Wheel

Quotable quote from our language teacher, the inimitable Mr. M:

"You know, sometimes there is mans who seem to be nice, and they will tell you what you want to hear. But, you know, in the back of their heads there is a wheel."

Dude.

You Know You've Been in India When...

Click on the photo to see this princess's bling-bling, courtesy of G.

Values and the Game of Life

Our kids have been playing the game of Life the last week or so. It's going...ok. I mean, when you have two grown-ups, a seven, six and five-year-old involved it can get a little hairy. I, for one, am usually highly competitive. My kids know this about me and they accept it--well, mostly. But when I see my oldest son choosing to have another kid instead of receiving $240,000 worth of rare paintings, I can't help but praise him for his values--even though, clearly, it's a dumb move.

Our conversations go something like this:

Me: Uh oh! You can either win the lottery or have your fifth child, Mr.

Oldest: I'll take the kid.

Me: What I mean is, you can pay off the bank or get another kid...

Oldest: I'll take the kid.

Middle Son: You'll have to strap it to the top of your car. It's your fifth and you only have three seats in the back. Your wife's already in the front.

Oldest: It's my decision.

Me: Well, I'm...That's...Honey, Mommy is so proud of you for taking the kid.

And all this is well and good, nay? But then, twice our sweet oldest has retired as a philosopher with zero cash and a couple of promissory notes. And though I'm loathe to announce it, our savvy middle child with the amoral decision-making has twice retired as a tycoon by playing the stock market. Sigh. Help, I say. The game is not backing me up, people...

Mickey Mouse Morning

Mmmm...cereal bars and cartoons. Feels almost like home, only with monkeys.

Uh...

We love the spicy Indian snacks called namkeen. We eat all varieties. Some kinds are mild and slightly sweet and some set our mouths on fire. J and I dearly love us some masala (which means 'spice' in Hindi). I've even been known to eat the tongue-torcher variety of namkeen for breakfast, which my kids feel is really going too far.

Anyway, today I was feeling a little blue and my husband wanted to distract me with a little hotter-than-a-dragon's-breath type called chana crackers. I ate it lovingly, breathing through my mouth. I noticed the ingredients list and since it was too small to share with you in photo form, I thought I'd type it out word-for-word for your reading pleasure.

INGREDIANTS: Used Vegetable Oil, Lahori Namak & Spices of best quality (if any).

I...used to like chana crackers, but now I don't know how to feel. I mean, call me snooty but I don't prefer secondhand oil.

Oh Monsoon!

That Famous Whodunnit Game--Indian Style

Presumably they changed the name for copyright reasons...

One for the Diary

Those of you who homeschool in the States will know what I'm talking about. It's really sort-of amazing how a 'good school day' can make everything else seem ok. That was today for us, and I'm thankful. I'll put this day in my pocket and pull it out when things get rough. Like, say, tomorrow...

What a Man

Just a quick note to say that J deserves props. He colored my hair yesterday (he's done it before) and I swanee he could open his own salon by now. My hair looks shiny and fab (I think). And, well, at least for a little while all my premature gray has been washed away. Thanks, babe.

Warning: Rated PG

Yesterday, our language teacher lost his mind just a bit. It happens to the best of us--and is more likely when one is speaking a language not his own...

Language teacher: Please come in and sh*t.

J: Whuh...?

Language teacher: I'm sorry. Please sit.

J: Oh. Ok.

Aaaand now I don't feel so bad for calling a mattress a donkey. Touche.

It's What I Wanted to Say...

It knocked me down, it dragged me out, it left me there for dead. It took all the freedom I wanted and gave me something else instead. It blew my mind, it bled me dry, it hit me like a long goodbye, and nobody here knows better than I that it’s a good thing.
Love is a good thing. It’ll fall like rain on your parade, laugh at the plans that you tried to make, it’ll wear you down till your heart just breaks and it’s a good thing. Love is a good thing.

It’ll wake you up in the middle of the night, it’ll take just a little too much. It’ll burn you like a cinder till you’re tender to the touch. It’ll chase you down, swallow you whole, it’ll make your blood run hot and cold. Like a thief in the night it’ll steal your soul, and that’s a good thing. Love is a good thing. It’ll follow you down to the ruin of your great divide, and open the wounds that you tried to hide. And there in the rubble of the heart that died you’ll find a good thing. Love is a good thing.
Take cover, the end is near. Take cover, but do not fear. It’ll break your will, it’ll change your mind, it’ll loose all the chains of the ties that bind. If you’re lucky you’ll never make it out alive, and that’s a good thing. Love is a good thing. It can hurt like a blast from a hand grenade when all that used to matter is blown away. There in the middle of the mess it made you’ll find a good thing. Yes, it’s worth every penny of the price you paid. It’s a good thing.

