Gather and GO

Be on time

2010-02-10T15:58:00.002+05:30

The other night I took in my first Indian cinema experience. We were wanting to see "the Book of Eli", no not a Bollywood yet; that is next week. We went to two different theaters, right next to each other. Neither one had it, so we settled for "Armored". We ordered our tickets, where I was told my seat number and where it was located. After we went through security for the fourth time, since we parked, we saw the concession stand. I picked up a chicken dog and a coke. The nice young man grabbed my ticket and told me where my seat was again. As all five of us went through the doors, someone heard that we could sit anywhere that the theater was empty.

Sure enough it was and the movie was started as well. The movie was advertised to start at 6:30PM and it did. We got in around 6:40PM and we missed the first 10 minutes. There are no commercials for movies here, I guess. As I sat down in the seat, the guy next to me said stretch back your seat, so I tried to figure it out and sure enough I am laid almost straight out watching the movie. Brilliant, as my English friends would say. Starting to like this expression.

So half way through the movie their was an intermission, where the movie stopped for five minutes or so, where you could go to the washroom/bathroom/toilet, buy some concessions or what ever. Then five minutes later the movie just starts back up where it left. Kind of nice actually. The movie needed a break, save you money. If you do not ever see, you are not missing out an anything. The cast is deceiving.

I was told that you could even pay online and pick your seats. One of the biggest movies of the year is coming out in two days here. It is called "My name is Khan" and I am thinking about going to see it just to say that I did. I will only understand 12% of it, because there is no subtitles,, but it will be worth it. The best part is that it costs less than renting a movie at Blockbuster.

So next time you are in India, don't be late for the movies.

Bachelor Life

2010-02-04T18:00:00.000+05:30

Not like the reality shows. This is me coming from a home with an amazing wife who cooks and thinks through meals, does the laundry (because I ruin it), all the little things. These days I wake up between 5 and 5:10AM get ready, make coffee, maybe grab a bite to eat and then off to the bakery. I am there until around 2PM and then…. At this point if I have not thought through what I am going to eat or what kind of activity I will do, I am lost. After a full day, most times I cannot even remember my name let along think about needing to get some groceries before I make it all the way home, passing by many places to pick up veggies and fruit.

The other thing is that dinner is really not served here until 7-7:30PM, unless you want to by fast food stuff, but who wants that when you are in India. Yes, it is different, but not that much. I have done this so far, but not proud of it. Oh yeah, I also go to bed around 9, so to go back out to get some dinner and then back just to go back to bed, is not my cup of tea.

It has been nice to hang out with my friends here from last time. They help out breath up the loneliness for sure. I have watched more movies this last three weeks than I have in the last six months back home. I think after this week I am feeling comfortable enough with things that I will start being more adventurous and check out some new things and trying to meet with new people.

I now that this is how it was suppose to happen, but I hope this separation never happens again. Bachelorhood is not for me.

How many skinned goats can you fit into a rickshaw?

2010-01-29T11:37:00.000+05:30

……………………Fifteen is the answer. Did you get right? I witnessed a man pull fifteen goat carcasses out of the floorboard and little ledge on the back of a rickshaw today. 10 on the floor and 5 on the ledge. Anna took some pictures. I will try to get them from here. I have a feeling that he did not disinfect the vehicle afterwards either. Mutton kabob anyone?

Delhi Traffic

2010-01-29T11:33:00.001+05:30

I had mentioned so some people that I was given the opportunity to drive my friends car while they were away. I was thinking that in a couple of weeks I would work up the courage to take the car out for a short spin. Well less than 24 hours on the ground and I was driving from the bakery to the house. Now I drive every day. Not to far, but still Delhi Traffic.

Five years ago we were given a standard car for me to commute in to school in Calgary. We were not super excited about the standard thing, since neither one of us drove a standard car before, but told ourselves that it would come in handy some day if we stayed in our particular line of work. So I did, Anna took me for a spin around the block first and I passed the test. Very strange to be on the other side of the car, shifting with the other hand, and trying to figure out where the turn signal was (not sure anyone saw it or not). I was also told that I did not have to be polite and look Anna in the eyes when she was talking to me or look completely over my shoulder while changing lanes. The rule in Delhi driving is that if you cannot see them off your shoulder you have the right away. My father in law would love driving here. Some day Dad.

