Life according to Lynn

RHS Homecoming

2010-10-04T03:50:00.007+05:30

This week was homecoming at RHS. Last year, Sam was recovering from knee surgery, so he didn't really take part in any of the activities, but this year, he's on student council, so he had to dress up every day or have an unexcused absence added to his record. He dressed up.

First, there was Clash day:

This would be the unusual occurrence of Sam waiting for Ahnalies in the morning - she's usually waiting and yelling at him to HURRY!!

Next, Nerd Day:

Then, decades day - pick a decade and dress it. Sam chose the 80's - he's right out of Back to the Future here.

Friday night was the homecoming game and the announcement of queen. Sam was chosen by the student council as an escort.

Saturday night was the dance. Ahnalies was ready to head out for pictures with friends at 4:30.

Sam was still in his soccer uniform.

We took some photos on the golf course with some friends - it was really cold out there in a spaghetti strap dress!

Then we went to a friends' house for some large group shots.
Sam did eventually get dressed and went to a friends for some group shots, as well.

The seniors of the group.

PCS Homecoming

2010-09-26T04:50:00.004+05:30

Even though Ahnalies doesn't attend PCS anymore, she was invited by a friend to their homecoming - what girl wouldn't say yes to a nice dinner and hanging out with friends? Not one raised by these parents, that's for sure!

Michigan

2010-07-28T04:02:00.008+05:30

Ahnalies suggested a beach vacation this year. I immediately pointed out that we really aren't very close to a beach, in any direction. She, with only a small eye roll, suggested the possibility of a lake. Hmmm. What a good idea! We started investigating Northern Michigan and ended up staying in a house North of Traverse City on Grand Traverse Bay. It was substantially easier to find accommodations for 4 than for 6, I must say. We arrived on Saturday night, just in time to settle in, get some groceries, and go out for dinner.

Sunday wasn't a very sunny day, so we decided to get an idea of what lay around us by driving around the Leelanau Peninsula. We stopped in a few little towns before going to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We started with the scenic drive.

Then we took advantage of the picnic facilities.
We had enough time to unpack some food and take a few bites before the rain returned and we finished our picnic in the shelter of the car!
The drive led us to a stop where we could overlook Lake Michigan and sand dune. These were some seriously steep sand dunes, to be sure! Ahnalies and Joe liked jumping down them.
There were some people who walked to the bottom and back up, which we considered but passed on - "maybe another day" we said, but that day never came.
We continued on to the "Dune Climb," which was much smaller and more manageable in the dress I was wearing.

More jumping ensued.

Joe is such a cute little Junior Ranger! It's a bit surprising he let me take his picture with these on.
We rented a 4 person wave runner with a tube one afternoon. It was a perfect day for it.

Love the hair, Dude

Other vacation activities included reading...

and running,

hanging out on the beach,

playing in the sand,

visiting a lighthouse,

kayaking,

playing in the waves of Lake Michigan,

and more playing in the sand.

One cloudy day we decided to go miniature golfing, but so did everyone else in the area. The cloudy day soon turned into a very rainy day, and we opted for a 3D movie instead.
On our final day, we rented a boat with a tube. Sadly, after about 2 hours and before the sun popped out, the boat died. We spent the next 2 hours waiting for this nice man and his dog to come find us and tow us back to shore. Fortunately we had food with us!

This was before the boat died, when the day stretched before us with endless promise.

We drowned our sorrows by eating onion rings the size of our heads.

Oh, and one more beach picture.

It was a great week. Mark has been telling me for years that Michigan is such a great place, now I'll have to join the "Michigan Rocks!" club as well. We missed having Jake and Sam with us, and it seemed strange to have only 4 of us, but as they are having all manners of fun in France without us, we don't feel a bit bad about their missing our fun!

