Gonna need a do-over for this One-Year Anny...

Today.  One year since we left Houston - July 10, 2013.  Technically we did not arrive into Chennai until July 11, which is a good thing.  July 10, 2014 pretty much sucked.  We are going to make July 11 better. And the rest of 2013 and onto the next year.  At the end of the day, all I can do is laugh.  Some of it was pretty amusing... AFTER the fact.  At the time, not really funny.  But we have found that happens a lot here in India.  Not funny in the moment, hysterical looking back on it later.  Let me give a recap of the day's highs and lows:

• As a special treat, Savannah's teacher ordered her lunch.  Very sweet gesture.  Too bad she found a fly in her food about half way through eating.  Gross. 
• I woke up to get ready to take the kiddo to dinner before heading into work and went to put a load of laundry in the washer.   I have noticed red streaky stuff inside the fabric softener slot before and have been baffled, but it's inconsistent.  Confusing.  Until today when I noticed it again.  I began looking around and noticed the containers on the top of our fridge...  2 small Crystal Light drink drop bottles that Michael brought for us from the US.  Turns out our helper has been using some Crystal Light to soften our clothes.  Lovely.  Communication barriers are usually fun after the fact.
• I finished getting ready and we made our way to dinner.  I got in the car and started the usual - checking emails, checking FB.  I find out a dear friend's brother, who has been battling cancer for over 3 years, has passed away.  I am heart-broken for her.  Savannah knows and is very quiet.  We are silent nearly the entire way to the restaurant.  Prayers for the family are appreciated.
• Savannah wanted American so we went to one of our usual haunts: Tryst.  We walked around the bend and saw a garden-area full of chairs facing a large white screen... Hmmm... We walked in and all the tables were gone.  They were replaced with chairs facing yet another large white screen.  I asked the guy standing out side the door if they were closed.  When I really looked at him, I realized he wasn't the owner as I had thought, but some random white guy.  Savannah was humiliated.  I giggled, said, "Oh, you're not the guy.  Sorry" and walked in.  I then asked the staff and they said they were closed.  Ugh.  Savannah went into instant pouting and cranky mode (I wonder where she gets that from?).  I asked her to pick somewhere else.  She refused.  We stood there with a slight stare down and I caved.  Fine.  Thalapakati it is.
• We drove a couple KM down the same street and made our way to Thalapakati.  As we pulled up to the parking area, we noticed an apparent lifeless body laying from the street and into the parking lot.  I gasped and noticed a few people milling around, but nobody paying any mind.  "Is he dead?" I ask aloud, knowing I would not get an answer.  "Someone is going to hit him."  Again, knowing my driver can't understand me and Savannah has already thought the same.  
• There is a red car leaving the parking area.  But it's kind of in the street, in the lot, and our driver is going around it.  Then it decides to go.  Our driver has to slam his brakes.  And then we feel a thud from behind.  A family on a motorcycle has hit the rear of our little car.  Out gets the driver, grumbling and mouthing off under his breath.  He stomps over to the bike and begins to speak very sternly, not quite yelling, but using a lot of hand motions, so he might as well have been yelling.  He is laying into the bike man, all the while the wife is on the rear and his two children, toddlers, are on the front.  People are now stopping and telling our driver (I am going to ad lib since I can only understand the tone and gestures) DUDE, Chill OUT! and Calm down, buddy.  Everyone's OK.  
• We make our way into the restaurant.  We order the usual meal for us crazy Americans.  We mix rice and gravies and naan.  We live on the wild side.  (Usually it's rice OR naan, never both.)  I ask the waiter to make sure our gravy, paneer butter masala, is less spicy.  Savannah still can't deal with spice very well.  He smiles and says, "No, maam, not spicy.  Sweet."  I smile back and say, "Yes, less spicy, please."  We know what it is and we know how spicy it is, I am thinking.  "No, maam.  Sweet."  Yeah, OK.  I am getting nowhere fast. "OK fine."  Savannah and I exchange glances, knowing we will need to send it back when it comes.  Sigh.  
