Banyon Tree / Attack of the Monkeys

Went to the 600 yr. old Banyon Tree on Saturday. This was Erik's third visit, our first. Erik knew to stop on the way and pick up some bananas to feed the monkeys that live in this amazing tree.

We arrived after a 1.5 hour car ride, the kids ask for the bananas, Gopi hands them each a bag of bananas and then tells me how the kids SHOULD NOT hold the bananas. Well, in a moment we understood why. Monkeys saw our bananas, scaled the chain link fence separating our car from the Banyon Tree Park, attacked the bag August was holding, and tried to fight him for it. We shouted "August DROP THE BAG!" He did, and the Monkeys ravaged the bananas right before our eyes.

We had another bag of bananas and two other friends who went with us also had bananas. As soon as we walked through the front gate the VERY AGGRESSIVE and quite frightening monkeys were after us. The kids liked throwing bananas to the monkeys not because they enjoyed it, but because it was the easiest defense mechanism.





As soon as the bananas were gone, the monkeys lost total interest in us and we were able to turn our attention to the amazing Banyon Tree. That lasted all of 5 minutes for me because the skinniest and lovingest stray dog started following us around. I fed it two bananas 'cause it was just so sad and pathetic, but sweet and very friendly. We ended up petting quite a few strays at the park. The strays here are a little different than the street strays in the city, these guys are used to tourists, petting and handouts.



As we walked around we came across 3 darling little puppies. Skittish but warmed up over time to the kids constant pets and quick movements.

As we fell in love with the puppies, here came skinny dog... puppies were happy to see mom and nursed off her eagerly. I have no idea how that dog is able to nurse when she is nothing but bones.




More photos from the Banyon Tree

Erik's overnight team building

The India team took a 5 hour bus ride to the Cauvery Fishing & Nature Camp. The camp took the crew through a series of team building exercises over the course of two days.

First exercise was to break up into two groups and make the longest line possible - only your imagination is the limit, so people were laying flat on the ground, head to toe, separated by pieces of clothing they took off and added to the straight line, jackets, shirts, and even some pants were used. (Sorry, no photos)

Next exercise was to secure a rope over a river and everyone had to use the rope to get them to the other side.







Check out Rule #2


In the morning everyone got up for an early morning hike followed by a trip down the rapids in boats made of woven reed.





The final activity was to get hoisted into a tall tree, then jump off the tree trying to touch one of two objects hanging in the tree nearby. Points were given for the different objects and what part of the body managed to touch it; hand, foot, head, etc.



He had a lot of fun but we were sure happy to have him home.

More photos/videos here including a lot of great Indian countryside scenery.

I guess we won't be eating street food

We have been warned since the idea of India first came up, that we should never eat the street food. Once the dream was becoming a reality we went in for some immunizations and the US Center for Disease Control said DO NOT EAT THE STREET FOOD. But in the back of my mind, I thought, well, after a year or so I bet we'll be able to have some street food (it all looks & smells so good and I'm SO CURIOUS!!! And how come the locals can eat it day after day?)



I met a guy at the grocery store today. He's originally from Los Gatos, CA and has been in Bangalore for 10 years. He says he's finally ready to go home. He said his one bit of advice for me is "be very careful what you eat, even if it's something someone gives to you". Those words are haunting me. I will take it to heart if after 10 years that's his biggest concern. Leads me to believe he's had some food borne illnesses while he's been here - no need to reinvent the wheel.

Another explosive device defused in Bangalore

Read the article

Annika translated

We were exploring our neighborhood this morning and walked down a dirt road a couple blocks from our house. Down the dirt road we found a school called Holy Cross. We entered the school grounds hoping to find a playground for the kids. We found one but it had a padlock on it.
After the disappointment of seeing a playground but not being able to use it, we walked across a large clay field where there were some young boys playing with soccer balls. August stopped to watch them, then one came over and gently kicked the ball to August. They passed the ball back and forth and as they played more and more boys came over to join in. Erik, Annika and I sat down to watch August play with the big boys.
After they played for awhile, a few of the boys trickled over to where we were sitting. The first question is usually "What country". I usually say "United States" but the answer they're looking for is "America" or "California".
Anyway, they asked what the kids names are, so I said August and Annika. They chuckled. One boy said "What is the sister's name?" And again I said Annika. They chuckled. Then they said something to each other and more chuckling ensued. So I was a little concerned about the translation of her name.

