South Asian Thanksgiving

No turkey, no football on tv in the background, but people did a good job of trying to make all the side dishes taste the same. My contributions were stuffing and apple cobbler (or dumpcake for those who know the term). I'm not good with from-scratch pie crusts, so that was my version of apple pie.

It was not the same as sharing this day with family and eating all those familiar dishes, but we have so much to be thankful for, so for that reason the day was a success!

Luke trying to sing his heart out.

It's not Disney, but they have Teacups!

The rides your mother told you never to ride...those side of the interstate carnival rides that were ready to break at any moment. Slap them in the middle of South Asia and everything changes!  Walking through a park one day, we happened on this little children's area. This could have been Disney World for all the kids cared. They even had teacups...all for the admission price of 20¢ per adult, and children were free. Can't do that at Disney!

And last but not least......

We Can Have Fall After All!

I really didn't expect my kids to have any reason to dress up or attend any fall festivals, but lo and behold friends of ours had one. It was fun, and although costumes were hard to find, the kids had fun playing games and filling up on lots of sweets. It was nice to do something from American culture.

Give Brynn some butterfly wings, and she's a happy girl. Luke's costume was a monkey backpack/leash and a safari hat. He looked pretty cute. Neither made it into the party - he ripped them off as soon as he walked in. Oh well, I made an attempt at a costume.

Knife in hand and toddler climbing my back....can't be good. If I'm ever sitting on the floor, this is what Luke does everyday of my life. Luckily Jimmy was there to make the situation safe.

Pool Time

Lucky for us, their bathtub doubles as a pool. This comes in handy when they have a day off from school, but we still have language class. We can sit at the dining room table for language and watch these guys through the sliding glass door. All was good until we realized some crayons made their way out there. You'll notice the hieroglyphics on the wall behind them.

And I know you're thinking, "Wow that is a fancy green balcony railing."   It does have a purpose: it is a heavy-duty plastic sheeting wired to the rails so that Luke will not climb over them.

Rainy Day...Let's Build a Fort!

Brynn decided our laundry drying device makes for a good fort structure. This is just one of their fort creations on a rainy day...I may have helped a little.

"Beach" Party

Brynn and Luke's preschool had a pool party to close out summer. It was held on the 3rd story roof of their preschool building. The water was freezing, but Brynn would play in ice water all day and have fun (although she did repeatedly asked them to pour hot water in.) Luke was not having it...he'd dip in for a minute, then wrap back up in his towel. His favorite part was the snack time. It was fun to meet the parents and see their friends.

Since I had my camera with me for once, I snapped a few pictures on the way home from the party. The school is about half a mile from our street, but the neighborhood looks very similar.

 A construction worker woman. I admire these people, they are hard workers.

A house currently under construction. More affluent homes can be 3-4 stories tall, which will house a multi-generational family. 

Men push produce carts up and down the streets. Imagine being able to walk out your door in America and pick your produce. I haven't bought from these carts yet, I usually just walk to the produce stands near our home that have everything in one place.

I threw this picture in because Brynn said, "This looks like the big wall of China."  I thought that was funny. Maybe to her it does.

Working Out With Daddy

If you have or have had little ones in your house, you know there are evenings when they just haven't gotten all that energy out. We've tried races in the living room and dancing. Here is Jimmy's attempt at wearing them down. Enjoy!

Our Neighborhood

I realized some people may be interested in where we live. I know I was always curious when I kept up with my friends overseas.  Here are some pictures I've taken of our building and around our neighborhood.

Our apartment is in the back of the building just above the garage.

This is the view off of our "laundry" balcony. The empty lot beside us houses 3 dogs of one of our neighbors. Every time Luke hears them barking he runs to the balcony and wants to be lifted up to see them.  The rest of our apartment faces walls of other buildings, so we cherish this view.

 

 

This is a typical late afternoon/evening for us - heading off down our street to walk the neighborhood or go to one of the playgrounds nearby. A lot of times we end up playing ball with the kids on our street.

I climbed the ladder to our roof one day just to see the view.  The blue-roofed shelters on the right of the picture is a big bus stop, although we haven't attempted the buses yet. There are a lot of auto rickshaws at the end of our road - which is what we mainly use for transportation. There are also quite a few groceries and vegetable stands within walking distance. I'm grateful we are able to walk to everything we need.

