Earth Quake in New Delhi

Just in case any of you heard about our little earthquake last night and were worried; we are fine. It felt like someone had grabbed our bed and was shaking it violently to wake us up.
Here is a short article about the earthquake.

Pushkar post still to come. . .

पुष्कर Pushkar Day 1

Over the Thanksgivning weekend we took a trip to the Pushkar Camel Fair. The city of Pushkar itself is considered a 'holy city' and a popular tourist destination all year round, but once a year it is also host to the camel fair.

At 4:00am on Thanksgiving morning our alarm went off and R and I both moaned our "who's stupid idea was this" groan and stumbled out of bed to shower and wake our sleeping children, who quite frankly, resemble something very, very, evil that early in the morning.

We showered, dressed and finished packing and groped our way to the embassy gate where 4 huge coaches waited to take us to the train station.

Once at the train station all five senses were accosted by the sites, sounds and especially smells of the bustling station. There was garbage everywhere and the smell of urine seemed to permeate the air still thick with the haze of the nightly burning of garbage and cow dung. How's that for your morning coffee. We loaded the train and settled in for the 8 hour train ride to Rajasthan.

A little about the train; I'm not sure I can adequately express the claustrophobic feelings of being surrounded by extreme filth, sufficeth to say, I used more hand-sanitizing gel and wipes on that train than I've ever used in my entire life.

Despite trying not to drink, there was a point at which I could no longer refrain from using the toilet. I was a little shocked when I looked into the toilet and saw the ground below. All excrement are simply flushed to the train tracks below. Watch out belooow!

I was a little scared to eat the food served on the train *("don't you know I've had diarheas since Easters"), but was pleasantly surprised. The kids didn't eat much however, but we were prepared with a suitcase full of "snacks". Big T likes Indian food the most out of all the kids and can survive quite well on chapatis and dal, thank goodness.

Once we arrived in Rajasthan we rode about another hour by bus to our resort, Pushkar Fort. We stayed in tents that consisted of two rooms, a sleeping area and a bathroom, complete with toilet, wrought iron sink and a fiberglass shower bottom to stand in and rinse off. We even had running water, but only cold, so we had to order buckets of hot water for bathing. Bucket-bathing wasn't as hard or awful as I imagined it would, but still, I ain't givin up my shower anytime soon.

As we arrived there was a group of performers out front dancing and playing the drums. We followed them in a precession to the archway that lead into the hotel grounds. At the archway we were meet with two young ladies frantically trying to put marigold lays (a sacred flower in India) around each and every person as they entered the gateway. There were also two men on either side holding huge baskets of flower pedals which they were throwing by the handfuls into the air to rain down on us as we entered (or pelt you in the eye depending upon where you were standing).

Once we arrived and put away our luggage we ate lunch. The food wasn't the best Indian food I've ever eaten, but despite the occasional grit of sand between your teeth, it was tasty and plentiful.

We had to pay extra for soda and water which was always interesting because it seemed to vary in price depending upon the day and server you asked. At first it was "free", then it was 50 rupees, then 100 rupees and on the last day it was back to 50 rupees, mmmm. . .

After lunch we boarded camel carts and headed for a site-see-ride to the fair and back to the hotel.

While riding on the carts we passed a gypsy camp. When they saw us coming, the children ran out to greet us with hands waving saying, "hallow, hallow". If they had clothes on, they were completely filthy, and many of the littlest wore nothing more than a shirt. Their skin seemed much darker due to the film of dirt that covered their entire bodies and their hair was matted from months of no washing. Although a sad site, that can't help but bring a lump to your throat, I couldn't get over the fact that they seemed completely oblivious to the dire circumstances they obviously lived in each and every day. They appeared to be happy, playful children, in many ways no different than my own.

They liked to follow our carts saying hello, touching us and begging for money or shampoo (I was really disappointed I didn't have any). But as I watched them, sometimes I noticed the begging looked both theatrical and mechanical at times. The smiling, waving, touching and trying to make conversation seemed to be sincere and what they persued the hardest, the begging, at times appeared like more of an after thought.

There were also men who followed us with hundreds of necklaces in tow, possibly the Fathers of the gypsy children. They were very, very persistent and knew from experience how to wear down even the most stubborn.

I bought a few necklaces for the kids and a few necklaces that I didn't need or want because the man selling them followed our cart for what felt like an eternity.

He started his bidding price at 200 rupees per necklace, he had 10. I immediately, used my handy-Hindi and told him I was not interested in his necklaces, which had turned many other vendors away up to this point, but it fell on deaf ears. He then began haggling as if I had fained objection at his exorbitant price. But the funny thing is, he didn't haggle with me, he started haggling with himself, as if his life depended on it, and maybe it did. He kept running and bargaining, 3 for 200rs, 5 for 200rs, 8 for 200rs. All my no's bounced off him as if he was a superhero deflecting bullets. Finally in desperation he said; "OK, OK, 10 pieces for 200 rupees" ($5). I had no use for them, nor did I even like them, but at that point I could not resist. Even Richard, who I would consider to be in the "stubborn" category, instinctively went for his wallet.