This afternoon the kids were playing in the front yard and that gave me an opportunity to speak with a very friendly neighbor. As we were chatting, I asked her what Annika means in both Hindi and Kanada (the language of Karnataka, the state where we live).



In Hindi, Annika is a medicinal herb used as a remedy to help many ailments, it is very positive.
In Kanada, it means hail.

I know, anticlimactic.

Ninja?

When the kids see Muslim women they sometimes ask, "Is that a good Ninja or a bad Ninja?"

Sometimes when I sleep really hard

...it feels bizarre to wake up in India.

The International Communicator

McDonalds in India

Took the kids to McDonalds today. Ordinarily I would avoid it like the plague, but I've actually been curious to see what McDonalds is like without beef. The kids ordered happy meals and with that came a choice of McVeg or McChicken. They both chose McVeg with cheese, the meal consisted of a small burger with a veggie patty, wilted chopped lettuce, a slice of processed orange cheese, and enough mayonnaise for a family of 4. The meal also came with a small drink and a toy (no fries). I had the McVeg combo meal with a slightly larger drink and fries. We all shared the fries and they tasted like home.

The veggie patty was OK. It was like a falafel with mild Indian spices. As soon as the kids bit into theirs and saw green onion pieces they said they didn't like it. I scooped off most of the mayonnaise hoping to make the sandwich more appealing but it didn't work.



Aloo Tikki = Potato Cutlett

Kids are bored

My poor kids...
I've been thinking about how being a Mom 24/7 over the last 2+ months has effected me, but it just occurred to me that my kids have been used to the company and stimulation of other children and a consistent daily schedule since they were 3 months old... they're the ones going crazy with boring old Mom.
School starts Monday, August 11th.
Check out Indus International School, pretty snazzy.

'Quake in California

Sorry to hear about the earthquake in SoCal. I have to admit, with the news saying the next "big quake" is close at hand, it's nice to be far away.

But if you look at the construction of buildings in Bangalore, it's not hard to see why the death toll in countries like this is so high during a natural disaster. The effort seems to be on completing the construction project, very little is put into longevity or maintenance. There are decrepit buildings all over the city because, I'm guessing, you just tear it down and build another one when it is no longer habitable.

Not getting in a car today

Our driver called this morning and asked what time I needed him. I had no idea, so I said noon just for the heck of it. About half an hour later Annika asked if we could not go in a car today. That sounded like a wonderful suggestion since we need a break from long trips in the car. I called Gopi back and told him to go ahead home, we wouldn't need him today.

We played at home this morning. Our front yard is private, free of cars, and very safe due to the 3 guards that police the complex of 10 homes. Annika loves to roam around this small community. At one point Marta, our housekeeper, lent Annika her umbrella so Annika could continue playing outside during a crazy downpour.

We walked to a Chinese restaurant for a late lunch. Chinese is very popular here. I made sure to order a little extra so I won't have to make dinner tonight. :-)

Erik's team building off-site

Erik left this morning. He was up at 5:00am for a two-day team building exercise with the newly arrived French artists and current Indian artists.

Photos from the previous team building off-site in May with the first group of Indian artists, looked a lot like Survivor.

Aaaaaaaants

Feeling a little lonely

Miss my friends. :-)
Miss my family - would like to know how my sister's first week in Egypt is going.
Miss my husband - hardly see Erik and tomorrow he is leaving for a 2-day team building outing

Feeling TOTALLY inadequate in the kitchen. I'm a bad cook at home but I'm a HORRIBLE cook in India. Good thing the kids like it basic and Erik is never home to eat what I'm preparing.

Thanks for listening. :-)

UPDATE: Thanks for all the e-mails of friendship and encouragement. They really helped.

Poor Auggie...