8th Grade Graduation

2010-05-28T03:09:00.005+05:30

Tuesday night was Ahnalies's big night: She is officially done with Junior High! 3rd child, but our first 8th grade graduation, so we don't have any family traditions for such an event. I guess it is fitting to celebrate finishing Jr. High, as they aren't the most fun years of life, at least in my opinion!

The processional

Graduating class - 75 in all

Cousin Sarah (7th grade) was the pianist of the evening

Ahnalies with a group of friends after the ceremony

We had just a minute to snap a picture before we left. I have to wear pretty high heals now to appear taller than her! Lucky for me, she doesn't want to wear heals yet so I can pull it off.

Such a change in just a few short years!

Sam's Prom

2010-05-11T03:42:00.003+05:30

Saturday night was Prom at Sam's high school. Since at his last school, all high school students were allowed to attend, prom wasn't such a big, new thing for him. He doesn't have an appropriate suit, so renting a tux was the best option. He wasn't such a fan of the one the guy at the store gave him, but he didn't feel like he really had any choice in the matter, and we assured him he looked handsome. He searched the pockets for magic tricks...

Mark and I had returned from our quick trip to Philly to pick Jake up early Saturday morning, so we all got to be here for the big event.

All the kids before Sam left.

This time I was hip to the tradition of going to a pre-selected location before the event to take pictures, so I got to see all the beautiful dresses. That was really fun!

Sam and his date, Julia, overlooking the Peoria river.

Meg and Ryan, both good friends of Sam, and Julia

Ryan, Ahnalies and Sam

Sam, Ally (another good friend) and Ryan

A good time was had by all, it seems!

Sam's birthday

2010-04-23T03:59:00.002+05:30

For most teenagers, it's the 16th birthday that is anxiously awaited. For Sam, it was his 17th - or more accurately, 7 days before his 17th birthday, which is when the great state of Illinois declared he had fulfilled the mandatory 9 month waiting period required between getting your learners permit and your driver's license. He had to wait a few extra days, since we were gone for Spring Break, followed by a weekend, and the official "closed day" for the DOT, Monday. Still, he did get it before turning 17 (3 days) and over a year before Jake got his (18 and 2 weeks).

We had a low-key celebration including dinner out and cake at home.

Ahnalies's friend Emmy, who considers Sam and Joe her brothers, too, wanted to be part of the celebration. Sam's friend, Ryan, dropped by just in time to score a piece of cake.

Introducing General George A Custer

2010-04-12T07:46:00.002+05:30

Every year, the 4th graders at PCS put on a Patriotic Program. Early in the year, each student turns in a list of 10 famous Americans they would like to portray, and they are assigned one of the people on the list. Having never studied American history, it was hard for Joe to come up with a list! We talked about lots of different interesting parts of our country's past and came up with a list. In the end, he was given his top choice: General Custer! Jake was not pleased with the choice, exclaiming "Why would you want to be a arrogant bigot who got his whole company killed!?" However, he did admit it was an exciting story that would be fun for Joe to research.

Joe researched and wrote a report about Custer, but the most fun of the whole project was coming up with a costume to wear to the program. He was a dead ringer for the original Custer!

Half the class in costume

Joe on the left, ready to walk in for the program

George A. Custer, aka Joe (and Bailey)

14!

2010-01-29T03:31:00.003+05:30

Birthdays during the week aren't as fun, for sure, but we tried to make it a slightly special day anyway. However, by the time school, volleyball practice, and violin lessons were through, that boiled down to a requested dinner (tartiflette with modifications) and an ice cream cake.

Happy Birthday, Ahnalies!

Finally!

2010-01-14T03:41:00.007+05:30

After years of either being homeschooled or attending schools in countries that don't believe in snow days, my kids finally had their first, school-sanctioned day off because of snow. Actually, Sam didn't - his school didn't cancel, but we deemed it a snow day for him because neither Mark nor I wanted to take him! Mark did eventually go to work, but by then he had convinced us that "no one!" was actually at school, so his attendance was pointless. As we all know, the down side of snow is having to clear it. We enlisted the help of everyone, though, so none of us had to be out in the wind and bitter cold too long.

