Happy New Year !!

Today is the celebration of Ugadi here in the state of Karnataka, India.

Ugadi is the new year's day for the people of the Deccan region of India. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calender is a lunisolar calendar.

It starts on the first new moon after Sun crosses equator from south to north on Spring equinox.

The people here celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a huge feast. The day begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of -
Neem Buds/Flowers for bitterness
Raw Mango for tang
Tamarind Juice for sourness
Green Chilli/Pepper for heat
Jaggery and ripe banana pieces for sweetness
Pinch of Salt for saltiness
This mixture with all six tastes, called "Ugadi Pachhadi" , symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity.

Like all festival days here in India, everything shuts down for the observance. Schools, businesses, public transportation... simply stop for the day. It's actually quite nice that the special days here in India are just all about spending time with family...

HAL

Today we went to...

Oh, sorry... don't read Hindi? On our way there, we came upon a stubborn cow in the road. She totally stared us down while we patiently waited for her to cross!When we arrived, I wondered why we passed this great place by so many times in these past 8 months. It is just a few miles from our community and turned out to be a fun place to spend a beautiful morning in Bangalore. We paid our 105 rupee family entry fee (that's about 2 US $) and in we went.The outside grounds are filled with fighter jets, bombers, helicopters etc...
We stood inside the cavity of a space shuttle...

Inside they had flight simulators. The staff was all too happy to help the kids fly (and crash)!

Easter Egg Hunt

Hippity hoppity, Easter is on it's way! Saturday was the big Easter egg hunt function, which is run by the OWC (overseas women's club). Keep in mind when checking out these pics, that this even was held at someones house. Not a bad place, huh?
Cotton candy anyone?



A spin on the merry go 'round with Antonia...

The egg and spoon race...Three legged race...

Belly balloons...

Andrew and his buddies found the big stash of candy filled eggs!

On to the serious business of the egg hunt!This kid was ridiculously cute...

How about a cupcake to finish off the day?

Camel & Japanese Food

Having been here now for over 8 months (can that be possible?), there are very few things that the kids see out the car window that surprises them. Somehow, the novelty of a camel strolling down the street never wears thin. Lauren spotted this one on our drive to the city last night to meet friends for dinner. Seems this camel could be carrying waaaayyyy more...

Perhaps these ladies could use some of it's spare "camel" power... as they walk along, barefoot, each carrying a huge load of tree branches on their heads!
We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the city and a fun time was had by all!

Holi Festival of Colors...

It was about this time last year that we told the kids we would be spending this year in India. One of the first things we came across when researching India on the Internet, was the Holi Festival. The kids were excited at the thought of celebrating this festival... and you will soon see why. It is a kid's dream, really. And a time when grown ups can act like kids.

I will spare you all the details of the origins of this festival (I know this is not like me, but quite frankly, I am just too darn tired tonight to fact check!).

The main event of Holi is indeed a carnival of colors. On this day, children, friends and neighbors come out on the streets. And the spree to color-anyone-you-see takes over. Colors of all form and variety. They come in every color of the rainbow. And they are available in oil, water or powder base. Colored powder, or, gulal was earlier made out of Dried seeds of some tropical flowers like the Palash, and dried silt from the riverbed. People throw these colored powders in the air as they shout "Holi Hai!", and smear each other with this colored powder. Throw some water into the mix, why not??? It makes for one "Holi" mess. But also so much fun!!

Holi is celebrated throughout India. In big cities and small villages. On roadsides and in neighborhoods.

Just seeing the neat cones of powder on the roadside vendor's carts, is amazing.

I took these pictures in town, just outside of Palm Meadows...

We had some neighbors and friends over after school today to celebrate. Holi Festival of Color did not disappoint... check it out...

Somehow I look completely clean in this shot, let me assure you, I WAS NOT !!!

Our driver, Harish, got a splash of color from Lauren!

We may need to carry this tradition back to the states with us... it was terrific fun!

Missing...

