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It's kind of weird to have people call me "Madam" all the time, but it really makes me giggle to hear them call Jeremy "Sir." As in, "Does Sir want his lunch now or later?" or, "Is Sir at home? I have a question about..."
It catches me by surprise every time and I keep having to ask, "Who? Oh yeah, right.."

the meaning of life and human existence

We just started the "Little House" series. It might seem like a strange choice, since we're living in Asia and all, but actually it has been oddly a propos. Learning about different methods of subsistence; the relationship of economy, environment and meteorological patterns; lifestyles and how people make their livings--these are all things we are thinking a lot about anyway.

But as we finished up the first book, The Little House in the Big Woods, L. stuck by her earlier assessment that it was all too fantastic to be true. "It just sounds fake," she insisted. "I can't believe that Laura Ingalls Wilder was ever a real person."

Her views on faith are somewhat similar these days. She confided to me on Thursday that the whole story about Jesus seems like a "made up" story and "kind of like a story about a god." She wondered if maybe we were all just existing within someone's dream or perhaps we were toys in some universal game..?

[insert photo of L.'s mother, with mouth open wide, here]

I guess you could say that we have not yet moved beyond the initial stage of shock at being in a new and strange (to us) place. We can't help but wonder what it's all about, who we are and how we fit in. Still, I confess that I was comforted somewhat to hear that L.'s father had told little L. about Hinduism, Brahman and then related some of the stories of the various gods earlier in the day on Thursday. Oh, so that's where she got that from. I had begun to wonder if she had snuck into Theistic Ontology 101 behind our backs, or something.

Either way, though, there is no way to deny that fact that she is obviously among the ranks of six year olds who suffer from way too much existential angst.

for billy, who loves pictures of food

Here is what we eat for lunch these days:

We have a cook! Our lunch is rice with yellow lentils, then a mix of veggie "sides." In the mornings, vegetable vendors set up shop just outside our complex so we get a fresh every day. Dinner is mostly the same, with a different veggie side and a meat option, if we choose. Occasionally we will want to mix it up, so we will probably replace the rice with roti (homemade tortilla-like breads like chapatis or something else). We don't have an oven so we can't make our own naan, but I'm sure we could find a stall nearby if we look hard enough.

Yesterday was our first day with the new housekeeper and so far she seems like a perfect match for us. She worked for the US Consul General's family for a few years and her English is really good. I think she is a little surprised that we want the kids to eat local food and although they are not yet really sold on the idea, it's getting better. I am so happy to have her because there is no way I could have known how to navigate the rickshaw ride to market and the food shopping myself. She does not know this neighborhood, either, but she bravely went out yesterday to try to figure everything out. She came back with a supply of the basics, lentils, the necessary spices and then a couple of kilos of fresh veggies. Then she brought me change from the $4 I had sent along with her.

I think I could have bought one single jar of cumin in a regular supermarket in the US for that!

business

A few of you have emailed me about our address, internet connection, whether we can skype soon. I don't really have answers to these yet, but soon I will (I hope). We need to find out whether there is a box# before we can let you know our address. We just got online yesterday and so far it seems that the internet connection thing is spotty during the daytime but seems to be strong in the evenings (which is a better for conversations with the US, anyway). Hopefully can set up some appointments to skype soon!
In the meantime, I hope everyone will pardon our email silence as I am using my online time to blog so that everyone will know we are well!

Finally, but perhaps most important (as I know that many of you have been waiting with bated breath for an update on the box): today the carpenters came back to fix a door and stained the wood of the box to match the surrounding doorframes and woodwork. Phew. What a relief.

our new home

The new "flat" seems just huge to us. It is about twice the sq. footage of the apt. we just left in NYC, and the three bedrooms are not connected—we don't even have to walk through one to get to the other one--what luxury! We are away from downtown and it is less noisy, though there are weddings and continuous construction projects and that sort of thing, so I would not exactly call it quiet.
Check it out, a LOT of people live here; this is the building opposite ours and there are a couple other buildings to the right and left of us, too:


(here's the guestroom, Aunt Mer:)
playground just below our livingroom balcony (don't worry, Aunt Jerah, I keep the door to the balcony locked):

living and dining room both have glass tables (yikes):

Overall, the transition has gone fairly smoothly. But there have been a few little, um, adventures thrown in, too. Apparently the evil tummy-trouble fairies thought we were having it too easy and A. got sick the day we arrived and has been sick since. In fact, we finally put her on anti-nausea & anti-diarrhea meds for fear she was becoming too dehydrated, poor kid.

