Halloween is at the same time of year as Diwali, and since we're in India, Diwali takes precedence, so our night of trick-or-treating gets moved around. This year it's Oct. 29th. Annika went as a pirate (we bought costumes when we were in the US this summer) Auggie changed his mind at the last minute and went as a Ninja. This Ninja outfit is from Japan and was a gift from Michael as a thank you for dog-sitting Shogun. I asked August to draw on the faces and I'd cut them out. Let the Trick-or-Treating BEGIN! I got some CANDY! Is that Jenne and her Happy Feet? The big kids have fun on Halloween too!
The 3rd Standard UOI (Unit of Inquiry) this term is Natural Disasters. The kids were broken up into groups and they had to research their natural disaster and report on it. The wildfire crew! Auggie liked the volcano group the best. The Tsunami group made a really impressive model for their presentation. Annika and her teacher Miss Allison (from Canada) They're EVERYWHERE!!
This morning I brought my phone to my kickboxing class. Something I never do. And I left the ringer on normal, instead of muting, like I would probably do if I brought my phone to a class. During the abs work out my phone rang, it was August's teacher telling me he's in the infirmary and they believe he has broken his arm. WHAT?!?!? I immediately run out of the class and start running home. I call Erik on the way and he tells me to settle down 'cause I'm in hysterics. I try to explain that I'm not hysterical it's just that I'm running and talking on the phone at the same time. I get to school and the infirmary has done a beautiful job bandaging him up, immobilizing his arm, and gave him a beautiful sling (I really wasn't expecting much). I got him into the car and we rushed to the hospital.
Sling off, preparing for X-ray, he doesn't want to bend his arm. X-ray Tech calming August down. August getting his arm X-rayed - after being straightened and twisted my the Techs. OMG how he cried. Then they asked me to step out so they could take the X-ray. Applying the cast - again his arm was twisted and contorted and the tears and screams flowed. But for the crack in his elbow to heal properly the arm had to be secured in a certain position. Nap time. There was a lot of energy spent over the last few hours. The hospital wanted August to stay for 2 hours after the cast was applied for observation, to make sure his blood was circulating properly and to make sure his fingers didn't swell. Daddy came from work to hang with us during this period. A little R&R at home. Well, maybe this cast is kind of cool. My brother...
We passed many campaign posters with female candidates before I thought to start taking photos. In a country like India, Kerala is such a dramatic change. I like it here.
A short drive/ferry boat from our hotel is the Fort Cochin area of Cochin. We went there for a day trip of walking, shopping and local food and culture. We really enjoyed the juxtaposition of an old Jew Town in a a small Indian city.
Erik had a 3-day weekend and seriously needed some R&R. He was looking for a restful vacation spot without much travel. Vypin Island came recommended so we went. 1 hour flight and 1 hour car ride due west of Cochin and we were at our beach front hotel with an ocean view/balcony.
Lovely late afternoon monsoon
Dinner!
Fresh coconut water, Mmmm! Tender coconut Street food And LOTS of swimming!! Ah, now this is living!
The Bangalore Traffic Control Center happens to be at a police station, well guarded! I was surprised to see how efficient the center was considering how chaotic Bangalore traffic can be.