My Mom flew out yesterday , and WOW, do we miss her!!!!!!! 6 weeks really sailed right by and I can barely believe we are into March already! I’d say that now, we are all missing home a lot . Pat did get a 2 week “home” visit in January, and he will be back again in May for a week. This is a blog about things I really miss (it goes without saying that we miss EVERYBODY tremendously, so these are things, and not people), and things I do not miss at all... and looking forward, the things I will miss when we leave India.
I REALLY MISS:

• Coffee - I got a big fill of coffee in Australia, but I sorely miss my morning cuppa Joe (OK, and my afternoon and evening… and even late night cup!) There are many things we have gone without here, which I hope to never have again… coffee is NOT one of them!
• Music - We have our IPODS and we download music all the time… but I never realized how much I love listening to the local radio stations in NY. It really struck me when we watched the Grammy Awards last month, how great the music selection in the US really is.
• Cold and rainy days - So this one might seem weird, since the weather here in Bangalore has been a carbon copy EVERY day since last September… sunny and 85 degrees, no chance of rain. Seriously…not a drop of rain has fallen here in 5 straight months.! It is beautiful every single moment of every single day. Somehow, it gets quite boring after a while. I long for my first cold, rainy day next fall. To just sit by the fire, with my coffee (and maybe listen to the radio!)
• My kitchen - Oh, how I miss my kitchen! Kitchens here in India are completely separate rooms in the house... like a bedroom (with a door and all!) I think the theory is, only the cook and the maid actually use the kitchen (not true for me). It is sort of lonely and dreary in there :(
• The barbecue. Even if we had a barbecue here, what would we really cook on it? I miss the smell of a steak on the grill.
• An empty house. The house here is never empty. Someone is always roaming around, doing something. The door bell rings non-stop (the flower delivery, mail delivery, bug spray guy, newspaper, water bill, cable bill, electric bill, Internet bill (these guys just show up at the door and you pay them cash... no kidding)
• Chudys buffet parties (and mostly Robin’s brownies)
• Milk. Real milk. In a gallon container. Pasteurized. Homogenized. Fortified. From Stewarts. Or Price Chopper. Or Hannaford. I have not had a drop of milk in India. Not a drop. Somehow the kids have not balked at the box of Nestle Slim 'milk' which sits on the shelf (not in the fridge) in the market. While on holiday in Australia, we bought a gallon of milk and sat down around a table outside the store and drank the entire gallon down, straight away! It was one of the (many, many) highlights of Australia for me!!
• Drinking water from the faucet - of course the water situation here in India is a catastrophe. Only bottled water is suitable for consumption. Even for cooking, water needs to be purchased in 10 gallon jugs. I can't wait to glug down a glass of good old fashioned Saratoga tap water. Not sure I will ever buy bottled water again!

I DON’T MISS

• Driving - there is a lot to be said about just getting into your car and saying “Home, Harish", then reading a good book until you pull into your driveway.
• Cleaning the house
• Yard work
• Running errands - It is nice to be able to send the driver back out for you when you realize the 3 things you forgot to pick up at the grocery store.
• TV - American Idol is the only US show we get here, but I realize that other than Grey's Anatomy, I really don't miss any other television programming. And it has been great for the kids... they do watch a few shows (mostly in Hindi... Spongebob in Hindi, I guess, is still pretty funny to them!)
• The crazy, over scheduled days ... you know the ones... soccer practice, to dance class, to ice skating lessons... oh and squeeze in homework and 2 birthday parties as well if you can.
• Fast food restaurants … would have been on the “miss” list a few months ago, but once you do without it for a while, you do realize how unnecessary they really are.

I WILL MISS

• $5 pedicures (AND having the time to sit for a few hours a week and be pampered!)
• The 7:30am-5:00pm school day
• School uniforms (oh, how easy they make the morning routine)
• The broad range of cultures encountered every single day
• I must admit, I will miss the Indian food... I may need to visit the Indian restaurant in town every now and then for a "fix"
• Having Pat around in the morning to walk the kids to the bus and enjoy our lounging mornings... just chatting and drinking tea for an hour every day.
• The travel... having the chance to explore this side of the globe has been PRICELESS!
• Last, but certainly not least.. ALL the wonderful people we have met on this journey. Some of them, I hope, will be friends forever!
  

Indus Aquatics Championship...

It was yet another full day of competition at Indus! We spent 6 hours poolside while the kids swam their hearts out. Who knew the Patnode kids are fast swimmers?? They took home 6 gold medals, 4 bronze and Andrew won the 2nd grade individual trophy (he placed 1st in every individual 2nd grade event!)

Pat even raced in the Dad's 25 meter freestyle. Check out the serious swimmers in their Speedos (not Pat, of course... but the other Dads)!

Pat won a medal as well!!
Everyone had a fun, fun time...