Prayer Requests

As we end our time here I have a few prayer requests.

The mosquitoes are still a problem.  Actually they are worse.  I've resorted to putting bug spray on Leela every night because they are eating her alive.  I'm not too excited with the idea of smearing deet all over her everyday, but I guess I have to weigh the good with the bad.

Please pray also that Naveen's parents will enjoy their last week with Leela.  Leela has been a little hesitant to go to Naveen's mom the past couple of days, I think possibly because she gives Leela over to a lot of people Leela doesn't know to hold which upsets Leela and it's making her not want to go to with my mother-in-law. It's really hurting her feelings.  Naveen explained to her my theory, so maybe there's something we can do about it, but please pray for good bonding time and memories for this last week.

We've made it this far without any food poisening or stomach issues.  Please pray for continued good health especially as we get close to boarding a pretty long plane ride, 

Please pray also that it won't be stressful as we finish up things like shopping (there's always quite the list of foods Naveen wants to bring home that needs to be specially packed, and things for Leela and family, and requests from others as well) visiting people (Naveen's parents still have a little list of people we need to see), and packing. 

Thanks for your continued prayer!
I am blessed
With Love
Autumn

My daughter is such a girl. Already!

We came back from a few days in Hyderabad.  I wrote about that already, but I have to share one really cute sweet thing that happened the night that we came back.  Leela has a regular friend who comes over.  She is in second grade and comes over pretty much everyday after school to play with the babe.  She takes Leela by the hands and walks her around, speaks to Leela in Leela's own babbling baby talk which Leela really responds to, and plays with Leela with all the toys. It's always so fun and sweet to see.  She'll call Leela's name from her apartment down the hall and Leela will look all over for her.  She's actually the only person that I've tried to get Leela from and she pulls away.

So when we came back from Hyderabad the little girl came to the screen door and called Leela's name.  My little girl turned, sat up on her knees, put her hands by her mouth, screamed (I mean screamed) with joy, bouncing up and down, and crawled faster than you've ever seen any baby crawl straight to the door.  It reminded me of one of those crazy teenage girls at a Justin Beiber concert when he comes out on stage.  It was so funny!  I was laughing so hard water came to my eyes. Those two are going to miss each other so much.  In fact we were already told we should stay another month by this girl's sister.  I tried to convince her she should come to the US with us, trying to entice her with the idea of no school on Saturdays (they have school and Saturdays here), but she said something about missing her mom or something. 

That's my cute story. 

Saree Tying and Life Lessons

So this trip between what my in-laws have given me and what 2 others have given me I've collected 4 more sarees.  My in-laws have also given me multiple sarees.  The tally keeps going up.  I have made it a goal that before I leave I want to learn how to tie them well.  I can do an okay job that impresses people as the American who gave it a shot, but I want it to look like a real authentic Indian did it.  If you don't know what a saree looks like before it's all wrapped up around someone I'll explain it to you.  There's a jacket that hits at about your rib line, then a petty coat skirt for underneath that you place whereever you feel comfortable with it sitting and the gap between the skirt and jacket (I usually like to hike mine up well above my belly button, I'm not comfortable with too much skin showing) Then basically you have this long piece of cloth, and I mean long, that you wrap around, tuck, fold, and pin in various places.  It's really the length of the piece of cloth that makes me feel overwhelmed.  I've enlisted my mother-in-law and family friend Jyothi to help me accomplish this task (they sure are patient people).  While learning how to do this I've been thinking of how learning to tie a saree, which has really been a very challenging thing for me to learn, can really apply to anything in life.  Here's how:

1. Don't be afraid to ask for help.  It took me a little bit of courage to ask these ladies, mostly because I was afraid I'd be a slow learner, but how else would I learn.

2.Don't be afraid to ask too many questions the first couple times-then you learn better sooner and don't feel silly asking it a long way down the road.

3. Watch first, but don't be afraid to try it as soon as possible.  That's when the real questions pop up and your brain can understand better what it's trying to learn.

