Last weekend, Disney Show, and Race Day

In addition to falling behind on blogging, it seems I've also taken very few pictures lately. But last weekend was another busy, but good one. Exhausted on Friday I did what you do in Bangalore...go out and party. Wade was already there, and why not? As Mom pointed out, my social life is perhaps more, uh, "tiring" than you would expect living in the middle of South India.
Saturday we took the kids to the Disney Magic Show...tour hours of traffic to get into town, arrive late, horrible place with bad acoustics, but cute show. Really clever magic actually and Caden enjoyed it a lot so oh well. We sent the kids home with the driver, and headed off to race day, an OWC fundraiser. I suspect at some point in its history, the track was nice and it could have been a tony place to be seen. As it were, it was a fun and unique afternoon with friends, bad food, and a lot of laughs picking horses with cool names. We didn't win many rupees either. Sunday was spent at the Taj West, having brunch. Man do I love that place. In the now famous words of my mom: "I could live here."

Back on vacation

It didn't take long after reaching Bangalore to decide we needed to make some plans to get out. I spent the next weekend, and our dating anniversary of 12 years (an occasion Wade really finds special; don't get me started) with Target visitors in town touring. I enjoy it, but the six-day work week followed by what feels like four jobs (cruise boat hostess, manager of the team represented by visitors, manager of the teams not, and admin assistant) gets long.
And so the following weekend was time to head out of town, but this being Bangalore, not too far out. Wade has frequented a place called Our Native Village several times now and I hadn't been, it's only 20 km outside of town, and has the quiet serenity of a farm. Perfect.
After the two hour drive (yep, about 10 miles all told) we had reached the countryside. The kids embraced the occasion with befitting enthusiasm while the adults strolled behind comforted by the fence around the perimeter.Kay, Caden and Jim take a spin on the bullock cart. As it pulled away out the gates, Tracy and I briefly questioned the wisdom of the trip...briefly. And they had fun.
The swimming pool is a natural one, with reeds and frogs to support the eco-system. The kids had a blast while the adults enjoyed the weather. (Suddenly, MN in Feb doesn't seem to grand.)
I do have to repeat though a thought that I've noted before. The Indian massage is...uh...really something. Violating. To say you have to experience it to experience India is sort of like saying you have to spend quality time in the red light district to understand Amsterdam. So I'll just tell you to trust me and opt for the head and shoulder massage. I'm sure the ayurvedic principles are solid, but I wouldn't describe it as relaxing unless you can "go to a happy place" during the process. Which takes place on a solid wood table that looks like something out of Princess Bride and involves enough oil to make Dubai nervous. And ends with a green goo soup to get the oil off "but not too much" in the words of my masseuse. Anyhow, I've decided not to do that again. I digress...
We also made pottery. Caden had a blast and it was a beautiful setting for a getaway. We also rode bikes, sat in the sunshine and put the kids to bed to enjoy the evening hooka. Not a bad day at all.It was a great getaway - and a great place...20 kms can be so far away. The drive home brought that thought back just a little bit... :)

Yes we still live here

And I understand it's probably true that I haven't been keeping current at this given that I could hardly remember how to log on. Sorry.
Wade has been doing more than his fair share, and every one of the posts in Dec and Jan (yes, both of them). Since we are now in the "home" stretch, I'll try to keep up...
But where to start?
Ok, how 'bout with being back in MN? It was awesome, and wretched. We got off the plane amidst a snowy wonderland (luckily they felt sorry for us and let our plane land). Mom met us at the airport with a baggy of fresh-baked cookies (in case we couldn't wait the 15 minutes to get home in inclement weather). And that pretty much set the tone for the diet while I was there. Christmas was post-card perfect with gently falling crystals of snow, warm fireplace and laughter of family reunited. And at least a few sticks of butter melted over the seafood feast. And then another Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's - so, so good to be home amidst the clatter of family.
At work, an eery silence crept in...most years that between-holidays week is quiet, but having gotten used to the constant commotion of working in Bangalore the silence nearly drove me mad. So things I had blocked 3 hours to do were done in an hour, my email box emptied and I was left to do the next reasonable thing - more Caribou coffee, and then a stop at the cafe for a special-K bar the size of a shoe box (that I inhaled like I had never, ever seen one before and would clearly never again). And so on went those first few days while people slowly returned from the holidays. It was great to be in Minneapolis and the energy of the office, and impressive how quickly the world turns. I realized quickly how much I felt like a visitor/newcomer amidst this strange home.
Oh, and the one question most people ask: "How is/was India?" I have new appreciation for people that write encyclopedia's... over and over again, where to start...aardvark? Alps? Amazon? Avalanche? ....Bangalore?
How was the last year of your life? How is a huge, diverse, crazy, mundane sub-continent? Some options for answers I came up with:

• Funny, one of the things I like and hate about it is how diverse it is...
• It's like camping. Some days it's raining and there's water under your tent and a raccoon in your garbage. Some days it's a sunrise over the lake and coffee off the campfire. Either way, you'd do it again, and you're glad when you get home.
• It's like having kids. I can tell you about the s*#t and you'd only sort of get it. It's harder to explain the amazing experience and how it changes you. And even if I tried, you wouldn't really understand.
• Uh, I keep a superficial blog, would you like the address?
  