Mexican Salsa

2010-01-29T11:14:00.000+05:30

After work this afternoon, Anna made chicken burritos for lunch. I was surprised to see a jar of salsa. Dave mentioned it was local. I looked at the bottle and sure enough it is made right here in Delhi. The funny part was the address; Hosiery complex, Phase 2. They do not always group the same products in the same areas here. So funny.

No one ever said traveling was suppose to be fast

2010-01-27T12:54:00.000+05:30

So after 40 some hours of travel and gallivanting in London, I made it safe to Delhi. This time of year is high fog/smog levels, so you really can’t see more than 5 feet in front of you until noonish. So all flights in and out of Delhi try to leave and land in Delhi within a 5 hour gap, because at 5 the sun starts going down and the fog/smog returns.

London was great. Great chance to catch up to an old classmate from Rocky and see London from his perspective. We went on “The Eye” (the giant Fairs Wheel you see in movies with London as the backdrop) and rode an official double-decker bus from Waterloo station back to Notting Hill and yes I did see all the famous spots for the movie. They painted the blue door, black to confuse tourist, nah, I do not know I forgot to ask.

Coming back to a city that you lived in for three months was amazingly simple. My friend Dave waited for me for 5 hours the day before I arrived. We got the dates wrong, opps! So this time I grabbed a taxi to the bakery. It was a little hard to remember where I was because of the foggy background, but managed to get the taxi driver to the bakery no problem.

Coming back to Delhi is still a little nostalgic. The town I love, so different, yet, so the same. The sights and smells were familiar, yet new. I am not sure how to explain it quite yet, but it is good to be back.

The guys at the bakery asked for Keon and Levi right away. One guy spent the day re-sighting quotes from Keon when we were here two years ago. Amazing. I told him he will love Levi now that he can talk and is so funny. He is looking forward to when we all can be here together.

I am here, tired, but here. I do not sleep well on planes and have so much to learn before David and Anna leave next week, I will catch up some time. Maybe!!!

Starting Again

2010-01-12T08:58:00.003+05:30

Well, the bags are not packed quite yet, but I am getting ready. Thought I would post a little comment here to get things going. I plan on coming on here as often as possible and updating everyone on what it going on. It will not be nearly as interesting without the boys to talk about. I will do my best. Sean

has it really been a year?

2009-05-10T11:05:00.009+05:30

It's been over a year since we last made a post here but we've been a little preoccupied with facebook and life isn't nearly exciting day to day when you're at home in your own culture!
Nonetheless, a couple weeks ago Sean graduated from college with his intercultural studies degree. So, that's pretty exciting stuff!! It was a long 4 years but he did a fantastic job and we're all proud of him. Keon often talks about how when he grows up and has kids he wants to go to school, too... we try to explain that most people do it the other way around.
Keon and Levi are getting ready for the major leagues. They both have a batt, ball or mitt in their hands 75% of the day. Levi calls every pitch "strike three!". When we move to India (early 2011) they'll have to switch cricket, I guess!
There were tough moments this past month, too. Lisa was 18 weeks pregnant when we found out the baby had died. It was a huge shock and a terrible disappointment. In our grief, the hope of eternity and heaven has become a deeper revelation. We named our baby Ava,which means 'filled with life". We believe she is full of life in heaven and we will see her one day. There is incredible peace and comfort in that. Having lost 3 other babies this way has not made losing Ava any easier but God has met us in very real ways each time and this time has been no exception.
Life is never exactly what we expect but life expects a lot out of us. The more we give in life, the richer we become.

Home Safe

2008-04-16T21:14:00.002+05:30

We just wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived safely. The boys traveled wonderfully as usual and made lots of new friends on the way. We will be in Medicine Hat for a week. If you want to get together, give us a call. Thank you for journeying along with us this last three months. It has been a life changing experience and we will be adding more later. So keep checking up every once in awhile.