Whether it was the little voice screaming inside my head saying, "That's a killer deal" or the sincere, persistence of this man, I don't know, but in either case, I felt good about buying them, regardless of whether I needed them or not. At that point I didn't feel like I was being taken or cheated, as so many times I do. I handed off the money and when I saw the look of relief and smile on his face I couldn't help but smile myself. In hind-site I should have handed him back the necklaces as well, watching him haggle with himself behind our cart for a half mile was worth the 5 bucks.

During the ride we saw more camels than I have ever seen in one place before in my life, and we lived in Egypt! The Pushkar camel fair is truely a fair in every sense of the word. You could nickname it the Rajasthani state fair, complete with faris-wheel, cotton candy, food booths, camel races and vendors selling useless gadgets and trinkets. It reminded me of any other state fair I've ever been to, but with a definite 3rd-world charm.

We returned that evening, ate dinner and watched some performers do traditional dance and fire breathing, oooh! There was also a puppeteer who very much reminded me of the kings assistant in Cinderella who wore the monocle and mustache that swagged his face, sideburn to lip to sideburn. The kids loved the puppet show and so did I, its not every day you have the pleasure of watching a true puppet show.

We went to bed and I slept especially restless. Others say it is the princess and the pea syndrome. But honestly, sleeping on those cots was like sleeping on a slab of marble. I still have the back ache to prove it.

Enjoy the slide show

*Quote from Nacho Libre

To be continued. . .

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving! I'm late because we just got back from spending 3 days in the Rajistani desert, riding camels, and sleeping in tents. It was great fun but I sure missed the turkey and pumpkin pie. . . especially the pumpkin pie. We left on Thanksgiving and got back late Saturday night (actually early Sunday morning).
I will be blogging our trip one day at a time over the next day or two so as to not overwhelm anyone (including myself). We have a TON of pics to download, plus you know how long-winded I can be, can't leave a single detail out, no matter how tedious or unimportant.

P.S. We got our VAN!!! Yahoo! It arrived on Wednesday, the day before we left for our trip to Pushkar. I was so excited when they brought it I jumped in it and drove around the compound (equivalent to riding around the block). Mutua seemed to understand our anticipation and when it arrived seemed just as excited as us, just wait til I take her for a ride, she may never step foot in a vehicle again...

Didn't get the Van

I was so excited thinking we would get the van last week but here we sit Monday morning and still no wheels... why am I not surprised!
I'm feeling a little depressed about the whole thing but, eventually I guess it has to come! We may not see it until we're packing out but it will get here eventually, I'm POSITIVE!

Not your Mommas Paper Mache

Monday I went to a mela (aka: a bunch of vendors selling their goods in the parking lot) and I saw a vendor with all of these beautifully hand-painted bowls, boxes, vases and Christmas ornaments. What I didn't know then, was that everything he sells is made out of paper mache. I couldn't believe it so I had the guy come to my house yesterday to check things out close up, plus I wanted to buy Christmas ornaments from him.
So he came and I invited the neighbors to come and see and I was amazed at the incredible detail work on every single item I looked at.
Most of the bowls are made from a brass mold (so the inside is gold). What they do next is layer the outside with the paper pulp, then varnish, paint, varnish, varnish, varnish and then varnish one more time. He said that with good care these items can last a life-time.
They varnish them 4 times, waiting 15 days between each coat. Some of the bigger items take several months just to paint, that doesn't include the varnishing time. They even make their own paint brushes because they can't buy brushes that are fine enough for the most detailed artwork.
The more I looked the more I wanted. Before I knew how incredible they were I just thought I wanted a few ornaments, now I want to buy one of everything and a whole Christmas tree full of ornaments.
I looked through his picture album and he can make just about anything you can imagine and it is all amazing!
The price isn't bad either. Some of the items I bought yesterday I paid about a dollar an item, (for an average size ornament) in the states that same item could range anywhere from $5-$10. But these are the smaller items I am talking about. The bigger items.. bowls and boxes and things range from around $12-$100 or higher.
No two items are ever alike. Each piece, even if its the same bowl, painted with the same pattern, is never identical because its all hand-made. Another bonus is that it is very lite and so if you want me to send you something the shipping shouldn't be too outrageous. :)
Anyway, you can tell I think its.. well, WAY COOL!

This bowl was one of my favs!


And this was one of my favorite boxes!


I really liked this one too..

The animals were really cool too. He had elephants, camels, and turtles whos shells were the lids for a round turtle box.

Tried to get a close-up of the detail work but I don't think the picture does it justice.

FYI: I've only recieved 2 comments all month--where are all my loyal fans? (Boo-hoo) :)

T's 16th Birthday Please Help!!

Big T is turning 16 in a couple months and I have no idea what to buy or do for him! I want his 16th to be especially, special because he is really not happy about the fact that "all my friends are getting their drivers licenses when they turn 16 and I don't even have a bike!". But before you say "get him a bike" already thought of that (Christmas is coming soon too).
So put your thinking caps on and send me your ideas! T and I would greatly appreciate it!!

The Van is Coming!!

