I saw mine in Rome last year.

Now that I am 40 I now am faced with a dilemma, I have to be really careful who I offer a seat to when riding on trains. It’s customary to offer your seat to an older person, or if you are a man, to a lady. Imagine someone only a few years younger than you offering you a seat on a train… that might be considered an insult.

The food in Greece was delicious. I am so blessed to have an adventurous 9 year old boy when it comes tasting new things. At one restaurant he ordered octopus… I know you won’t believe me, but it was delicious! It wasn’t rubbery at all.

We went to the Electra restaurant for dinner one evening. Definitely in the top 10 list of dining experiences I’ve experienced. The restaurant was outdoors on the roof… the food very posh. We all ordered different things and sampled from each other’s plates. John had the steak tartare and loved it. Actually all of the food was amazing… but the best part was the view. We were under the Acropolis. As we dined the sun set giving us a beautiful show.

I don’t know why but the produce in Greece seemed fresher to me than any I have ever had. Salads and fruit and vegetables seemed to be ripe, crisp and flavorful. I will take my new love of Greek salads with me to the grave.

The bills at restaurants were kind of funny… everything was written in Greek except the total.

One of my favorite things to do was to stop at the sidewalk cafés and have a frappe (cold coffee).

A lot of them would have these fans that would blow mist. It really cooled you down, and a great place for conversation. At one of these cafés John came up with his new game idea (he invents new video games for fun), “Grand Theft Hovering Vampire Teletubbies with Battle Axes of Doom IIV”. Creative or weird… the jury is still out.

One day we were walking and saw these people next to the busy street having a formal archeological dig.

John had outgrown so many of his clothes that we decided to take a trip to the mall to look for some new clothes for him. When we got to the mall we had a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s and after shopping we went to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. I’m learning that going to the American chains in other countries will only be disappointing. I think the opposite is true… I will never find a Greek restaurant in America that will be as good at the ones in Greece.

The mall in Athens was interesting. I’m an America living in India visiting Greece so I went to Marks and Spencer… a British store… and I signed up for a frequent shopper card just to confuse them. We bought our little fashionista a couple pair of shorts and shirts and got back on the train to town.

We passed the Olympic villiage on our ride back. Neat-O!

One day we went swimming at the hotel pool which was located on the roof… nice to swim under the Acropolis.

I loved Greece and hope to return someday.

I think I would like to see some of the isles next time. I might even come up with a new game… whoever spots the hairiest woman wins.

The Last Mango Tango

2009-05-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was a special party for the Twin-cities Expat Association. T.E.A. hosted the “Last Mango Tango” at Hyderabad's much-loved Grillroom. The “Last Mango Tango” was an adults-only dance party with a mango theme.

Many of our expats are leaving the city permanently to go back to their homelands or continue their work in different places. The “Last Mango Tango” was a party to honor these temporary citizens of Hyderabad and to reflect on how Hyderabad has changed and affected their lives.

The Grillroom staff did not disappoint with unique and lip-smacking snacks, amazing food and smooth and delicious drinks.

A table was set up with different varieties of mangos for sampling, and a pasta bar was present for made-to-order pastas... in addition to the variety of offerings on the buffet.

Friendly waiters circled the room with orange and green test tubes of sweet mango juice. The bar offered mango martinis, mango margaritas and a variety of mango juices in addition to the usual bar components.

The Grillroom was decorated by Indu Vaidyanathan with her exceptional sense of style. She festooned the room with brightly colored marigolds, mangoes and mango leaves. The tables were decked out with runners with the word mango written in different languages. The center of the tables had colorful recipes with instructions on how to make unique cuisine with mangos as a key ingredient. Each table had a sprinkling of mango-flavored candies, jasmine buds and green, orange and yellow gems.

Near the bar you would find a nonstop slide show projected on the wall with the theme of things you will miss when you leave Hyderabad. The slide show had nearly 700 photos of touching moments, Hyderabad landmarks, friends, and sometimes strange and funny sights.

The expats unabashedly danced the night away to the fusion of Indian and western dance music sporting their shades of mango clothing. At one point they even formed a conga-line.

This was such a well-planned and put-together party… It was a pleasant way to say a sad goodbye to these people who have become a part of our lives... also a nice way to welcome new expats joining us.

Below are some pictures of the party.

Me and Scott

Tonya and Ted

Adam, Valerie and Scott

Jim and Sue

George and Ram

Nicole, Robyn and Meera

Brigitte, Nicolai, Sylvette, and Byl

Robyn and Lisa

Charles and Louise

Valerie, Wally, Scott and Adam

Katrien, Robyn, Greta and Cheryl

Indu and Reena

Robyn, Indu and Reena

Christopher and Madeleine

Girls hanging out sporting their shades of Mango. Nicole, Trina Joi, Meera, Madeleine, Eve.

Byl becoming part of the slide show.

Madeleine,Krishnan, Tara, Nicole, Trina Joi, Meera

Tara and Byl

Indu and Krishnan

Greg and Jo

Jan, Stacy and Tonya

Yael and Robyn

Scott and Brent

Katrien and Hans

Madhuri and Lisa

Johan

Krishnan and Ed

Howard and Paula

Dawn, Ram and George dancing

Krishnan

Katrien and Hans

Jo, Katrien and Hans

Linda, Paula and Howie

Linda and Robyn

Scott and Valerie

Wally and Eve

Johan and Nicola

Madhuri and Patrick

Indu, Tara, Robyn, Cheryl and Mamtha

Anya and Tomas

Sylvette

Sudhir

George and Ram Dancing

Indu, Reena and Ami... Bharti in the background

Dinner Time!

Indu and Robyn

Robyn and Scott

Jim and Sue

Girls gone wild?

Christopher... purse holder extrordinare.

Bharti and Jim

Christopher getting his just rewards

Indu and Rob

Darshan and Jane

Mary-Signe, Katrien, Nicola, and Hans

Allen after being doused on the dance floor. (Probably not the best place to offer drinks)

Yael

Barti

Yosef getting down on the dance floor with his wife.

Avi and Indu dancing

Disco til dawn!

Smile for the camera.

Chefs

Ami and Davesh

Scott and Adam

Scott and Robyn

Conga Line

George and Dawn

Tonya and Ted

Our favorite Europeans... I heard they missed the FA finals with the German team... to be with us!

Trina Joi and Srinavas

All American Hash

2009-05-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

Blogger has changed the way they do the pictures... I'm really confused by the new way so I will just post the pictures and write something later.

Turning 40 should not be this much fun

2009-04-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

The week before my birthday the Marriot invited some of the locals to come and spend the night at their Hotel for a discounted price and the money would go toward the Marriot’s orphanage in India. It sounded like fun to me… We could ask Vijaya to spend the night at our home with John… and Scott and I would spend the night across town swimming in the Marriot pool, eating yummy Marriot food, and sleeping in a really nice Hotel. And this wouldn’t be self indulgent… it would be helping an orphanage. The problem was Scott couldn’t get off work…

On my 40th birthday the plan was for my husband to take me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant and then we would spend a nice evening at the Novotel. We could see their new club, and swim and spend the night in a really nice Hotel (sorry orphans). He planned everything out… it was very romantic, and I guessed he came up with the idea because the Marriot fell through.

We went to dinner at the F Cafe and then went to the Novotel as planned. We checked into our room and decided to go to the club. On the way up to the club we passed through some of the Novotel’s conference/party rooms. One of the rooms was marked with a Deloitte sign and Scott told me that we needed to stop in and say a brief “hello” at a Deloitte function that was going on…

I am so lucky that my husband could get the day off to spend with me. The biggest US tax deadline is April 15th, meaning first week in April to a tax guy is equivalent to December 23rd for a retail guy. I’ve never had the opportunity to spend a birthday with him since he has been with Deloitte… including my 30th which landed on Easter Sunday. So you could probably figure out that I really wasn’t “into” the idea of spending my 40th birthday at a Deloitte function. Scott promised me it would be for just a few minutes and my friend Louise would be there (she is a Deloitte spouse also). I reluctantly agreed and walked into the room with slumped shoulders and a scowl…

The first thing I noticed was Byl… he’s not with Deloitte, he is with Bank of America… I thought we walked into the wrong room. Then a photographer I recognized from a local magazine taking my picture… Then I saw Greta and her family, then Meera, then Tara, then Jim and Sue, then Louise and Charles, then Shah, then Padmaja, then Stephanie and Cory, then Vijaya, then John, then Ram and Prita, then Marilyn, then Dr. Pat… then they all yelled surprise. I was floored… I had just texted Greta and she was out of the city on a Hash run… but, no she was standing in front of me. My mind took a while to wrap around it. These people, my friends… were here for my birthday. I tear up now as I remember and write about it.

You might be saying about now… “Robyn, how could you have not known? It was your 40th birthday!” There is something I appreciate and find comfort about my husband… his complete inability to keep a secret. And he’s really not that good of a liar… These are traits you want in a husband. At least that is what I thought. I really and truly had no idea that there was a surprise party being planned.

I walked around the room talking to people and in the state of shock and kind of embarrassed. I can’t believe all of these people knew about this and no one spilled the beans… Not even John! (Traitor)

The party was nice… the buffet had a lot of my favorites and so did the bar. There was a cake and presents! I know it would be nice to say please no presents or donate to a charity… but selfish Robyn loves presents!

Oh but wait there’s more! The gigantic cherry on top of this amazing birthday surprise!

Scott stood up on a chair and asked everyone to follow him… we walked out of the party room down a hall all following Scott… this must have been an interesting sight, as this was quite a lot of people walking in a group down the hall. We went outside and there were some of the party goers already outside standing in a group. This scene probably looked like something out of a Michael Jackson video… one large group of people facing another. I think someone seeing the sight might think we were going to rumble. Scott told the people in the group facing us to part and motioned with his hands like Moses parting the Red Sea. The people parted and behind them was a brand new auto rickshaw… a tuk-tuk… a 3 wheeler.

