My Life in India

Baby Elephant at Rydak Tea Garden

2009-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

One last "elephant" video for you to enjoy! This 8 year old is in training, was brought to the tea garden for us to see, and is enjoying his breakfast of banana leaves, banana tree stem, papaya (watch how he splits it open, slices it in pieces and then throws it away because he doesn't like it), and another fruit he couldn't get to split (so he throws it away too). Even baby elephants can be picky eaters! If you want to watch this in "high quality" mode, click on the You Tube Icon (on the video it will be either in the upper or lower corner). Then when it takes you to the video on You Tube look right below the volume icon directly below the video. Under that is the "view in high quality" option - click on that. Enjoy! :)

The Lone Ranger

2009-01-10T23:02:00.000-08:00

As promised, we are posting this video of a wild elephant crossing the road in Jaldapara, West Bengal, India. I spotted it coming through the forest as we were driving back to the tea garden. The driver quickly backed the vehicle up so we could capture it on video. David took a risk by getting out of the Bolero and walking back towards it. A few days earlier on this same road an elephant crushed a car to bits in anger (thankfully the passengers had all fled and no one was hurt). This male is a "loner" because he was kicked out of his family for bad behavior. It's fun to tell the story now, but I admit that I was scared at the time! Enjoy! :)

Ride on the Wild Side

2008-12-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

One Sunday we were visiting after church when an elephant walked by. David quickly got the video camera, jumped in the taxi and off he went to film the pachyderm! The following You Tube is the result. Enjoy! :)

Distinguished Guests ?

2008-11-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Ben and I were invited as guests to a school sports event where we were honored by sitting up front. Notice Ben's face on the last few seconds of the video. "That's something else", as he would say. :)

Ben On You Tube

2008-10-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! :) Click on the site below and it will take you to Ben's premier You Tube video.

4 Generations

2008-08-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

****************** Also wanted to share this picture of our family, four generations.

Anil

2008-08-18T01:51:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of our helper, Anil. He comes to us from northeast India where he lived in a village. He thinks he is about 18 or 19 years old, but records are not kept in the villages so it's a guess. We think he is 16 or 17. He is a good worker and helps with cooking and household chores. We are thankful for his help!

Trip to USA

2008-08-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

************************* Though it's been three months, I want to post a few pictures from my trip to the US. I had a great time with my friends and family! It was a time to treasure. The first picture is of Mattea brushing Gramma's hair.

****************** Visiting the zoo and seeing the fish!
****************** Joel, Diana, Mattea and Miranda

****************** Family all together at my birthday party as I turned the big "50". :)

Ben's Birthday Blast

2008-04-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

He said it was the "best birthday I've had in years". Turning 29 on Sunday Ben got the pleasure of meeting a 3 year old elephant while on a "photo opportunity" drive with his friend, Vishal. Of course we also had dinner out (where he enjoyed shrimp, a rare treat). And we had family over later for cake and cold drinks. The temperature that day....a cool 110 degrees! Ben's smiles tell the rest of the story. :)

Trip to Dehradun Part 2

2008-04-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

I mixed up these two blogs (the other one should have been first). But here are the pictures from our trip to Musoorie, about 12 miles up in the hills east of Dehradun. The roads were very windy with lots of hairpin turns. The major source of cultivation is done by terrace farming, which we saw many beautiful examples of.

Take a look at the "roadside snack bar". There are lots of them and they all have soft drinks and chips! :) The King of Nepal has his Indian palace at the top of one hill.

And we stopped at a quaint barista in Musoorie to warm up (it was raining and cold!).

Trip to Dehradun

2008-04-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

We went to Dehradun to visit our friends, the Salmans. They took us to several beautiful places. We visited to Sahastra-Dhara (Thousand Streams: Sahasradhara Waterfalls, located 14 km from Dehradun, is famous for its natural beauty and medicinal value. It is also a popular picnic spot. People come here in large numbers to enjoy the natural beauty and to bathe in the waterfall).

we saw these beautiful forest parrots perched in Flame-of-the-forest trees.

Mrs. Salman and I are in front of the school where she works.

And the flower garden is their own, a relaxing place to sit and sip tea.

Love for Mattea

2008-03-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have been missing Mattea, my granddaughter, very much. A few days ago Joel called to say "Let's have some webcam time", which was an answer to prayer. We had not been able to connect for 2 months. Then this morning Miranda, my daughter in law, mailed me some pictures of Mattea that just melted my heart. David saw how much I enjoyed them and promptly got them developed at the lab downtown. Tonight he said I must put them on the blog so everyone can see my precious 22 month old Mattea Jean. :) I am thankful to the Lord for my family! Thank you, Joel and Miranda! I love you!