Also, we have found there is quite a bit of cleaning to do before the flat could be properly called clean, along with a few repairs that have come to our attention. Which brings me to this photo:

A wood box? What on earth is that about, you wonder? Well, beats me, but we sure are curious.
You can't really tell in the photo, but there are black handprints all over the walls. Before moving in, we had requested that someone come and clean up that mess, along with a few other obvious ones (unfortunately, we did not realize QUITE how much cleaning needed to be done or believe me, I would have negotiated all of at signing. Oh well…).

But hey, communication is tricky sometimes, even without a language barrier. And even though Jeremy speaks some Hindi, unfortunately for us Kolkata is in West Bengal where people mostly speak Bengali. So… it has been interesting.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with this. For example, one plumber came in on Tuesday and refused to acknowledge that he and I did not have a common language. I just kept speaking in English and shrugging and trying to make him understand that I did NOT understand him, but he was not one to become discouraged. Surely if he kept at it and repeated the words more slowly I would understand? He explained in detail (in Bengali) all that he had done and he kept on for so long that you know what, I finally just kind of laughed and nodded because there was nothing else to do!

Then there was the other plumber who came today to fix the leaking washing machine problem. He knew I didn't know what he was saying but still he kept insisting he had fixed the problem and I kept insisting that he had not and he kept pointing to the stream of water in order to prove to me that all was well because the machine was clearly filling up with water as it should and I kept objecting and trying to explain that THAT was not the issue, but then I had to give up again (at least until I could find an interpreter) because for the life of me I could not figure out how I would ever explain, with hand motions, that the machine is fine until it shifts into the rinse cycle at which time it drains all the wash cycle water onto the floor. I mean, do YOU know how to say that in Bengali?

And now back to the wood box: no, we don't know why it is there, but two carpenters came over and constructed it for us today. Measuring then sawing the wood, banging in the nails, shavings everywhere—they spent several hours building that thing and hanging it up there today.

Our guess is that maybe when WE thought we were pointing out the dirt all over the walls and could they please wipe it down perhaps THEY thought we meant "build a wood box on the wall over there, please." Or maybe the landlord or the broker sent them over and just never mentioned it to us (but why)? Probably, we'll never know, but it is a fine piece of work, isn't it.

Welcome home to Kolkata to us!

aahh, India...

Where else can you go and see hundreds of women out and about, for a stroll or running errands, casually wrapped in a few yards of silk, like it's nothing?

moving, again

We found an apartment and signed for it yesterday so today we move, again! It is a really nice quiet three bedroom flat, with a couple of balconies, and extremely pleasant. It is in a complex of highrises with a big green area in the center for the kids to run around and even some playgrounds, too! It's away from the center of town, but only a cab ride away so we still have the option to come in for sightseeing, shopping, or whatever.

We are excited to settle in (and live out of dresser drawers instead of suitcases for the first time since August!), but it will be sad to leave the community of people here at the guesthouse. We have met such interesting folks here, many of whom are volunteering at various homes or shelters around the city and they come back with interesting tales and perspectives to share in the evenings. We intend to keep in touch with those who are here for longer visits.

I don't have any new exciting photos to post today but I did not want to leave you with nothing, so here is a shot of the kids and I outside of P-roc's place in Brooklyn the last time we moved, just about 10 days ago. We were about to get in the cab to JFK and saying goodbye to everyone who came to see us off at brunch (including Judy B. whom I hadn't seen for maybe 13 years!). It was a lot colder there:

We'll be back once we get internet hooked up in our new place, hopefully by tomorrow!

health-wise...

So far we have avoided the notorious "Dehli-belly" but we've each been taking turns with "Kolkatta cold-and-cough" (I just made up that term. Seems like everyone around the guesthouse has had a cold sometime in the last week, so I guess it fits).
Here's hoping it doesn't last too long.

"auto" ride

This is an autorickshaw (photo credit):

The kids have been begging to ride in one and today we finally did! It had bright lights on in the interior and the driver cranked up the volume in our honor. Zooming through the city with the music blasting was as if we had our own Bollywood soundtrack.

winter

Our room has a fireplace. The other day they went around the guesthouse handing out wool blankets for every guest.
It's been in the mid-90's Fahrenheit (35C) the last few days.

we'll be needing a truckload more of those wet wipes, aunt jerah

No, we were not playing in the dirt and nope, he did not spend an hour rolling around a NY subway car.
This is how BR looked after two short hours of apartment-hunting.
(btw, the rest of us looked fine. He just has dirt-attracting super powers, I guess.)

thanks-giving

Today we are thankful for many things...