We had joked before about me driving a rickshaw here because I get so many stares for driving a car… but I never really thought I would get one. It was the absolute perfect present for Scott to give to his unconventional wife.

Now I know I have a husband who can keep a secret… lie… and hide something as big as a tuk-tuk… I also know he is the world’s greatest Husband… and he’s mine!

The Belgian Hash

2009-03-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a walk through of the Hash on Sunday...

There is a small group of expats in the city that hosted this week's Hash Run...

We refer to this group as the Belgians... well because they are from Belgium.

Here are some of the group getting ready to go on the run.

When the run starts, it reminds me of a marathon... Everyone clustered together... but soon the faster people take the lead and the slower people take the end of the line.

I would say within 30 minutes this cluster of people can barely see each other along the "hares" path.

The hare is the person who marks the path for everyone else to follow...

The Hare can be quite tricky and set up mysteries for you to figure out with certain markings left on the ground...

The Hare can be nice and point out interesting scenery...

This week's Hares were the Belgians and they did a fantastic job.

We had a run with a beautiful setting, and interesting and challenging climbs.

We made it to the top of the rocks and I took a picture of the ones below... see I'm not the slowest Hasher (well not today at least).

Here were some boys at the top of the rocks who wanted me to take their picture.

Scott and John taking a picture break.

It's kind of funny how you can sometimes find little pockets of peace in this hectic city.

After the Hares' marks led us up the rocks, they led us to somewhere I have not been before on a Hash run.

Down some stairs into a little colony

Down the path of the "nalley" we were surrounded by the people living in the colony... they wanted to shake our hands...

and have their picture taken.

After the little villiage, we were led down a more peaceful street. I took this picture of these tent houses with the wedding throne. I don't know... it struck me as strange, and I took a picture.

Hey guys wait for me!

Down some rocks...

Back to the Belgium house roof top for 'circle time'. (Here are some of the Hash Horrors)

John and his friend Benjamin... such a sweet boy!!! (Benjamin that is)

We gathered on the roof while waiting for the last of the line to catch up with the first of the line.

Here is more of the group talking about the run and...

enjoying the rooftop view.

It's difficult to explain circle time... It reminds me of a fraternity, with songs and silliness.

Venkat usually runs the circle, he honks his horn when we get distracted... I think Hashers are traditionally easily distracted.

Here is another view of the circle.

The Belgians were called into the center of the circle and sung to and made fun of and thanked for a great run... and bringing Belgian "beir" for people to sample.

When you are a Hare for the first time you are given your Hash name. It's a nick name that you use when you are at Hyderabad Hash House Harriers.

Scott and Brandon are here talking about hosting an American Hash in April or May... I think they just want a cool name.

This is Tom... Oops, I don't know what his Hash name is so I will just avoid using a name here.

As the sun started to set the Smiths (Both Sides, Doctor Bare Foot, and Scott who has never hared and doesn't have a cool name like John and me) got hungry and did something that is becoming a tradition with us.

We left and went out to dinner... John hitting his nose on the way. (He's holding ice on his nose so he doesn't grow up to look like Uncle Rich... his words... I should let him know that between Scott and my nose genetics haven't given him a chance of a normal nose).

John and Scott on the Belgian steps.

We went to the Walden Club at Whisper Valley to have a quiet family meal... (and we thought it was a place that would allow us to eat there with our Hash atire) only to find out there was a huge birthday party going on for a first grader from John's school and many of our friends were there.

John giving Scott a back rub... Now I know why we had him... Anyway thank you Belgians for a terrific day!

Goa

2009-03-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

John had some time off of school so we decided to go to the beach. Cheapest flight/nearest beach translated into Goa...

This was a spur of the moment thing...

At the airport we found out our plane had other expat families with the same idea. Here are some of the kids and a mom on the Kingfisher shuttle taking us to our plane.

Here is John pretending to be a terrorist on the plane... I'm so proud (not). This does bring up an interesting point... When I was a kid I would play cops and robbers or Charlie's Angels with my friends... someone had to play the part of the bad guy. I liked being the bad guy... it was more fun to be chased than do the chasing... I think a lot of the kids in the 50's (in America) would play good guys verses communists... It's not just John. If you ask the kids these days to describe a "bad" guy"... I bet a lot of them would use the word terrorist. (Right?)
Anyway... I explained to him that 'terrorist' is a forbidden word on planes as well as the word 'crash' and 'stewardess'.

Anyway... I digress... Here is a picture of our view out the window of the plane.

After landing, and checking into our hotel... we hit the beach.

This was our first trip to Goa. I was surprised how nice the beaches were.

Our hotel lobby was beautiful... I loved the ceilings and the sides were completely open letting in a salty breeze (and tiny birds that made nests on top of the pillars).

Our room was nice... clean... everything we needed... well furnished...

My favorite part was the screened balcony. It overlooked a palm tree forest. It had a cane table and chairs to enjoy your morning tea.

John and I ate supper every night at the same restaurant. It was a little bamboo/ palm frond shelter next to the beach. They had a different band that played every night... The music was (to borrow a phrase) kind of not fabulous... But they tried very hard by playing songs Americans would like to hear... or what they thought Americans would like to hear. And it brought a smile to my face to hear yet another mutilated version of 'Hotel California' or Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' every night.

The service was terrific and the food was amazing... my favorite was the king fish.

Every morning we would eat breakfast at the hotel breakfast buffet with the other "guests". Goa has tourists visit from all over the world... sitting at our table I could hear many different accents and languages.

I noticed a trend almost immediately... all of the Russian-accented people had the fashion sense that would make a stripper blush. I took this picture at breakfast with my camera phone (yes that is her ass hanging out of her "shorts"). I was too shy (or scared) to take pictures on the beach of the men in their teeny tiny speedos and enormous guts. One guys suit was so small and his stomach was so big... I thought he was naked at first sight. This is a little shocking as Indians usually don't show a lot of flesh... A woman's torso might be displayed when wearing a sari... but never her legs. It felt a little weird seeing so many people show such little respect for the culture of the country they are visiting. Anyway... made it a little more interesting... and I think I am officially an old lady by the way I bring this up.

After breakfast in the morning, John and I would be back at the beach. There were comfy beach chairs set up under palm leaf umbrellas... A guy would come by and ask if you would like something to eat or drink.

I don't think there are many things in life better than fresh squeezed pineapple juice on the beach.

Life is good!

Our hotel was not directly on the beach but set back a little... here is the path that led to the beach.

The mushroom-looking things were lights. At night they would cast an eerie glow on the path.

I found something a little unexpected about Goa. There are an incredible amount of crows. I've always thought of crows as a forest-type animal... not a beach animal. At night the crows would gather in the palm trees that lined the path. One or two "caws"... no problem... Hundreds of "caws" on a dark creepy path... a little chilling.

Our hotel had this giant chess set...

John wanted to play, but I couldn't remember how some of the pieces moved...

so we made up our own game that included John being one of the board characters... I call him the jester.

Our hotel had a labyrinth of pools. They had pools of many different depths, a jacuzzi, slide, and a swim-up bar. The jacuzzi was in the middle and elevated so I spent most of my time being jacuzzied while watching John swim... tough job but someone has to do it!

Oh and get this... they actually had an on-duty, real live, life guard watching the pools!

Going between the beach and the pool caused one small problem... sunburn. Even with sunblock we were a little overexposed.

On the day we woke up and realized we had too much sun the day before we opted to not go to the beach or the pool...

We hung out inside our hotel instead.

John and I ordered room service in our room... we had a local dish called 'vegetables caldin'... Triple yum with a twist!!!!!!

John and I had Mother-Son facials at the hotel spa... he had an all-natural papaya mask that they actually let him taste before they smeared it on his face... I had the "you look like death eating a hotdog" facial... (too toxic for me to taste).

We wandered around the hotel and took lots of pictures...

One day we took a taxi into town to get a few supplies... t-shirts, cheetoes, and diet pepsi... just the 'can't live withouts'.

When we got back to the hotel the sun was beginning to set, so we went to the beach to watch the sun hit the water.

We found a stick on the beach that was perfect for writing in the wet sand... I wasn't very imaginative so I wrote Mom (heart) Dad...

John, being a little more creative wrote, "Darth Vader says hi"...

and then drew a picture of a Star Wars battle...

I wrote I (heart) Goa... still not a lot of imagination...

Any way Goa was a great trip... I loved that we could travel somewhere and be in the same time zone and not have jet lag issues. I can't beleive it has taken us so long to go here. We will definately go back... but next time with Scott.

Holi - The Indian Festival of Colors

2009-03-11T01:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Holi... Yet another festival in India.

John and I celebrated Holi two times this year... I think we are making up for all of the Holi celebrations we have missed in the past. Scott is in the middle of busy season and couldn't join us for the celebration... Although I think if he could, he might be tempted to skip it anyway.

Here is a Picture of me, Dr. Pat, and Greta at our first celebration... It was the 'Full Moon, Holi, Hash'. Every full moon the Hyderabad Hash House Harriers gather for a run at night. This one fell on the night before Holi... so it was a Holi Hash.

Here is a picture of some Hashers with John after our run... and color extravaganza.

John was really excited about this... this is the first time we have allowed him to celebrate Holi.

Ed, Greta, George and Dave were at the run... We had such a good time. Dave is my favorite running buddy.

Here is a picture of John after we got home and before we got in the shower.

I did a little research and I'm more confused than ever as to why we celebrate Holi. Apparently there are many different ideas of why we celebrate and how to celebrate. I guess it all just boils down to the, "Because it's fun" category.