Yesterday about 1:30pm August started complaining of a tummy ache. He didn't eat much at Pizza Hut and was very quiet and still at the restaurant (not like August). Then he stopped complaining. Around 5:00pm, on our way home from downtown, he started complaining of a headache. He complained most of the way home with a terrible wail that he does when he has a fever. By the time we got home, he was hot and in need of some medicine and rest. He hardly ate any dinner.

Around 2:00am he came crying into my room, saying he had to poop. But by the time I could help him, nature was taking it's course. I picked him up, put him in the shower, pulled off his soiled jammies, and put him on the potty. This was our routine for the next few hours. I crawled in bed with the kids so August wouldn't have to wait for help. He cried a lot due to the sharp shooting pains, so I rubbed his back as he tried to sleep.

It's 3:30pm now and he's able to function but his tummy still isn't right. We're taking it easy today.
I have no idea what he got into that Annika and I didn't. The only difference I can think of is Auggie had a scoop of vanilla ice cream after lunch when Annika had chocolate.

Pizza Hut, Indian style

I had to go downtown today to drop off some immigration papers. We got to the immigration office at 1:05pm and they were at lunch until 2:00pm. While we waited, I walked the kids down the street and found a Pizza Hut. They were excited to have pizza for lunch, so we went in.

We ordered the Hawaiian (chicken and pineapple) but they came back and told us chicken was not available. After a discussion about what pizzas were spicy and which ones weren't, we decided on a cheese pizza with pineapple.

In the picture is an advertisement for "Full Punjabi" style pizza with Paneer cheese, lots of crazy veggies including baby corn, and lots of spice. You will also see in the photo that there is a bottle of ketchup. Pizza & ketchup, as American as apple pie...

Night out

Saturday at 3:00am 12 new French artists/animators arrived in Bangalore to work at the new studio. Saturday night there was a welcome dinner with the artists, their spouses, and some of the Indian crew. We found a babysitter using the Yahoo! Bangalore expat mail list (we were desperate) and so I was able to join in the festivities.



The dinner was held on a terrace on the 13th floor of a business building. The view was beautiful and the company was wonderful. I had my first glass of Indian wine, red, served chilled. After being with the kids 24/7 it was fun to party with the DW India folks and actually spend some time with my husband!

In the car...

Gopi, our driver and my lifeline


We spend A LOT of time in the car. There are no freeways so it typically takes an hour+ each way to run errands. We've enjoyed looking out the windows, counting dogs or cows, but it's starting to settle in - that this is how it's going to be. On trips with multipul errands I've resorted to bringing the kids Leapsters in the car so they won't fight or whine insessently.









It gets a little boring for the kids...

Groceries

After you buy groceries, they tie up the bags with plastic ties which makes the bags difficult to carry. Instead of slipping them over your wrists, you have to carry them with your fingertips.
And then a guard at the exit examines your receipt and tied up grocery bags before you're free to leave. They're tied up... what exactly are you looking at??

Cows

Hard to photograph a Monsoon rain

View from the balcony of our bedroom

Getting Annika's school uniform

The tailor for Annika's school uniform was in a crazy back alley of the garment district. I didn't feel like I should take pictures of the rows and rows of women sitting at rows and rows of generator powered sewing machines, but this is what I did take.



The tailor taking measurements


Crazy unfinished staircase to his workshop




A little boy who helped us find the tailor when we were looking lost




Three new friends who were as curious about us as we were about them

Annika learning to swim

We snuck into Palm Meadows again so the kids could swim in PM's assortment of amazing swimming pools. On this day, we arrived about noon. By 5:30pm Annika was "swimming." She could put her whole body under water and move about two feet. Before that day she would hardly put her face in the water. It helped that she met a little friend Olivia and Olivia was swimming like crazy so Annika picked it up from her.





August is very comfortable in the water too. They hung out in a pool that was as deep as August's chin. He lost his footing 3 or 4 times during the course of the day, which made is head go totally under water, but he held his breath, caught himself, came up to the surface, and would exclaim "That was cool!" And it didn't freak him out because he would choose to stay in the pool and continue playing.