2008-03-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

We went to our first Hindu wedding; what an experience! Most marriages are still "arranged" in India, as was this one. The bride and groom are not well acquainted at the time of the wedding. The reason for their solemn faces, however, is more out of respect for the serious committment they are making, and to smile a lot would be considered flippant. Our neighbor's son got married on March 1st, but the ceremonies begin the day before. This is the reception, which begins with the groom's side parading to the wedding site. The groom mounts a white horse for the procession, while the family and friends lead the way, hemmed in by men carrying large poles with flashing lights and a band at the front. Lots of drummers, Indian style (that means loud)! At one point the groom's sister pulled me into the dance. I'm sure I looked as out of place as I felt, but I just copied what she was doing and laughed a lot. The wedding follows the reception, usually beginning about midnight and lasting at least 4 hours. Ben also enjoyed himself, especially the loud music and food! It was a "time to remember". (See if you can find Waldo, aka me, in 3 of 4 pictures). :)

My Office

2008-03-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is our office, set up in the main room 2nd floor. We are attempting to get a 'smooth system' set up for working. In the background is a cabinet with a lot of family pictures.

A Camel comes to our house

2008-01-23T10:30:00.001-08:00

Last weekend there was a Muslim festival in our city. Camels were running amouk but it was too crowded to go see them with Ben. So...Sunday afternoon as David and I were returning from the vegetable market on the motorcycle, we passed a camel and his owner! David quickly went back to ask the man if he would walk his camel down our street so Ben could see it. The man lives nearby and complied. The rest is "happy history" for Ben!

Our Day Out

2008-01-19T03:17:00.000-08:00

Thursday we took an outing so Ben could walk with his new brace. We went to a large city park and strolled for half an hour in the beautiful, sunny weather. We ate at a restaurant we had wanted to try but couldn't until Ben could climb the stairs. Then we found a few camels and elephants roaming in our town! There is a 3 day Muslim festival here where many camels are part of the festivities. Also, on the other side of the city is the annual Hindu festival bathing in the Ganges River, where elephants are part of the celebration. All in all it was a fun day!

Box from USA arrives!

2008-01-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

The Christmas box from our family arrived from the US on Jan 3rd, so we had "Christmas fun" all over again! Ben got (what else?) DVD's that he had been wishing for. Some of the things we received: Diana got a cute kitty (soft and looks "real"), Andy Griffith DVDs and Happy perfume (oh, and some M&M's!), and David got some photo/computer equipment he really needed. The fun shows on our faces. :) To see any picture full view, click on it.

Lunch out at Hot Stuff

2007-12-19T02:03:00.000-08:00

Ben is having a great time eating pizza at Hot Stuff. :) He looked at the menu and it said Chicken sausage pizza. We thought that meant both chicken and sausage...but we were wrong. It tasted very good and it was nice to have a "day out".

The Mosquito Net

2007-12-19T01:58:00.000-08:00

At last, our mosquito net has been mounted from the ceiling! Though there are very few mosquitos this time of year, February will bring many more of those pesky creatures. No more waking up to bites all over our arms and faces. :)

My New Pantry Shelf

2007-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

I have a very nice kitchen, but I still lacked space to put food items. So, for the last 2 months my countertops have been cluttered with ketchup, sugar, oatmeal, coffee, etc. We also have a water filter system that took up room. After some patience and time my custom-built pantry shelf arrived this week! I was soooooooo happy to re-organize the kitchen. Now I have plenty of space on my counters. :) I am also adding a picture of our livingroom, all decorated for Christmas. I will post more pictures soon.

The Day the Cobra Visited Our House

2007-11-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

One Saturday morning as we were preparing breakfast, we heard a sound of something like bagpipes. I said, "What in the world is that?" David told us to stay inside so he could go talk to the man' before he saw that there are Americans living here. It was a Snake Charmer! After he came onto our porch, he gave us a snake and iguana performance! Ben was thrilled, as you can see. The Snake Charmer played his pipe and the snake danced. He had other smaller snakes to show us too. And then the iguana visited us, though he was a bit shy. I had to wrap up in a sheet and watch from the door, as the Snake Charmer was not used to seeing women in bathrobes! :) It was great fun and our ever present photographer (David) captured the moment.

Views of our house and street

2007-11-29T10:18:00.000-08:00

This gives a view of our house from the front and across the street. Our home is on the corner, but the neighbors gate/entry is visible in the picture. The houses are almost like duplexes. We live on a fairly new road, but the houses across the street are quite old and separated from us by a wall. It is common to have cows walking down our street mooing or grazing, as in these pictures. Recently a cow and her calf were tied to the power pole next to our driveway daily. A man would tie the cows hind legs and milk her while the calf was tied to the cow. Then he would sell the milk to any passersby who wanted it. We asked the guard at our complex to put a stop to it because the cow was leaving smelly "gifts" at our driveway. There are also stray dogs that roam the hood, but most stay away from humans. One stray dog looked under our gate one morning as if to say "Who moved in here?" :)

My Fun Baking

2007-11-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to tell you all that my oven is fixed and ready:)

So here is my first Birthday cake for David's Mom. It really turned out good. There was something wrong with the knob and it seems to be working now..here is the cake:

Some Images

2007-11-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

Reena, my niece, and I took a rickshaw the day of Grandma's birthday. Reena was wearing her new salwar kamiz and looked very stylish. The driver was young and peddled fast, as compared to other drivers who are much older and slow. The weather was warm, though we were encouraged to wear jackets (people think it's cold when it's 68 degrees). :)

On the way Reena said, "I love coming to your house, Auntie!" It was a special time.