Final Week

2008-04-07T17:21:00.002+05:30

We are now entering our final week here in Delhi. Playing the which do you like better game does not work when comparing India to Canada or the US. They are two worlds apart and are not comparable as wholes. There are many things about both areas that we like over the other. The people and relationships are always the hardest to say good bye to no matter where you go. We will miss all of our new friends here and look forward to seeing all of our old ones back home. We hope that some day sooner than later we can come visit our friends in India.
नमस्ते

13 and 9

2008-04-07T17:18:00.002+05:30

13 Elephants and 9 Camels on the road Sean has seen now. When we arrived Sean asked our friends Dave and Anna how often they see Elephants. They said only 1 or 2 a year. Sean hit the jackpot. Sean saw the elephants over the three months and all 9 camels in our one day trip to Agra. Agra is where the Taj Mahal is and we will have some pictures and updates soon.

Driving along in my automobile...

2008-03-21T22:01:00.004+05:30

It took a minute for us to realise what was beside us because as time goes on we aren't noticing the "odd and unusual"so much as we sit in Delhi traffic. We thought this bare bones Semi truck and trailer was pretty out there though!
Speaking of unusual... we have seen about 10 elephants sauntering down the road. They're still a highlight everytime. Basically, anything with wheels plus horses, water buffalo & elephants are allowed on the road. Cows have a free ticket anywhere and even take naps in the middle of the road.

It's pretty crazy during rush hour here. Massive buses don't make full stops most of the time so people are jumping off or running and jumping on when it slows down for a red light. Motorbikes and scooters carry 1 or two adults and then another 3 children if it's a family outing. We've seen a few children about 1 or 2 years old draped over the gas tank of a motorbike fast asleep while Dad weaves in and out and squeezes between auto rickshaws and buses. Not only do motorbikes get loaded up with people but so do bicycles- sometimes three adult men will pile on a bike and pedal through traffic. Bicycles are also used by letter couriers and to deliver large tanks of cooking gas in large cylinders. Bicycle rickshaws transport people and much more. Carpets, tires, pipes, gas tanks, etc. are packed on. Another "vehicle" on the road is the old,wooden carts. They are as wide and long as a compact car, set on 2 or 4 large bicycle tires, and usually being pushed by a very old man or loaded down with 1000 malemine (sp.?) plates from last night's wedding being taken to get washed. No matter what they're carrying it is always heavy and awkward. Considering all these factors it's quite amazing that there isn't more road rage and major accidents when everyone "sifts" into every open space like sand in an hour glass.

Thalis

2008-03-15T21:36:00.002+05:30

If you ever go to an Indian Restaurant and see the word Thali on it, get it. They are this amazing sampler of Indian dishes. It is usually four different ones. I am looking for one with eight different samples, but no luck so far. You get them veg or non-veg (chicken or mutton). They come with a large piece of Tandoori Roti or some other Indian bread and rice. You use the bread to eat up the dishs and rice. They are amazing. Lisa and I split one tonight at Nirula's, a cross between McDonald's and Indian. Only if we had found it 7 weeks ago.

Humayan's Tomb

2008-03-14T17:39:00.003+05:30

A week ago we visited the Tomb Garden of Emporer Humayan here in New Delhi which was built in the 16th Century A.D. It was absolutley beautiful and totally interactive -Keon could climb anywhere but on the tombs. There were old narrow staircases that led to walkways along the walls surrounding different structures and we could wander along the shallow channels where water flowed to fountains allover the garden. It was the first real "sight-seeing" we've done since we got here. There are many tombs around the city- some round-abouts have been built surrounding them. We had to pay the foreigner price of 250 rupees a person compared to the 10 rupees per Indian. Some would call that "skin" tax.

One of the things we love about being here is the history. The ancient art forms, architecture and culture here are so intricate and unique. There is much to learn and discover about India and its people. We have a list of other places we want to get to in Delhi and, of course, we'll go see the Taj Mahal before we leave.

