Religious Freedom

There is a lot of talk about religious freedom on Facebook lately and I thought I would share what is happening in our International school that epitomizes what I think religious freedom should look like.  Below are two assignments sent home from school over the last two month. I underlined or circled the parts that struck me the most.  

The first assignment is for my son who is in 7th grade. This is the slip sent home for a field trip.  

The field trip sounded wonderful to me.  The children went to each place of worship and talked to a leader in the religion.  They arrived at the Mosque just before prayers so a Muslim boy went inside for the prayer while the other children patiently waited for the prayers to end to go inside.  The children were each given an English copy of the Quran. N read part of it on the way home and thought it was quite interesting.  I was surprised the church did not give everyone a bible but each religious establishment was allowed to give a book if they wanted.  The project for the unit is each student must research a lesser known religion (not their own) and present it to the class.  N was deciding between Unitarian and Mormon and decided on Unitarian.  This is what I call religious freedom.  Each religion is allowed to be discussed and studied and everyone is given respect.  This unit of study would be denounced in many places in the USA.  

Next is the unit of study for the 5th grade child. 

In this unit they covered Big Bang Theory, Christian, Greek, Hindu, Native American, Norse and more.  They covered them all as creation stories from different cultures.  Then each student made their own creation story.  B's favorite story was the Greek creation story.  I don't know that many places in the USA would allow these discussions to take place. Teachers get sued for even talking about the creation of the universe from different points of view.  I much prefer my child understand opposing views and trust that I have raised them well.   This is one of the things I truly love about the school my children attend. 

Trip to Beijing and Xi'an

Ken is working off and on in China and so we decided to take a week and visit Beijing.

 The first thing to know, is to bring a mask.  The pollution is horrible and a mask is a necessity unless you want to get a respiratory infection.  The second thing you need to know if you are taking this trip is to be sure you have your hotel's name and direction written in Mandarin before you land.  You will need this for the cab driver.

After 12 hours in transit we arrived at the Beijing airport and went to grab a cab.  Along the way we had several people ask if we need a cab.  Do NOT ever go with these people.  They will take you to their car which is technically a limo service.  They will charge you 4-8 times the cost of a regular cab.  If you follow the directions for a taxi you will arrive at an area that has two different lines.  One is the regular taxi line and the other is for "special" cars that you will need to negotiate your price.  Again, this second line will cost you considerably more. Make sure you know which line you are in before hand.  We got to the hotel and went to dinner with a coworker of Ken's.

Saturday we went on a full day tour.  We started the day at the Great Wall where we took a long walk and then went down to the bottom on a toboggan.  After lunch we went to the Forbidden City and an acrobats show.

Part of the toboggan ride

Chairlift to The Great Wall

On the wall with Ken's coworkers

They were filming scenes for a movie.  Rumor is it was for Transformers.  I liked this because there is a Texas longhorns emblem on some of the equipment. 

 When we went to the Forbidden city we stopped out front to take a picture.  EVERYONE got out their cameras to take this picture.  At least 20 people had their camera's out taking pictures of the crazy people.

Sunday was our one pollution free day in Beijing.  We went to the park across from the Forbidden city for a great view of the Forbidden City then we went to Silk Street. Ken and I were in Beijing in 1999 and the silk street market was extremely different.  When we first went to Silk Street is was a bunch of stalls along the street.  This time it was more like a permanent fleamarket inside a 5 story building.  Just not the same feel as before.

 We did some general touring of Beijing and a friend of a friend took me to several places the local expats go.  We found a few items we can not get in India and brought back a suitcase full of goodies.  It was a completely different experience going on a trip to China and knowing someone who is living there versus simply touring the city.  With such a large network of expat friends, I think I will have more trips where I will know a person in the city or at least a friend of a friend, and in expat circles, that makes you a friend.

McDonalds across from the Silk Street Market  

 Ken and I did not see the Terra Cotta Warriors when we toured in 1999 so we decided on Tuesday to book a trip to Xian.  We booked the overnight sleeper train for Thursday evening, toured Xian on Friday and took the overnight sleeper train back Friday night for a flight back to Bangalore on Saturday afternoon.  It was a whirlwind trip that was fantastic.  Ken and the boys all say the Terra Cotta Warriors were the highlight of the entire trip to China.