...good health and a nice clean place to sleep,

...a chance to rest today (while Jeremy is off apartment-hunting without us) and a better night's sleep,

...not having to worry about meals or laundry (at the moment I am not responsible for either, but as a general rule, we have no actual worries about either),
...flowers in bloom,

(look, hibiscus!)

...plenty of exotic trees to sit under,

...brave explorer-hooligans, and friends and family who care about their well-being and happiness,

...a calm place to retreat from the hustle and bustle,

(Okay, so this photo does not do this avenue justice. It happened that just as I stepped out to photograph the street outside the guesthouse, there was barely any traffic--no rickshaws or bikes at all, and few pedestrians. But I did not have a chance to stick around because one of the beggars who camps outside the gate spotted me. To get a better idea, of a Cairo street except with streetcars and tons of bikes and people living on the sidewalk.)

...and last but not least, a [new Thanksgiving tradition?] bucket baths/sibling water fights!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

for Leia, the lover of leaves

day 2

The grounds at our guesthouse:

Isn't it lovely? So much nicer than a regular city hotel and they provide meals for us, too.

We met up with the broker today and took a look at a few available rentals. We got to see some of the areas of the city this way and that was really interesting. Lucky for us, the weather is gorgeous, in the high 80's (31C) and very pleasant, so driving in a cab for a few hours is not bad. (Well, besides the fact that no one obeys any of the traffic signals at ALL. They might as well not exist--terrifying!)

Today, the time difference* is hitting us all hard and none of us slept more than a few hours last night. The kids were as cheerful as could be all morning, though, so we really shouldn't complain. There was one moment around 3:30 this morning, however, when BR burst into tears. I tried to find out what was wrong, but he was inconsolable for a good while. We finally were able to make out what he was saying in between sobs: "It's because you said there is no cheese in India!"

(*correction to what I said yesterday: Kolkata time= ET + 10.5 hours, which means MT + 12.5 hrs.)

Kolkata

We are here! We arrived safe and sound and on schedule at around 1am this morning.

We left JFK around 4pm on Sunday and after 30 hours of travel (including 17 of flight time), we finally arrived at the guest house and went to sleep to the sound of the call to prayer Tuesday morning (Indian time--which is 12.5 hours ahead of the US, fyi). The travel was completely uneventful and I have absolutely no "good stories" out of it at all. I hate to say it, but it was almost easy. The first flight to Germany was easier than some flights I have taken by myself! The kids were perfect angels, we all stayed healthy, we took a few naps and watched a few cartoons and drank juice and it was all as thrilling as they had hoped it would be.
The only real fun thing was that after going through passport control and collecting all of our bags (yup, all of them), we exited the airport and found ourselves among a crowd of thousands. It was probably around 3am at that point, but everyone there was dressed in their Sunday best (as it were) to greet relatives returning from the Hajj. It was impressive. A guard with a machine gun cleared a path for us and with the kids piled up on top of our baggage carts, we made our way through somehow. (Oh man, I wish I had photos of that scene. You will all just have to try to picture it in your minds...)
We drove through the empty night streets and arrived at the guesthouse which is, incidentally, next door to the Missionaries of Charity "Mother House" (Mother Teresa, I mean). We had not realized we would be quite that close!
Stacy and Page, you will like this: as soon as we got out of the van, the kids were looking out at the lawn and said, "Hey mom, look! It's a possum. Or a mouse? Or...what is that?" Ack! But hey, at least it was outside, right?

L. found a heart-shaped leaf the other day

and then she wanted to share it with her sister.

"Look, Mom! We love each other!"

more surgery on Sunday

One Day...

...until we go!

We're feeling ready. Well, ready to go so we can stop talking about going. BR has been especially impatient these last few weeks. Anytime we put our shoes on to go outside he whines, "NOW are we going to India?"

The girls, for their part, are most excited about the prospect of unlimited juice on the flight. Hey, they're easy to please.

We discovered this amazing playground on our way back from Jerah's Dacha some weeks ago. Have you ever seen anything so cool?

more poetry on Wednesday

We are thinking a lot these days about learning and growth and change. Our poetry selection this week by Emanuel di Pasquale. (check out more at Kris')

The Sun Has a Tail

The sun has a tail
that reaches under the earth
and tickles seeds.
That's what grandmother
once told me.
She says things grow
in laughter.