Well, we're back to posts without as much rhyme or reason, but at least we're back to posting things. Thankfully, Chris has been a much better photographer than me lately and so we've got some pictures from his phone and from his camera. These first few are an invitation to join us at the park. Jed and Abe really have a great time going to any park at any time. While we were in Delhi, there was a park just down the street from us and we went there pretty regularly -- at least when it wasn't pouring down rain. Chris even went with the boys a time or two when they got caught in the rain. Jed will tell about having to wait out the rain in a building at the park. This park was equipped with some playground equipment -- Ahhh, the good old days when playground equipment was made out of rusty metal and chipped paint. Infections and lead poisoning just waiting to happen! Seriously, though, we've gotten too safety conscious back in the states and probably not enough here. Maybe our lives will balance into a happy medium.
Here Jed and Abe are climbing up one of the towers. Not sure what they were shouting at -- maybe the monkeys.
And here's our caveman. Abe really wants to feed himself, but he's not that adept at it yet. Sometimes it's just easiest to strip him to a diaper, throw a towel around him and let him go. This was right before lunch was served.
And here are Jed and I enjoying some pretty tasty food prepared by Reeta, our Delhi house helper. She made us lentils, rice, and I think there are the remains of her famous apple pie in one of those dishes. She became our 'Auntie' rather quickly. This is a term of endearment for anyone who you are close to who is a generation older than you. She is truly part of our family and we miss her.
Here are some views from the roof of our building in Delhi. We went up here on Independence Day and there were people on every roof flying kites. The kites are different here than back home. They are square-shaped and you get them started by pulling the string repeatedly instead of running and letting the kite go. Also, the kids attach a few yards of special 'cutting string' right at the start of the spool. These glass-shard coated strings will cut another kid's kite from the sky. This is the game that all of the people were playing when we went to the roof to try our hand. We had to try to explain to Jed that some of his friends were playing a game and that his kite might get cut. "That's not nice! I don't like that!" He yelled. It was probably a good thing that we couldn't make the kite work and had to try another day. We're still struggling with getting the things off the ground -- well, roof.
And here are a few more shots of the park. It was actually very amazing because there were ruins there from the 1200-1300s. We could just walk around and play on them and explore them all.
And here the boys are chasing each other along the path back home.
Some of you had been wondering what my excitement was in our last newsletter about a 'western seat'. Well, here is what a 'normal' toilet looks like in India. This is in our spare bathroom in our new home. You stand with your feet on either side of it, squat, go, and then wash yourself with a small pitcher of water that you fill from the spigot by the toilet. So, a western seat is what you are all used to. Here, though, most of our friends are more comfortable using one of these. I shouldn't have been too quick to be excited, though, because right after I sent that letter, our seat broke, so we're working on getting it fixed. Let's just say bathroom time is interesting for our whole family -- especially the 7 1/2 months pregnant one!
Here are Jed and Abe relaxing and watching a movie in our Delhi place. This is very unusual. They must have been tired. Normally, if one of them is on top of the other it's because they are wrestling.
Here's another fun thing about bathrooms. Hot water isn't guaranteed or even expected in most bathrooms. There are small water heaters that can be plugged in and mounted in a bathroom and this heats enough water for a shower or two. Still, because of the electrical wiring here, you have to be careful about how much electricity you are using at once. Chris is taking a picture of an electrical fire that burned through the plug of our water heater back in Delhi. It must be pretty common, because here in Kite City we don't have hot water right now. The plug for the heater here was burned before we moved in and we haven't been able to get it fixed yet. It guess it's not so bad that the highs here are still in the mid-90s. Hope we can get it fixed before winter kicks in and our house temp doesn't rise above 60.
Chris decided I needed some pampering, so we asked a friend to do some henna on my hands and feet. It was really pretty. One of our friends told us that the darker your henna is, the more your husband loves you. I told her that I don't need henna to tell me that :)
Here is one of my favorite people in the world! She was our language helper in Delhi. We were visiting her house and bringing her food after a very stressful day. You can read our last newsletter to find out more about that. And if you want to get our newsletters and pray for us and aren't getting them yet, just let me know! An update on our friend's home. There is a stay on the order, so that means that it's safe for now, but the same thing could happen again at any time. Nothing has really changed for her situation. Still praying for a permanent solution for her.