Keon's New Car

2008-03-05T13:56:00.002+05:30

We went to a shopping mall this weekend and Keon found his new favorite car. It was on display for a give away for a major Credit Card company (no cheap advertising here). Every store in the mall had a small version of the car on display also. Keon tried almost everyone of them to see if they would give it to him. He kept saying, "I really like it!". Me to son. I probably thought that he has gotten so many gifts from people throughout this trip that they would surely give him the car.
Shopping malls are similar in many ways. Many over priced stores with little to choose from. All of the major name brands are here. For the Canadians, it was odd to see Aldo's shoes and Accessory stores and La Senza. Coffee is still cheap though. That makes the trip worth it. The mall is new and some store are not open yet. We went into a coffee shop that was so new, they did not know how much they were going to sell their coffee mugs for. I should have tried the Indian negotiating with them, but I passed.

Elephant Spotting

2008-03-05T11:57:00.002+05:30

I think one of the craziest things about being here is driving down the road and all of a sudden you see a giant elephant walking down the road. I have seen this the last two Sunday's in a row. This first time it was two together and this last time it was one guy by himself. I have seen someone walk their dog, cow, horse, even a parrot, but walking your elephant is something special. Sorry no pic on this one.

Little Beggar

2008-03-02T22:00:00.004+05:30

We see this boy often on our drives around Delhi. He "performs" everyday at the same median twirling a little ball at the end of a string with the bob of his head and somersaulting through a small metal ring. His mom sits nearby with his little sister while he does his act and then he goes to car windows to beg. "Chapati", he says putting his empty hand to his mouth. He might be five years old but his eyes look like he's 40. His little outstretched fingers still have the pudge of a toddler. We sit in the auto holding our healthy little boys and my heart is breaking. His precious hand is so close. He's right there, yet the life my children will live and the life of poverty he will try to overcome are so very far apart. We can't stop thinking, "This is so wrong, this is not fair, life is not fair."

There are many street children everywhere we go. In the market they follow us bare footed, in traffic they run for our auto when they see our white skin. Many of these children beg for their next meal, but most beg to feed their parent's addiction... everyday, every year, generation after generation the vicious cycle continues. No one tells them they can be so much more, that there is hope for a better life.

We are constantly challenged inwardly. What should our response be? The locals tell us not to give. They say the children are rewarded when we give and it fuels the perspective that they can make a living this way. Sometimes we give them food. Sometimes we wish we could turn it all off like we do when a World Vision Child Sponsorship infomercial on TV gets too heartbreaking to watch.

These children live, eat and breathe on the streets. They don't have the luxury of a TV remote to change the channel.

our boys

2008-02-25T23:24:00.003+05:30

For Grandma Sue, Nana, and our aunties as they have requested...

Keon has fun playing wih his friend Rayhan.

Internet

2008-02-23T21:33:00.002+05:30

Sorry we have not been more regular blogging. We do not have our own Internet. We have to either borrow our friends or use the one at the bakery, during breaks.

Bollywood Movies

2008-02-23T21:09:00.002+05:30

Since we have been here, Lisa and I have been checking out the Bollywood scene. I have only seen small parts of ones before. Lisa watched a few last time here. Make sure you have time to invest, they come with an Intermission. The average movie last three hours. It takes us two or three evenings to finish one. All of them have a strong cultural message. Not sure where you can find them where ever you live, but here are a few that we recommend.
Veer Zaara -Love story between people from different countries and religions.
Swades - An Indian national who works for NASA in the US, comes home to his village in India and finds love.
Lagaan - a fable about how Cricket came to India. If you know nothing about Cricket and want to, this will get you started. Keon recommends this one.
Rang De Basanti - Cultural message using the past to encourage the future.

We will let you know when we find more good ones.

Water Buffalo Spaghetti

2008-02-23T21:00:00.002+05:30

Yes, we caved in the other week and bought some Water Buffalo meat, both Keema (ground Indian style) and stew meat, Lisa calls it "chunks". No Alberta beef or beef of any kind in India if you did not know. So Water Buffalo is the best we can get. When you put it in a home made spaghetti sauce it tasted great. Not easy to find, we had one of our local friends get some for us. He knows the "right neighborhood" to go to.

