It's a Holly-Jolly... Diwali?

Hmm there's something not quite right about that... Somehow I can't picture my Kenny or Harry singing songs about the Hindu festival of lights, but it's quite a celebration over here in India.  According to Wikipedia, The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps".  Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. It's been a loud few days and poor Dynamo is pretty glad the cracker bursting (fireworks) have subsided.  These Indians aren't joking around with Black Cat firecrackers.  These guys are shooting of M-80 type stuff... loud and frequent.  We tried to have conversations Saturday night inside the apartment and just had to wait until all the popping was done, which took several minutes many of the times.  It was very difficult to sleep Friday and Saturday during the day, so I wasn't in a very cheerful mood for the celebrations.  Luckily, my celebration included a few margaritas and Mexican food with the Toms and their wives to lift my spirits, while Savannah spent time with her "foster" family, the Achesons.  
Friday was "ethnic wear" day at work, so I told the team if they would wear their traditional dress then I would wear a saree.  What was I thinking?  This is only the second time I have worn one, the first being that hotttttttt wedding I attended and I guess I was only focused on the heat and sweat of that day, so I was not quite prepared for all the work involved in sporting one to the office.  I go in early on Fridays, and Savannah's fever was breaking.  If I hadn't promised the team I'd be wearing it, I would have donned jeans.  Lakshmi was running late and I needed her help to wrap it.  I tried to watch a YouTube video, but was too frazzled with Savannah not feeling well, so I waited for her to arrive.  She was more than happy to help, but it took her three tries, about 15 minutes each, to feel satisfied with the end result.  I am quite a bit taller than her, so I had to sit on the couch while she adjusted the folds on the top and pinned it to my blouse on the third try.  Apparently the height was the issue.  In any event, she completed the challenge and the white girl was in the saree, all Indian'd up for the night.  She looked like a proud mom as I left for work.  It was pretty funny.  I passed a few of my neighbors and several people smiled widely and said hello... which is not the norm.  Then I got to the office and entered the lift with a few other ladies, a couple in sarees of their own, looking very pretty.  They all complimented me and wanted to know if I had folded it (dressed) myself.  I laughed, told them no, and we exchanged Diwali wishes as they exited to their floors.  I made it to my desk with approving nods from the security guards and the team was happy to see me Indianized for the night.  I had a couple conference calls and we had a photo session with the team.   It was dang hard to work in that thing, so it probably wasn't my most productive night at work since I've been in India...

The great One Team - NAM Imports

We are missing a few team members who took off for the holiday and Asif (my co-mng) who was out spending time with his wife and new baby girl. 
                                  
Outside of the Diwali celebrations, not a whole lot of excitement going on over here... still in a holding pattern for Savannah's school.  Waiting on the Florida director to e mail me back and confirm to me and her school that she can, indeed, graduate this year.  Anyone in the Tampa area want to drop by and ask them to please answer an e mail or a phone call?  And we've been dealing with her being sick.  Again.  I swear I think she is just too careless and doesn't pay attention enough, resulting in ingestion of this bad water.  We went to the doctor on Wednesday because of her fever... which followed headache and vomiting.  I was convinced she had Dengue Fever, which is really ugly and not infrequent over here these days.  While I appreciate having the world at my fingertips, sometimes Google is more of a hindrance than a help. Especially when I use it to confirm my worst suspicions... Yep.  She's got the Dengue.  Fortunately, after a visit to the doctor, Dengue (and my medical degree via the Googler) was ruled out.  Diagnosis was low BP, likely due to a virus.  Treat it with Tylenol (from the US, since that's what we had) and lots of juice and water. Thursday and Friday she was in bed all day.  Saturday she woke up feeling better and has been fine until tonight... We got home and less than an hour later, she's vomiting and has a fever.  Ugh.  Hopefully she will get well quickly and we will get a positive call from the school in Florida.
As we begin this month that Americans use to express our gratitude, we are reminded that the end of the year and our trip home is rapidly approaching (for which we are thankful).  My niece, Kameryn, turns five years old today.  Savannah was a little down that she isn't there to help celebrate, but it won't be long and we'll see her for Christmas.  And then it will be 2014... the year we go back to the US.  Not a lot of time left, so we need to make the most of it.  Travel, time with friends and decisions about "what's next?" to be pondered.  I know God led us here, although not exactly clear as to why yet... but we trust him enough to know whatever He has planned is more than enough.  
Wishing our local friends a Happy Diwali and sending thoughts of love and gratitude to all our friends and family around the world.  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, as always!