One story I read tells us that we celebrate Holi to commemorate the escape of Pralad from the clutches of his evil father Hirnakashyup... (This is exactly why I named my son John Smith). Supposedly, Pralads aunt Holika could walk through fire without getting hurt... so Hirnakashyup who wanted to kill his son Pralad, (and you talk about your horrible childhood) asked aunt Holika to take Pralad for a little walk... Long story short Pralad comes out of the fire unharmed not Holika... Jokes on you mean Aunt Holika... although you now have an entire festival named after you.
I guess this is why we set bon fires the night before... With a scarecrow looking man in the middle of the fire... or is that a woman?

That story explains the fires, but not the colors? I've heard some say that it is a celebration of spring and all the colors the changing of the seasons bring. That this comes at the beginning of my favorite season in India makes sense to me... (favorite season being Mango season).

Above are some of the colors John and I brought to the celebration we went to the morning of Holi. The festivities were held in our neighborhood. We wanted to have a safe and kid friendly party, so the neighbors got together and decided to only have organic colors. The problem with this is that the organic colors are made of flour and herbs. Have I mentioned it is a very dry 100 degrees here in Hyderabad? The colors I brought hatched little insects. It was funny watching some of the neighborhood girls go up and start to grab the powder to toss at their friends, only to see the little bugs crawling around in the powder and then watching the girls run away... usually shrieking.

I call this picture, 'Tra-la-la... I'm messy and not in school.'.

The "modern tradition" of celebrating Holi is by smearing each other's faces with colored powder and throwing colored water on each other. People sometimes take out processions on streets that feature folk songs, dances, and of course drums... really loud drums.

Also it is tradition to openly drink intoxicating 'Bhaang' (cannabis) drinks. (NOT BY ME MOM!)... (or John!) Like so many of the festivals I've experienced here, this Indian festival has a savage, ancient feel to it, but also makes you feel like a kid (even without the cannabis milkshake).

I still was curious about the colors... I wasn't buying the colors of spring story. Especially because there is no spring in India... India goes from nice warm weather (their 'winter'), directly to... "I think the soles of my shoes are melting into the ground" hot. So I did a little more research and found this story:
Holi is also associated with the evergreen love of Krishna and Radha. Krishna was jealous of Radha’s fair color and asked mother Yashoda for the reason for Radha’s fair color. Yashoda jokingly said if you are so jealous change her complexion by smearing color. Naughty young Krishna was waiting for an idea for a prank and did exactly as his mother suggested.

This sounds like a more beleivable reason for the colors... right?

Whatever the reason it was such a great time to blow off steam and smear stuff in the faces of your friends...
and neighbors...

and people you have just met.

Here is John and his best friend Arjun.

This would have been a good place for me to stop and go home... but no-oo... someone was having so much fun they just kept going and going.

Shah and Kaden came over to watch the people play

I call this picture, "We are not amused."

Here is a picture of Tonya and Shah... how did they stay so clean?

This is Sarah... don't let her sweet smile lure you into a false sense of security... I have it on good authority that she can be quite vicious.

And now I have proof.

Here is a picture of Sarah with her cousin/brother Brad. The funny thing about this holiday is you are sort of doing things to each other, that on any other day, would be considered mean. On this day you just let loose and go with it.

I still don't know proper protocol for when you are splashed, squirted, and powdered... maybe, "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

I call this picture, "Hello, How are you? Slap, Rub... How are the wife and kids? Squirt, Rub... It's been a while, oh here I have something for you! Really? A present... Whatever could it be?"

I call this one, "Oh, hi Mom! I would really appreciate you putting that camera down for just a few seconds..."

After our festival of colors we had a pot luck breakfast... casual wear was acceptable.

It was a little strange standing around talking to my neighbors and acting like everything was normal... "Hi Vimala! Why yes my head does look like a grape... you kind of look like a tie dyed human!"

I call this picture, "Please Scott let us into the house! I am much to civilized to be hosed down in the front yard!"

Hospital

2009-02-23T03:55:00.000-08:00

Last night we were on our way to a friend’s house for a birthday celebration. On my way I started to get a tummy ache.

The pains in my abdomen became increasingly sharper until it was clear that we would not be going to the party.

I went home and lay in my bed only to find I couldn’t stretch out. The pain was horrible coupled with the fear of the many parasites and food issues here in India. I couldn’t think straight… Scott was worried and John was scared.

Scott called our maid Vijaya to come to our house to watch John (and the dog) while he took me to the hospital in a cab as our driver was out of town at a wedding.

Vijaya showed up and we continued to wait for the cab… and wait.

After a 40 minute wait, we called the cab company to see where our cab was and they said the cabbie was near our house but couldn’t find it.

Vijaya gave them instructions (after yelling at him for not calling us to ask for directions) and he was there in a few minutes.

We got into the smelly car with lots of signs instructing us to buckle up...but no seat belts, and asked the extremely smelly cab driver if he knew where we were going. Apollo Hospital? No answer… this meant that the extremely smelly driver was either deaf, rude or didn’t speak English.

Half way to the hospital we realized the cab driver was taking us to the airport. Airport/Apollo… I can see it. We told him that we were going to the hospital… hospital… Apollo Hospital. He said, “Oh, yes… Care Hospital”. Care/Apollo…I’m not buying it. We called Vijaya and asked her to tell the driver where we were going over the phone. (People sometimes wonder why we pay Vijaya so much.)

The driver finally took us to the hospital… slowly. We were actually passed by people on bicycles… this is not an exaggeration.

At the hospital there were bodies everywhere. I don’t think they were sick people they were just the many family members waiting for their loved ones in the emergency room.

The emergency room was a large open room. No curtains for privacy. I think there was a heart patient and a burn patient all displayed on beds for our viewing pleasure. I was directed by a man (who later turned out to be the doctor) in jeans and a plaid shirt and no I.D. to go into a room off to the side… I’m thinking because I am a woman I was given special treatment… and allowed a small amount of modesty.

Out in the main room an orderly knocked over one of those electric monitors that show you the pulse/heart beat and other statistics on who ever it’s hooked up to. He was promptly slapped by several nurses.

In the “private” room there was a bed with a pillow. The bed was covered with a cloth sheet and the pillow had a cloth pillow case. Both were stained and dirty.

I know I was in a lot of pain because in laid down on the gurney without a second thought about the oily head print on the pillow… until Scott told me that I would be exiled to the futon tonight if I didn’t shower before going to bed.

The doctor was nice and seemed knowledgeable… He poked my stomach and ruled out appendix, gal bladder, miscarriage… because I was not vomiting or didn’t have ‘loose movements’ he was out of guesses. He gave me a prescription for pain killers and an anti-spasmodic. We joked about the anti-spasmodic and how I would start to disappear if I took them as I am such a spaz.

(We also joked about the sign on the wall that said emergency plastic surgeon on call… “Doctor my wife needs D-cups stat!)… Thank you Scott for keeping my mind off the pain. Laughter is the best medicine after all.

The doctor told me to come back tomorrow for a scan (ultrasound), and sent Scott to get the prescriptions.

I realized where and what I was lying on and opted to move to a chair, while I waited for Scott’s return. While I sat there bent over looking at my toes… a mouse ran over my foot. No I wasn’t hallucinating.

Scott came back and I told him about the mouse… he told me he paid the hospital bill (300 rupees… about $6.12) and picked up the medicine at the pharmacy (another 54 rupees…$1.10). For the record this was not co-pay… this was the total bill. I think the postage would cost more to send the claim to our insurance company.

For how laughably unsanitary the hospital was… the medicine the doctor gave me helped and I’m feeling much better today.

My adventure has left me with a lot of unanswered questions:
1. What was wrong with me?
2. What happened to the orderly who dropped the expensive machine?
3. Where exactly are our healthcare funds going?

Hyderabad Hash House Harriers

2009-02-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoons we like to go on the Hash House Harrier Runs (also known as H4). This is a group of people (mainly expats) that get together and run or walk a different pre-marked trail every week. There are Hash clubs all over the world, but each one is unique.

Each week a different person (or persons) marks the trail early Sunday morning...to be followed by the runners later that evening. These people are known as the Hash Hares.

This week was a special run marked by the Hyderabad Hash House Harrier Horrors (the kids).

The trail is marked with lyme...I think it's more like chalk. As they set the trail the kids throw the powder on the ground to show the runners which way they should go when they run the trail later that day. The powder lasts the whole day but washes away easily with water.

Some of the kids got a little creative with the powder...

And some of the kids just went a little overboard.

After they set the trail the Horrors hitched a ride with one of the parents back to the house we started at.

Later that evening the Hashers meet at the start of the run (a different place every week). We register and sometimes get free t-shirts. Here are Scott and I in our matching Kingfisher shirts.

This Sunday the kids got theses stylish yellow shirts with their hash names written on the back... I think I failed to mention the name... After you mark the trail for the first time or be the Hash Hare you are given a Hash name. My name is "Both Sides" (because I drive on both sides of the road)...(India and America), John is known as Dr. Bear Foot (because he refuses to wear shoes...only sandals for him), and Scott has not yet been a Hare so he doesn't have a Hash name.

When the kids marked the trail there are certain codes marked by the Hash Hares... when you come to a place where you can go more than one way you put a circle with a dot in it, this is called a check point... then you must go a little way down each path to see either an X telling the runner they are on the wrong path or a mark telling the runners they are on the correct path. The kids tried to trick the adults into exploring lots of different paths, but one of the bags of powder broke and gave up the secret to the correct path.

After the run we all met at Isabelle and Venkats house for a 'circle'. This is a fraternity like circle where certain silly songs are sung and silly rituals take place.

The kids, having run the Hash twice that day opted to go swimming...

Picnic

2009-02-16T19:40:00.001-08:00

This years Valentines Day was spent attending a picnic at ICRISAT thrown by the expat association.The picnic had a variety of people...
Couples...Friends... Families...

People of all ages...

From many different countries.

There was a festive feeling in the air...As we played games...

Relaxed...

Got creative...

Ate yummy food...

And hung out...With good company.

