What country next??

Looking for a quick escape with the kids upcoming holiday week, we looked at all the places we'd love to explore before we leave this side of the globe. Taylor is recently very interested in sea turtles (particularly BABY sea turtles - shocking, I know!)

We discovered this amazing country literally sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country, in terms of population. It is also the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. It is a country located to the southwest of Sri Lanka whose 1, 192 tiny islands straddle the equator. Only 250 of these islands are inhabited at all. The Maldives also holds the record for being the lowest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 2.3 m (7½ ft). Over the last century, sea levels have risen about 20 centimetres (8 in); further rises of the ocean could threaten the existence of Maldives! We thought we'd better go while they are still around :)

Each island is it's own resort... basically a raft in the middle of the ocean. Only the main island, Male, is large enough to land a plane on. So you fly into Male and then travel by sea plane or speed boat to your chosen "raft". Most of the islands are less than 1 mile long! The coral reef islands form an archipelago of 26 natural atolls ( groups of neighbouring coral islands). Each of these atolls is enclosed by a coral reef cut by several deep, natural channels and a lagoon. The reef structure, peculiar to the Maldives and consisting of a series of circular reefs in a lime, is known as ‘faru’. Seen from air, the atolls and the islands form breathtakingly beautiful patterns against the blue depths of the Indian Ocean.

Here's an aerial shot of Bandos, the island we chose for our trip...

We fly out two weeks from tomorrow! Sure to be a great blog from this getaway!!!

Mobile Mania

I noticed it when we first touched down here in India.. they were everywhere! "Mobiles" are prevalent at all levels of society. I began snapping photos whenever I could of people using their phones in all types of settings. Here are some of my favorites...

Maybe she is calling a shoe store...

Texting for backup???

Must just be checking e-mails or text messages... can't imagine he can squeeze the phone between his helmet and his ear!

Look closely, there are 5 on this bike!! Maybe Mom is calling to order a pizza for dinner??

Need to buy a phone? No problem... these kiosks are EVERYWHERE!!Calling over coffee...

2 in each of these pictures!!

Interestingly, this is actually a man!! They have a little bit of everything in India!One of my favorites... a roadside vendor making nan (check out the fire used to heat the pan) and the highly sanitary bare feet... now who is she possibly chatting with?????So there it is. Mobile mania!!!!!

Holy Culture!!

Hinduism is a religion dating back as far as 2000 BC (no, that is not a typo!)... in a country where civilization dates back as far as 7000 BC. Christopher Columbus arrived on the scene in America more than 8000 years later!!! So here's a place with some serious history. Nearly 85% of India's population practice Hinduism, with the remaining 15% mixed of Catholic and Muslim.

Our driver, Harish, has been eager to take us to a temple in the city so we can learn more about his religion. Schools and businesses were closed this week in observance of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, so it seemed like a good time to check out a temple.

Harish took us to the Iskcon Temple... an amazing temple built on 8 acres in the middle of the city. We parked the car, took off our shoes (bare feet only on the temple grounds!) and headed up to the entrance. Cameras are not permitted, but I did have my cell phone (shhhhh!) and snapped a few pictures when I could. Here you see Harish and Andrew, hand in hand, walking up to the temple...

Just the sight of them walking barefoot, Harish so proud to be giving us this introduction to his sacred world, was terrific.

The outside of the temple complex is quite impressive...

After a thorough security screening (including an in-tent pat down and airport type scanning equipment)... we were inside the complex.

A 150 rupee donation (about $4 US) got our whole group a pass which is basically a fastpass, allowing us to bypass the throngs of worshipers waiting in long lines to enter the temple. As if we did not stand out enough already!

The kids were enamoured by the entire experience. Seeing this worship up close, being part of it, really took your breath away. Check out the murals painted on the ceilings. The camera phone does not do it justice at all! By the way... the things that look gold, are GOLD! WOW! We got our own private Puja (which means daily worship) and were completely included in all of the rituals. Of course, we certainly did not blend... in fact we were asked by many people "Which country?" One of the high priests gave us his "card" and told us to give him a call on his "mobile" to set up a private tour of the temple. I thought Harish would fall over. Anyway we plan to do that when my Mom comes to visit!

It was on this day that nearly 200 worshipers at a temple in another city in India were killed in a stampede. This happens often in India, where the sheer volume of people just gets impossible to manage safely. Still, it was probably our favorite day in India so far. Taylor turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, this is actually so exciting!" It was not as if we were tourists at all, it was like we were inside a National Geographic photo.

First Quarter Assessment

It is ridiculous to believe we have completed almost a quarter of this assignment already. I thought this would be a good time to jot down my thoughts so far...

I never, ever felt nervous at all about this trip (don't ask me why!)... thankfully, Pat completely undersold Bangalore itself - partly because with all the trips he had taken here, he had never really ever seen much of the city.

Standing in the immigration line after landing in the Arab Emerite, I really just knew that, at least for the kids, this experience would be priceless!! And it is.

Living in the hotel for 2 solid months was certainly trying for all of us. In hindsight, it was a blessing (never thought I'd say that!) as it allowed us to meet so many people and to really explore the city's terrific restaurants. It really set us up for a more enjoyable year. I also like to say it was 2 months of "family boot camp"... and thankfully we all survived it. I think at one point I did tell Taylor that if they were not careful I would have a nervous breakdown and they would have to go on without me!

Overall first quarter grading...

• WEATHER A+ If I could give an A++++++ infinity, I would. Every single day we wake up to a blue sky, a light cool breeze... every day warms up to a high temp of about 80F. There are no storms, no flooding, no winds, no humidity, no extreme temperatures at all - just perfect weather all year long!