Ahnalies like to point to this as proof that she is abused and unappreciated by her brothers.

Bailey had great fun jumping through the snow that was nearly as deep as she is tall!

And getting to jump all over Joe in the snow - even more fun for a dog!

It didn't take long for her to become a very snowy, cold little dog.

Ahnalies and Bailey

Sam and Bailey

It was a fun snow day!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-13T05:03:00.003+05:30

If I have your email address, I've already sent this to you, but in case I didn't, here it the best I managed as a holiday greeting this year. Plus, I've been encouraged by someone who shall remain nameless who told me she stalks my blog to see if I ever post anything new. I got a warm fuzzy from that, thanks! Maybe I'll actually post something now and then, after all!

“For I know the plans I have fo you, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:11

As I sit down to write our annual “Christmas” letter, like never before I’m staring at the screen wondering where to begin, what to write. It has been a year like none other, yet I’m at a loss to actually describe it – not necessarily the events, but the range of emotions that has accompanied the events, most of which are still a bit unresolved. Hence, it is a “New Year’s” letter this year.

The first few months of the year was dominated with college talk, applications, scholarship hopes, essays, letters of recommendation, and waiting. The 3 younger kids thought it would never end – many a dinner conversation was centered on colleges. In the end, Jake chose to attend Villanova University, a Catholic school in Philadelphia. He has wanted to be in the Air Force since he was about 12, and after much research, he decided ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) was a good way to pursue this goal. He was awarded an ROTC scholarship that requires him to serve 4 to 9 years after college, depending on the field he goes into.

About the same time as college decisions were being made, we learned we’d be moving back to the US. With conflicting emotions, we began the process of relocating – sorting, cleaning out, giving away. It was very humbling, as our pile of things that “just weren’t worth moving back” grew and grew, to watch the excitement of our Indian drivers, guards, gardeners and housekeeper as they sorted through our cast-offs and found treasures. Interestingly, they all seemed to take just what they needed, leaving plenty for the others. It’s no wonder they think we are so wealthy, since we considered much of what was there garbage. My driver was particularly pleased to find a small keychain with a photo of our family. “Oh, Madam, now I will remember you forever!”

With more than a few tears, we pulled up our roots and transplanted to Peoria, IL. Our time in India is a time that we’ll always remember fondly – it wasn’t always easy, but it was always interesting! It was also the last place we all lived together, which of course strikes a cord of nostalgia in me. We miss the International life, but it is clear this is where the Lord wants us now, and we continue to adjust.

From a travel perspective, which is one of my favorite things to focus on, it truly was an amazing year – between November 08 and April 09, we were in Asia, the Middle East, North America, Europe, and Australia! What a blessing.

As I said, Jake is in Philadelphia, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He loves Villanova, but particularly loves his Air Force training. As expected, we don’t hear from him often, but he does (usually) promptly answer text messages with a quick “Love you, too, Mom, miss you, too.” That’s about what I expected – and to be honest, he doesn’t have the best examples in communication from his parents.

Sam is a junior, taking the IB diploma program (the same Jake did in India) at a local public high school. This wasn’t an easy decision, but one we prayerfully considered, and believe to be the right one. Adjusting to American High School hasn’t been the easiest thing, though he has the personality to make it work. Sam played on the school soccer team this fall, though his season was cut short by a knee injury requiring surgery to repair. He’s doing well now, nearly back to full strength. He’s already talking a lot about colleges, so the 2 younger kids aren’t getting a break from that subject!