Our neighbor to the left (one of the construction families I mentioned in an earlier post), and...

...our neighbor across the street. Such a stark contrast!

New Bikes & New Friends

We decided to get the kids some bikes so they could burn some energy. It is the rainy season here, and when it rains, the playgrounds get wet and muddy. We thought they could get some exercise when it rains by riding around on the ground floor garage which has plenty of room. We also have a fairly quiet street, so that is a good place to ride as well. 

When they first started riding in the garage, two sisters from our building saw them and ran to get their bikes. They spoke English pretty well and Brynn was excited to meet some girls from our building. Then Brynn rang the bell on her bike, and when the kids on our street heard, they came running. The kids on our street are children of construction workers, as there are a few constructions sites on our street. Construction workers live with their families in temporary shelters (tents, or cement block huts) built on the construction site. The father is not the only worker, everyone in the family who is able does some type of work on the construction site.  

These kids only speak the language we are learning...no English - other than "cycle."  The kids all yell, "Auntie, Auntie, cycle, cycle." They all want a turn on the bikes. Brynn has been sweet to share, especially when she just got the bike and is dying to ride it. She understands they don't have bikes and has shown some compassion...so sweet. We've already asked our language teacher how to say, "it is his/her turn", "not now", "slow down", "get off the bike", etc. This is a great way for Jimmy and me to practice our language and get to know the kids and their parents. On our second day of the kids riding their bikes we met at least 12 people on our street - not just the construction families. Luke & Brynn are quite the spectacle in our neighborhood since they are the only white kids. The only downside is that they are somewhat mobbed whenever they want to take their bikes out. It's only a small price to pay to be able to interact with so many people and begin building relationships. 

Here are some pics of the kids with their new wheels and their new friends...

Some girls from our building saw the kids riding and decided to get their bikes and join them. They are sisters who live upstairs from us. 

Kids from our street.  These children have the most beautiful, big smiles, but will not smile for the camera.

Luke getting a little help. He's still learning to pedal.

Resting....

Just kidding!

Happy little bugger!  His trike plays music too, and he loves it. The music is only slightly annoying.

Getting a push from his buddy.

Grocery shopping....A New Experience

Shopping for food here is a little different. There are a couple of "Walmart/Target" type stores here that carry familiar items, but they are hard to get to. And, since we don't have a car, it is no fun trying to get bags of groceries home in an auto rickshaw. Going to those stores is a treat, and I try to get there every few weeks. At the local groceries, walking distance from us, surprisingly there are some familiar items all crammed into a small space. I can get all the basics, including a variety of fresh veggies. But even these items are a little different. For instance the eggs are sold on a big flat of about 30 eggs. I asked an employee how to get just a few eggs and she handed me a plastic bag. The milk is sold on the shelf, either in bags or a box. There are tons of bags of rice, beans and other items that I have no idea what they are or how to cook them.  It took me a while to figure out that "maida" is flour. I really need to start learning how to cook local food from scratch.

Last night I ran out to the store to get something quick to cook. It was getting late and we wanted something we could just heat up and eat. About all I could find were some spicy ready-to-eat meals (the kids had pbj's and yogurt). At any rate, I'm very thankful there are western options available, and I'm thankful we can survive on the food in the stores that are just seconds from our home.

Our New Life....

No more 5-point harness car seats, no more couponing or Chick-Fil-A. Life as we know it has very much changed, but it hasn't been overwhelming like we thought it might be. It's been inconvenient, but exciting. Nothing here is dull. Every sight we see is picture worthy - it's like nothing we've experienced in any of our travels. I hope the scenery never becomes dull or ordinary to us over time.

Although there are very modern malls within a 30-minute drive, this shopping district is closer to where we live. And home of my very first taste of local bakery items - they were awesome!

Brynn's first local outfit.

Luke does not have an outfit, but he wanted to pose for a picture too.

Their new car seats. I think they like traveling this way better!

Making friends on the playground.

Brynn & Luke in their favorite place.

And now some random pictures taken while riding around the city....

Power lines!