Some of the highlights of the day included:
A 'treasure' dig in a big bucket of rice. (The kids all left with their pockets full of candy)

Our famous sari relay...

The men are wrapped in a sari and have to carry a bucket on their heads down the field and back without losing the sari.

Some of the men had their saris wrapped so tight they had to hop down the field like a mummy.
We had a refreshing ice cream bar with fruit, syrups and (of course) ice cream.

The ICRISAT campus is such a peaceful place. We really enjoyed listening to the birds and forgetting how hectic Hyderabad can get.

Here is Aiden asking when the food will be here?

Here are some of the kid playing tug of war.

Against some of the adults.

Here are some friends enjoying some good conversation...
While the kids had a water fight.

Here is a family enjoying the green grass, and the warm February weather.

The men were challenged to play a game we call, "The Coconut Bonk".

A coconut is tied to their waist and they are to swing it without using their hands... they are supposed to hit a loose coconut on the ground rolling it closer to a finish line. The first one with their coconut over the line wins.

The men wanting to share the humiliation decided it was only fair to have to women compete also.

I hope everyone had as much fun as I had.

Lorraines Visit to Hyderabad

2009-02-07T03:59:00.000-08:00

My Mother-in-law came to visit us here in Hyderabad from Canada...her visit was directly on the heels of my parents visit from America. We wanted them to come this time of the year because of the weather. The Indian summer is starting up and we thought it would be better for them to miss as much of the heat as possible.
Scott was in his usual work-aholic mode so Lorraine and I had a great time seeing the sights of the city without him and some of the other 'work widows' that live here.

No visit to Hyderabad would be complete without a trip to Charminar and the row after row of bangle stores that could be found there. (Lorraine wanted to know exactly how many bangles can one person use in a lifetime?)

I was really pleased with how quickly Lorraine fit in with the locals... she even took a scooter for a spin around the neighborhood. (Kidding...this as close as she got.)

Here is a picture of Lorraine and our dog Scruff... Lorraine is prepared for the outdoor market with her water, hat, comfortable shoes, light cool clothes, sunscreen lotion, mosquito repellent, sun glasses, and I suspect tissues in her purse... Scruff said, "forget it...I'll just stay home".

Lorraine was hounded by the paparazzi everywhere we went...We took her to the F-cafe incognito. F-cafe stands for Fashion cafe... It's really nice, professional decorated... gourmet western food.

I also took her to McDonald's after a day of clothes shopping. McDonald's doesn't really need an explanation...except the only things the same in an Indian McDonald's that are at an American/Canadian McDonald's is the fillet of fish and ice cream... they claim the fries are the same, but I don't believe them.

Don't tell Scott but Lorraine and I caught an Auto Rickshaw home one day after seeing some sights. This is a ride I think Universal Studios should put in their theme parks.

Lorraine made many new friends at the cooking classes we attended at the Novotel. Here is a picture of some of us with the chef.

I think one of the highlights of her visit was sari shopping. This is one of the best experiences you can have (for women) in India. You sit on a chair with a big long table in front of you. The shop keepers bring sari after sari and spread them out on the table for you to view. The table gets higher and higher as the saris pile up.

When you find one you like they will wrap you in the sari and show you what it will look like in a full length mirror... (Orest better watch out... this guy behind Lorraine seemed really interested in her).

Here is Trina Joi, Me, Lorraine, Meera, Vijaya and Rathnamma at the sari shop...It was a really fun day that ended with us going to Chutney's restaurant for a vegetarian Indian lunch.

We took the sari that Lorraine picked out to a tailor, where they measured her and stitched her blouse and sari overnight. There was a little resistance when we told them we wanted the blouse to come all the way to her waist (most sari blouses are short and show the midriff... no matter age or physical attributes).

We went to dinner at the Golden Dragon Restaurant at the Taj Krishna Hotel. Here is a picture of John and Lorraine.

Here is a picture of Lorraine and Scott looking rather smart.

The whole family.... Viajya took the picture, below is a picture of Vijaya and Lorraine in John's room.

Lorraine is one of the best writers I know... she wrote down some of her thoughts for me to use in the blog. Her words were so well expressed that I thought it best to just put them down below as she wrote them:
Lorraine's thoughts on Hyderabad

People here always want to know what visitors think about Hyderabad.

When I first began riding around the city, all I could see on the streets was construction. Scaffolding everywhere, with huge blue plastic sheets covering the skeletons of buildings, and rubble on every corner. After being here a few days, I began to look past the debris to the houses behind the walls that separate them from the streets. Beautiful wrought-iron gates guard the entrance to tree-lined courtyards behind high walls. Huge stucco houses, mainly white, with tiled roofs – to me, very Mediterranean. Rooms are large and spacious with beautiful marble floors and high ceilings featuring a variety of designs and decorations. Hyderabad is a great city growing a little too fast for comfort. As long as everyone goes in the same general direction on their side of the street, traffic is a no-holds-barred affair not advisable for the faint of heart. Picture a divided racetrack, with at least four lanes on each side of the median. Now put hundreds of bumper cars, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians and the odd water buffalo into the mix, and a 10-year old boy on each vehicle. Shout, “Have fun!” and get the hell out of the way. Signs urge drivers to obey traffic rules, but I could see no signs that spelled out the actual rules, although I’m sure there are some. In North America, cutting in front of other drivers is considered not only rude but dangerous, but here it seems to be the norm, as long as everyone continually honks their horns. I felt safer in the back seat, to tell the truth! Even though the family has a driver, Robyn managed to acquire her driver’s license here and drives the family’s second car on a daily basis. An independent woman who comes and goes as she pleases, she has since motivated other western women to give it a try. Even most western men don’t venture forth in this traffic, let alone their wives, and everyone uses the services of a male driver.

Beggars tap on car windows whenever traffic slows down enough. If one were to act on a sympathetic impulse and contribute to their constant requests for alms, there would be an instant and demanding group of people crowding around the car. This necessitates learning to ignore these pitiful souls, which is hard to do when they start as little children, often holding their infant siblings while they mime “food in mouth” to tourists and visitors. Nearby and trying to be invisible is the “uncle” everything misbegotten goes to, like a pimp. It’s been said before, but India truly is a land of contrasts.

We had a lovely family dinner at the Golden Dragon restaurant in the Taj Krishna, a beautiful and grand old hotel in Hyderabad. Huge, elegant, old-world and traditional are descriptive words that come to mind. The family often has lunch or dinner at their favourite dining spots, such as the F Café (The F stands for Fashion), Ohri’s, and Chutney’s. We tried out a newer hillside restaurant with an outdoor bar, called Tamaara.

Weekly cooking classes sponsored by the nearby Hotel Novotel were enlightening and inspiring, and I’ve gained a new respect for the magical mystical blending of fresh spices (this blend is called a masala, a detail I’m proud to report I already knew from my Indian friend Alison, who now lives in Canada).

Shopping was terrific and varied, with everything a tourist could ask for, from large shopping malls to little shops in the middle of the city. A historic street bazaar called Charminar boasted dozens of bangle kiosks, and we also visited a handicraft village called Shilparmam, where I went a little pashmina-crazy, I’m afraid. My friends back in Canada will love them, I think.

As for the Indian food – well, I really enjoyed it, although it took my system a good ten days to catch up with my enthusiasm.

Before I came to India, I was advised to bring two different medicines to sooth an upset tummy, as well as a bottle of antibiotic pills in case the other medicines didn’t solve the problem. After getting innoculated for Hepatitis A and Typhoid, and purchasing my daily anti-Malaria pills, I was outright warned to protect myself against both the daytime, Dengue Fever-carrying mosquitos and the dusk-to-dawn Malaria-causing mosquitos. I hated to douse myself in Deet-drenched insect repellent, but I endured the stink in the name of the cause – namely, not to make a long-lastng souvenir of some exotic tropical disease.

What?

2009-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Our house is in a gated community that is located next to a water buffalo farm. We are lucky enough to be the last house on the street and are directly next to the farm separated by a wall.

I noticed the strangest sight this week. Apparently one of the cows had given birth to a still born calf.

I'm sure there is a reason for this, but the farmer has hung up the dead calf on the shed where water buffalo eat.

I'm confused...why would he do this...it seems a little mean?

Singapore

2009-01-26T04:50:00.000-08:00

My parents recently came for their 4th visit to Hyderabad...
I felt there isn't much to do in Hyderabad that they haven't seen so we took them to Singapore.

I like to call Singapore the anti-India. (By the way this yam flavoured ice cream tastes like captain crunch cereal.)

Singapore is known for it's orderliness. (Is that a word?)

Here is a picture of us crossing the street. Everyone waits (like they should) until the light says they can cross and it's a mad dash to get to the other side so they will be on the other side before the light changes...It was kind of thrilling and felt good to be so exact.

Here is the night market...people crowd into the narrow aisles to hunt for bargains.

This guy was at a fruit juice stand. Art is subjective.

I don't know what kind of fruit this was but they were everywhere...I love the color.

We were in Singapore right before Chinese New Year (welcome Year of the Ox). It seemed everywhere we looked you could see red and gold lanterns. There was so much excitement in the air...it felt a lot like Christmas.

One night John and I stopped at a stand for a snack and took a picture of a crab escaping from this basket... Looking back it might have been more friendly to the stand owner to tell him his crabs were escaping instead of sitting there taking a picture.

Here is John with his 'nerd' glasses he just bought at the night market...they are clear glass with no prescription (sometimes I cannot figure out what makes this kid tick).

My parents were really impressed with how well John uses chopsticks...He was really impressed with how well they use silverware.

Here is a picture of the hotel we were staying at. The Intercontinental is adjacent to the Bugis Junction Mall and across the street from the night market. It's such a nice hotel...this was our fifth/sixth time visiting and this is our favorite place to stay.

This is a picture I like to call "keep that teenager in line!" I will threaten to show this picture to John's friends when he is a teenager if he doesn't...clean his room...come home on time...just say no...