Ahnalies is in 8^th grade at Peoria Christian School. She’s adjusting well, making friends and staying out of trouble by playing basketball, volleyball, and violin. She has developed her own strategy for fitting in: 1) In a group, never be in the front (where it looks like you’re leading) or back (where it looks like you’re just a hanger on), stay in the middle so you don’t draw attention 2) In class, don’t say what you know out loud – if you whisper answers the person in front of you will say it out loud, therefore getting the credit and only he/she will know you provided the answer, and 3) if asked to give an opinion, go with the majority. It seems to work for her, though it has drawn much distain from her highly opinionated older brothers.

Joe is 4^th grade at PCS. He has made the transition the most easily, though he misses India, and especially his best friend in the world, Isaac – the 2 of them lived at one another’s homes on weekends for 2 years. Joe is an easy, laid back kind of guy who keeps everyone around him laughing. Needless to say, he quickly made friends here. He’s our family’s ambassador, as he has met more people in our neighborhood than any of the rest of us combined, and gives us tips about where to go out for dinner after he’d already been there with neighbors. Joe also played soccer this fall, though he’s pretty much up for any activity and hasn’t chosen a favorite yet.

Mark continued to do his job in India for several months after we moved back, and is currently in a temporary transition job, which sort of means they are keeping him busy until they find a job they want him to do here. It isn’t an easy position to be in, and he’ll be glad when he has a more defined role.

I think I’m in a transition job as well. I spend a lot of time in the car, being the only licensed driver without a full time job (Sam will be able to get his in April). I also help out in the library at school, a position I love –being surrounded by books in my happy place for sure! Other than that, I’m still trying to figure out who and what I am now.

As we go into this New Year, we wish you our Redeeming Lord’s peace and comforting presence in all you are called to do.

Words of Wisdom

2009-12-09T04:08:00.003+05:30

Joe and I were talking about how tall he's gotten. I said, "It won't be long before you're as taller than me and I'm the shortest in the family."

He replied, "Yeah, that will be in about 2 weeks in Mom years."

So profound! We figure if you multiply by 7 to get dog years, you divide by 2 to get "Mom years." So, he's 10, and I feel like he's about 5. Seems right to me!

Our Last 10th Birthday

2009-10-28T08:15:00.004+05:30

October 26 was Joe's 10th birthday - the first he's celebrated in the time zone he was born in since he was 1. This year he chose to have a calculator cake, since he "loves math!" This is a big change since last year, and these words were music to my ears!

This year's cut-up cake turned out a bit better than average - I just never know when I begin.

We gave him an Ipod of his own - now the other kids are jealous of his.

All the other kids thought this Wii game was the best choice for Joe - completely unselfish opinions, I'm sure!

The "other" Vannettes celebrated with us - that used to be the normal way we spent birthdays, and now we got to do it again.

Trick candles have been a bit of a tradition in our family. Joe expected them, and I think he would have been disappointed if I didn't find them.

The Inequities of Life

2009-10-25T07:48:00.005+05:30

One evening, I observed how comfortable Bailey looked next to Sam on the couch.

Doesn't she look content?

Mark retorted, "Well, I'd be comfortable, too, if I was on a 20 foot long couch surrounded by huge pillows! Something isn't fair here."

Doesn't he look comfortable, too??

Autumn Activities, Interrupted

2009-10-18T06:08:00.006+05:30

Just when things were going so well! Sam was really enjoying soccer, was playing more, we'd found out why his knee would pop and hurt and how to prevent this. He started a game and it looked like that was the new line-up.

Then I got the call. "Mom, you have to come pick me up. Something is really wrong with my knee, I think I have to go to the Dr." When I got to the field, a team member was helping him hop to the parking lot. He was unable to straighten his knee and in a lot of pain. Of course, this happens at practice after school on Friday. This is so not the best time to be trying to get in to see an orthopedic doctor. We went to an Urgent Care place that had the ability to take x-rays, and learned

1) nothing was broken

2) perhaps it wasn't serious

3) perhaps is was

He spent the weekend on crutches, full of positive thoughts about how the orthopedist would just "pop" his knee back into place and he'd play the game Monday night. Such was not the case, but at the end of the visit we still didn't have an answer. We did, however, have an MRI, and would have to wait until Wednesday to learn he had torn his meniscus, which was folded over between the bones and stopping his knee from straightening. Surgery was the only option, and soccer was done for the season for Sam. We were so fortunate that a surgeon was available to see us while we were in the office. He felt is was important enough to get this problem taken care of ASAP that he rearranged his schedule and Sam was squeezed in the following morning.

