A job and a new home

Erik was hired last week by Allergan, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Waco, TX. We are moving to Waco in the next few weeks. Erik’s first day at Allergan is August 18. I’m still in the job market hoping to find the perfect fit sometime soon. We hope to find a house in the next few months and until then will be staying in a studio apartment at an extended-stay hotel. Close quarters again but that should be great motivation to get a mortgage.

Grandma and Grandpa’s

I made the trek up to Montana to visit my grandparents last week. It’s amazing how quickly time gets away from you, isn’t it? The last time I had been to see them was in September of 2006, almost two years ago. I can assure you that time moves as quickly on the other side of the planet as it does here.

Their house hasn’t changed much over the years.

Since my grandpa hasn’t been able to keep the garden, my grandma has taught herself the basics and keeps one for herself now. I am so proud of her! Once she figured out I was taking pictures, she nearly sprayed me with the hose.

Flowers from the garden

Me and grandpa enjoying a beautiful morning

Me and grandma the same day

An old friend

Erik and I had lunch with an old (as in “from years past” not elderly — you’re welcome) friend at a fantastic pizza place called Goomba’s. I’ve been meaning to email him for a few weeks and finally did one morning as I had a nagging feeling in my soul that I needed to contact him. Ten minutes after sending that email, I got a call with his familiar voice on the other end mimicking an Indian accent.

The timing of our visit with him was perfect for me. I’ve been wringing my hands in angst waiting for us to find good jobs and get settled down again. Many of my closest friends and of course my mother have been telling me to just relax, you haven’t been home that long, it’s going to take time, a job will come. Sometimes it takes an objective, trustworthy, kindred spirit to speak truth into your life. My lunch at Goomba’s with my friend blessed me with calming truth articulated in such a way that I think it stuck — finally.

Here’s to letting my bloody feet heal and learning to leave those silly goads alone. Thank you, dear friend.

Washing our new car

One major difference between India and the U.S. — if you want a clean car, you have to do it yourself or pay a whole heck of a lot more than 100 rupees a month (for a daily wash). It gives me something to do and I’ve grown accustom to having a perfectly clean, spot free car during the last year. When I decide San Antonio needs some rain, I wash the car.

Our new car — 2006 Acura RSX

Spa Day

Oh, what a glorious day! Barbara and I decided to treat ourselves to a spa day at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort’s Wildflower Spa about 15 minutes from the house. It’s torture some days to realize that a peaceful paradise is only a few miles away. We both had one hour massages, Barbara just because and me for my birthday.

Robes at spas swallow me whole and always make me laugh. Laughing is great therapy and laughing at yourself keeps you humble. How’s that for a proverb?

My favorite place at the Wildflower Spa is the pool. Most visits I get at least half an hour alone there. When can I move in?

Coming Home

We were welcomed properly with a sign by Barbara and Larry, Erik’s parents. Both of us are thankful for a place to stay as we get ready to land on our feet again.

June happens to be Erik’s parent’s anniversary and his dad’s birthday month. We celebrated both at a seafood place called Joe’s Crabshack. Loving the seafood these days. Eating my fair share of sushi, too.

Blueberry Goodness

A picture of my favorite delight: blueberry smoothie. Here’s the recipe, too. So easy and oh, so good!

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk

Blend and gulp.

My first blueberry smoothie in over a year!

Last Pics from India

This hysterical collection could teach us all a few things on how to load a bicycle. I imagine that these guys didn’t want to make more than one trip much like us in the U.S. when we try to make it in from the car in one trip after a major stop at the local grocery store. That’s how I will eventually lose both of my arms. It’s going to be a painful day when they fall from their sockets with plastic bags full of produce (including blueberries, of course), soy milk, and canned tomatoes.

I took all of these from the backseat of our car on our last trip through Old Delhi.

This guy is hauling massive tractor tires.

We also happened to find the tire market. I guess this is where you go to buy used tyres (as they spell it), new tyres, shredded tyres, clean tyres, dirty tyres — you get the picture.