We just found out that our van has reached India and is on our way to us as we speak. I am actually hoping with all my might, mind and strength that it arrives today or this weekend at the latest!
Our car actually arrived in Amsterdam on the 16 of August and sat there for over a month because of miscomunications between our GSO (gov. shipping office) and the port in Amsterdam. I was a little peeved when I found out!
I am so tired of taking taxis its not even funny! Although, I do have to admit it is always an adventure to ride in an auto rickshaw... but it will be very liberating to have my very own mode of transportation that have stains on the seats or smell like... well lets just say its not a pleasant smell. Although I will miss a couple of my 'regular taxi drivers' who smile when they see me coming (ooh here she comes, sucker!) and laugh at me whenever I try to speak Hindi with them.
Of course they are not the only ones. Every Indian I have ever spoken Hindi to has either giggled or laughed right out loud. The only solice I have is that I am not the only one it happens to, and Mutua assures me that I speak it "very nicely". All the other Hindi students in my class have experienced the same sort of phenomenon as well. I think they are so shocked to hear a foreigner speaking Hindi that they simply giggle.

The Black Tongue

I have a radical experiment for anyone brave enough to try...

I call it the 'black tongue'. Its really easy, and completely safe!
All you have to do is take a couple chewable Pepto-bismal tablets (I'm not sure if taking liquid would work but if that is all you have then give it a try). Take them at bedtime. In the morning, wake up and brush your teeth like normal and see what happens--its pretty rad!!

दिवाली मुबारक Diwali Mubarek

We celebrated the Festival of Diwali on Friday night with a bang.. seriously! Diwali (pronounced Dee-vali or also called Dipavali) is the Hindu version of Christmas or "Festival of Lights". You celebrate by decorating your house with lights and candles. The lights represent the victory of good over evil. They also give gifts and traditionally wear new clothes and purchase new household items. Then, once darkness comes, the night sky quickly erupts into what closely resembles a war zone.

I went shopping on the two days prior to Diwali and let me assure you that last-minute-gift-shopping is just as much an epidemic here as in the US. I was chastised by a few people for going the the same market the day before Diwali that was bombed just a couple years ago during the Diwali season. But what can I say.. shopping waits for no woman!





I bought everyone new "Indian" clothes for Diwali. Richard, Taylor and Tyson wore Kurta Pajamas (pj's were invented here, but in India they are actually worn during the day) and MaKaela got her very first Sari. I bought Morgann a Salwaar Kameez or Punjabi suit. I started out the day in a Salwaar suit as well but ended up in the bright orange Sari you see me pictured in below.





Mutua invited us for Diwali but we already had plans in the evening when the traditional Diwali feast takes place, so she asked us to come for lunch. So we got all dressed up and went to her house for lunch. We brought some Indian sweets for their family and we sat around and talked and then they served us lunch. Mutua kept dishing up our plates over and over again saying "Please eat nicely". After the second or third helping forced upon my plate, I could eat no more (despite their disappointment).



The food was great but we felt very uncomfortable because they would not sit down and eat with us, even after coming close to demanding them too. At first, I thought it was some sort of social or caste issue that kept them from eating with us. But after the dishes were cleared and a little conversation about the food, we discovered they were fasting and wouldn't be eating until the evening meal. That was a little awkward but we still had a great time.



Before we ate, Mutua grabbed my hand and dragged me into the second of their two-room house saying "please come, please come". In the bedroom with all the girls, I was surprised when she handed me a wrapped gift; my first Sari. Although orange is not my favorite color, I thought it was beautiful, I know it was a sacrifice for her to buy it for me and I was so touched by the gesture.





We took lots of pictures, played with the baby and the pet parrot and then finally, headed home. It was such a nice experience.



Then, darkness fell and we headed to the McIllece's for the 'danger-works'! What we did that night would be illegal in the US and most other countries as well, but we had a blast doing it! We only had two minor injuries; Taylor seemed to have the worst luck of the evening with a bit of singed hair and what looks like a cigar burn on his forearm from a stray firecracker. Every time a firworks back-fired Taylor seemed to be the one attacked.







At first, I couldn't stop flip-flopping between; "Oh my gosh this is insane, someones going to lose a limb" and "YAHOO, do it again!" In the end the yahoo in me won out and I was disappointed when we finally ran out of things to blow-up and retreated to the in doors. When we left for home at about 11:30pm the air was so thick with smoke we couldn't see more than about 20 yards in front of us, it was crazy! The next day we woke up with the house filled with haze and the smell of firecrackers.



We've decided that Diwali is one of our favorite festivals so far! The "boys" started making plans for next years fireworks display before the smoke cleared. What's the prenatal fascination between boys and explosives?



Anyway, enjoy the photos and Happy Diwali!

What's that yer haulin..

Please enjoy the first installment of "What's that yer haulin?"

"cow-chips" collected, molded and dried for your burning pleasure. Helps keep you warm at night and creates a lovely aroma to boot.


Oh look... the milk-man!


Look everybody, the surgar cane man.. how does he know where he's goin daddy?


I want to eat, I want to eat eight apples and bannas...


Look Ma, its the new portable-bomb-guy... I sure miss the old one!