 After seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors, we went to the city center of Xi'an and rode around the top of the original city wall.  It took us just over an hour to complete the circuit without a break.  Ken and I decide to ride a two person bike.

After the day in Xi'an we rode the sleeper train back to Beijing.  The next day the three of us left Beijing leaving Ken for one more week.  It is definitely a place I highly recommend visiting but I don't think I could ever live there with all the pollution. 

Golden Triangle Visit (Taj Mahal and more)

We were invited to a wedding in Agra and decided this would be a great opportunity to visit The Golden Triangle.  The Golden Triangle consist of Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Jaipur.  We invited our friend Catie to come along with us since she was in India for a community service project that ended just as we started our trip.

On Saturday we started the trip in Delhi and took the express way to Agra.

On Sunday we got up early the next morning and we were at the Taj Mahal for sunrise.  It was a great time to visit.  The crowd level was low and the view was spectacular.  The only down side was the water was drained from the pools.

You can see the reflection even with the water drained

The extra person is a friend from the USA

If you pay the foreign price it includes these to put over your shoes instead of removing your shoes.  I guess after Slumdog Millionaire people did not want to leave their shoes. 

No gas powered cars are allowed near the Taj Mahal so we got to ride this electric vehicle.

After the Taj, we went back to the hotel for breakfast.  Then we went to the Agra Fort and shopping. We have not purchased very many items from India to keep as "forever" souvenirs and this trip we decided to look for some of those types of items.  N really liked a marble chess set so we decided to get that as an item he can keep in his life forever.  B decided he really wanted a rug for his room so we purchased a small handmade rug made of yak's wool.  No, I did not pick out the rug. B was set on this particular rug and loves having it in his room.

I don't have a picture of the rug.  Will try to update it later.

We needed to return to the hotel in time to shower and change for the wedding that evening.  We all dressed in our best Indian outfits to dance in the street for 90 mins as we walked to the wedding venue.  The boys had a great time.  Unfortunately, the wedding was late and by the time we reached the wedding venue B was exhausted and wanted to go back to the hotel.  He was hungry so I stopped by McDonald's, in my sari, to pick up some food.  I am use to being stared at in India but this was a whole new level. Every head turned as I approached and I swear I think I saw a jaw drop.  As I was waiting for the food, two girls in their early 20's came up to me and said that I looked very Indian. It was a very unique experience.  Ken and my other son stayed at the wedding until midnight and had a great time.   I don't have any pictures at this time but I will try to add them later. 

Monday we went to Jaipur, the pink city. We settled in for the night at the Marriott in Jaipur.  We really enjoyed the Marriott, the breakfast and dinner buffets were both excellent.  I highly recommend this hotel.

Tuesday we took an elephant ride to the top of the Red Fort.   It was not a good experience.  One of the elephants was very slow and the handler hit the elephant to the point of bleeding.

I think our guide was not very knowledgable about the Red Fort and the elephant incident was not pleasant.  Others I know have thought the Red Fort was better than the Taj Mahal but not for us.

Afterwards, we stopped to look at the Red Fort from a distance and we had a surprise celebration unfold.  A group of about 20 teenagers got out of a truck and started throwing colored powder, dancing and singing.  After about 5 mins they took and Idol and submerged it in the river.

We also went to an observatory.  It was one of my favorite places on this trip.  It has a working sun dial that is accurate to within 3 minutes.  It was huge.  I don't remember when it was built but well before North America was discovered by Europeans.  

  We also visited an open air Mosque.  Normally women are not allowed inside a Mosque but since it is open air they make an exception sometimes.  They will inspect you to ensure you are properly covered before entering.  Notice the drape over B's legs and our friend is completely covered.  I think I barely made it through with my 3/4 sleeves and capri pants.  This is a group of men from Kashmir who had never seen a white person.