4. Don't be afraid of making a mistake and looking foolish.  Mistakes are where we learn the most. The first time I asked my mother-in-law to really intentionally show me how to put it on I first tied it how I had been tying it so she could see it, and so I would have a fresher memory of what she and I did differently and where my mistakes were.  It helped I found out I was beginning it wrong by tucking it in the wrong place.

5.  Never be ashamed to write things down.  For me things always stick better if I write plus I can always look back at it.  Probably no one will be able to understand my saree notes, but I will. 

6.  Sometimes we have to get up close and personal with people.  It's okay, it may be uncomfortable at times but sometimes that's how we learn best.  My mother-in-law is short and in order to reach to wrap the cloth around me she's right there pretty close. Uncomfortable? A little, probably for her too, but how else would I learn.

7.Sometimes you get poked and there's a little bit of pain (maybe even blood), but if you practice enough you learn how to do things more skillfully and easily.

8. Always be willing to not take yourself too seriously and when you end up looking silly (like with a lopsided saree) laugh and enjoy the silliness.

I'm planning on trying to tie a saree everyday, even if I don't wear one everyday, as long as can with the "mentors", so for the rest of the trip.  Maybe I can find some friends to have a saree tying party with when I get home and practice on them ;) 

Today is my Birthday

Maybe some of you reading know that today is my birthday and some may not.  It's now officially my birthday in both the US and India.  It's kind of awkward figuring out your real birthday when you were born in the US and are celebrating in India.  We had the same problem with Leela's birthday.  Is it really my birthday?  It's still September 8 back home.  Now it's September 9 in both places.  Should I stay up all night and celebrate my true US birthdate? I don't think so I'm too tired.  It was a good day.  We went out to eat lunch and then we came home and played Uno which we also played before lunch (PS I was on a really awesome winning streak) and had cake.  So many kids came over to play with Leela, and when they heard about the cake they decided to stay.  I told Naveen tonight that I'm not sure I pictured being 27 and having so many kids in the pictures at my celebration.  It almost looks like a party for Leela.  They are mostly the ones who do speak English so I guess they are kind of my friends since they talk to me the most.  Today got me thinking about another birthday though.

I'm sure we all have special birthday memories.  A lot of mine I remember going on picnics to the duck park with hoagie sandwiches, both which I loved, going to the skating rink, sleepovers with friends.  There were special gifts like the easel my parents bought me in 1st grade because I was so sure I was going to be an artist, and the time I really wanted to have a CD but ended up talking my mom into buying me a guinea pig instead.  The one birthday that keeps coming to mind today was 5 years ago though.  It was in this same house I'm in right now, actually getting ready to go home.  It had been an overwhelming trip for me with all the culture shocks and also everything that comes with coming to India engaged to a once Hindu boy now Christian who was supposed to get an arranged marriage just over a year before.  Naveen's parents were nice and everything, it was just a lot of pressure.  I was ready to go home and feeling emotional.  Before catching the train to the airport a cake was brought in.  Doing what we normally do I asked my mom to cut it and pass it out.  I didn't know the Indian tradition was to have your guests feed you a bite.  They didn't know our way and we didn't know theirs and there was some great misunderstanding and hurt feelings, especially mine. I wasn't so sure I wanted to come back ever again. The cool thing about that birthday happening is that I can sit right here in the same spot I was 5 years ago I see the amazing growth and learning.  Of course this time I got the cake thing right, but there are so many more things.  I know all marriage is hard, but intercultural marriage especially between such different cultures adds more complexities to it.  It's so cool to look and see how my husband has turned into an amazing godly man.  Just new to the faith back then he still had a lot to learn.  He is always so open to accepting his flaws as flaws and overcoming them that he inspires me all the time to try to be more like that (I'm far from being as good as him)  He's been so caring and understanding on this trip.  He keeps God at the center and his priorities in order. I love to see him take care of me and Leela on this trip.  I've grown too.  I've also become more understanding to the pressures he faces with taking an American who still doesn't know everything about the culture or the language to India.  I also feel a lot more comfortable with the Indian culture and know a lot more about it and what's expected of me.  I've learned to stretch myself and come out of my comfort zone more than I ever knew I could before.  That's thanks to Naveen as well.  I look back at this day 5 years ago and think about how awesome God is.  He knew Naveen and I needed each other to better each other.  Sure there's been a lot of pressure and heat over the years, but I heard that's how gold is refined.  Although I'm not to a golden birthday nor are we to a golden anniversary I can tell we just keep getting shinier and prettier.  I know God's not done with me yet, I'm thankful that he isn't. Life is beautiful, and I'm thankful for another year completed and pray I never stop growing and learning. I can't wait to see what God does with the next 5 years.