Andrew Peterson, Love Is a Good Thing

Coming Soon (hopefully)

We've had one heck of a week and I haven't been up to blogging of late. I promise I'll get back to it in a day or two, when I can laugh again. Or when I've had adequate sleep--whichever comes first. Love you all!

The Aforementioned Next-Door Construction Crew

It's Here!

Well, folks, it looks as if monsoon season may finally be upon us. Oh PTL!!!!!!!!! (Can you tell we're a little bit pleased about it?) The weather has gotten much cooler of late and we watched a movie in our bedroom last night without turning on the AC for quite some time, at least. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you all at home, but it's saying something here, I promise you!

I'm looking outside as I type this and the sky is gray and pouring out much-needed water on our parched ground. We've experienced a drought here and farmers have been desperate for rain so that their rice crops won't be completely destroyed. All of us have lived life with bated breath as we've waited for monsoon to start. The air has been thick and full of hints for days now. And now this!

I'd never have thought waking up to the sound of dripping water would make my heart surge with hope. But then, I'm not a farmer. Now my only question is: how will I get to class on the back of J's scooter without arriving like a drowned rat? Hmmmm...

Talking Computers

Last night I enjoyed a quick Skype session with my sister. It had rained for the first time in several weeks and the air had suddenly become breathable and cool, if damp. I decided to pull a chair out to our little front courtyard and enjoy the evening by catching up with my youngest sister.

On a related note, a 'construction crew' is building an apartment building next to ours--Indian style. Which simply means that they've thrown a plastic tarp over an overhang and made a tent in which they reside with their families until the project is done. So morning, noon, and night we hear hammering, large bundles of things crashing down, emphatic Hindi, and--oddly-- infants and toddlers crying. Until recently, I thought I was going crazy because I kept hearing little kids whining right outside my window and I truly had no idea what was going on. That's when J pointed out the tarp to me.

Obviously, life is hard for manual laborers and their families in India. The ones we rub shoulders with these days are sleeping on dirt. I intend to bring them a little tent-warming present soon to show some kindness. And I can't help but be thankful that the weather is cooling off so that nights are more bearable for them.

Anyway, back to my Skype session...I was talking to my sister and her little girl when I noticed a dark young woman with a baby. She had come out of her 'house' to get some air, and when I noticed her I waved a little and smiled. She acknowledged me with a quick bob of her head, smileless and stern-looking as Indians sometimes are. I continued to talk with M.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her inching closer and closer to the gate separating us. She bounced her fussy infant and stared at the strange, talking rectangle on my lap. Suddenly, she was directly in front of me and was clearly planning to stay for a while. I talked on and on, occasionally glancing up to smile at my observer. Maybe she thought the box had an evil spirit or something, I don't know. At one point she even moved her baby around so that he could see me. I felt a little like a queen or an alien or a giant cockroach.

Anyway, there's no point to this story except that in India even ordinary moments aren't ordinary, and that there's a lot I take for granted--like talking computers and a roof over my head.

What?

Seen on the way to language class: a whitewashed storefront with maroon script emblazoned on the front, Child Beer.

Just another day in Wonderland, folks.

Red, White, and Blue

Fourth of July clothes from Mamaw and Papaw. I promise that G really was having a good day.

We Baaaaaack

We're back from Thailand, safe and sound. It was a little hard coming back into India only because our AC dutifully died the same night we returned and we had no water for showers or flushing the toilet. But, you know, other than that...

Seriously, though, we've been in South Asia just long enough that we're beginning to think of India as home--at least it feels less foreign than Thailand seemed. And Thailand had the burgers and the AC, so that's saying something.

We're glad to be back and we feel focused and refreshed. I think our vision is a little clearer and our determination to 'keep on keeping on' with Hindi learning has been strengthened. Plus, our kids were so excited to sleep in their own hard little beds (and in a room with no AC) that it made J and me have to swallow a lump of gratitude in our throats.

Life is good.

P.S. Happy belated Fourth of July. We love India, but there's no place like our beloved America.