The Mean Reds

On days like today I just want to go home. Not India home--U.S. home. It's strange, really, because nothing big ever precipitates these moods. It's not as if life suddenly changes and gets harder. I'll just wake up one day, and feel that deep-blue yearning to be among friends again.

I mean, we have friends here. We don't live on an island. But it's just, you know, different. And I know I can't go home, so maybe that frees me up a little, to yearn without implications. Holly Golightly addresses this very state in Breakfast at Tiffany's. She calls it "the mean reds."

Mean reds, indeed.

Um...fresh chicken (click on the bottom photo for an upclose of the boys' reaction).

Everyday Scenes

These guys were beating the cotton from a mattress in order to make a new, fresh one. This was right underneath our second-story porch. We see things like this all the time.

Snapping Beans in Our New (Old) Kitchen

Bad Blog

I've discovered a little something. I think I knew it all along. What makes for good living makes for bad blogging.

We've been bored around here. Deliciously bored. The kind of bored that eases the stress of constant transition off of me like Botox for wrinkles. The good part is, my resting heart rate is in the healthy range. The bad news is, I have nothing to say. Nothing to blog. Nuh-nuh-nuthin.' I feel like the kid who has to mess with the margins on Microsoft Word to get her term paper the right number of pages.

Sigh. Sorry, I'll stop now, 'cause there's nothing to...Oh wait. I said that already. Um, we don't have water in our apartment and haven't for 24 hours. But, no, forget it. That's normal.

Here's hoping I have nothing to write about for a while longer.

Home

We are finally back in our city after a whirlwind trip to our former one. We had the opportunity to visit old friends--and really, that part nearly made me cry--and we got to meet new friends. They are fun, interesting, sincere, and love the Lord. What more could we ask for? Oh yeah! They have little kids, so they're in the parents' club.

We look forward to seeing them much more often in the near future.

Beyond that, I have nothing remotely interesting to write--except maybe that I saw several people carrying a dead body today. It was wrapped in white cloth, tied with twine around the ankles, and lying on a plank. Orange flowers garlanded it and I couldn't quite get over the fact that I could make out the shape of the corpse underneath the sheet, and that it was about to be burned.

Just another day in India.

Home, Sweet Home

We took a little road trip back to our original city to pick up a package and meet some new friends (and visit some old ones). On the way down I was in a particularly thoughtful mood, and it seemed like I was seeing India for the first time somehow. I decided to catalog the things that caught my eye today.

• A road sign that said, "We are like your driving, but not your speed."
• Another that said, "Are you married? To divorce it, speed."
• A man riding an elephant on the side of the road, it's head completely covered in painted-on designs.
• A donkey asleep in the middle of a busy road.
• A mother monkey throwing a protective arm around her baby who was trying to stray into the road.
• And finally, twin toddler albinos--humans, that is.

Ah, India. What would I do without your weirdness?

We Love Our Care Packages!

Beef. Need I say more?

Every Little Bit Helps...

We've been watching a lot of TV lately. I console myself that it's not ruining my kids because it's in Hindi. Actually, it has helped me a lot with vocab. For instance, because of all the Cartoon Network I know how to say the following in Hindi:

• Save me!
• Catch him!
• I eats me spinach.
• You shut up!
• We'll be right back after these messages.

Good stuff, huh? Helpful for when I'm in the market. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Sunday Boat Ride (with J and Oldest peddling for us)

Diwali

J informed me that because we don't have wireless internet yet and are using this little plug-in backup thing we bought, it costs a small fortune to post pictures on Facebook and our bloggy-blog. So, I thought I'd just post our Diwali pictures on FB where the most people will see them, and I'll give the highlights of the night here.

• D screamed 'ouch' almost every time a firecracker went off...until the kids begged her to stop because she was scaring them.
  
• As we stood on our porch overlooking the lake and watched the beautiful fireworks, I felt something jump on my back and smack my ear. I thought it was one of my kids, but when I turned I saw that it was a monkey. He grabbed our oldest son's arm, too, on his way past us!
• We had a nice, family-ish time with our new landlords and their families. We ate their food and I got to speak Hindi to the women. They were thrilled with my efforts and I was pleased with my little personal triumph.
• The kids were called 'babies' by a five-year-old Sikh kid. As in, "Hey babies, come on! Come play with me, thik hai?" He came up to Gracie's shoulder. Hahahahahaha.

It was a fantastic night.

Diwali

Tonight is Diwali and everyone is celebrating. Our new landlords and their families invited us to participate with them when it gets dark outside. This will be a first for our family. The kids are excited. Pictures are soon to follow...

Watching Popeye in Hindi (and getting adjusted)

Hindi

Last night, as we were trying to continue painting walls for all we are worth, we received some disappointing news. We got our 'language level assessments' back from the evaluator (via e-mail) and we discovered that we didn't do as well as we'd hoped. It wasn't that we did poorly, just not as well as we thought we would.