Put on the Spot

We just got back from Hyderabad kind of late last night.  At a little over 180 Km away it took us over 4 hours to get back home.  (Naveen told me that 100 Km is about 60 Miles, all of this Metric system and Celsius stuff sure confuses an American. I saw the other day that it was 32 degrees Celsius and it felt hot.  The same in Fahrenheit and we're freezing.)  While we were in Hyderabad we went to Charminar which is known for the pearls you can get there and for pretty cheap.  We also went up into this ancient structure called Minar which means pillar.  There are four pillars with steps 2 to climb up and 2 to climb down.  The pillars are connected and you can look out on the city from them.  The steps are narrow but very tall.  On the way down the lights went out and I thought I might die in the pitch black with Leela in her ergo carrier on my front.  We made it though.  End of the horror story.

While we were there we also met the people on the Campus Crusade staff who Naveen did his mission trip with last year.  They were very nice.  Leela and I were even given very nice gifts. I was kind of put on the spot though.  I was asked to share a message in the morning. It was late in the evening and we were getting ready to go visit a family.  I knew we'd get home late.  I was already exhausted.  I wasn't prepared.  I didn't want to do it really.  Naveen told me that he was told you should always have messages prepared when doing mission work in Asian countries because you'll often get asked just like that.  He had prepared a message in case he was asked.  I wasn't on a mission trip and was just meeting his new friends from the year before and had no idea that I would be asked, so I said thanks for telling me.  I panicked.  I had no idea what to share.  I didn't even have my Bible with me.  I meant to grab it, but had forgotten it.  Even though he failed to warn me to be prepared he also saved me in the end.  He gave me the idea to use one of the things I've been studying and I remembered the recent words of Beth Moore I had been studying.  It was on Shadrach, Meschac, and Abednego, Daniel 3 when they are about to be thrown into the furnace.  They told King Nebuchadnezzer that they didn't need to defend themselves in not bowing to the idol, their God could rescue them from the fire and would, and even if He didn't they still would never bow down.  Beth talked about the definition of loyalty having being prepared in it.  We have to be prepared to be loyal to God no matter what.  She also talked about 3 senarios.

We can be delivered from the fire and our faith is built
We can be delivered through the fire and our faith is refined (this is what happened in the story)
We can be delivered by the fire into God's arms and our faith is perfected

God is with us in every one of those senerios.  We just need to be loyal to God and have our minds prepared to be loyal to God no matter what the outcome.  He's always loyal to his followers.

It was so great to talk about this`and make it more concrete in my mind.  I've always heard the best way to learn something is to teach it.  I was made to think things all the way through by teaching it.  I also learned another thing, always be prepared with something to share about what God is teaching you in your life.  As my mom reminded me when I told her about this Peter does tell us to always be prepared to share about the reason for your hope.  In college one of my roommates asked me often what I thought God was teaching me and doing in my life.  I haven't been asked that question for a long time.  I think I need to start asking myself that question everyday.  That way I can easily recognize His fingerprints on my life. So what has God been teaching you and doing in your life lately?

Prayer Requests

We are headed out to Hyderabad tomorrow for a few days which is about 4 hours away.  Please pray for safety in travel and a good and safe time there.  We'll of course be eating out a little more at unfamiliar restaurants which always brings the risk of food poisoning.  Please pray protection over Leela and my stomachs too as we eat at places.