This was taken before surgery, when he was simply hungry and ready to get things going!

This was after surgery, when he was just coming around. Not unusually, he had a bit of a hard time getting through this phase of the process.

As we waited for them to take Sam back for surgery, Ahnalies called from school with the dreaded words, "I'm sick, can you come and get me?" Mark left to get her as they took Sam away, and reported when he returned that she was really sick, with a nasty cough and a raging fever.

We got Sam home by early evening and he had a difficult night dealing with the pain. When I got Joe up for school, he, too had developed the cough and fever, and our family room was quickly transformed into an infirmary with me acting as Candy Striper.
Things rarely go as planned, and of course there is no good time for this type of thing. This isn't how we envisioned Jake's fall break - he arrived home Friday night for a week of relaxing and (we thought) cheering for Sam and Ahnalies's soccer and basketball teams. He did get to relax, but Ahnalies only was able to play 1 of her games this week, and Sam, well, you know, so there wasn't a lot of cheering going on.

A bit of tutoring going on. No, really they were playing some online games.

Since this is the first time Sam's been in a US school, there are lots of traditions that most people take for granted that are new for him. Though we assure him this is very exciting, that he's learning a new culture that happens to be his own, he still feels uncomfortable not knowing how things are "supposed" to work. This week, he experienced his first Homecoming week. OK, it wasn't as fun for him as it otherwise might have been. He missed out on quite a few of the activities due to his knee, his physical therapy, and doctor appointments. However, he did get asked to go with a very nice, pretty Senior, and bonus, since she was on the homecoming court, he didn't have to buy a ticket! They are out now, though I don't imagine he'll be the best dance partner on the scene.

Jake is back in Philadelphia, everyone is healthy-ish, so it's back to the routine next week. Interruption over.

Autumn Activities

2009-09-28T22:15:00.004+05:30

It's hard to believe we've been living here 3 months already, yet it seems to have gone so fast! We have found things to keep us occupied, I'm happy to say, and here a few of them.

At the beginning of August, we got our first puppy ever. We've had 2 dogs over the years, but both were from rescue societies, and neither were puppies. Mark wasn't so sure this was such a great idea, but aquiesed on the condition that he wouldn't have to do anything with the dog. Bailey (a Border Terrier) has been a really fun, energetic addition to our home, though there are still disagreements over who has to pick up her pooh. Mark still likes to say, "I didn't want a dog!" but it is his lap she's sitting on in this picture.

Sam is playing soccer for his high school, and is really enjoying it. There aren't many guys in his IB classes, so this has been his best arena for finding guy friends - he isn't having too much trouble connecting with the female population.

Joe played soccer on his school team as well. He had a great time, though not an overly successful season as a team. He decided near the end of the season that perhaps goalie is his true calling. We'll see!

Last weekend, Mark and I were able to fly out to Philadelphia to see Jake on Parents Weekend at Villanova. We attended a commedy show, a football game, and were able to see him swear in to the US Air Force. This was a dream come true for him, and we couldn't help but get a bit choked up. Mark's mom was able to make the trip with us - she really likes to see where we are whenever we move so she can picture us going through our days. Knowing this, we asked if she wanted to see where Jake spends his days, and we were all happy she could.

And just one final picture of our pup, taken during one of her calmer moments.
Ahnalies started basketball recently, so we'll have pictures of that coming up soon. She was very nervous to start the season, felt very intimidated by the more experenced players in her class, and dreaded the first game. It was last Friday night, and though we didn't see it, we have heard she did well and has improved a lot already.