More colorful lanterns.

Mom and Dad having some fresh squeezed sunshine.

John, Scott and Robyn at the dim sum restaurant.

Can you guess what this is?

Who said octopus balls? You're right!

We saw this restaurant at Bugis Junction mall...it's theme was the U.S.A. They had these standees of Obama and McCain to invite people into the restaurant...finally a use for politicians!

Yummy Asian sweets!

Mike and Scott on the crowded subway.

A peaceful bamboo garden.

What vacation wouldn't be complete without a trip to Starbucks?

Mike...What's in the cup that's making him smile like that?

Three Smiths on a fountain.

Chinese New Year Lanterns.

Just outside of the Chinese market was a Hindu temple....I had to take a picture.

Here is the Chinese market... I don't think it is normally this crowded, but people were stocking up for the New Year celebrations.

We decided to go back to the American-themed restaurant and see what they had. Here is a picture of the two Johns.

What could be more American that deep-fried food dipped in melted cheese (ahh to be young again).

Here is a picture of John and me having a pedicure via sucker fish.

The fish nibble at dead skin...yes it tickles.

We went to the night safari at the zoo. This is such a clever idea. You ride a tram around the zoo and see the nocturnal animals frolicking in natural settings...It was interesting how many Indian animals they had.

John, Scott, Donna and Mike on the tram.

John and I enjoyed the fish pedicure so much...we talked Scott into going back and trying it.

Here is a picture of Scott's feet.

This explains how the fish work...if you can read it.

We stopped for some late night satay and were visited by this little gecko. He was very friendly.

My guys.

Singapore is only 1 degree north of the equator. It is very tropical - reminds me a little of Hawaii.

The Smiths would not go to Singapore without going out for conveyor belt sushi. It was interesting to take Mike out for his first sushi...couldn't talk Donna into trying it.

John took a picture of one of his favorite things to eat. Edamame swimming in soy sauce.

Singapore has such interesting architecture. This is a glass building where they strategically placed sun shades to counteract the green house effect. This building has many nicknames, but it's twin next door makes the buildings look like fly eyes.

This is a relatively new attraction in Singapore...the Singapore Flyer was shut down for repairs while we were there.

Ancient banyan trees.

I love how they painted these shutters different colors.

We stopped at the famous 'Long Bar' at Raffles Hotel. This is where the Singapore Sling drink was invented. Here is John doubling up (there is no alcohol in these ones but lots of sugar). Really expensive... but the peanuts are free.

Robyn, John and Scott at Raffles.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but this building is so thin it looks like a piece of paper.

Gesundtheit.

John insisted I take this picture...He thought it was the best Mona Lisa he's ever seen (and he's been to the Louvre).

We took a cable car to Sentosa Island. This (non-operational) one is made out of legos.

Scott and John on the cable car.

Scott and John gearing up for the street luge.

My Mom never seems to age.

Scott and John on the chair lift.

Robyn, John and Scott on the street luge.

Donna's Post

2009-01-16T02:14:00.000-08:00

Hi kids, co-workers and friends. I thought I would borrow Robyn's blog to send you some of the pictures from our visit to India. Here is a picture of the traffic in India.

Here is a picture of a man selling chaat on the side of the road.

Here we are at 10 Downing Street. It's a restaurant in India with a British theme. Yummy fish and chips.

Here is a picture of us at the local craft village called Shilparamam.

This young guy was selling glass beads in the village. He would only except U.S. dollars from us. He was a good sales man but he should have been in school...not working.

Here is a picture of us at my favorite Restaurant in Hyderabad, Ohris. I love the crackling spinach (shh... don't tell the doctor, but what kind of doctor puts you on a no vegetable diet?).It seems like all of the traffic circles or round abouts have a statue in the middle.

We were there for the kite festival. There is a lady flying a kite here, but you have to look closely.

Here is a picture of someone making a delivery on his bicycle.

Family of three on a motorcycle.

We went to Charminar where you can buy a lot of things at a cheap price. Most of the vendors set up on the side of the road.

Here is a picture of a clothing store at Charminar.

Here are some fancy shoes... only $1.50 a pair!

Charminar is famous for their bangles.

This is a picture of a mosque.

India can be quite crowded.

Here is a picture of Mohammad. He is Scott and Robyn's driver.

Family of five on a motorcycle. So far the most we have seen is 6.

Here is a picture of a lady begging outside of our car while we sat at a red light. The beggars here are very aggressive.

Here is a picture I took of an auto rickshaw while we were stuck in traffic.

One night we went out to play some pool and some other games.

This is Scruff doing an impersonation of a mermaid (would that make him a merdog).

Some of the laborers set up tent villages.

This was the biggest chicken I've ever seen. This chicken was as big as some of the kids who chasethem at Dixie.

Another family on a motorcycle. Women usually ride side saddle on the back of scooters.

This is Robyn, John and Scott posing at f cafe. Scott wants a chair like this.

This is a very interesting way to take your bicycle for a ride. If you can't tell it's two men on a motorcycle with a bicycle.

In the News

2009-01-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

There are a few big stories happening now in Hyderabad...
There was a lorry (British talk for big truck) strike. The most obvious effect this has on us is that gas is not delivered to petrol stations (British talk for gas stations).

I was driving down the street in my gas guzzling SUV to find queue ups (British talk for line ups) kilometers long of cars waiting to get into the stations in hopes that petrol would be delivered soon...(I don't know...maybe by camel). The strike only lasted a few days but caused enough havoc that I have a new found respect for lorry drivers.

The other even bigger story is that one of the IT companies (Satyam) has been unethical and looks as if it will collapse.
A lot of people may be out of jobs...flooding the market with c.v.'s (that's British talk for resumes).

Yesterday there was a short story in the Times of India that I found...disturbing...but interesting enough to blatently plagiarise (British talk for plagiarize) and copy the story word for word on my blog... (My comments are highlighted and not part of the original story)

Satyam lies kill teacher (Those teacher killing bastards!)
A teacher committed suicide at Phagwara after losing around Rs. 14-15 lakh (Indian talk for 100,000) in stock market. According to his family, he was depressed for the past few days after losing money, but on Wednesday when the Sensex dipped further after the Satyam shock, all his hopes crashed. A teacher of mathematics at Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Dalan, Harsh Kumar, 35, was a resident of Urban Estate area. (Wow...He worked at Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Dalan? I have a friend that went to Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Dalan... I love Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Danlan. I want to send my son to Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Dalan! Guru Har Rai Public Senior Secondary School in Dosanjh Dalan football rocks) "He had been in a state of depression for quite some time after losing a lot of money in the market," said a member of his family. On Wednesday night, he went to a nearby grocery shop and consumed celphos tablets there. (Clean up on aisle 3) He was rushed to two private hospitals that refused admission seeing his serious condition. (I guess that hospital has a different meaning in India) He was then taken to DMC Hospital (not to be confused with Run DMC Hospital), Ludhiana, where he succumbed on Thursday. He's survived by wife and a year-and-half-old son. Sadar police SHO SS Bal said family of the deceased said he had lost money in the stock market, which drove him to take the extreme step. "It is not yet clear in which companies he had invested. We are also looking into the possilility of the Satyam shock precipitated the tension," he added.

Depression is a serious disease but can be treated...maybe this guy should have spent less time playing the market and more time in therapy.

My condolences to his abandoned wife and child and I hope anyone else thinking they should go to the grocery store and kill themselves to show Satyam how upset they are will reconsider...

Here is a photo of Ramalinga Raju, the disgraced promoter-chairman of Satyam...I got the photo off of the internet...The top of the picture is cut off to hide his devil horns.

Peeping Tom

2009-01-05T04:14:00.000-08:00

We have windows next to our shower in our bathroom. The glass is frosted for privacy, but we open one of the windows a little for ventilation. Our shower is on the second floor, and the window is high so I thought I was safe from prying eyes.
On the other side of the window is a tree. I was looking out the window today while I was washing. I noticed something in the tree moving. I'm always looking for the monkey because he makes the dog go berserk.

The more I looked at the tree the more my eyes started to focus on what was making the branches move. It was a bright green parrot. He blended perfectly with the leaves of the tree. Then my eyes focused a little more....

It was a tree full of bright green parrots...talking and hopping from branch to branch...putting on a show for my entertainment... then I realized they were watching me as much as I was watching them.

It was one of the things I love about living here. Good or bad, small or big... everyday offers an experience that is different from anything I would witness back in the U.S.

A New Year

2008-12-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

It’s that time again…time to start with a fresh slate…time to overcome the failures of last year…time to make New Year’s resolutions.
I read this quote on another blog…”As the sun rises on a new day are you the person you want to be, are you leading the life you want?” (Sounds like the opening of a soap opera)
Here is a list of New Year’s resolutions for the sentimental person:
· Show my loved ones just how much I care
· Give back to mother earth.
· Have a spiritual break through.
· Learn something from everyone you meet.
· Count my blessings.
· Enjoy life more
· Help others

Typically, the New Year is a time to set new goals, and get a fresh outlook on what we want to accomplish for the year. Statistics show that the first few weeks we stick to our goals, then slowly go back to our old ways.
Here is my list of no fail New Year’s resolutions:
· Watch more T.V.
· Eat more pizza and fried foods
· Exercise less
· Gain at least 5 pounds
· Write less
· Be crankier
· Become a little less organized
· Talk more on the phone
· Play more on the internet
· Procrastinate more
· Don’t throw shoes at politicians

It’s always fun to go back and look at your past New Year’s resolutions and see how you have failed miserably. Here is a list of past resolutions I have made and broken:
· Lose weight
· Exercise everyday
· Eat healthier
· Be more patient
· Learn a new language
· Save money
· Learn how a car works
· Learn to break dance

Here is my list of expat living in India New Year’s resolutions:
· Don’t go bonkers when you get that call that goes “Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello…” (My record is 43 hello’s back and forth)
· To be less judgmental.
· Don’t sic my dog on the beggars at the stop lights…have car doors hooked up to tazer gun instead.
· Come up with an answer for when people ask me, “Why are you living in India?”
· I will find a way to make it seem less like bragging when I tell my friends and family all the great places I visit.
· I will stop asking my driver to take me to that place…you know…we went there last month…it’s on that street…
· Don’t use my x-ray strength high beams to get back at bad drivers
· I will not shoot the potato gun at the guard who blows his whistle outside of my house all night. Instead I will fill a water gun with sugar water…mosquitoes love it!