Blogathon

I can’t sleep tonight which, much to my relief, isn’t as common of an issue as it used to be in my dear old Delhi. That’s when I would blog. I know. It’s still no excuse to neglect my duties as devoted blogger. I’ll be better — I promise. Hold onto your hats, fix a nice cup of joe, and settle in for a while. We’ve got some catching up to do.

Life in the USA

I don’t intend to stop blogging — I’m just not sure what direction to take this blog in now. We are back in San Antonio, TX until we settle down with jobs hopefully in the near future. My favorite thing to eat right now is fresh blueberries and strawberries with vanilla yogurt. I’m also a huge fan of turkey sandwiches. We haven’t experienced much reverse culture shock. I don’t think we were gone long enough and since Delhi is fairly westernized, we could get a good dose of America anytime we wanted it. I’ve been to Macy’s three times this week — there is nothing like Macy’s in India. 

We laughed today thinking about the beggars that are always at the windows of your car every time it comes to a halt. Erik does a great interpretation so anytime I miss them, he’ll fill in the gaps perfectly. Our parents are ecstatic that we are home and have been great company. 

We bought a car yesterday from a private seller. It’s a 2006 Acura RSX in perfect condition. We’ll get it on Tuesday this coming week. It will be so nice to have our own wheels again. Adjusting back to driving on the left side of the car on the right side of the street has been a piece of cake. 

Our time in India feels like a dream right now. I can’t believe we were on the other side of the world just a week ago. I’ll keep blogging as I process my transition back to the U.S. Keep reading! 

Delhi Remembers

“Indraprastha had fallen; six hundred years of Muslim domination had come and gone; a brief interruption by the British was almost forgotten. But Shiva, the oldest living god in the world, was still worshipped; Sanskrit–a language which pre-dates any other living tongue by millennia–was still read, still spoken. Moreover, the sadhus and rishis–familiar figures from the Mahabharata–remained today, still following the rigorous laws of India’s most ancient vocation: giving up everything to wander the face of the earth in search of enlightenment; renouncing the profane in the hope of a brief glimpse of the sacred. In these wet and dishevelled figures sitting cross-legged under the neem and banyan trees of the river bank lay what must certainly be the most remarkable Delhi survival of all.” (From A City of Djinns, by William Dalrymple)

I finally finished this fantastic book about Mr. Dalrymple’s first year in Delhi. As a fellow sojourner in India, I have related to every experience he transcribed and have seen most all of the ancient sites he explored. I learned a great deal about Indian culture from his research. It did take me most of the last 5 months to read this book, however, not because it’s a boring read but because I am an extremely slow reader. But the timing of my finish corresponded perfectly with Dalrymple’s ending. At the end of his 11 months, he and his wife returned to England.

The point he makes in the above excerpt is that nothing dies in Delhi. Ancient traditions including the language and stories of texts written thousands of years before anything the West remembers are alive and well today somewhere in Delhi. You can find it. I’ve seen it in some regards during my time here as well. (That’s why I have to share the road with the camel-drawn carts on the “highway” in the middle of the city.) It comforts me as we pack up to catch a flight back to Texas tonight. I know that this ancient place will remember my 11 months here. Somewhere in Delhi the mark I made will resound and make it’s way through the generations to come. I know it because I have been touched by ripples cast in years previous to me.

I’m sad to go and elated to come home. Just one more extreme to navigate on my way out of India.

Lotus Temple

Friday allowed us time to be tourists with a friend of mine. Erik and I picked Lin up at 10:00 Friday morning and headed to the Lotus Temple. We’ve seen it from afar many, many times and I’ve always been told it was worth a visit. It didn’t disappoint!

The temple is a Baha’i place of worship. To read more about this religion, click here. The grounds surrounding the temple were pristinely kept. Before you climb the steps to the temple, you must leave your shoes with someone at the shoe lockers (very common in most every temple in India). You wait in line outside the temple where a guide tells you what to expect. Complete silence is required at all times inside of the temple. We entered and walked down the steps to the pews in the sanctuary part of the massive hall. It reminds me of most large, formal churches in America. But the best part was the quietness of the place. Not the quietest place on earth, mind you, but in India, it’s about as quiet as you’re going to get.