1st b'day rituals

2008-02-23T16:57:00.004+05:30

Levi's 1st b'day didn't quite meet Indian standards.
We were supposed to have sweets to hand out to people to celebrate his b'day but after arriving at the National Zoological Park (a.k.a. The Delhi Zoo) we had to throw the candies in the "dust bin" for fear that we might try to feed them to the animals. I guess we don't want a rhino choking on a carmel. The zoo was pretty good. It's quite large- especially for being smack in the middle of the city. We saw rhinos, white tigers, alligators with nobby noses and sloth bears to name a few.
Our next "blunder" was totally by choice. It is Indian custom to shave baby's heads for their first b'day believing that their hair will grow back thicker. Thankfully Levi has a lot of hair so no one's given us a hard time about it. I won't part with his little wisps and curls yet- even if it's getting too long for Sean's military hair rules.
We had Afghan chicken which is obviously not Indian but we did have it with rice and daal (totally Indian) and I'm sure many children here have eaten rice and daal for their 1st b'day so I'm going to give us a point there. Tradition is to have pineapple cake for birthdays and, although we didn't do that either, we still won because Dave and Anna, our Red Moon Bakery friends, made a chocolate strawberry cake for Levi.
We had a bunch of new friends over to celebrate in the evening and Levi was quite excited about all his presents. One gift was a couple of plastic cricket bats and ball that the boys play with all day long.
Can't get more Indian than cricket, rice and daal!

the market at our doorstep

2008-02-13T13:24:00.004+05:30

Throughout the day we have many men walking by selling vegetables, plastic containers, kashmiri shawls, paneer, etc. You name it, they got it! They call out what they're selling so people can come out of they're house to buy it. Keon is quite entertained by them and hollers back, "We don't need any 'abala a ka da', or whatever you're selling!".
A newly discovered luxury in India is having my groceries delivered! What a relief when I found out I didn't have to lug all the groceries home in an auto! I could even call them with my list and they'd deliver it if I wanted. Everything is deliverable here- even McDonalds!
If you can't get to the store- the store comes to you.

Fish Filet

2008-02-08T10:59:00.001+05:30

The other day we went to a really cool market.

We ran into these guys cutting fish.

Look carefully. Health regulations are different here than back home.

This shop was across the hall from it. I do not know if you can see the size of these Prawns or not. They are the biggest I have ever seen. 4 or 5 of them for 120 rupees ($3 CAN). Best price on the planet.

Was not able to buy any that day. We have to try some before we leave.

Winter Chill

2008-01-31T12:16:00.000+05:30

Northern India and the surrounding area is under a not so normal winter. We have been breaking recond lows almost every night since we arrived. It has been between 5C and even 0C one night. Not to bad compared to the -50C in Alberta and the snow storms in MO, but remember we live in a marble house with no insulation or heat. Not bad, but does make you keep your socks on at night.

Keon's favorite Indian Food

2008-01-31T12:09:00.000+05:30

Keon has three dishes here he eats more than any other; bread from the bakery, bagels from the bakery, and Corn Flakes. Yesterday I think he ate 5 or 6 bowls of Corn Flakes. This morning he had a helping of each for breakfast. He is a breakfast guy. Not into eating much of anything else, but he sure loves his Corn Flakes.

The Delhi Cold

2008-01-31T12:06:00.000+05:30

Everyone always asks us if we have had the Delhi Bellie yet. Means spending lots of time on the toilet. No, thankfully we have not. But today we have what I am calling the Delhi Cold. All four of us have fevers, runny noses, achy bodies, and a bad cough. Not fun when we had plans to have fun today and maybe even go to the Canadian Embassy for dinner. We will see how we are feeling by then.

Chicken Mahajara Mac

2008-01-29T20:43:00.000+05:30

This is India's version of the Big Mac. Two fried processed chicken patties, with lettuce and onion, and a special Indian style "special sauce". Not bad with fries and a small coke for just over 3 dollars. First time to try it today and probably not my last.

Cow Walking

2008-01-29T20:40:00.000+05:30

Have you ever seen a cow walk a concrete and brick fence? We did today and Keon got a real good chuckle out of it. It was quite funny. The cows are usually eating trash or walking in traffic, not walking on a fence. I will try to catch a pic. It might have been a once in a life time thing. It is India anything is possible at least twice.