• HEALTH - A+ I must say that those members of the Patnode clan who could afford to shed a few pounds, have (some of us many more than a few!) It is all fresh fruits and veggies, very little meat at all ... virtually no junk food is available here at all... and the portion sizes are, well, normal. Lauren is completely through her fruit roll up rehab program.




• FOOD - C The food grade is closely linked to the health grade, I guess. The fact that we are so healthy stems directly from the lack of familiar food. Nearly all of the prepared food here in India, is, this may shock you... Indian! Let's face it, there are thousands of expats here, but we are living among a BILLION Indians. They humor us with Subway and Pizza Hut, even steak houses and Baskin Robbins.. there are a hundred awesome restaurants here...but the day to day food situation, is, from an Americans view, pretty dismal. Aside from Andrew (who has managed to GAIN weight), none of really enjoy the flavors of India THAT much.




• CULTURE - A+ Just what we had hoped for... Bangalore is in the first decade of a transformation which will likely take 30 years. The kids bus route takes them through rice paddies, villages where children walk by the roadside without pants on, animals roaming the streets, mutton stalls where sheep carcasses hang from rusty hooks. Yet the people are happy. All of them smiling and happy. Happy to be getting fresh water from the water truck. Happy to sit at the roadside with their cart of fresh pineapples, hoping to make a sale. Happy to carry their newborn infant on their hip while they pile bricks high on their heads and walk the path to one of the hundreds of construction sites building a mega mall or luxury apartment complex. Happy to deliver fresh flowers by bicycle door to door. Happy to be the cable guy, the internet guy, the grocery check out guy. Happy to be our maid, or gardener, or driver. Happy, happy, happy! We all interact every day with people from all of these walks of life and they are so eager to share with us a look into their corner of the world.

I asked the kids last night, "So, what do you really think of India?" Without a moment of hesitation, they started sputtering superlatives... "the best ever, awesome, love it!..." We are looking forward to seeing other parts of the world in the coming months... Asia, Australia and Europe. And we are certainly looking forward to returning to the best place on earth... HOME!!

International Peace Day

Indus School celebrated International Peace Day this morning with a terrific presentation by all the PYP (sorry, primary years pupils)... Each grade was assigned a country and they had to perform a dance, song and informational dialogue about their country on the big stage of the crowded outdoor amphitheater. Andrew's class presented Spain. Not hard to pick his LARGE frame out in the back row of the matadors...

Taylor's class presented the good 'ol USA (woo hoo!!). She represented Connecticut and sang the National Anthem along with 10 of her classmates.

The PYP teachers gave a beautiful performance of Indian dance to end the presentations...

Lauren snapped pictures with her new camera the whole time... I think she got some good shots!

I see why Andrew has grown so much since school started. I strolled by him on the way out to the parking lot having his "snack" in the courtyard. His plate piled high with samosas... he'd already eaten all but one by the time I got my camera back out of he case!!

What a nice treat for the parents. The kids and teachers really did a terrific job putting together these performances!

First Sick Visit

We knew it would happen at some point, we hoped it would be later than sooner. We dreaded it. We feared it. It happened.

Lauren fell ill with a bad cold that turned into a fever and an up all night ear ache. For a day prior our maid was all over the situation. She kept saying, "Lauren, you are getting very sick, you need to see a doctor!" Harish, our driver agreed with Sheela's medical opinion and ran upstairs to get some socks on her feet, insisting that the cold marble floors were contributing to her illness. Our landlord stopped over to replace our dryer belt and commented as well, "Lauren does not look well at all!" I even got a disapproving glare from the cable guys for goodness sake!

So this morning it was off to see a pediatrician. The process here is so different from the US. There are no appointments, nobody has a primary care physician, you just get what you get. We arrived at Teleradiology, a 24 hr facility, at 9am, by 9:05 we were in the pediatrician's office. No nurse to act as the liaison. The doctor just said "come on in, Lauren" and that was that... very nice. This doctor works for one hour only each morning! I am certain they must actually be volunteering their time. We sat down, chatted for a few minutes about symptoms, the MD gave Lauren the once over... discovered her ear was infected and that her chest did not sound good at all. She pulled out a piece of stationary from her desk and started writing...

She prescribed a pile of medications, including one for Andrew, who we mentioned had been up with the croup cough for a few nights!! Check out the supply... We walked out of the office to the pharmacy counter in the hall... where we were given a bag full of medication and were sent on to billing.

We have no medical insurance here, so we just pay cash for all services and medications. Prepared for the worst, the receptionist rang us up...

Total for ALL medications (this is the cash price NOT a copay).. $6.95 US

Total for registration fee... $2.18 US

Total for MD consult... $5.46 US

Grand total... $14.59 US

Are you kidding me???

Lauren is resting comfortably, on the road to a full recovery... and our fears about the unknown of Bangalore medical care have been eased ! Horray!

Monkey in the house!

Who doesn't love a monkey?? What's not to love... look at this face??

When you see this face in your living room... it's a bit startling.

Lauren and I were watching television... Sheela had just gone home for the day and I had left the back servants entrance open through the kitchen for the nice breeze. When I saw his face peeking around the corner into the family room it took a moment for my brain to process that there was an animal in my home that I had only ever previously seen at a ZOO!! We stared each other down for a briefly before I jumped at him hoping he would not try to escape upstairs. He had a bit of trouble getting his footing on the marble floors, but did high tail it back outside!!

Welcome to India!!