Happy Birthday, Kameryn!

Our First Adventure out of Chennai - The Golden Triangle tour

I have tried very hard to think of a time when I was so overwhelmed by peace, beauty and serenity as I was in the presence of the Taj Mahal, but I can't come up with much.  Even with the thousands of others there at the same time as us, Savannah and I both said how we felt like we were the only ones there, basking in the magnificence of what is rightly named as one of the Wonders of the World.  To be very honest, there is not a lot of peace in India.  Between horns honking, bikes whizzing, temples blaring chants, wedding halls' music emanating into the street, and so much more, there just isn't peace and quiet readily available.  Well, until we walked onto the Taj Mahal grounds, that is.  Even in a very crowded city of Agra, this majestic, breathtaking monument seems to stop time and the world around it.  If you have the chance, visit it.  My Indian friends who have not been, GO.  Anyone traveling to India for work or pleasure, DON'T LEAVE without stopping by Agra.  It is worth the car ride... the expense... any other excuse you have, I promise I can counter it.  It is simply amazing and I am so glad I got to share this experience with Savannah.  
So, that was our first day of the Golden Triangle Tour... well, first evening.  We started out early, with a 7 AM flight to Delhi.  Upon arrival we were greeted by our sweet little driver, Mr. Milap, who welcomed us with a couple traditional Delhi flower leis.  (Don't be fooled, Delhi is NOT like Hawaii and don't let anyone try to tell you it is!)  

 We were prepared for a three-hour journey by car from Delhi to Agra, based on the tourist research I did (and I am pretty sure our agent told me that...) but the driver chuckled when he said it's closer to five hours.  Ugh.  FIVE hours... after a three hour flight.  This girl does NOT like car trips, but I'll make the best of it.  We were both pretty tired from the late night and early morning.  Savannah slept a bit and I tried to.  We made it with one stop for lunch in a little under five hours.  We met our agent at the hotel and quickly dropped our bags so we could head to the Taj Mahal.  Did I mention that was amazing?  Yeah.  Seriously.  Just go.  You can thank me later.  It was nice to have our guide tell us the history, except my know-it-all daughter kept interrupting and interjecting her version or details of the history of the monument.  I have never been a history buff, but actually being at a place that was nearly 400 years old and still standing in pristine glory, along with the interesting story of the king who had it built gave me a new-found interest.  I could imagine the jewels that once adorned the palace in the walls - rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds - so much more...  We enjoyed the grounds so much that we didn't want to leave.  I know our guide was ready to go, and the sun was setting, but we hung around a bit.  We just sat and soaked the beauty in, in awe, hoping to etch this into our memories to share and think back later.  Savannah did the "I am picking it up by the point" picture and I took tons on both my phone and the camera.  Surprisingly, they turned out almost as beautiful as we remember.  I am going to guess it's because of the monument and not the photographer.
After we dragged ourselves away, we dropped by a local shop that makes keepsakes from the same white marble used in the Taj Mahal.  I am sure I paid too much, as this was definitely a tourist stop, but we got a small box as a memento of our trip to Agra.  Then dinner and bed.  We were exhausted.
We woke up and visited the Agra Fort . Let me just put my ignorance out there and get it out of the way.  I thought forts were battle grounds... I guess somehow I expected all these "forts" we were visiting on this trip to be kind of like the Alamo - crumbling in some areas from age or battle, housing a museum of weaponry or history of the brave souls defending her honor, and some significance with the area.  So, turns out I am an idiot and forts are not what I thought at all.  In India (anywhere else?) they are palaces!  Clearly I have not taken this Indian Princess title seriously enough and done any research on my royal history!  I SHOULD HAVE LIVED IN ONE OF THESE PLACES BACK IN THE DAY!  Wow, they were grand.  The Agra Fort is huge.  And, as I will say many more times, I can just imagine the grandeur and majesty 300+ years ago when the walls were adorned with jewels, the floors covered in silk rugs, the windows covered with tapestry curtains, and the fresh gold - real gold - paint on the walls and ceilings. Yes, I think I might have been pretty comfortable back then.  Except most of the kings had several wives and a slew (ok, a harem) of other women, so that might annoy me.  But bring on the luxuries! That part I could handle.  haha  Again, I enjoyed hearing about the history, the royalty, the moat that was built as protection around the fort, admiring the architecture and wondering how this palace, centuries later, is still standing strong and proud after being built only with the hands of people and animals to help transport heavy stones.  No machines, no blueprints from software, no cranes for the big pieces.  Truly amazing.
We got back on the road and stopped at Fathepur Sikri on the way to Jaipur.  Again, I was interested in the history and the why and how this place came to be.  Savannah was not so much... But It was another ruler during Mughal times who he wanted to build his own city, and he did just that.  It only lasted a few years until they ran out of water and had to leave, but it was grand and massive in the meantime.  I spent more time admiring the beautiful architecture and having dreamy thoughts of bejeweled walls.  Those forts had a lot of stairs and a lot of area to cover.  Add the four hour car ride to Jaipur on top of that and you had two tired Americans.  