Starts

2009-08-23T02:36:00.006+05:30

This is the time of year that everything starts, it seems. I realize now that our lives this summer have been a calm before the storm of real life sets in - I was just wishing we were living real life before - it was peacefully dull. Anyway, on Monday evening, Mark, Jake, and Sam headed out to Philadelphia - a 880 mile one way trip from our house, in case you're curious. I'd like to say I handled this really well, dry eyed with some touching words of wisdom. Of course, that would be a blatant lie, but to my credit, Joe said he thought I'd cry more - which in retrospect may be less to my credit and more a testament to his expectations of my blubbering hysteria, which just wasn't as bad as he expected. I stood at the door with tears rolling down my face, but Jake was so ready to be off! I'm so glad he's so excited!

But they couldn't leave before they had a last binge on "Jake's Mom's Cookies" as they came to be known in India. Or perhaps "Sam's Mom's Cookies," or Ahnalies' Mom's Cookies," or "Joe's..." you get the picture. It was shameless bribery to remind him to come home again, at least for the cookies!

They arrived at Villanova's campus Tuesday afternoon, checked into Jake's room and unloaded the car, and then to the hotel.

Wednesday they got his room organized, met his roommate, went shopping for some essentials (they went to Ikea without me!) and Jake stayed in his room that night. Thursday, Jake was deeply involved in Freshman orientation so they finished getting things settled before Mark and Sam headed for home. They drove straight here, arriving at 2 AM Friday morning.

This is Jake's dorm - his room is the right half of the dormer on the 3rd floor.

The rooms aren't quite as nice as our rooms at Calvin were, that's for sure!

This is Jake's little corner of the world - Mark pointed out that he had even made his bed!

His roommate is of Greek decent - he was born and raised in Long Island, NY, but his parents came to the US as adults. They own a Greek diner - which led to countless references to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," a movie we recently watched again and died laughing, again. His parents are from Sparta originally, which also led to some shameless "300" references, including the idea that they should hang a sign on the door that says, "This is Sparta!" All reports so far are that he's a nice kid, quiet, similar to Jake only more reserved, also studying Engineering, just Chemical instead of Mechanical. We'll continue to pray for a smooth transition and a good relationship for them.

On the home front, Thursday marked the beginning of school for Ahnalies (8th grade) and Joe (4th grade). Neither of them slept well Wednesday night, and neither did I, but all went well the first day. None of the kids really enjoy being the center of attention in a crowd, so the experience of standing up, raising your hand, or whatever, if you're new isn't fun for them. They each have 1 other new child in their class. Ahnalies was unimpressed with the history test given the first day of class. The teacher looked at the other new person, a Korean boy, and said, "It's OK if you don't know this stuff. You aren't even a citizen of this country." Ahnalies said to me, "What about me? I've barely lived here and got 1/2 the questions wrong!" I assured her it was just a benchmark for the teacher, and I was sure he knew enough about her background that he wouldn't be shocked with her lack of knowledge - she wasn't convinced.

Sam will start school next Wednesday, but he was able to go to soccer practice today and even though he missed tryouts (he couldn't go to practice until he was registered, which he was able to do yesterday) he made the team. Joe is also playing soccer this fall, so it will be filled with cold evening shivering on the sidelines! Good thing I like the sport.

Hmmm.

2009-08-10T09:05:00.007+05:30

Should I keep posting things on my blog? I'm not sure. I wasn't sure our lives in India were all that interesting that anyone would want to read about it. Peoria? I have my doubts. You are all on facebook, right?