 We then visited Delhi.  We visited many places but it was a let down overall.  I liked the Lotus Temple and the Gandi museum.  Nothing else is a must see in my opinion.  There is plenty that will keep you busy but nothing that I would go out of my way to see.  I do wish we would have been able to make it to Toilet museum.  I know that sounds strange but I was told it is very interesting by many but it is not near anything else we wanted to do so we had to miss it.  If we head back up that way will will have to see it.

Lotus Temple

General Update

It has been a crazy few months and the end is not in sight.  To give you a quick recap:

In September, Ken returned from a 3 week trip to the US with an "Exotic Fever", likely dengue fever and was sick for a solid month. There are a few hundred cases of dengue in Texas each year and Ken was lucky enough to pick it up while he was in Austin.   Just as he was recovering, he received word that work wants him to work in China for much of the last 3 months of the year.  We already had plans to attend a wedding in Agra, see the Taj Mahal and tour other sights in north India.  We had invited a friend to come with us on the trip and the 5 of us had a great time on the week long trip.  (that will be a separate post).  We returned from the trip on a Saturday and on Monday Ken flew to Mumbai to apply for our Visas to China.  He received the Visa on Saturday, 12 hours before his flight was scheduled to leave.  There was a school function that night so the two of us went to the party and went straight from the party to the airport.  6 days later, the boys and I attended a Diwali celebration then went straight to the airport for our trip to China.  We met Ken in Beijing for an 8 day trip.  We visited The Great Wall, Tiananman Square, The Forbidden City and a few other places in Beijing.  Ken needed to work part of the time we were there but he took a vacation day so we could take the overnight train to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  I will post more on that trip also.  Ken will return in two days but he will need to leave again in two weeks, for 2 weeks, then he will be back for 5 days and then we are all off for a trip to Singapore.

In the middle of all of this, my medication (that needs to stay cool) was stuck in customs for over two weeks. After many emails and extra paperwork, it was finally delivered while I was in China.  Thankfully, I had people willing to help ensure it was kept safe when it was delivered.

I have declared that we shall avoid all unnecessary travel in the months of January and February.  We are all exhausted.  If the trip to Singapore had not already been booked and paid for I would cancel that trip.  It has been wonderful traveling and seeing so many wondrous things, but at some point your body just wants to stay in the same time zone and take a break.   We figured out that in the last 5 month (one of which Ken was home very sick) Ken has spent at least one night in at least 15 cities, in 5 countries, on 3 Continents.  We also figured out that in the last 9 months that Ken has been away from the rest of us for at least 12 weeks. In the past 4 weeks alone we have all been in 6 cities in 2 countries, seen 2 of the wonders of the world, taken planes, trains, and automobiles (and bus) and Ken has been in several additional cities.   Did I mention we are all exhausted and need some quiet family time at home?  

As I write this a memory has surfaced.  I remember when I was a child in a small town and we were relatively poor. Our big vacation most years was to stay in a tent at the state park at the beach.   I went to college on loans and grants not for the needy but for the "very needy".  I dreamt that one day I would get to visit Russia.  Not your typical place to dream of visiting but I wanted to see somewhere that was very different from where I was living.  During my childhood, Russia was suppose to be the opposite of the USA so it seemed very exotic to me.  Today, I live somewhere that is very different from my home town and I have the opportunity to travel to many exotic locations.  In my wildest dreams, I never imagined I would be able to travel to this extent.  I also never imagined I would ever travel to the point that I needed a break from traveling.   I have not made it to Russia yet, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

I will try to post more details about the trips (with pictures) but for now I just wanted to let everyone know what we have been up to in general and that I have not forgotten about everyone.  We have simply not been home to call anyone.  I hope to keep in touch better in the future.

Recent Health Scare

Ken returned from 2 weeks in the USA and when he got home he immediately started running a high fever (103.5F, 39.7C) .  This continued for 3 days along with severe muscle and joint pain when a rash appeared.  We took him to the doctor and they diagnosed an "exotic" fever, likely dengue.  They ran blood tests and told him to come back the next day to repeat the test. The fever went away and we went to do the follow up blood work.  Later that day we received a call to come to the ER IMMEDIATELY.  When we arrived they said his platelets were critically low and he would need to be admitted and we needed to call people to get volunteers to donate platelets.  The hospital did a second test of the blood to manually confirm the numbers and it came in even lower.