Here is my real list of New Year’s resolutions:
· I resolve not to click on the ‘remind me later’ button 12 times every time I start my computer.
· I resolve…to…get…my “…’s” under control.
· Figure out how to use my i-phone.
· Stop wasting time blogging and finish my book.
· I will spend some time with a neglected child…my own.
· I will volunteer less.

Here is a list of John’s New Year’s resolutions:
· I will get into the bathtub without my mother resorting to threats, bribes and blackmail.
· I will limit the time I play video games to 5 hours a day.
· I will not tease the dog by slowly and luxuriously eating my grilled cheese sandwich.
· I will stop hanging around girls…until they find a cure for cooties.

Here is a list of Scruff the Bungaram Kouka’s (Telugu for golden dog) New Year’s resolution:
· I will finally get that monkey that teases me with his tail.
· I will only beg for the food I would like to eat…no more begging for bannana’s and tomatoes only to find out that I still don’t like them
· I will stop barking at the garbage man everyday…after all it’s not exactly my garbage he’s taking. (Yes, garbage men come every day in India)

Whatever your resolution...I guess it boils down to being a better person this year than last year.

Cooking

2008-12-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

So a British friend of mine told me that all Americans have this ridiculous notion that a conversation should start with the word ‘so’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I was feeling creative today and decided I would like to make some Jamaican Jerk Chicken. I set up the ingredients in the kitchen so I could pretend I was a television chef…they always have their ingredients in neat little bowls set up for them…It’s obvious to me they are not the ones washing the dishes. It makes sense for them to do this because they can continue to face the camera and talk as there is no need to walk back and forth to the pantry or fridge.

So I have everything lined up and ready to go when John (my son) calls me needing some help on a math workbook he was working on. I went upstairs to help him. Meanwhile Vijaya came in (Vijaya is our cook/personal assistant/ nanny/ laundress). She sees the ingredients lined up in the kitchen and asks me what I would like for her to make? I told her I was out of practice and wanted to do some cooking on my own.

So I now have a sullen cook.

So there I was happily cooking and she kept looking at me out of the corner of her eye and making minor adjustments to everything I did. The pan was exactly 1mm to the left of where she felt it should be. The spoon I was using to stir the ingredients was the wrong size. The mixing bowl I was using was plastic and I should use the glass one. I should wear an apron when I cook. The flame was too high. I was not standing with my feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent…okay not the last one, but she did scold me when I fed a scrap to the dog.

So I had an epiphany… I have now changed Vijaya’s job title from cook-personal assistant-nanny-laundress to Mother-in-law! **

**Please note that I love my Mother-in-law and she would never behave this way.

Christmas in Hyderabad

2008-12-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas and all through Hyderabad,
Traffic Noise was abundant, driving me stark raving mad.

The stockings were hung by the pooja with care,
In hopes they will be filled with trips abroad including airfare.

The maids had decorated the tree all merry and bright,
It was time to call the dog in and say good night.

My family was resting, snug in their beds,
While ceiling fans quietly spun over-head.

When outside in the fields there arose such a clatter,
I rushed onto the balcony to see what was the matter.

A thick blanket of white smoke from trash burnings filled the air
and gave off the strange smell of moldy horsehair

I had hoped to spy a vision of Santa Clause
Only to find a troop of honking auto rickshaws

The sky suddenly filled with fireworks
Over the fence a wedding party lurks.

With drumming and dancing all through the night
"Don’t you know it’s Christmas" I scream out with spite.

With the skies on fire would Santa come visit?
Would he see the danger and decide to skip it?

I know Indian weddings can last and last,
I asked the security guard to do something fast.

The guard leaves his fire protecting him from the chill
Goes to the fence and blows his whistle high and shrill.

The weddings, the horns, the dancing and drumming,
The beeps, the dogs howling, refrigerator humming,

Call to prayers, clanking engines, the sentry’s whistles,
Trains chugging, airplanes zooming, firework missiles,

I cry out to the sky smoky and hazy
The noise in this city is driving me crazy.

I lay in my bed ignoring the racket blues,
and finally dooze off for a nice long snooze.

In the morning I wake and can’t help myself,
I run downstairs...we’ve been visited by the jolly ol’ elf.

When what to my wandering eyes should appear?
Noise canceling headphones to wear on each ear.

The best present, gift or good deed!
Does Santa know exactly what I need?

I didn’t even ask… I’m really impressed.
Thank you Santa you’re the best!

To all my friends I say with delight,
Om on Earth and to all a goodnight!

Bus system in India

2008-12-20T02:09:00.001-08:00

I love the how Earthwise Indians are...they are really doing something about the fuel crisis.
In most countries there are laws that limit the number of passengers on a bus, but in India there is no limit to how many can fit on a bus...I wonder what the record is?

When the bus is full on the inside the outside has handles so people can hang on for a breezy ride to their destination...and get an upper body work out at the same time.

It seems to me that most of the locals here in A.P. are non-violent...so whenever the government does something people don't like, they retaliate against the buses...and then they are stuck and can't go anywhere. Or maybe it's just a ploy to call into work? I think the result is that there isn't a lot of money spent on the upkeep of buses, and the buses have that not-so-new look about them.

If you have ever seen or experienced this you will love the link below...

http://www.theonion.com/content/radio_news/thousands_of_astronauts

Amsterdam

2008-12-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hi! Welcome to Amsterdam.Our names are John and Scott and we will be your guides on this fantastic trip through this fabulous city.

Amsterdam is known for their delicious cuisine and love of mayonnaise.

Seafood and fresh vegetables are abundant in this moist city.

The canals are lined with beautiful row houses.

The canals have many different types of boats.

Here we see ships that look as if they belong to pirates...we took these pictures from our boat bus.

The canals and unique architecture make everywhere you look in Amsterdam a photographer's dream.

The boats that travel the canals are low so they can easily fit under the low bridges.

Did we mention that the people of Amsterdam love their bicycles. Along the streets there are bike paths that can be treacherous to cross.

The winter is a great time to visit Amsterdam. It's a little chilly but there aren't many tourists.

Boats and cars contend for parking.

This is one of our favorite houses... when we win the lottery (twice) we will buy it for ourselves.

This is Robyn, she has agreed to help us on this tour.

What handsome tour guides we make. I love the hazy winter scenes.

When the sun begins to set the streets and canals get cooler, what a great time to stop in a cafe for a cappuccino.

No wonder so many artists find Amsterdam inspiring.

I think that's Rembrandt's house... or maybe it was Gaugin, Monet or Van Goghs house?

We will now take a boat to the Rijks Museum to see a human skull with real diamonds glued all over it.

Maybe the real artists are the architects?

That concludes our first day in Amsterdam. We wait here at the doc for our boat to take us back to our hotel

...and wait.

...and take pictures.

...and wait.

Let's have some more coffee and milk while we wait.

Here are our hosts at the Hard Rock Cafe. They are standing next to signs with their names. Here we are posing for a picture...it's sometime hard to be so famous. Christmas scenes were everywhere in Amsterdam this time of year, but the Santa that comes to Amsterdam looks more like a Pope.

Cafe Hans and Grietja...the dutch love consonants.

Our hosts John and Robyn.

Robyn and John stirring the vort.

Proper little dutch boy and girl.

The new Heineken spokespersons.

Our host Scott with an itchy eye.

The view from our hotel Window.

Just like most Europeans, the dutch love football, they have recognized Scott's talents and have invited him to join the team...although they asked him to join the British team Manchester United.

The dutch have interesting furniture.

And they like to dance.

And drink beer.

And take Heineken tours.

Our tour guides run into a co-worker named the same name as one of their mothers... This is Donna Duncan and Scott singing it's a small world after all.

Goodnight Amsterdam...

Thank you for being so nice to us, and showing us such a good time.

We promise someday we will return.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

I think the theme of this blog is America.
What holiday is more American than Thanksgiving and what place could be more American than Branson Missouri?

What food could be more American than fried cheese?

What could be more American than a mall Santa Claus?

What could be more American than an old fashion log church covered in Chrismas lights?

John wanted to go to this church because, "it is good to be churchful".

John showing off his desert for Thanksgiving dinner.

Spray whipped cream...yum!

John loved our Thanksgiving meal so much...he ate and ate and ate...then went to the bathroom and vomited... What could be more American than an eating disorder?

John with his cousin Sinjin.

My favorite weird American tradition...Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving shopping at 4am.

Orlando

2008-12-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

This blog has been dedicated to John...the luckiest kid on planet Earth.
We went to Orlando with Scott when he had to go for a work training.

Because Scott was working most of the time it was John and I on our own most of the time.

So most of the pictures on this one will be of John.

So while Scott toiled away, John and I suffered our way through the Magic Kingdom.

And endured Hollywood Studios.

And made it through Epcot.

And put up with Universal Studios.

Yes...Life is good.

For the record I home-schooled John everyday before we went out to play at the happiest place on earth.

And I tried to teach John things here and there while we were riding on the rides and just spending time together.

Aside from his daily math and spelling lessons sent by Ms. Alka...

He learned about gravity, and g-forces.

He learned about animation and how it works...he even practiced drawing a little which is good for small motor skills.

He learned about weather and temperature...mainly that people are very confused about what to wear in Florida in November. Here's a hint: Halter tops and short, shorts might not keep you warm.