We woke up early the next day to start our tour of Jaipur.  We had a great time in Jaipur and played the tourist card pretty hard - stopping to take pics or ride every animal possible.  From cobra snakes being charmed to camel rides, elephants and monkeys, our white skin might as well have been glowing.  LOL  But we had fun, so it's all good.  

 

We visited another magnificent fort, Amber Fort, spending time oohing and aahing over the amazing architecture again.  We enjoyed the tour and the view of the city from atop a hill almost as much as the structure itself.  Just beautiful.

Next stop was City Palace, which included a small museum, which bored Savannah to tears, but I really enjoyed.  We got to see some of the weaponry of the times (as I expected haha) including shields, swords, knives and some guns, along with clothes worn by royalty, bed dressings, curtains and so on.  It was full of beauty and splendor.  We also visited the tourist shopping area and spent time with a local artist with some amazing work he had done.  He was recognized twice as a top artist in India and had several articles recognizing his work.  He painted for Prince Charles of England as well.  It was easy to see why, and I had to buy a couple pieces to take home.  I hope to have them framed and display sometime soon.  They are small, but beautiful, and will make a great reminder of our trip to Jaipur.

After that, we stopped by Jantar Mantar, which realllllllly killed my daughter.  It's a site with huge sundials (biggest in the world), and lots of other astronomy and astrology instruments.  I was fascinated with how they were built, nearly 300 years ago, without any of today's technology.  Mind-boggling to say the least.  I thought it was cool, Savannah wanted to poke her own eyes out, so we didn't stay too long.

We went to the Palace of the Winds, also known as Hawa Mahal for another tour.  There is so much to see and do, trying to pack it into one day is pretty tiring, but we were troopers about it.  Next up was the Water Palace, Jal Mahal.  We couldn't actually visit it, due to some Indian government issues (typical...), that have it shut down and no construction in the area until the next party takes office, but it was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing it.  Our last stop of the day was for some shopping at a local market.  A couple silver bracelets and a couple pairs of Alibaba pants later, we made our way back to the hotel to turn in and rest up for the next day - a car trip back to Delhi.

And what a car trip it was... nearly seven hours.  Hindsight, a sore butt from being in the car so long, and a wasted day tells me I should have paid the extra few bucks to fly into Delhi and out of Jaipur (or vice versa) instead of in and out of Delhi.  Next time I'll know.  Sigh.  Oh, well - lesson learned.  We finally made it to Delhi and checked into our hotel.  We enjoyed a nice dinner out on the terrace and explored the grounds.  I selected this hotel for the colonial charm and history, as it's one of the oldest in Delhi and was built by the British in the early 1900's.  There were old photos everywhere and the rooms were massive.  Plainly decorated in the rooms, but the old charm was still there.  And the staff was amazing.  Really nice place.  