We actually didn't go to the other water park place that we were supposed to on Sunday because I had an infection and had to go to the doctor.  I was told these are pretty common with the spicy food here and the irritation it could cause.  I'm still on medication, so please pray that everything clears up and once I'm off the meds the infection doesn't come back.

I'm getting a little lonely and homesick.  It gets hard on me not really knowing what's going on or what people are talking about a lot of the time, and even at times just not understanding different things in the culture.  I know it's hard on Naveen to always try to translate and include me in conversations that he's deeply involved in, and to not just assume I know what's what here because it's what he's always known.  Please pray that I won't have these feelings of loneliness and for Naveen too as I know there is a lot of pressure on him to involve me and explain things to me.    

Thanks for your prayers.
I'm so blessed by all of you
with love,
Autumn

When There's a Need There's Creativity

It's been pretty rainy lately.  This is one of the big reasons I haven't blogged in the last couple days.  There are a lot of power outages with the rain.  We already face 5 hours of power cuts each day 2 1/2 in the morning 2 1/2 in the afternoon, but it's been more than that lately.

Naveen and I were recently out in the rain and I saw a lady sweeping the street with a small plastic bag on her head wrapping the handles around the ears.  I thought how inventive!  Then I noticed how others kept themselves dry without umbrellas.  An auto rickshaw we road in had a rice bag attached to the ceiling drapping down the side so passengers didn't get wet.  Man do they know how to get use out of everything here!  Our breakfast at the restaurant that we take out is wrapped in banana leafs and newspaper.

Even the baby is catching on.  We have a toy at home with wheels that she gets her balance from and walks behind.  We don't have it here, so she learned that if she uses the furniture she can push things across the smooth marble floor to walk behind.  There's always furniture being rearranged around here :)

Making Dinner for the In-laws

It made me a little nervous.  Naveen had talked up my curries so much to my in-laws. They wanted to try it for themselves.  I had had a little confidence booster the day before.  I made everyone oatmeal and burned it  :P The stove is almost like a little propane camp stove here, and things get kind of hot fast.  Naveen chose two of his favorites.  Chicken Curry and Papu Charru (sp?).  We bought the supplies and I went to work in a kitchen I was unfamiliar with and a stove and pans I was equally unfamiliar with.  Leading up to it there had been so much anticipation that I thought I'd lower their expectations a bit.  This was after all taking my mother-in-law's own recipes and making them for her.  I told my in-laws the English saying "Never trust a skinny chef"  they just laughed because my skinniness is something very often commented on in India especially in this house.  

I finished the food and everyone dug in.  They seemed to like it.  I didn't know if they were just being nice or they really did like it.  Then the next day when Naveen went to look for leftover Papu Charru for lunch his parents told him they had ate it all for breakfast. I guess I passed the test :)

Facing my Fears

I did it!  I faced one of my biggest fears here in India.  I used the squatty potty.

With us leaving the house for most of the day tomorrow it's important to remind myself that no matter what kind of toilet I face I'm brave enough.  Some of you may not realize how many things are different here. Even the toilets are different.  They call the ones we have in the US western toilets, and many homes and places have what are referred to by some as squatty potties.  A squatty potty is a hole in the floor basically.  In order to use it you have to squat over it.  Naveen's parents have one of each, so normally I don't have to worry too much about it unless we're out of the house.

When we first got here we took the train from the airport to Naveen's parents' home.  It was a 5 hour ride.  I really try to avoid using the bathrooms on the trains but one can only hold it so long.  I eventually had to seek out the bathroom.  I walked through the train car and and went in between the cars where the bathrooms are located.  I opened a door only to find the potty I dreaded most.  It was okay though because there was another bathroom across from it.  I opened the door only to find the same scene.  Two guys standing by the doorway waiting for the train to come to their stop just watched me.  I'm sure they were thinking how strange this white girl was going back and forth looking into the bathrooms and shutting the door looking terrified.  What is in those bathrooms?  I knew there must be some western style toilets somewhere, but it seemed too much to look.  I was there, so I decided to suck it up and try it.  I did, and I did it successfully!

