Ange's Blog

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For those of you who send us

packages, or are coming to visit us

--here is a list of things that

would be nice to have.

I haven't fallen off the planet... yet, but it feels like it some days. Yoga Teacher Training has been overwhelming my days for the past month, which ended yesterday with our final exam. The certification ceremony and luncheon is tomorrow, and it will be bittersweet to see this come to an end. I am happy to announce that I've lost over 7 lbs. and found a lump on my upper arms that turned out to be biceps - I haven't seen those for many years.

On more poignant endings, the packers will arrive tomorrow to begin boxing up all our belongings for our big move to Hawaii. We are more than excited to see family again, and the kids are having a difficult time deciding which 'burger' place we will stop at first upon arrival; however, we are very sad to be leaving this extraordinary country that has been home for the past two years. We've experienced some of "the best of times" and "the worst of times" here. All of us have been greatly enriched by this amazing adventure: our perspectives have been broadened, our horizons lifted, and our hearts expanded. We will miss India in so many ways. With that being said, (cue Lee Greenwood music) we are proud of our American heritage and culture, and deeply grateful for the freedoms we enjoy.

In practical matters - our computer will be boxed up this week which means I will not be able to update this website until we unpack in Hawaii, at least 2 months from now. I will make an effort to update Dave's Blog with our escapades in the meantime, which will most likely become the official blog as our lives become less newsworthy of an actual website (not to mention that I'll actually have to cook and clean my own house now, what's up with that?)

This is what I have to repeat to myself every day as I am adjusting to my new schedule here. On the 16th I started my Yoga Teacher's Training Course which theoretically will mean (if I graduate) I'll be certified to teach yoga when I complete the course. It all sounds great on paper, but in reality it is quite difficult and most definitely painful. Mondays through Fridays there is intense Yoga asana (posture) instruction for 2+ hours followed by 30 minutes of lunch and then 1.5 hours of instruction on either anatomy, or yoga philosophy. On Saturdays we have another 2 hour yoga session and a test. It's been just over one week and we've had two papers to write, dozens of reading assignments and one test. My body has yet to stop hurting, but has gone from serious lactic acid pain, to a constant dull ache. I was worried for a few days that I'd really hurt by back, but I think it's just "growing" pains. There are days I wake up and dread having to go to class, but most of the time I look forward to it. I love the way it makes me feel and the changes I'm noticing in my body. This Yoga class is all-consuming and I find it difficult to do just about anything else, which is most challenging because our time in India is rapidly drawing to an end. (sniff, sniff) However, my time here will be greatly enriched by this experience, and I wouldn't miss it.

A few months ago, actually it was just before March Madness, I had a harebrained idea. In my efforts to try to accomplish as many things "Indian" as possible (within reason) before our departure, I decided to have my horoscope read. Indian Astrology is HUGE! I can't emphasize that enough. Most Indians will consult a astrologer (Devender calls him a pandit, which in Hindu terminology refers more to a Hindu Brahmin holy man) for most important events in life, especially naming children, and of course marriages. I began my efforts by Google-ing for a free online reading, but that proved unsatisfying - too impersonal, so I looked online for another more personal reading that actually might cost something. That was overwhelming. Not only could I not distinguish one astrologer from the other, costs varied from 1000 rupees (about $20 now) to over $800! My next step was a little closer to home; I asked Manjula and Devender if they knew of one. Devender enthusiastically offered his local pandit, and I took him up on the offer. Armed with my name, my date of birth, time of birth and place of birth (down to longitude and latitude) Devender presented my case to his pandit. Two weeks and 400 rupees later Devender presented me with a flexi-binder containing my horoscope, in both English and Hindi charts. I was excited, but soon frustrated that I had NO IDEA what these charts meant. I could understand the favorable points listing my lucky numbers, days, metals, stones, times, directions, etc, but the planetary position charts had me at a loss. I asked Devender to go back to his pandit and ask for an elucidation. Well, today was the day! He excitedly returned with a detailed explanation. This morning on my way to Yoga, he teased me with little tidbits about myself and I was eager to come home and read it. However, much to my chagrin, it too was written in Hindi - OLD Hindi, making it difficult for even Dave to decipher. Devender sat down with us at the dining room table and helped us to transcribe it into understandable English. At the risk of jinxing myself, I will include what we learned about myself with no commentary so to avoid any appearance of "advocation" or disrespect for this ancient science, and leave you to draw your own conclusions.