We've been here about 6 weeks. Mark was back in India 3 of the 6. We're adjusting slowly, not necessarily easily, but adjusting none the less. Sam is working hard to do a year of Algebra II this summer, Ahnalies has reviewed all of 7th grade math and is heading for Quebec to spend a week with a British friend from India before school starts. Joe has brushed up on his reading, writing and arithmatic and is more than ready for 4th grade, and is our family ambassador to the rest of the neighborhood - he's made several friends and advises us where to go out to eat. Jake has worked on a Chemistry class and is starting to think about packing for his freshman year at Villanova - he's so ready to go. (I'm less so.) Jake and Sam have finished their required driver's training class and behind the wheel training, and now are waiting for (Jake) to turn 18 and (Sam) to have his learner's permit for 9 months. Both feel the wait is endless.

I drive. I believe I'm making up for the 2 years I couldn't drive. I take everyone everywhere they need to go, and many places they don't need to go. We've driven to Iowa, Chicago, and Kentucky. We've gone school shopping, to tutoring, to the grocery store repeatedly because it's so fun (for real!). We've gone out for ice cream, to movies, and to one of my favorite places, the library. We've had a pretty normal summer, I guess.

Now we feel as if it's time to go. Go where? Don't know, but our internal clock says we should be going somewhere far away. Instead, Jake will go far away from the rest of us and that feels unnatural. The other 3 will go to their respective schools, Mark will go to work, and I'll continue to drive.

I'll include a few pictures from our summer fun for anyone who didn't see them on facebook.

A weekend in Iowa to celebrate my parents' upcoming 50th anniversary included a little water balloon slingshot action. Daniel and Sam hold, Jake aims

A weekend in Chicago with our neighbors in India included dinner at Gino's pizzeria and a Reliant K Concert. Farid, Donna, and Lynn

Jake decided to get a jump on the ROTC requirements and had me buzz his hair before anyone at school saw it longer. It aged him a bit,we think, but he's too young to think that's a bad thing!

Another weekend was spent in Kentucky, where our former neighbors live now.

Jake, Sam and Zach

On the way home for KY, we stopped to pick up our version of therapy, Bailey, our new puppy.

So, there you have a thumbnail sketch of our summer. I knew there wasn't anything exciting to write about!

Moving On...

2009-06-20T00:03:00.004+05:30

I feel like my last posting from India should be an insightful look back, or a heartfelt note to those who have touched our lives in the last 2 years. Maybe a humorous entry regaling you with tales of our adventures, or a tug-on-the-heartstrings note to our college bound son.

If I tried to share what we've learned about poverty, the caste system, traditions, religion, etc, I'd be sure to forget the most important things.

I could make a list of things I've hated here, reasons I can't wait to leave, things I will never miss, but that would take more time than I have to use.

I could make a list of things I love here, reasons I wish I could stay longer, things I will always miss, but that would take more time than I have to use.

I could talk about the people we've met here, whether they have been an integral part of our daily lives or more casual friends, but I'd never do justice to any of them.

I'm sure I could think of various funny stories about things we've encountered along the way, but that's why I started the blog 2 years ago and you can read old entries.

Lots of our friends have already gone. Many have gone back home - to their old houses, their old friends, their old schools, their old lives. We are going to our home country where our children have lived at most 1/2 their life, at least, a tiny fraction of their life.

So, the result is there will be no insightful last posting from India. I have a few requests, though: Please try to understand if we aren't excited right away, if we get a little choked up when we talk about our lives here, if we miss friends, if we want to reminisce. We love you, we love our country, and we are happy to be close to our family again. However, it is an adjustment for all of us. We appreciate your prayers.

We fly out tomorrow morning. Moving is difficult. We're happy and sad, excited and insecure, laughing and crying.

We're ready to go, but we're not ready to leave.

Graduation

2009-05-30T10:24:00.004+05:30

Yesterday brought a break from our obsession with moving and packing in the form of another milestone. We are now parents of a High School Graduate! In the evening, one of the families invited everyone over to their beach house for dinner, dancing, and celebrating. It was a fun day, and a nice break, though I fear Jake didn't get as much of a celebration as he might have in the US, which is fine with him as he thinks the whole thing is just ridiculous. There isn't too much to say about it, so I'll just add some pictures.