What an accomplishment! Don't you think?  I looked my fear right in the eye and stared it down.  So tomorrow come Western or Squatty I'm ready.  At least I think.  There may have been a big possibility of beginners luck on the train.   

What Time is It?

Since the last time I was here a medical clinic has been built in front of Naveen's parents' apartment.  They have a little porch that overlooks the clinic and we find ourselves out there quite often.  The clinic serves the poorer of the population, and some days the line forms early and gets long fast.  The other day the line wrapped all the way around the building out into the street.  Naveen told me that possibly there was a well known visiting doctor that everyone wanted to see.  I watched for a minute as a little girl laid her head in her mother's lap, and a woman next to her nursed her hungry baby.  Then Naveen said something to me that was very insightful.

He told me about how he remembered waiting for hours in similar lines while growing up.  He said people look down on Indians a lot because they are late to things or start things long after said time, but when you're used to always waiting for the things you need like medical attention it doesn't matter how long it takes or what time you're finished you just do what you have to.  That's why Indians don't worry too much about time.

It was eye opening to me.  Yes I've been one of those said people before waiting for others to show up for dinner with a grumbly stomach irritated because we were supposed to start forever ago.  This led me to think about all the ways time affects the American daily life.  I had a friend comment on one of my posts that her sister is so outgoing and friendly and when she tries to talk to some people on the bus or other places they seem annoyed that their life has been interrupted.  I must say that I might not be so different if I was walking down the aisles of the grocery store trying to get things done in a "timely" fashion in order to get to the next thing in life if someone tried to strike up a conversation with me.  Here in India I know that if I needed help with something, or if I wanted to talk to someone on the street even if they were busy they wouldn't hesitate to drop everything and take some time out for me.  It's relationship over convenience really.

As I write this I think about how little I've clock watched or thought about the time here.  It seems like a lot less pressure. I understand the importance of keeping things on a time frame.  We need schedules sometimes to keep us motivated and progressing.  Sometimes I wonder though if we worry too much about time.  When I go home I want to live this out a little more.  When a little old lady asks me about my baby in the grocery store instead of a quick answer and a smile I'll actually keep the conversation going for a few minutes.  When my neighbor waves hi to me, I'll actually walk over and talk to them and see how they are doing.  I really just want to be less tied to the clock and more about loving others.

Khammam and Mayberry

So I like to listen to country music sometimes.  I like the way a lot of the songs tell a story, and at times secretly wish I was a cowgirl (can an Indian be a cowboy?  I've asked Naveen this before because I think this would be a fun life for us)  There's one song Mayberry by Rascal Flatts.  Part of the lyrics goes like this "I miss Mayberry sitting on the porch drinking ice cold cherry coke, where everything is black and white.  Strumming on your six string, people walk by and they call you by your first name, watching the clouds go by."  I think it paints a picture of a close community that feels welcoming and homely.

Yesterday we went to a friend's house for dinner.  They wanted to show me what their house looked like, and while there Naveen wanted us to visit some other friends' homes.  In this little neighborhood my husband spent most of his growing years, and there were still people living there from when he lived there.  We went to the different houses and visited with people from my husband's past.  Neighbors came over to each other's houses and talked to each other and played with kids like they were their own.  The kids knew them well and were excited to see them.  As we were all sitting around eating a snack and drinking tea as all the adults were deep in conversation catching up with each other, and the kids were playing, that song started going through my head.  I think I might have even started humming it a little bit.  (People might be starting to think I'm a little bit crazy around here).  I didn't grow up in the time of Mayberry really, but sitting there seeing all this community with these people that I could just tell knew each other so well, and visited with each other daily I thought maybe this is kind of what Mayberry feels like.  Then I thought about all the evenings Naveen and I ask each other what we should do and end up just watching a movie because we can't figure anything else out.  These people don't ever have that problem.  They always have someone to do something with and talk to.  It's a neat thing these people have.  Almost like Mayberry except they put a dot of red powder between your eyebrows before you go home :)

Prayer Requests

I thought it would be a good idea to ask my friends who are reading this if they can lift a couple things up in prayer for us over the next couple days

1. The mosquitoes.  I was told at the travel clinic in SLC that the area of India we are in isn't a super high risk for malaria, but precautions should be taken for mosquitoes especially if I decided to forgo the medication.  Since the medication made me feel sick all the time last time, and I didn't see any mosquitoes ever I decided we'd just bring bug spray and call it good.  This time even though it's the same time of year as I came last time is a lot more wet.  That has been a blessing in the way of heat, but not in the way of mosquitoes.  Will you please pray for protection from bites and malaria.