So without further ado, here it is; as dictated by Devender and transcribed by Dave:

Kids just off the road near Fatehpur Sikri

The first week of April, Trang Baseel, our friend from Chiang Mai, Thailand, came to India for a week-long visit and ran me into the Shopping wall. I didn't know there was one, but we found it that week. We made the rounds in Delhi, and then hoped in the car with Devender and shopped our way through Agra and Jaipur, the Golden Triangle, seeing a few sites along the way: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Amber Fort. It was exhausting, but you know I love me a road trip. And since this was my last, I thoroughly enjoyed it. One notable event for me was on the road from Agra to Jaipur, just passing Fatehpur Sikri. Trang elected not to stop and tour the site, but we stopped on the highway to take a few pictures from the road. A small child from the "village" (more like collection of shacks off the side of the road) came walking up to the car, obviously curious. I took a picture of her and showed her what she looked like on the camera. She was delighted. More kids wondered up to see the "foreigner" and we enjoyed a small photo shoot. This is a perfect example of what I love about India - great people! No one had a hand out begging for "10 rupees", or "chapattis" - they were just curious and friendly. That is the way most people are, away from the tourist sites (and most places in Delhi) - nice, helpful, genuine, honest and above all - happy! I offered them all biscuits before we drove off and they were thrilled with that. It was another memory etched on my heart from this most amazing experience.

In Jaipur, we made a visit to Krishna Textiles, otherwise referred to as Textile Nirvana where our good friend Shyam hooked us up with some sweet deals, and I seriously considered (for a second) starting my own business importing his merchandise to the States and making a killing! (Mwahahahahaha) Oh, how I wish he had a secret website that only I could order from so his prices wouldn't skyrocket. (ok, yeah, that was a little bit selfish - how about me and my friends?) After emerging from my shopping coma, Trang and I went to Amber Fort, and after our tour I enjoyed a brief stint as a snake charmer. (it helps to know that the cobras have been defanged, but don't tell anyone because then I won't look so cool or brave) Then we hopped back in the car and drove back to Delhi. Overall, a two day trip involving a 5 hour drive to Agra, the Taj, Agra Fort, a road side photo shoot, a 5 hour drive to Jaipur, an overnight at Alsisar Haveli, Hawa Mahal drive by, Textile shopping, Amber Fort and a 5 hour drive back to Delhi. Oh... I almost forgot one of my favorite parts! I drove for an hour on the highway between Agra and Jaipur - seriously! Devender was exhausted and I offered to drive for a bit. He was quite nervous at first, but then fell asleep enough to snore softly in the passenger seat. It was hair-raising, white-knuckled and AWESOME! I even passed a herd of about 80 camels going the opposite direction, but I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to try to take a picture while I was driving.

Upon our return to Delhi, we spent another day shopping and then rejuvenated with a Spa day. Ahh, the good life! There are so many things I will miss about India. Photos

Many of you already know, but Dave finally received his orders. We are headed to Oahu, Hawaii where Dave will be working at PACOM (Pacific Command). We are all very excited about this new opportunity and adventure, but anticipate some serious adjustments, not only to life back in the "States" but Hawaiian culture as well. We are leaving India the day after school is out for the kids. We will be spending almost 2 months with family in Chicago and Utah before heading to our tropical paradise home, and Dave has almost a month of training to complete during that time. We are really looking forward to seeing family again, and are a little sad that our new home will still be very far away. But somehow, I think we'll have many more visitors in Hawaii, then we had in India.

Leaving India will be very difficult for me. It's been a challenging two years, and I've grown a lot. I really LOVE India, which both surprises me and doesn't (if that makes any sense). I think we are all more capable of change and adaptation than we believe we are. And, we can learn to break down barriers almost as easily as we can raise them. However, I am finally coming to a point (at least on some days) where I think I'm "ready" to go home. My kids are freakin' excited to go back to familiar surroundings and a greater state of personal freedom: (there really is no place for them to go here) riding bikes, playing hoops, running over to a friend's house, eating hamburgers... and their excitement is contagious. Dave is so ready to be done with school, and go back to a "normal" job. I struggle with feelings ranging from regret for all the things we didn't see, (and buy) to elation at the thought of going to the grocery store and driving in a lane - or even parking the car in an actual parking lot! Costco - Here I come! We are all excited at the prospect of a much more active and outdoor lifestyle.

I have not abandoned the website, nor have I gotten so "trunky" that I am intentionally neglecting my blogging duties. We have been having computer "issues" that eventually resulted in essentially starting over by reinstalling the operating system. So after weeks of burning important documents and photos to DVD we have been re-setting up all of our basic computer needs - blogging just seemed to be less of a priority then let's say... word processing, or printing capabilities so Dave could do his homework. But alas, we are back up and running (for the most part) and I have reinstalled the website which I have discovered is 923 MB, 17572 files, and 350 folders huge. Uhhh.... I'm thinking that is WAY out of control. We are giving a lot of thought (okay not that much right now, but plan on thinking about it) to how/what we intend to do with this website after we leave India. We won't abandon it entirely, at least not for awhile, but as I don't see our lives being nearly so "blogworthy" as they are now, it will definitely be simplified. We'll keep you posted. But for now, we are back online and have several strings of blogs to post: orders, school plays, yoga, visitors, Spring Break, etc. Don't give up on us.