At this point is when the panic starts set in and all the worst cases come to mind but you have to function to get things done.  My closest family member would take a minimum of 24 hours by plane to arrive.  I have only lived in the country for 12 months so there are no friends of many years to fall back on, only people I have met recently.  Thankfully, I knew I had a handful of friends I could rely on and I gave one of them a call to make sure my children were taken care of and I asked her to call our other friends and let them know what was going on.  Next, I contacted Ken's work and informed them of the situation and we would need people to come to the hospital and donate blood.  What happened next was truly an overwhelming outpouring of support.  Within an hour we had 15 people from Ken's work and several teachers and parents from my children's school ready to come to the hospital. Some of the volunteers were friends of friends we have never met. We had so many people praying for us and willing to do whatever we asked to help us through that I in awe. I started to realize that no matter what happens in this country, I have true friends that have become like family to help me through.  My school friends will ensure my children are safe, secure and loved when I can not, my Indians friends will make sure I know how to navigate the system, and both sets of friends will ensure I have any other support I need, even if it is to simply sit with me in the waiting room of a hospital through the night.

Thankfully, this was just a test and not a real emergency.  I was starting to prepare for several days in hospital when we were informed of inconsistencies in the blood work and when it was all said and done, it was a lab error and his platelets, while low, were not critically low and we were allowed to go home that night.  From the time we got to the ER to the time we returned home was only 9 hours but it was the longest 9 hours of my life.  I would like to thank all of my friends, and friends of friends who lent their support to me and my family. As I sit here and reflect on the events of yesterday it brings tears to my eyes. I will always remember this as the best worst day in India.  

What to pack for a short visit to India

Here are some items I carry with me everyday in India and some other miscellaneous items to consider.

A LARGE Handbag NO BACKPACKS
If you go to a store, you are typically allowed to keep your handbag with you but you will have to check a backpack with the baggage check.  On rare occasions you will have to check a handbag but in my 9 months here, I have never had to check my handbag.

Individually Packaged Sanitizing Wipes

You can purchase hand sanitizer here so if you are short on space wait to purchase when you arrive, however, I would recommend individually packaged hand sanitizing wipes.  Some times you need to get the dirt off at the same time and you can use them to wipe down the remote and phone when you get to the hotel room.  (studies show these are the two dirtiest items in a hotel room or house).  They are also useful in cleaning the tops of canned drinks.  Always clean the tab before you open the can then use a straw to drink it.  It is even better if you can get a bottled drink but sometimes you can only get cans.  

Travel Toilet Paper

You can get a roll of Charmin toilet paper in a small container that is perfect for travel.  You can typically find them in the grocery store in the same location as travel sized containers of toiletry items.  You can also find them in camping supply stores.  Many places do not provide toilet paper in India so I always take it with me. You need one roll per person.  

Individually Packaged Wet Wipes

If you are coming for a visit there is a good chance you will have digestive tract problems.  These will help you feel better. 

Individually packaged straws

There are frequently times that you will want a straw for your drink such as when you go to a fast food restaurant.  They will provide you with a straw but the straws are just sitting out and everyone is touching them.  I have also seen a cup full of straws fall on the floor and the worker will pick them up and return them to the cup.  I do not trust straws unless I unwrap it.  I actually don't trust anything to be clean in this country.  The general rule of thumb is assume all items were drop on the ground somewhere between where it was made and when you purchased it.  Then remember that people pee on the side of the street.  Clean everything.  

A good mask

There are two times you will want this mask.  The first is just before you land in India.  Indian law currently requires a disinfectant to be sprayed before landing in the country.  The airline attendants start at the front of the plane and spray the disinfectant inches away from your face and the smell is horrible.  It dissipates in a few minutes but a mask makes it much more bearable.  The second time a mask is useful is if you take a rickshaw.  The fumes are horrible.  You may think everyone will stare at you if you wear a mask but they will stare at you if you look foreign regardless, so protect your lungs. 