We learned about music and sound effects.

We did some physical education.

We learned about the environment.

We talked about conserving nature and how to save the planet.

We sent e-mails to Ms. Alka and grandparents for computer class.

We learned about centrifugal force.

We learned about the galaxy and space travel. And sometimes we would just talk about our hopes and dreams.

And we had fun trick riding bulls. Showing those crazy Americans how we do it in India.

You must respect the cow.

Be friends with the cow.

Thank the cow with the sacred quarter.

After the training we met up with a former Hyderabad expat and her son who have moved back to Florida.

We told John how his mom and dad met at K-mart and he took this picture.

Scott took John to a store with all sorts of sports equipment and souvenir's.

Here is a picture of Scott, Robyn and their psychotic son.

Hard Rock Cafe, Florida.

John the Coke.

Scott the Coke.

John and Gabby. This was his favorite ride at Universal Studios.

John and a great white...yawn.John and Gabby.

My favorite was Suessville...I want to live there when an if we ever move back to America.

John and a scary thing.Gabby, John and Robyn out for a spin.

Would someone please get this monkey off my back?

Rome

2008-11-21T03:50:00.000-08:00

I have a limited time on the internet, so I didn't take the time to match the pictures to our story of Rome. It might make the story more interesting. (This is John pretending to be Italian...it's a breadstick)

We left Hyderabad on that lovely KLM flight that leaves the airport at 3:45am. Do you think there was a meeting of some KLM executives to pick out that time?

It was no surprise that the flight was only half-full, giving all the Smiths room to lay down on empty seats. However the Mama of the Smiths was so sick she didn’t get much sleep (Yes it took TGI Fridays one week to become an authentic Indian restaurant).

We landed in Amsterdam slightly early… it’s Murphy’s law… when you have a seven hour layover you are early, when you have a 30 minute layover you are late.

I was wrecked so my loving and thoughtful… and slightly curious husband booked us into the Yotel Hotel. This is sort of a hotel room you can use at the airport... it’s more like a sleeping pod. It cost 68 Euro for 5 hours, and it has internet hook up, bathroom with shower, T.V., and a bed. I highly recommend this to any weary traveler going through Amsterdam. As a matter of fact the food was so good (Including a McDonalds where you can purchase a McCrochet), and they do have a Starbucks, and lots of shopping. I’m thinking about living at the Amsterdam Airport.

However before checking out of the Yotel Hotel, I suggest checking on your flight. We found that our 7 hour layover had turned into a 12 hour layover due to an airline strike (Alitalia) in Rome.

Apparently the airline is for sale and they were planning to make some major cutbacks to make the airline more profitable. Not wanting to lose their jobs or take a pay cut the employees decided not to come in at all. There were a few airline employees who did make it to work that day… literally a few. We were lucky that they were flying us. However they were all fuming, so when our flight attendants gave the safety spiel, the one that most people ignore… we listened with rapt attention (and fear), completely captivated by where the emergency doors are located, and spellbound with the ‘how to use a seat belt’ instructions. The drinks cart came down the aisle the attendant literally threw a sandwich at us and asked us what we wanted to drink with much irritation… our choices: water or coke. Yeah for 2 hour flights!

When we arrived in Rome, the plane lands on the runway and then we walked a short way to a bus which dropped us off at the terminal. Then we proceeded to wait for our luggage in a baggage claim area that was littered with lost luggage… and waited… and waited. We were all a little frustrated but the ones complaining the hardest and loudest were the Americans (it’s embarrassing, I’m glad I’m an honorary Indian). After a few hours of waiting the baggage claim person on duty told us that he was off work in fifteen minutes and we would have to come back tomorrow for our luggage. He also mentioned how lucky we were because the last flight had to walk from the plane to the airport terminal which took about an hour.

Suddenly one of the previously dead luggage conveyor belts came to life and our luggage miraculously appeared… It was my first Roma religious experience. About one hundred tired and annoyed travelers lifted their faces to heaven and praised God in all his glory.

Because our flight was delayed for so long and there was not normally a flight at that time of the night we came out of the airport to find a deserted airport. Empty parking lots, no taxis, no security, not even the sound of a cricket… when one lost and lonely cab happened around the corner, he must have thought it was Christmas. About 100 maddened passengers biding to ride in his cab. He must have called his buddies, because in a few minutes 5 more cabs came and were very happy to take us to our hotels at double the going rate (cash only no meter).

However for our 70 Euros I think we had the thrill of a lifetime. Our driver went about 130kph the entire way (an interesting experience on cobblestone streets). I think he was trying to drop us and get back to the airport for another “sucker-fare”.

At the Hotel Nord Nuova we were informed that the room we prepaid and confirmed from Amsterdam a few hours before was not available. I don’t know what Scott said or did, but all his frustration of the day came out in a single look, and the man at the desk gave us a room bigger and nicer room than we had paid for (and I think he had to change his pants). And now when we walk through the lobby I’m pretty sure I see that same man out of the corner of my eye ducking behind the counter.

Wednesday: Day 2

We understandably had our traditional first day sleep-in, and then explored the hotel a little.

LKF (Little Known Fact) by John Smith: The second toilet is called a bidet…and it’s not really a toilet.

I love this hotel. I could tell you it’s old and charming, but it wouldn’t convey how old and charming this place is. They have bell boys with the monkey hats… reminds me of the haunted hotel at Disney. Our room has a key… not a key card, but a key with a big number written on it. There are chandeliers in the lobby with crystals so big I can see my future in them. The breakfast room is beautiful with linen table cloths and waiters who bring you cappuccinos and espressos to go with our chocolate croissants. It’s a completely different experience from the La Quinta continental breakfast.

Out on the streets the first thing I noticed is the national uniform. It seems everyone has a black coat and black boots… Being a fake Indian, I love color and find Italian fashion sense boring. (It’s lonely here on my island of people who criticize the Italian fashion sense.)

The three amigos (the Smiths) went to a restaurant near our hotel for lunch and had what every person should experience once in their lifetimes… pizza and spaghetti in Italy. I can never have pizza or pasta anywhere else again… it was so good, a tear came to my eye knowing how lucky I was to experience this culinary masterpiece. How do Italians stay so thin?

After lunch we went for a little walk.

L.K.F. by John Smith: Sometimes Rome smells kind of cigarettey and sometimes it smells yummy.

We took a hop on hop off tour of the city and saw some of the ancient ruins that dot this modern city. I love the cobblestone streets and the tiny cars.

On the tour we drove past the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, many fountains and obelisks. It was a great way to get the feel of the city and see the sights… especially when it began to rain and we were warm and dry on our bus.

We stopped for dinner (more spaghetti and pizza) and then back to our hotel for a tuck in.

Thursday: Day 3

What a great day! After our pasta/pizza lunch the main part of the day we took a tour of the Vatican and St. Peters Chapel. I learned so many things, but the main lessons of the day were…. Vatican ATMs are in Latin, and it’s a prerequisite for a pope to love art… and Michelangelo had a great sense of humor.

LKF by John Smith: At one time the priests were embarrassed by the naked statues and chopped off the penises, and now the chopped off penises are kept in a room at the Vatican… I wonder if they call it the penis room?

It was amazing to walk the same halls and steps as so many famous people in history. In the U.S. we tend to think something hundreds of years old is a monument, in Rome it’s thousands. The Sistine Chapel was amazing (no photos allowed). Our tour guide Simon gave us a lot of facts about it before we went in. It was interesting to hear then see. I loved the tapestries. These hangings took 15 years each to complete. I thought about it and thought what a waste of time… then I thought what do I have to show for the last 15 years of my life? Well, I have a happy marriage, and a great kid, lots of travel stories, but what have I completed? Ponder… Ponder…

LKF by John Smith: There are no toilet seats in the Vatican. Maybe they are kept in the toilet seat room.

My favorite part of the entire trip was St. Peter’s Chapel. It is beyond beautiful. There was a service going on while we were touring and the singing echoed the enormous halls. I think I’ve converted.

We took the subway back to our hotel area and went to dinner (more spaghetti and pizza).

Friday: Day 4

I could hear music and noise outside of our hotel room, but I didn’t know what it was about until we left for our day of sightseeing.

We walked out onto a massive parade of people walking down the street. It was a peaceful protest, but the signs were in Italian, so I’m not sure what they were protesting. We took a quick look at these protesters numbering in the thousands and decided to walk the other way. We know the demonstration was peaceful because almost all those involved were either smoking or drinking espresso.

We walked to a restaurant for pizza and pasta and then to the Trevi Fountain, where the demonstrators were again marching (still not sure what they were protesting). We took a different route than the parade and walked to the Pantheon… again the protestors had followed us. Because the signs were in Italian and they seemed to show up where ever we were I can only assume that they were protesting the Smith Family’s visit to Rome. We got smart and took a cab to the Coliseum.

LKF by John Smith: The Coliseum is only 4 ½ trees high.

Even with our ‘speedy’ taxi we again met with the protestors at the Coliseum. It was as if we were being stalked by thousands of Italians with whistles and drums.

It seems the protest started in Termini (our hotel area) and ended at the Coliseum. It was our luck to follow the exact same route as the protest only to share a very crowded subway ride with them back to Termini. I was standing behind one of the protestor who had dreadlocks. He was talking to his friends on either side of him. Every time he turned his head I would get bitch-slapped by his dreadlocks. I couldn’t help it… I started to laugh. I don’t know what they were saying because they were talking in Italian, but by the look they gave me… I picked a bad time to laugh… no wonder they were protesting the Smiths visit to Rome.

Between the airline strike and the protest I think the entire city has PMS. Hopefully they’ll be over it by the time we leave.

LKF by John Smith: Even Italian hippies like patchouli.

(We found out later the protest was students protesting educational cuts.)

My friends Greta and Ed recently traveled to Nepal with their kids. At one point they were on a bus that was blocked by traffic. They got off the bus and began to walk. Soon they found themselves swept into a riot… our Italian experience was nothing like theirs.

