Thursday at the Leela

Thursday I went to a meeting at the Leela. I brought the kids with me because I knew Ansel would love to play in the green space. We ate some Thai chicken curry for lunch after the meeting. Ansel ran around the grounds for an hour or so. It was another gorgeous day and we enjoyed getting out for awhile. Here are some shots of Ansel at play:

Republic Day at Nandi Hills

Wednesday was Republic Day in India, so Travis had the day off. We decided to take a trip to the Nandi Hills to get away from the city. It was a beautiful day. We packed a lunch and headed for the hills. We got to the top of the Nandi Hills and walked around a bit. When it was time for lunch, we had to eat in the car because the monkeys in the park will attack if they see food. We were sitting in the car eating our lunch when I noticed the stroller had monkeys in it. I asked Travis if he could fight the monkeys off of our stroller and without realizing it he got out of the car with his sandwich. A monkey aggressively tried to get it away from him. Our driver told Travis to get back in the car. He was probably wondering what the crazy Americans were doing. This experience made me thankful that we had our rabies shots!

We finished lunch then went for a walk. Ansel spotted a playground. He was so excited that he started running. He has been very interested in the cricket games we have observed since our arrival and there was a group of kids playing cricket there. They were very excited to show him how to play. They laughed when he tried to hold the bat like a baseball bat. One boy said, "No, keep it on the ground! Please, watch me."

The kids all gathered around Ansel to talk to him. They asked him questions about where he is from and were very curious about his sister's name and his parents' names. It was good to be out in the park and watch him interact with the locals. They gave him a banana as we left. Against my better judgement I let him eat it in the car on the way home and prayed that he wouldn't get sick. He is doing great with no health issues. :)

Travis wanted us to experience drinking straight from a coconut. I thought it was great. Ansel liked holding the coconut, but didn't like the taste of it. We were tired from the day's activities and returned back to the city. It was a long drive home with two very tired kids.

Playgroup

Tuesday I went to a playgroup to get out of the flat and meet some moms and kids. It was nice to be away while the housekeeper was cleaning. Ansel loved playing in the backyard at the house we visited. I really liked the lady of the house. I continue to be impressed with the hospitality of the people I have met. She is an Indian who has been living in the UK for the past few years. She spoke with a perfect British accent like those heard in BBC films. She offered Siena very delicious watermelon cut in perfect little pieces. Siena hadn't tried watermelon before and was so excited to eat it! We left early because there was a boy who was being too rough with Ansel. I thought it was unfair to tell him not to fight back when the other boy refused to stop. We went for a walk until our driver returned from bringing Travis home from work. I really liked the moms I met, but all of them live an hour or more away from us. The search continues for playmates for our kids.

First Day With Our Housekeeper

Monday was our first day with our housekeeper. She is a pleasant lady. It was a different experience having someone else in the house all day. It was nice to have the house cleaned while I played with the kids. It will be hard to get used to being called, "Madam." Culture shock! Our housekeeper called out to me all day, saying, "Madam, baby is crying!" "Madam, Baba (not sure what it means but it is what she was calling Ansel) is asking for you!" It was very strange to have someone else telling me as if I couldn't hear them myself. Our flat isn't that big. I can hear them, but when I am attending to one, the other usually must wait. After all, there is only one of me. I felt like she was in my way. The flat is not very small, but the open floor plan made it difficult to be away from her when I wanted my space during naptime. I was very overwhelmed. I debated in my mind if we should even have a housekeeper. It's pretty dusty here, and it is great having clean floors (that I don't have to clean!) I may be able to get used to this. It was wonderful to have a clean house, dinner prepared, and not once have to leave my kids to do housework.

One side note: Ansel is calling the housekeeper "Baba" as well.

Karnataka Politics and a Quiet Weekend

The city of Bangalore is the capital of the state of Karnataka, India. Last Saturday we had in interesting introduction to politics in India. As we prepared to start our day, our friend Agnes called and said that we should not venture out today because of the "band". We were confused, but we promised her that we would stay safe.

I picked up the newspaper from outside my door and we turned on the television to a news channel. There was video footage of a bus on fire, and constant updates about the political situation. Evidently the governor of the state and the chief minister were having a bit of a disagreement. The chief minister has been accused of a land scam, and to retaliate he and his party (the BJP) had called a "bandh". They were asking all stores to remain closed in protest of the governor's action.

We did some more research and I called the co-worker who we were scheduled to have lunch with. He said that we should come on over, as the bandh did not affect travel on the local sidestreets. We were a bit hesitant but decided to trust him and venture out. It was a very quiet day, with 1/10th the traffic of a regular Saturday. It was a nice change from the normally hectic Bangalore!

One result of the bandh was that the police had forbade the assembly of 5 or more people, so we also stayed home on Sunday morning. While we did venture out Sunday evening for dinner and some very stressful shopping, the rest of the weekend was very relaxing. One quick note about dinner, we were not very adventurous and had a quick meal of Taco Bell...

Yay for new friends!

Today we spent time with our new friends, Agnes and Geoffrey. It was great to talk with them and see what life is like in an Indian home.

While we were there, Siena fell onto their marble floor and ended up with a bloody nose. Thankfully, it wasn't serious. I took her to see the pediatrician. He told me to give her acetimenophen for the next 3 days for pain. Agnes made delicious chicken, lady fingers (a vegetable I had never seen before), jeera rice (which has a great flavor with all the cumin seeds), hot chappatis, raita, and by far the best chai I have had so far in India. I baked some cookies. She said I will have to teach her to bake and she will teach me how to make Indian food. Sounds like a great trade off to me! It was refreshing to spend time with this Indian family. I am so thankful to have met them and I'm happy they live close by, only 9 minutes from our flat.

A visit to the office

Last week Siena, Ansel, and Michelle traveled to Moog to meet Travis' coworkers. Siena thought it was a blast!