Peaceful silence. Enjoy your times of solace. In places like India, they are rare and almost impossible to find.

As we left the temple, a large group of Rajasthanis were leaving at the same time. The women of Rajasthan are so colorful and captivating. If you lock eyes in a brief moment with a woman of Rajasthan, there is something deep and penetrating about their gaze. I felt the same way the entire time we were in Pushkar and Jaipur in January. They were just as curious about us as we were about them. We took pictures of them and one of their teenage daughters with a camera phone clicked pictures of us. It was hysterical. Finally, we asked if we could take a picture with them. It didn’t really turn out and most of the brightly draped women had moved ahead. It was fun to try! The lady to the left side of the picture next to me had a death grip on my shoulder.

Rajasthani women also wear the largest nose rings of any women that I’ve seen in India. You may not be able to see it well in this picture, but the bright, shiny thing hanging from this lady’s nose is a flattened, tear drop shaped piece of gold. I’ve never seen one like it before.

Cooking with Pushpa

Pushpa works for our friends in East Patel. While they are out of the country, Pushpa works for just Tim. He loves her cooking but needed some variety so I’ve spent a few afternoons with her teaching her some new recipes. We have a unique language of broken Hindi from me and broken English from her. I’m sure anyone listening would have a hard time understanding what in the world we were discussing! Pushpa worked for another family for 4 years before they moved back to the U.S. She makes the BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had in my life. It’s kind of funny to think that a small Nepalese girl can bake better than most grandmas in America!

Wholesale Flower Market

One of the last items on my list of things to see in Delhi is the wholesale flower market rumored to gather daily at 5:00 a.m. on Baba Karak Singh Marg not far from our neighborhood. This morning I talked Paige in to coming with me to find this alleged market. We left her place at 6:00 and headed to the gathering of flower walas. Driving that early in the morning in Delhi is kind of boring traffic-wise and without my cup of tea and distracting conversation, Paige and I missed our first turn. Oh well. It’s so nice to know your way around a place. We just went the long way.

At the end of Baba Karak Singh Marg near CP was the wholesale flower market. Just like the traveling bazaars, vendors descend upon the unused parking lots at 4:30 a.m. to set up shop for the morning — every single morning. Paige and I made quite a scene as the only two foreigners in the market. A few times we got whapped in the face by someone carrying an enormous bunch of gladiolas on their heads when someone must have called their name from behind. Hysterical. Paige got 10 stems of orchids for 60 rupees ($1.40). All of the flowers were beautiful! Just look at the colors!

This may be why we drew so much attention — I am frightening without any caffeine or make-up this early in the morning! If you look closely to the guy to the left of me, we caught him in mid-wedgie picking mode. HA! HA! HA! This picture makes me laugh my head off!

After dodging the gladiola ninjas and the occasional auto passing through the narrow “road” ways through the middle of the market, I was exhausted. That’s the busiest I’ve ever seen any market in Delhi that early in the morning.

New Shoes

Part of our exodus out of this place has included going through our clothes and shoes and giving away most of them to our maid and driver. A few days ago we gave Maliwal a ton of Erik’s clothes including a nice pair of Nike tennis shoes. When Erik brought them out, Maliwal’s eyes bugged and he literally giggled with glee like a child on Christmas morning. “Very nice shoes, very nice shoes!” he exclaimed. He was thrilled to have several new pairs of pants and polo-type shirts but the Nikes just about caused him to pass out. He immediately put on the Nikes and on his way home that night, he threw out his old tennis shoes by the car. Out with the old, in with the new.

Maliwal’s shoes out by the car — they were only there for about 15 minutes before someone claimed them with less excitement.

He told us the next day that his sons were vying for his new shoes. So far he’s worn them every day since. There’s no way he’s giving those up!