I noticed that people are talking to Scott and in Italian and when they talk to me they speak English. What is it that makes me stand out as an English speaking person? I think it might be my bright yellow sweater and tennis shoes in a sea of black coats and black boots.

When we told people we were planning to visit Rome here is the advice we received:
· Watch out for the gypsies (this offends me, as I am a nomad…cousin to the gypsy)
· Hold onto your purse.
· Put your wallet in your front pocket.
· Carry your money in your shoe.
· Wear your backpack on backwards so you can keep an eye on it.
· If someone talks to you, it’s only because they are distracting you while someone else is picking your pocket.
· Tie your wallet to the inside of your purse.Take only the bare minimum of what you need with you and put everything else in your hotel safe.

My hand is now permanently in the shape of a claw due to the paranoid grip I’ve had on my purse all day.

Saturday: Day 5
Today we did what the Scott and Robyn do best. We shopped. We went to the suburbs of Rome and checked out an outlet mall. It was a lot like the outlet malls in the U.S. except instead of Bass and Big Dog stores there were Prada Versace stores.

We ate at the mall… we were getting tired of pizza and spaghetti so we mixed it up by only having pizza.

It was interesting to see the suburbs of Rome and experience how normal a place so amazing can be.
After returning from the mall we walked around our hotel neighborhood and went to the same restaurant we went to the first day. Here is my best advice for dining in Italy…ask your waiter for a recommendation. I didn’t think I could gag down anymore pizza and spaghetti so I asked the waiter to give me his favorite dish. I got a steak with a caper cream sauce, roasted potatoes, and a crisp fresh salad. This wasn’t even on the menu, and it was heavenly!
With full tummies we walked back to our hotel and packed up for our leave in the morning.

Sunday: Day 6

We had read on the internet that the Alitalia semi-strike had gone another direction and instead of not showing up the employees were harassing the passengers. I thought this was an exaggeration until we got to the airport and found out that you had to go to a particular check-in counter for your flight and that was a closely held secret by the person behind the counter…and that counter was continuously moving from place to place and person to person. We were lucky on our third try we got the ‘right’ check-in counter, but I suspect there are still people waiting in lines at the Roma Airport only to find when they get to the end they were in the ‘wrong’ line. The woman in line behind us was on the same flight, but when she went to the same man who had just checked us in, he told her she was in the wrong line and directed her to another line for her to wait in. When you did get your boarding pass, you were assigned to random seats... John was assigned next to strangers. It was a massive musical chairs on the plane, I don't think anyone actually sat in the seats they were assigned.

To make things more interesting they listed multiple flights for the same time at the same gate. There was only room for one plane, so it was a lottery to see if it was your flight or one of the others which actually was coming in on that gate. If it wasn’t yours there would be an announcement that your flight was now boarding at an entirely different part of the airport…now!
Passengers loaded down with luggage were running all over the airport. It was a little funny now that I’m not living it.
Good-bye Rome…Hello Florida via Amsterdam/Detroit.
Speaking of the Detroit airport…two moments of pure joy! Taco Bell and snow! Life is good.

October Catch Up

2008-11-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some of our October highlights:

This is a praying mantis that was in our front yard. Scruff loves to play with bugs and can even catch flies without harming them (sometimes), but he didn't touch the praying mantis. I wonder if they are poisonous?

Here is a picture I took in the Hong Kong airport... who could resist taking a picture of a square toilet? Notice I caught it in mid-flush... I was trying to conceal the click of the camera, so no one outside of the stall knew I was taking a picture... unfortunately the flush didn't conceal the flash, and I got some strange looks when I came out of the stall.

This is my favorite picture of the month... It's Vijaya paying our electric bill. In America most bills come and are paid by mail. In Hyderabad they are hand delivered and you have to go to the billing office and pay them (with cash). I've never actually paid the electric bill myself, I've always sent the money with Vijaya or our driver. The meter reader came to our house and told us that last month our electric bill was lost (aka the meter reader was afraid of the dog) and we needed to pay the bill right away. Mohammed (the driver) was driving Scott, so I took Vijaya and drove her to the "billing office". The "billing office", it seems is a group of about 5 men with plastic chairs and a small hand held computer sitting on the side of the road under a tree. I felt weird about giving these guys 5000/- rupees, but then I realized I've unknowingly been giving these men cash for years and our electric has never been turned off.

Here is a picture of the I.S.H. Science Fair.

I'm really proud of the fair because it was my idea, and I put a lot of work into it.

Here is Mr. Gallinger with some of the kids.

Four of my favorite people. Reena, Padmaja, Sue and Sarah.

Three of my favorite people... me, Padmaja and Sarah.

Each display was unique and the kids had so much fun making and showing each experiment. There were a few favorites, but I think whale blubber, and how a t.v. works stole the show.

The fair was a little cramped... next year we'll have more room because we will know a little more about what to expect.

I can't believe what a bad mom I am... I didn't get a picture of John in front of his display.

He did the 'Science of Laughter' display. Did you know that a scientist who studies laughter is called a gelotoligist?

Did you know that it is impossible to tickle yourself?

Here is a display on smoking and what it does to your lungs.

Maya is such a cool kid.

Lawrence and the Optical Illusion Display.

I think the fair was a success and I hope we can do it again next year.

Here is a picture of us at the F-cafe... John tried so hard not to blink when the flash went off that his eyes went cross.

Scott and meat... or is it "Meat" my husband... or is it... "Is that beef!?! Where did you get that steak!? Tell me now and no one gets hurt!!!" Sorry... it's the last picture we took in Hong Kong, but think of all the yummy water buffalo and goat we get to eat here in Hyderabad.

Halloween at Ellaa Suites... My Darth Vader is the middle one.

Greta's family along with my family hosted the Hash Run last Sunday. The Hyderabad Hash House Harriers are known as a drinking group with a running problem. Ed, Greta, Maggie, Dave, George, John and me were the hares... this means we are the ones that set the course. It was a run/walk that lasted about 2 hours. It went through some of the villages around us, through a construction site, and through the cement factory. I think it was a very interesting run... especially the part when John and Edward were lost in the cement factory. They were only lost for about 20 minutes, but it was something they won't forget for a while.

After the run we all gathered on the street and driveway near my house. The hares who set the course for the first time got their Hash names. This is a nickname that you will be called by at all future Hash Runs. George is now Curious, Maggie is now Toilet Roll (sorry, not "3-minute Maggi noodle"), John is Dr. Bare Foot, and I am Both Sides (I drive in India as well as America).

On Diwali John and I went to a party at my friend Anita's house. Scott stayed home to calm Scruff down from the firecracker noise.

Diwali is such a savage celebration. I think the fireworks in India would be illegal in most countries... so here is a picture of my son playing with some.

The kids were having so much fun... so you know it was dangerous.

Nothing goes better with dangerous fireworks than dancing... the pictures came out a little blurry, but I think it captures the moment better.

Here are the beautiful Erhart girls dancing.

Ed and Greta.

A fountain of sparks.

Kids playing with fire... good times.

Sue and Jim.

John with the house burning down behind him... not really.

Here are some pictures of our streets the morning after.

This photo doesn't come close to capturing the amount of mess left behind from the celebration... I still don't know what we were celebrating. I think it has something to do with surviving dangerous situations and not going deaf from loud explosions.

On one of the days off 5 moms and 10 kids went the the Hyderabad science center. They don't allow you to take pictures at the museum... not because there experiments are top secret, but because they are completely embarrassed. The I.S.H. science fair offered a better experience.

After the Science museum we took the kids to the museum of modern art... not bad. Although we still couldn't take pictures and the boys laughed at every naked form they saw.

After a day of culture... we had the KFC experience.

Here are some of the moms.

Here are the kids.

I thought I would throw in a picture of my gorgeous husband.

Guess what these kids are looking at? This is right next to our house.

It's a monkey! They are not as common in Hyderabad compared to other parts of India like Jaipur and Hampi.

Here is Mr. Banana-head (the kids named him) behind our Tata Sumo Victa.

Goodbye from Mr. Banana-head.

Hong Kong

2008-10-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong Rocks! How can we get an ex-pat assignment there?
I loved how the skyscrapers look as if they are floating on the water.

Scott and John at a restaurant.

View from the peak.

Ferry ride.

John and Scott on the Ferry.

Ditto.

Another view from the peak.

My guys.

Another angle of Hong Kong.

The Smith Family.

John and Scott.

John and his buddy Mario.

Scott and John having lunch.

Here is John on a staircase at a mall... the colors change.

What's with Hong Kong and really big escalators?

Robyn and John at the peak.

Dim sum chefs doing what dim sum chefs do.

We went to this dim sum restaurant and while we sat at our table the line to get in got longer and longer... it was really good dim sum.

We stopped at a cafe one night, we were so close to the street... here is a picture of John with a bus going by behind him.

John using chop sticks.

Streets of Hong Kong.

Scott and John on a crowded street.

John at Bread Talk.

John saw something on t.v. about putting a mentos in a diet coke... what better place to try the experiment than a hotel?

Robyn and John waiting for the train.

Waiting in line at Disney.

More lines at Disney.

This was a display at Disney... it was so pretty I took a picture. The lanterns change color.

Dinner at Disney.

Disney

John and Scott on the train to Disney.

Robyn and John on the train to Disney. This is a public train, but check out the windows.

Ouch!

Disney Hong Kong went 'all-out' for Halloween... here is John and Scott going through a haunted house.

Ditto.

A lot of the bathrooms had tiny toilets for kids... nothing says tourist like taking a picture of a toilet!

Scott and John taking a break on one of the long escalators.

Hey John! Look at the view!

Sushi!

Ditto.

Walking in the rain.

Scott and John doing an impromptu song and dance.Who could ask for anything more.

John and Scott at a really big table.

Seafood.