We woke up the next day and took off for our tour of Dehi.  We started out at the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque.  Again, with the beautiful architecture and grandeur.  Then we hopped onto a bicycle rickshaw and went through Old Delhi, soaking in the sights.  The traffic in Delhi is even worse than Chennai, which would probably be because it has triple the amount of people - 17 million versus 6... We could not take a car through the small, winding "streets" so the bike ride was a great way to see the area.  

After our tour of Old Delhi, we drove over to New Delhi to see the India Gate, the Parliament buildings, Qutab Minar, and Raj Ghat, the site where Gandhi was cremated.  We tried to do a little shopping, because EVERYONE at the office told me how cheap everything was there, but many shops were closed and the driver told us it was probably because of the end of the Navrati festival and the Vijaya Dashami holiday. We were not big fans of Delhi.  The residents were not as friendly and helpful or nice as our Chennai-neighbors.  The city seemed dirtier and, as I said before, much more crowded and the traffic was horrendous.  We wrapped up our day and turned in for the night, knowing we had one more day to try and shop, since our flight wasn't leaving until the evening.  Savannah had a few things she really wanted, so we were determined to make it to a local market and pick up some goodies.  The next morning, our driver must have known we were frustrated the night before, so he knew where we were going.  He took us to a market on the way to the airport and we found just about everything we were looking for, minus a couple small things, which might have been there but we were running a bit short of time, so were happy with what we found.  Savannah got a lengha saree (North India version of a half saree), material for a few salwars (Indian tops and pants sets), some hair clips, and I got a dressy salwar and a set of material for another.  We left Delhi happier than the night before with our goodies.

Here are some pics from various times during our holiday.  All this travel sure did give me the bug... I am ready to plan our next trip.  I am thinking Kerala is next.  Anyone want to donate to the "Nikki & Savannah will see India" fund?  LOL  Sending love & hugs, hoping all is well where you are.

Tired girl from shopping in Delhi

Agra Fort

Agra Fort

Wind Palace, Jaipur

Jaipur

Amber Fort, Jaipur

Amber Fort

Amber Fort

Mosque in Delhi

Gandhi's cremation site

India Gate

Delhi

Delhi

Shopping in Delhi

  

Oh, government processes, how I love thee...

Thursday was quite a day!  Woke up at 0730.  Last time I checked the clock it was after 0400.  Got showered and ready.  Savannah was up, walked Dy and was ready as well.  Waited 2 hours for Gideon/ML Admin to arrive so we could leave for the Visa renewal process.  Grumbled several times about how I could have been sleeping.  Sipped coffee.  Rode in the car through back roads to Kanchipuram for a little over 2 hours to get to the Police Commissioner’s office for our district.  Sat in car another 2-ish hours while Gideon and the local guy took our docs and went inside.  Went and had a nice lunch and even saw our first up close and personal monkeys on the fence outside.  Went back to PC station.  Waited another hour or so for second round of docs. We were finally approved through round one of this process. Friday before work I met Gideon and our approved docs at the police station near us and got some other approval or stamp or something, but only after he saw me in person...  And then an agent of ML takes the docs back to Kanchipuram PC on Monday and then in a couple months we should be notified they are approved.  And THEN we go pick them up and go to the embassy for the true visa renewal.  Quite a process, huh?  Yeah.  Welcome to India.