• Fine, thanks. How are you?

I think I'll have to work on these. For next time. It was a strange experience being "back." It was fantastic and filling and easy, with days started with long, hot showers (no warm up or power required) and ended with fabulous food, great wine and close friends and family. And strangely unsettling I suppose at how quickly I got used to things in India, and how ODD I found it that thing change in MN.
Driving back from friends one day, Caden asked me if our friends in India were back there (from their vacation) yet? When I told him they had reached...he asked/demanded: "good, then can we go home now too?" As in India.
Of course, 24 hours and a long plane ride back to India, greeted by the swarm of India, the dirt, the cows, the "food" and so on...it's a question hard to answer...is this Home? Or is that?
Our India friends were "home," and had made arrangements for our place to be cleaned/aired, and appointments at the spa before we went there for dinner...and sat up on the patio pondering the world and laughing at stories of tasty restaurants and clean streets and abundant retail and reunion hugs...
"How is it?"
Tough question

We are here only.

A funny you have to be here to find funny...

I will ponder some more...

Amsterdam

On our return trip, we took the opportunity to step out of the airport in Amsterdam, Holland. Although it wasn't the hight of the tourist season, we did manage to find a tour to take us around town. Our first stop was a wooden shoe factory where those charming wooden shoes, so associated with Holland, are made. Yes, some people really do where them, although I hear that running in them can cause blisters.

Another thing Holland is so famous for..........................The rain.

Rembrandt was from Holland and the people here seemed particularly proud to call him Dutch. A number of his works are on display at the art museam.

Of course Caden was really more interested in going on a boat cruise. Amsterdam is know as being the Venice of the North with a long naval history.

No, not that one... This one:

Christmas Time is Here Again

Christmas is a wonderful gathering at the Zurick household, not just because one can be assured of being spoiled with everything from filet steaks to a seafood feast that has put the household on the watch list with the International Marine Fisheries Organization, but also because of friends and family reconnecting with each other. Caden was, of course connecting with Santa Claus, but he was happy to savour grandma and grandpa's cooking as much as the rest of us.

Gift giving can be quite the adventure and leaves pretty much everyone exhausted at the end of it.

In a last minute revision to his letter to Santa Claus, Caden got his train that he was wishing for. Grandpa was more than happy to help him set it up, complete with a landing strip for fighter planes in the middle.

And, of course, the best part about being home... Getting together with the family; all of them.

....And Caden finally got to make his snowman

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but with belly dancers....

"We three ex-pats from India are,
Bearing gifts, we travel so far,
Gulf Air, Northwest, KL & M,
On to Minnesota's stars...."

Our adventure back to Minnesota began with a lay-over in Bahrain. As soon as we stepped from the plane, things began to start looking a lot like Christmas. The airport in Bahrain was really decked out for the holidays and one would have thought that they had stepped into a mall in the US, except that the snow had a desert tint to it, and the stores were Gucci, Prada and Rolex, ...and you could pick up a Bentley in the Duty Free shop (I wonder how that works with the carry-on restrictions).
The Santa display was robotic and very elaborate.

Our next stop took us to Cairo, Egypt, and the holiday spirit was in full swing there with Christmas music on the radio and decorations everywhere.
We took a dinner cruise on the Nile, complete with entertainment.
Caden's reaction to the belly dancer was summed up in just one word, "Wow!"
The tour of the Museum of Antiquities was quite good, but with so much to exhibit, if one took just one minute to look at each of the items on display, they would be there for 30 years (that doesn't include the 2/3 of the exhibit that was out of the rotation at the time of our visit). We had to settle for the highlights, but it was well worth the visit.

A trip to the Citadel and, of course the pyramids..

"Um, Ma'am, when I said the Holy Family stayed here, I meant Jesus, Mary and Joseph"
Cairo was a very fun town to visit and we would highly recommend the trip.
Of course what trip wouldn't be complete without a Hookah cafe stop?

Cricket Anyone?

Cricket is, to say, an obsession in India. I'm not promoting any nuisance behavior here; but if one wanted to "get away" with something in India, one need only wait for a cricket match (if the behavior is particularly offensive, wait until it is an India-Pakistan game). It seems that every spare piece of open field has a cricket game going on and we even have a 10-year old neighbor who is going to a professional cricket camp. So there you have it, Cricket is a little more than the national pass-time here.
Recently, Tracy and Angela were wrangled in to supporting one of the Target India teams during an annual challenge. Their team didn't win, but everyone seemed to have fun. Even the kids got into the spirit and now tennis balls are cricket balls in their eyes.