2.Travel:  On Sunday morning, which would be Saturday night to those in the US we're going to a city about two hours away to check out a water park there.  In India there are no carseats, and with my wiggle baby I get a little nervous over the fact that I have to try to hold her on my lap for at least 2 hours.  The traffic here also terrifies me.  There's no way for me to describe it for you, maybe you could find a youtube clip of Indian traffic.  Please pray for us for safe travels on the way there and back.

Thank you so much for your prayers and supports.  I feel so blessed to know there are friends like you who care about me and pray for me.

A Better Understanding of my Husband

The last time I came to India Naveen and I were engaged.  Now it's been 5 years since we were here and nearly 5 years of marriage.  That's 5 years of living with Naveen and learning all his strange quirks and differences from me.  As we spend time here and I see him in action among the other Indians I start to understand some of the things he does so much better.

In the store for example if he needs something he'll go right to the front of the line and ask the cashier while the cashier is in the middle of helping someone else.  I see that it's a necessity to do this in India.  If you don't push yourself to the front of the line you'll never get helped.  If it were up to me I think we'd never get our food ordered at the restaurant.  I've had it so drilled into me to wait my turn and be patient that I would have a hard time pushing myself in among the people at the front counter and trying to get the attention of the servers to take my ticket.  Also I've noticed when we go shopping if he doesn't know where something is right away he'll go ask someone before even really looking.  I'm quite different in the aspect.  I would spend forever looking for something before I asked someone to help me find it.  In the stores here in India you don't go looking.  You ask for something, and they bring you every variety they have.

Another thing I've wondered about Naveen is why he's never been bothered to share his pajamas with the world.  When he works from home he'll be in his pajamas all day and will walk outside wave to the neighbors even talk to them and not seemed bothered.  In my house growing up my parents never even opened the curtains until they were dressed and ready for the day.  This thought came when the neighbor came across the hall hair uncombed and in her PJs to say hi to Leela yesterday. With such close shared living space I think it doesn't matter here too much how people appear to each other.  They see the best and the worst and feel no need to try to look all put together like we do in America. There are people out on the street brushing their teeth everyday spitting and gargling for everyone else to see.  There are others sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk on busy streets.

It's not only eye opening to understand my husband better, but to also realize there's no one way to do something and what works in one place won't always work in another.

I can't wait to see what other interesting things I'll understand better about my husband.

The Trouble with Drawstring Pants

While in India I wear the same clothes as the locals.  I already stick out in all my tall whiteness, I don't need to draw more attention with my western style clothes.  The other day when I was putting on my pants I thought these guys have it figured out.  The pants are huge at the waist, but you draw it all in with a string at the waist to fit you perfectly.  You never have to worry about gaining or losing a few pounds and pants being too tight or too lose.  Maternity clothes? Forget those, I'm sure these pants would still fit fine.  It's brilliant brilliant brilliant!

The problem came when I needed to use the ladies room, and quite badly.  I had been busy with Leela, and needed to wait until the last possible minute.  I went to untie my pant drawstring and there was a knot in it.  Not just any ordinary knot, but the most stubborn knot there could be.  I pulled and pried using my fingers to the best of their ability, with a deep sense of urgency.  Finally I gave up calling Naveen to come to my rescue (it was almost like a fairytale except not).  He couldn't get it undone either.  I was getting desperate, so eventually I made myself as skinny as I could and escaped my confining pants.  Don't worry the story has a happy ending.  I was eventually able to get the knot out.  I'm just a little scared of drawstrings now and will be sure to give myself ample time when untying them.