Kanchipuram is known as both Temple City and City of Silks.  There are 8 well known temples in the area and a ton of silk saree and wedding saree shops.  I had told Gideon I wanted to see the temples while we were there this time and he asked me why, being a Christian, did I have any interest in Hindu temples.  I explained that since I have been here that I have not seen any temples, and feel like this is a good opportunity to see some with beautiful architecture and help understand the culture a little more.  He laughed it off and said he'd arrange it but would not join me inside.  OK, Gideon, works for me.  This was a couple days ago.  So today on the way there, I mentioned to Savannah about the Temple City and she asked the same thing Gideon did... why, as a Christian, am I interested in seeing where Hindus worship other gods.  JEEEEEZ LOUISE, PEOPLE!  I decided it wasn't worth arguing with them about, I will go see some temples on my own, then.  So we went to a saree shop instead and Savannah got a nice scarf and I got another saree.  So now I have 2, both very beautiful, but this is more simple, less flashy than my first.  And I need to get the blouses sewn so I can wear them!  After the saree shopping we headed back to Chennai.  Another 2 plus hours in the car.  Adding afternoon traffic in there it wound up being nearly 3 into the city.  And we were only entering the other side of the city.  We dropped Gideon and then found a McDonald's for Savannah's dinner.  She was a happy girl to have some McNuggets.  She said, "Close your eyes, listen to the music and taste the food.  Doesn't it feel like we are in the US?"  Uh, no.  I would never be in a McD's in the US.  Nice try, though.  Haha

So the work week is over and Savannah and I are heading out in the morning for her to volunteer the first time and for me to meet some of the kids and see the boys’ home.  We will spend a couple hours and get acclimated.  Once I have some more details I’ll be sure you keep you posted.  We’re excited about it!

After we leave there we will head for our first overnight outing… we are going the French territory called Pondicherry for a little R&R.  Savannah starts preparing for exams next week and will have a stressful and busy few weeks of exams and studying.  I have been promising her for a while we would go and I figure things aren’t going to settle down enough for me to say it’s a good time, so we will go.  Our driver has taken Dynamo home for the weekend and couldn’t be more excited about it.  He’s been wanting to keep him since our trip home in December.  Here’s hoping Dynamo and Murugesan both survive! LOL

Alright off to bed so I can wake up early and go meet some boys.  Sending hugs from Chennai and hoping everyone has a great weekend!

March? Really? Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

It just doesn't seem possible that 8 months ago, today, I was watching the movers pack up the house I lived in for 15 years.  I sat dumbfounded and numb the Thursday after my last "American holiday" before the big move.  Friday morning, however, there was no numb-ness going on.  It was all feeling.  Tears. Sadness.  Fear.  More tears.  I think tears have been my constant during this whole adventure.  Happy to say that the tears are less frequent these days!  (I am sure Savannah would agree with this sentiment.)
Savannah went this past Monday to spend a little time with the boys' home sponsored by our church.  Her experience there was life-changing.  Maybe God has let her in on the reason why she is here.  You can see from her Facebook post that night:
If you want to hear an awesome story about God, keep reading! Today was probably the best day I've had in a while. I missed school to go with my church to a boys orphanage. Walking around and seeing these 40+ boys from the age of 2 and up that had been abandoned (physically or by death of parents) broke my heart into pieces. Anyone that know me knows that I have a heart for children, and also a heart for missions. So today, our tour guide showed us the single TV the boys had been given to learn English from. This method failed and the boys weren't able to get that advantage. When he was talking about this I thought to myself, "This is something I WANT to do. This is an opportunity for me." But I just ignored it.... A little while later Sher, the pastors wife came up to me and asked if I was interested in coming up once a week or once a month and teaching the boys grammar and English. I stood in awe. I then told her what I had thought earlier. This was totally Gods work in the doing. Things like this don't happen often but when they do its literally breathtaking. So, there's my awesome God story. I'm pretty astonished at what an amazing Lord I have.
Other than that great news, we don't have a lot going on, so I'll post some pictures from our recent times out and about.  Enjoy! 

Savannah's high school classmates after a competition (she led the quiz team to 2nd runner up!)

Me, Maggie, Savannah drinking tender coconut juice

My daughter enjoying her fave butter chicken masala and naan.

The juice shop on our shopping outing

Our yummy juices

Maggie adding a bindhi to Savannah during our shopping trip.

Saree-fitting time

More saree colors...

Sooooooooooo many choices!!

Savannah did not like the fitted sarees like this one

The American Maersk-ees in Chennai... Tom M., Cherie, Tom F., Savannah and me

My little violinist on Annual Day

Dynamo on the ride to annual day.  Our driver loves him now...