Medicines

Do not assume you will be able to find the same over the counter drugs here in India as you find in other countries.  For example, I was told by my doctor that benedryl is not sold in India.  I also had a very hard time finding Mucinex and they only had the regular Mucinex and none of the other varieties.  Also, the names for various medicines are different so even if they have it, you would not know what it is called.  I recently learned that acetaminophen (Tylenol) is called paracetamol here. Bring medicine from home you think you may need.

Snacks from home
Even if you are the type of person who will try any type of food it is still a good idea to bring a favorite or two from home.  I would especially bring something that helps you feel better if you get an upset stomach.  

Gift for Expats

If you are traveling just to see the sights this is not necessary.  If you are coming to work, ask if there are any expats from your country working there. Offer to bring them an item or two in your suitcase.  It will mean the world to them.   For example, my youngest was craving grape jelly and we could not find it here anywhere.  A visitor brought 3 jars of jelly and made him one very happy boy.  Another person brought Slim Jims.  It is something small that will mean a lot to the expat.

Comfortable slip on shoes
You will likely be asked to take off your shoes many times a day, especially if you are visiting temples.  Make it easy on yourself and bring comfortable slip on shoes.

For Women only
If you use tampons, bring them with you.  It is highly unlikely you will  find them here.  If you are lucky and find some they do not come with an applicator.


I think that covers the items I carry in my handbag on a day to day basis.and a few miscellaneous ideas. The list could continue on forever, but these are the essentials in my opinion.  

Maintaining your life in India (mainly me venting)

This is really a follow up on the Setting up your life in India.

Today I realized that the "setting up your life" phase never seems to end.  This is because things break constantly here.  Just last week, my 12 year old went to shut his door but the door would not close.  The bottom of the door jam basically popped off the wall.  In the USA this would be a minor inconvenience that we could get fixed in a day or two but here, we don't know if anyone will ever show up to fix the problem.  This is also the case for the holes in the mesh of the screen door.  We believe the holes were caused by a rat chewing through the screen.  We also found these holes in the mesh of 2 of the bathroom windows.  It was an annoyance for the screen door because we could just shut the sliding glass door and keep the mosquitoes, bees and rats out.  However, the bathrooms do not have proper windows so those rooms keep getting bugs in them.  We have contacted multiple people to fix the problem and no one ever comes.  We literally called multiple people for a month straight before we finally got someone to come out to repair the windows and door.  People say they will come and do not even have the courtesy to call and tell you that the plans have changed.  You just sit and wait and no one comes.

Today is the 4th day someone has said they will come to repair my 12 year olds computer and still no one has shown up.  Today is the 12th day someone from the phone company has said they will come and we have yet to see anyone.   I have been trying to get foreign currency,  yet days later I still do not have the currency.  I am so frustrated that I threatened someone with bodily harm if they don't show up tomorrow.  I have no idea if that made it more or less likely to happen but it made me feel better.

In addition, most of you know I require a monthly medication to be administered through an IV.  I have a contact person at the hospital that I call the day before to arrange for my visit.  I called and talked to her like normal but when I showed up at the hospital I was told she was on vacation and did not inform anyone I was coming.  I did not leave her a message, I actually spoke to her and she did not tell me she was not working and did not call anyone to ask them to do the job she normally does.  When I arrived they informed me there was no bed available for at least 5 hours.  That was the last straw for me and I completely let loose on the manager when she showed up.  I was in a bed and hooked to my IV in record time.  Somehow a bed opened up within 20 mins of the scene I made in the waiting room.  I think they just wanted to get the crazy foreigner out of sight.

So I am planning my trip back to the US and what I am most looking forward to at this moment is people who show up on time.  This has to be my biggest problem in India.  People  never show up when they say they will.  Never is a bit of an exaggeration but in all honesty I will say people do not show up when they say 70% of the time.  At this point,  I don't even count it as late if people show up on the right day.

I am now looking forward to visiting Europe and the USA for 6 weeks.  Just the fact that people tend to show up when they say will be such a nice change.  So please forgive me in advance if I get very upset with you if you are late for a meet up with me this summer.  At this moment, being late or a no show is something I can not handle.