Safety in Numbers

2008-01-23T16:52:00.000+05:30

In the state we have the DARE program. We are told one way to avoid being pressured into buying drugs in "Safety in Numbers." In India that means, get as many pedestrians or motorcycles as possible and cross traffic. This in the only way you make it alive here. I will add a picture soon to explain. It is a good thing no one can go very fast at an given time.

Indian Restaurant Supply and Honey Money

2008-01-18T15:51:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I, Lisa, went to “The Butler”, a restaurant supply place with Anna. It was fun, having been to one a few times in Canada with my Dad. In all reality it was much the same… except for the Indian labor force. There were about 4 too many people working there. We’d barely turn around and there’s yet another employee. One guy to offer you a glass of water, two to pull stock from storage, one to show you every possible option in chocolate molds, one to fill out the bill, one to run for a plastic bag clear at the other end of the store from the “check out” and the manager to “direct traffic” so to speak as everyone runs around to serve the customer. Russell Foods has nothing on The Butler!
Later we went to the “Honey Money Top” grocery store. In most grocery stores back home you could run yourself ragged tracking down a produce clerk. Not in India! The produce clerks here are waiting for you to tell them what you want and then they run around and get it for you. It’s always fun to see grocery stores in other countries. You can get pretty much anything here (for a price, of course).
India is probably the most “westernized” country I’ve been too. Up in the North where we are many people speak English, making life a lot easier for the short-termer. Even still there are huge cultural differences and many “new” experiences just waiting to be had!

Tired, Hungry, and Power Outages

2008-01-18T15:48:00.000+05:30

We finally arrived after who knows how many hours. The first flight the boys slept well and Lisa and I got a few minutes here and there. Once we arrived at Heathrow we checked in our luggage for the next flight, but we forgot one of the bags at baggage claim and lost an hour of sleep at the hotel. The room was tight, but we all got at least four hours of sleep. Back at the airport we had a relaxing English breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, back bacon, beans, toast, and a roasted tomato). Levi took a little spill and cut the inside of his mouth; blood all over. After getting him calmed down and cleaned up we boarded our plane. The second flight we had bulkhead seats. Lots of leg room, kind of. The cool thing was that after take off, Levi was hooked to the wall in a carseat and slept the whole way. Keon, Lisa, and Sean enjoyed personal tvs and a HUGE variety of movies and cartoons to choose from. Yay Virgin Atlantic Airlines! Once we landed we had to wait in line for another hour or more to get to our luggage, join the mob slowly moving through immigration and find Dave and Anna. Keon fell asleep while we waitied in line and would continue to sleep until 4AM the next morning. About 15 hours straight… wouldn’t even wake up for ice cream! When he did wake up he ate five pieces of Red Moon Bakery multi-grain bread, a banana, an orange, one glass of milk, and two glasses of water; he hadn’t eaten much on the plane from London. Keon missed out on the crazy traffic and lots of cows on the hour trip to our new home. Our apartment here makes our apartment in Turner Valley look like a closet. We have lots of space for the kids to run and play and it is all open enough that we can see them from just about every room. Our neighborhood is different. The mountains here are apartment buildings, the wind blowing around is the sound of the call to prayer from the Mosques and honking horns. I was not sure who the man was honking at at 5AM, but it must have been necessary. We are all having a great time. Adjusting to our new clocks has been the most difficult thing so far. I got to experience shaving in the dark with a pan of water I heated on the stove. The power went out as soon as I started the hot water heater to take a shower. I must go so I can shower before it happens again.

Ready or Not, Here we go!

2008-01-09T04:51:00.001+05:30

Can you ever be fully ready to haul your family overseas?
On Monday we will be leaving for 3 months in New Delhi, India. This vibrant and diverse country will offer many incredible experiences and memories for our family and a sneak peek into what the future may hold for us as we consider the possibiity of moving overseas long-term.
Keon has been anticipating this trip with all the excitment and questions that a 3 year old boy can muster. Levi doesn't even know what's coming! Sean and I are still in awe how this trip has become a possibility. We've had a few hiccups but the road has been smoothed out before us.