• We wait on our food and watch the lifeless body.  Nobody has moved it.  He is going to get run over, already dead or not.  Then his foot moves.  Ah!  He's alive!  We both see it and are a bit relieved.  But he is STILL halfway in the road.  MOVE HIM PEOPLE!  Busses are whizzing by, blaring a horn like that on a cruse ship.  HOW can he be sleeping? 
• Food comes.  Savannah is still pretty cranky about her meal being swapped from what she thought she was having to Indian.  She likes Indian, but when she is expecting one thing and gets another, grumpy girl.  She says the gravy is not good today.  I don't love the paneer there, on any given day, so it's OK - tastes no different - to me.  She decides after a small serving it really is too spicy and we role play the conversation of sending it back and asking them to add butter, which would kill some of the spice.  We both know how this is going to go.  We laugh.  I tell her I'll give it a shot but no promises.  The waiter comes.  "Hi, can you add butter, please?  Too spicy."  Blank stare.  I pick up the bowl, "Can you please add butter?  Inside."  "Oh, OK, hot." And he walks off.  Yeah... no.  Not warm it up, buddy.  Savannah and I shake our head.  It returns.  Bowl is hot.  I say, "No, please add butter."  Blank stare.  Another waiter joins us.  "Can you please put more butter?  This is too spicy for her."  "No, maam. Not spicy.  Sweet."  The sarcastic American is emerging. "Yes, I know it's sweet.  But let's add butter for fun.  Please put butter in here and stir it up."  Blank stare.  "Butter.  Do you have butter?"  "Yes, maam, this is your order."  "Yes, never mind.  I give up."  They exchange worried looks and I roll my eyes and turn back to Savannah.  "Sorry, Savannah.  Enjoy your sweet paneer butter masala."  She jokes about it tasting like chocolate and we deal.   
• She eats some of the biryani.  And she pops a wire on her braces.  Of course.  Because it's rice and chicken and there's absolutely no reason for that to happen.  But it does.  And we deal, again.
• Until I get sick.  Almost sick like Monday night heading into work.  I need the wash room and fast.  While I am gone, Savannah said they came by 5-6 times asking to take my plate.  Poor thing, because when I am back, I am ready to go.  Pack up the leftovers, take my plate and bring the bill.  I need to get out of there and to the office.  Still not feeling good at all, but would rather be at the office than stuck in the restaurant or the car.  We pay and leave.
• It begins to rain heading to the office.  I am not speaking, not playing on my phone, not doing anything but focusing on not being sick again.  Deep breaths, focus, focus, focus.  Repeat.  I can make it to the office.  I can and I will.  Repeat.  I do NOT want to be sick on the side of the road in the rain tonight.  Almost there, almost there.
• And we pull into the drive and I have to pop the door open right there.  Can't do it anymore.  The little bit of dinner I had is gone.  Twice.  And now I can cope.  Better.  So I apologize to Savannah and the driver and go into work.  Not feeling great, but I have a lot to do, so I'll fake it til I feel it.  I get in the lift and we get to the fifth floor and the power goes out.  The lift is stuck.  It's a good thing I emptied my stomach before I made it into the office.  God knew that was what needed to happen.  That could have been bad.  So we move the lift to 5th floor and it won't go anymore.  We swap to a side lift that seems to be working fine and I make my way to the twelfth floor.  
• It's a crazy night full of discussions and issues when I first get in, of course, because I am feeling awful and usually I get to read e mails for a while before I have to really speak with anyone.  The one night I need that downtime, and it's not there.  Ugh.  Oh, well.  About two hours in I feel better and survived the night.

So, that's our night in a nutshell.  Good times in Chennai.  Just to reiterate, I am ALMOST laughing now, and will laugh more later.  But, for the record, it's July 11 here and we will make a better start to this year.  Here's hoping your day was better than ours.  Hugs and prayers from India!