Christmas come and gone

But, here are pictures of my tree! I was sad to take it down and can't wait to go up North and cut one down for Christmas '08!

Merry Christmas!

The Mango Dumplin' Gang

Noah, Jimmy, Grayce, Cody, Kay, Billy (Noah and Cody's Dad, Shawn in supervision mode)

This is a good portion of the kids that were on the ex-pat Zoo outing. (It's not all of them due to the nature of this animal at the zoo. A complete photo is nearly impossible as they are very fleet of foot and endlessly curious making them unable to stay in one spot for any length of time.).

Many of the the ex-pats have their family in India with them. I was surprised to discover that many of them have kids in the same age range as the Murphy clan. On the other hand, kids age 2-6 are perfect for the experience as they easily adapt to the changes and are also at the very impressionable age to take the wonderful experiences of India with them through life.

The Murphy's live in a gated community with some bigger houses so ex-pat playmates are a built-in advantage.

The Mango Dumplin' Gang seems mostly like kids in the U.S. at the same age....the 6 year olds are into Animal Planet and Power Rangers. The 4 years olds are into non-stop movement of any kind and art (Kay). The two year olds are...well, a lovely two. I am not being snide- I didn't see any 'terrible two' in India.

What's different? The younger kids easily learn and understand when Hindi is spoken to them. The older kids (Jimmy) are able to correct my pronunciation and sing the commercial jingles in Hindi. Ha! Kids memorizing commercial jingles....some things are just universal, huh?

Peace- W:)

Really like that Rangoli thing

I was really blessed to be in India around Diwali. One of the traditions associated with Diwali fascinated me, Rangoli decoration. Of course I liked them, it's artistic. :-D

What's a Rangoli?

"Rangoli is a traditional Indian art created to decorate the ground in front of houses and places of worship to attract Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth. Designs are created using decorative patterns marked out on the floor. The drawing of Rangoli patterns is often combined with rituals associated with auspicious occasions, such as major festivals and celebrations. The patterns are usually drawn by the women of the household in villages in parts of India; and in some places it is a daily ritual to mop and clean the entrance to the home and then make beautiful drawings in the doorways as a message of welcome."

The hotels that I ate or stayed in had Rangoli's set everyday...many times made of flower petals which were made with fresh petals early each morning. Because I was there around Diwali, and the Rangoli's are meant to attract Lakshmi (the Hindu Goddess of wealth), and a Lakshmi puja (blessing ceremony) is the focus of Diwali, many stores, and individual homes had beautiful Rangoli arrangements. Tracy and I went for a excercise-walk early a.m. on the day that Diwali was celebrated and many homes in their neighborhood had Rangoli's on the front walk or landing to the front door (unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with on the walk). I'd be interested to know if they are all unique designs.... my thought is that they are unique to the occasion and the individual 'setting' the Rangoli.

W:)

The Bangalore Zoo- haven't you always wanted a Monkey?

The day before Dewali was celebrated, 11/8/07, was a vacation day for the kids from school. What better time for an ex-pat outing? The ex-pat pals that the Murphy's hang with in their neighborhood (Whitefield) is a large, kid-rich group. No better place to hang that day than at the zoo!

The zoo was unitque in that there was a section of the zoo that we traveled safari-style in a 'caged' bus and the animals roamed free. In India, they have tigers (photo) galore! We also saw leopards and a lioness hanging about.

The rest of the zoo had beautiful, well kept gardens....and some unique displays. The pheasant display, apparently unique, rang a little weak with the Minnesota crowd. There were many, many snake displays- yuck! I am still filled with curiosity over the need for a pigion display, and wonder if there is any coincidence in the proximity of the pigion display to the snakes?

What was most unique about the zoo were the Macaque monkeys who really live there...they are not in cages. We had an endearing visit from a group of them...one bold monkey decided that the kids apple juice box was exactly what he needed. (photo) No worries, the kids are well trained for this occurrance...drop the box and run, man. The monkey had seen these juice box things before and opened up the straw hole a bit and tipped it back. After the big guy finished his juice, we had this this more tender visit from a Mom and her baby. (photo)

The outing was good fun, and exactly what the Dr. ordered- the kids were tired out!

India Fine Fact, #5. If you want chicken, just buy one.

So we were out running errands a couple days ago and stopped to get some chicken for dinner. Seems simple enough. Nothing is ever quite so simple here, however.

When you buy chicken here, apparently you tell the vendor how much you want and the vendor gives that weight to you. Unfortunately, the vendor starts at the top of the bird, including every and any piece of the bird to make that total weight.

After a few chicken dinners, an edict was set in the Murphy household... there will be no more mystery pieces of chicken. You know, pieces that can't be traced back to a physical location on the original bird?

Not knowing the detail behind this, I was somewhat surprised when we showed up at the chicken vendor to buy chicken....and saw only cages filled with chickens.
The process is that you tell the vendor about what weight you'd like. Based on that, you agree upon a single bird. The bird is immobilized (the wings are broken) to allow the vendor to easily weigh it (fully dressed) and then, well....it's undressed, entirely and put in a plastic bag for the trip home.

Really there is no problem about it, just....surprising to those of us accustomed to foam trays and plastic wrap.

You should see Russel Market where you buy beef, mutton, etc.

There is no refridgeration capability in these markets....part of why most of the country is vegetarian?

I keep learning......

HUGs, W:)

Plagorism.....

For additional viewpoints on my adventures here, check out the Murphy Blogsite at:
www.loudamericans.blogspot.com

Entries on 11/5 for "Wendy's Here, Wendy's Here" and "If Kay had 100 rupees" account some of our group adventures here.

Diwali Approaches!

As it so happens, I'm flying home tomorrow on Diwali. Diwali is one of the biggest holidays celebrated by Hindus. It is celebrated much like Christmas is in the U.S.; family gatherings, rituals around food, decorations, fireworks and gift giving. Even among non-Hindu folk, the holiday is still celebrated (the Sikh's celebrate this day as a return of a guru).

This festival is celebrated for five continuous days, with the third day being the main Diwali or 'Festival of Lights'. The day is celebrated with people lighting many small clay oil lamps called diyas and candles around their house. Lakshmi Puja (blessing) is performed in the evening to seek divine blessings of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. Diwali gifts are exchanged among all near and dear ones.

The ritual behind these customs is that the fireworks and lighted diyas bring "supernatural brightness and joy with the hope of finding light in darkness, achieving knowledge where there is ignorance, and spreading love amidst hatred." Light signifies goodness in Hinduism. So, during the Festival of Lights, 'deeps', or oil lamps, are burned throughout the day and into the night to ward off darkness and evil.

So this is a very fine and good holiday. I'm pretty much here taking in the parties that would normally occur right around Christmas at home....except that the one that I'm attending tonight requires more traditional Indian attire.

What happens in Bangalore, stays in Bangalore.

I'll be home soon.

HUGs, W:)