There are several possible reasons for this. Maybe we choked when taking the test (I know I couldn't open my mouth as fast as I wanted to for the recording and felt tongue-tied the whole time). Maybe we were stressed and tired. Or maybe we thought we knew Hindi better than we do.

I for one was incredibly sad last night. I'm in a new place and that's stressful enough. But then to feel that my months of hard work didn't show for the test? Well, I cried in my freezing cold bedroom for a long time.

Of course, the difference between people who learn languages, win marathons, or parent well-- and those who don't--is often what they decide to do the moment after they've been smacked down. They either tell themselves a sad little story and give up, or they regroup and start again.

On that note, I've decided that today is the first day of the rest of my Hindi-learning life. And I know that with the Lord, sub thik hoga.

They Made This Move Possible...

Home, Sweet Home.

Well, we arrived safely at our new destination. Our apartment is nicer than I expected in some ways...and slightly grosser in other ways. It'll all work itself out in the end. We know that the Lord is with us here. And we have a little entourage of friends who have taken the trip with us and are doing all kinds of things to help--like making coffee runs, unpacking sheets for the kids' beds, hanging posters, and supplying large bottles of Fanta (we don't have a water purifier yet).

I'll update more--with photos of the new place--as soon as I reasonably can. We love you all and covet your prayers in this time of transition.

What We Do in Our Spare TIme

The 'Chicken Dance,' of course. Naturally.

This is the way J rolls.

Be impressed.

We Wish Them the Best!

Saying goodbye to W and L and our friends from the LH Team. We love you all!

(one of our many) Last Supper(s)

Warning!

If you have wheat or gluten allegies, please don't eat these...

T-Minus Six Days

It's almost that time. Tests have been taken, stuff is packed, goodbyes have been said. Newborn roots are being pulled up, only to be delicately replanted...again.

Murderous Rock Star

Well, today I had another of many firsts in this country. Our two neighbors (and dear friends) informed me that they had finally captured the R.O.U.S. that had been making his home in their apartment for weeks. (I'm assuming that you know what an R.O.U.S. is. In the unlikely event that you don't remember, I'll go ahead and refresh your memory. It's a Rodent of Unusual Size a la The Princess Bride). In any case, I stopped over to their place for another reason--though it's not as if I have to have one. I make up reasons to hang out.

It was then that I saw the upside down bucket in the kitchen. L informed me that the thing was under the bucket and that there was really no good way to get him out of the house. Naturally, I asked if they could slide something underneath the bucket to act as a lid. Then, I told her, I'd take the bucket outside and throw the I-truly-don't-know-what out into the jungle.

L and C mentioned that the thing was in a metal cage under the bucket, and that they couldn't bring themselves to touch any of it. Well, I'm no hero, but I have done many a frightening thing in my day, as a mother and all. I told them that I'd take the bucket off of the R.O.U.S., kill him, and throw him out if they really wanted me to.

They wanted me to.

I asked them how they wanted the hit to go down. They said they preferred drowning--in the bucket, inside the metal cage. Ugh. It had to be done. I had already promised and my reputation was at stake.

I carefully lifted the bucket off the, er, victim...and, y'all, he was vile. He wasn't a mouse or a rat--at least not the kind I've ever seen or had nightmares about. His nose looked like it was forked, kind-of, and had been shoved in a pencil sharpener. His eyes were the beadiest little nothings, and I wasn't even sure he could see. His teeth were disproportionately large and curved. And, well, I hated him--immediately.

His hideousness didn't remove the guilt I felt at what I was about to do, but it helped me to repress it a bit. L filled the bucket with water, and I gingerly lifted the metal cage, scared stiff all the while that the thing was going to lunge at my fingers and bite me. He didn't, and I plopped him wordlessly into the water, and to his rather ugly death.

I'm just strange enough that I had to peek in on him once or twice, to the shrill protests of both L and C. (What can I say? I also stare at roadkill as I pass it, shivering all the while). Anyway, he was drowning and I felt a stab of deep revulsion and a fleeting moment of sorrow and regret as I glimpsed at him. But L and C were infinitely glad and disgusted and yelling all at once, so it distracted me.

After five long minutes, I looked at him once more, in earnest this time. He was dead--and bloated--and baring his teeth.* (insert involuntary convulsion)* I dolefully put on red gloves, picked up the bucket, and hauled it outside, being careful that no rodent water splashed on my sandaled feet.

I threw that thing--cage and all--into the leafy overgrowth on the other side of the road. L and C cheered and shivered and called me a rock star. I guess that's what I am today. A murderous rock star. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Where the Rubber Meets the Road...

Well, I just took the Hindi exam we all have to take around here, and I feel like a wet noodle. It's a pre-recorded little jewel and it shaved maybe a month off my life. Still, it's done. All I have to do now is wait for the good/bad news, as the case may be...J still has to take it. Pray that he'll be able to show what he knows. He's very tired and distracted. He might even take the test and start speaking Spanish--and he doesn't know Spanish.