My Heart Breaks

Naveen and I committed before we left to India that every morning we would go on a prayer walk while we were here.  We know that there are certain weak areas we're more vulnerable to while we're here that the devil likes to attack.  It's been refreshing to get out in the coolness of the morning and share our hearts with God.  It's also been a little heart breaking to me.

This isn't my first time in India.  I've seen the beggars, children, and poverty on the street.  I think what's different about this time is being right in the street walking with it so up close and personal rather than sitting in a car where you can kind of hide your eyes from it when the hurtful feelings come.  The other day as we were walking this lady with a baby wrapped up close to her was pleading for money for milk for her baby.  Her saddened and desperate face was a stark contrast to her baby who was grabbing at her face and laughing.  My heart broke right there.  How do I get to be so blessed?  I have a baby not much older than hers.  My baby has never known hunger.  My baby has more than she needs.  I never had to look at my baby in helpless desperation as she cries from the pangs of hunger.  I gave her some money, she kissed it in deep gratitude and I turned quickly so I wouldn't start crying in the middle of the busy street.

I've been praying fervently for the broken people here.  I know Jesus moving here is the only thing that can overcome the brokenness and darkness here.  I encourage you to pray also with me as we stay here in India.  Pray for the people of India both rich and poor needing food, money, shelter, but also something so much more fulfilling, a relationship with Jesus.

Pomegranates: the new blueberries

Before we left for India we skyped with Naveen's parents one day when Leela was enjoying her daily breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries.  With her face covered in purple and she thoroughly enjoying the berries my in-laws were worried about the fact they had no blueberries in India and asked if there was a way we could bring some with us.  I assured them there were probably other fruits in India she would enjoy just as much.

My in-laws know how much I enjoy a good piece of fresh fruit, and that it's something I start to miss when in India where everything is very much cooked and curried.  In order to make me feel welcome and comfortable my in-laws bought me a TON of fruit.  I'm pretty sure they bought the whole fruit stand.  Then my mother-in-law wanting me to eat the fruit peeled me about 4 pomegranates.  Have you ever eaten one of those things?  They are so much work to get the fruit out, so I thought it was so sweet she would go to all that work for me.  Of course it's kind of difficult for me to eat it all in one sitting.  I thought I'd try to give Leela a piece.  She loved it!  I have now decided pomegranates are the blueberries of India.  This is now what I've been giving her with her breakfast oats.

This must be what a movie star feels like

So I was thinking yesterday, this must be what a movie star feels like.  We went to visit a family friend's child's school here in India.  It was pretty big.  Three tall buildings.  We walked up a few flights of stairs and over to the classroom where Pandu's class was.  All eyes of the children were watching me through the slatted windows of the two classrooms we passed.  When they were released from class I was practically mobbed.  One kid asked me after an awestruck hi-ii where I was from.  When I told him U.S. a number of kids excitedly repeated the same thing I said.  As we walked back down the stairs to our scooter I made sure Naveen was close by not to get lost forever in this group of kids surrounding me.  Later we sat down at a bakery/sweet shop where our friends made sure I was thoroughly stuffed with food and Pandu told us how all the kids asked him where we were from and how he knew us as soon as they saw us from his classroom with his mom.  I thought this must be what a movie star feels like, but they probably enjoy it a little more.  I'm not one to call attention to myself, but here in India my height and white skin do that pretty easily.  It makes me laugh to think how unique I seem to them, but where I am from there are so many more who look very similar to me.  

So Many Kids So Much Fun

One thing about being here in India there are so many people.  Those people just drop in whenever without a phone call in advance.  It seems strange to my American mind who plans get togethers weeks in advance. Seriously?! We just go over to someone's house without letting them know we're coming?!  Much to Leela's enjoyment there are many children who end up coming over daily.  They play with her constantly.  Grabbing her hands helping her to walk.  Making the little stuffed animals talk to her.  She is going to have some serious withdrawals when we leave after a month of this attention.