And now, for our mighty super-heros!!! Jed and Abe decided to be superheros one day and so we clipped some towels on them and let them go. If I were a bad guy, I wouldn't mess around in Jed's house, would you?
Yes, this is how happy Abe is every time he sits down to eat. This kid loves to eat!
And now, back to the superheroes!
Here's a picture of a 'coffee plunger'. This illustrates the difficulty of finding items we need. Sometimes, if you say the name of something with an Indian accent, a shop owner will know what you're asking for. But, 'french press' is not something anyone here understands. One of our friends here stumbled upon one in a shop and asked the man 'What do you call this?' 'Coffee Plunger' was the response. Well, now you know.
Another thing we're learning about are the joys of stainless steel. Most plates, cups, and silverware are made of it here. You can get china or something, but why? The floors are all marble or concrete and when one of those puppies gets dropped, it shatters everywhere -- and I mean everywhere!!! Smitherines!!!!! So, stainless steel is a great substitute and sure looks cool and shiny.
Here's the funny headgear pic for this blog:
And here's the gate to our new apartment. We have a great guard who makes sure of all people coming into our building. We live on a quiet, dead-end street and there are some really nice people in our building and neighborhood. Come visit and you'll see!
This is a typical store-front in Kite City, or for that matter, most of India. You can usually get some chips, dry goods, crackers, bread, eggs, maybe milk or juice, and a wide variety of other things from these shops. You never know what you may find unless you ask. I found super-glue the other day just by snooping around while the storekeeper was writing up my bill.
And here is a typical side-of-the-road shot. In Kite City, about half the traffic is non-motorized. There are ox-carts, bikes, and rickshaws. After that, there are scooters and motorcycles. A few cars or small trucks make their way through the streets, but they are the exception. Jed really likes the rickshaw rides so much more than the motorized autos of Delhi. We will start walking from the house and he asks me 'Are we looking for our rickshaw?' 20 cents will get you to the store and $1 will get you across town. We usually pay them a bit more when they are lugging all 4 of us over the potholes, though. Chris' mode of transport right now is the same as this gentleman. He runs all sorts of errands on his borrowed bike. He even brought back a twin-sized cot one time and another time 4 plastic lawn chairs. The best was when he walked the bike home with lumber strapped to it. He still hasn't gotten me to ride on the book-rack like a lot of wives here. Our Indian transformation is not yet complete.
And here we are at a new park we found in our area. We tried to go to a park with a playground one day, but we made some crucial errors. We went in the afternoon on a school holiday. We also were a large group -- 6 of us and 3 were blonde, blue-eyed kids. We literally had a group of at least 30-50 people (mostly kids but some adults) surrounding us at any given time as the boys tried to play. Needless to say, it didn't go so well and our lack of language skill didn't help anything. We had to give up and go home. This day we went to a quiet, grassy park where some art students were painting landscapes. Jed and Abe and had a great time running around and playing with their friends this day.
Here are Jed and two of his friends here in Kite City. The boys are so excited to spend time with other kids their age. We're working on getting them out to meet some of the kids in the neighborhood, too. It will help as we all get better at speaking the language.
Shade and room to run! Could we ask for anything more?
One more great thing about our city is that we have Coffee Day! This is like a Starbucks and Jed got to have some chocolate milk after playing all morning in the sun. Abe was asleep in my arms, but woke in time to have some berry slushie before leaving.
Here is what I see almost every night before tucking the kids in bed. We still have about the same bedtime routine no matter where we live, what kind of bed they have to sleep in, or what else might be happening around us. Just trying to keep a little bit of familiar in their lives. We read books, read a bible story, and then pray. After that, the negotiations begin for telling more stories, singing songs, getting drinks, etc. Still, these times are precious. The other night during this time, Jed told us he had a song to teach us. Hopefully we can get a video or audio of it for you to hear, but until then, the words go:
God is with us; Always with us
He is with us when it's raining
God is with us; Always with us
He is with us when we're scared
God is with us; Always with us
He is with us when we're in darkness
Our God is faithful and strong
Until next time!
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