Jake's Graduation

Jake's fan club: Lynn, Ahnalies, Joe, Donna, Lisa, and Kevin

Pomp and Circumstance

Jake and the Head of School, Barry Clough

Hat's off!

Miss Kala has been Jake's math teacher the last 2 years and has made a huge impression on him. We wish the other kids could have her as a teacher as well.

The "IB guys"

Hari insisted on having his picture taken with "Mr. Vannette." We call him Eddie Haskell.

Jake and Samir

Ahnalies was nowhere to be found, so we substituted her with Mahra.

Oh, wait. There she is. We can take one with her, too.

The IB guys on the fountain - something they could really get in trouble for if they were seen. Good thing they already have their diplomas!

Second Step...

2009-05-29T12:53:00.004+05:30

Now it's time for the second and most difficult, disruptive part of moving, packing. After much sorting, giving, and disassembling, the packers arrived bright and early (9 AM) to begin the process. By 5:30, almost 2 rooms had been packed. Yes, 2. Doesn't seem like a huge accomplishment, does it. We didn't think so either, as they've only allowed 3 days to pack all our things. However, we frequently remind ourselves our expectations need to be checked at the border, and we will run on IST - Indian Standard Time - whether we we kick and scream or just accept it. We get to choose how we get through the day, but things most probably aren't going to change.

We've moved into a hotel for the next 3 weeks, which brought on a few tears from more than 1 of us as we felt the reality of the move settling in.

"Life is a series of hellos and good-byes, I'm afraid it's time for good-bye again."

First Step..

2009-05-12T08:47:00.006+05:30

We had a successful week getting things set for our move. We found a beautiful house, even though it took us 3 tries before we got it right. This was the 3rd one we made an offer on, but in the end, we're really happy this is the one we ended up with. It doesn't need any work, which is preferable since Mark will be back and forth to India a lot in the next several months.

In addition, we found cars for both Mark and me, and chose schools for Sam, who will go to the only Illinois school outside of Chicago that offers the IB program, the same program Jake is finishing now, and Ahnalies and Joe, who will attend P Christian. Everything worked out smoothly in the end, we just felt like we were in a holding pattern the first 3 days we were there. On Thursday, though, things took off!

Here is a preview of our new home, but I'm sure everyone will be lining up to come and visit to see it for real!

SAISA Track, Year 2

2009-05-01T08:45:00.004+05:30

Last year, Jake, Sam and Ahnalies all went out for track, having no idea what they could or should run, or even if they were any good at it. They didn't receive a lot of guidance, but they all did well for the first year and figured things out a little more. This year, Mark offered to assist the track coaches with the distance runners. This included our oldest 3 and 2 other brave kids. The 4 Vannettes left the house shortly after 6 AM for nearly 2 months, and their efforts paid off at the 1 and only track meet of the year last weekend in Delhi. Having spring break in the middle of the season isn't ideal, but since our kids were on vacation with a coach, they were required to run regularly throughout. They had a very successful weekend, and we all had so much fun watching, cheering, sweating, hydrating, and just a little getting sick.

Jake ran the 1500 (finishing 4th, breaking school record, but by less than Sam), 800 (5th), 3000 (3rd) 4 x 400 (2nd & setting a school record), 4 x 100 (4th), and threw the discus (6th).

Sam ran the 1500 (3rd, school record), 800 (2nd, school record), 3000 (2nd), 400 (3rd, school record), 4 x 400 (with Jake, 2nd and school record), and 4 x 100 (again with Jake).

Ahnalies ran the 1500 (5th, school record), 400 and 800 but didn't place, 4 x 400 (6th), 4 x 100 (6th), and did the high jump (1st, school record).

Joe wished so much that he could participate as well! Sometimes it's hard to be the youngest, when it seems like everyone else gets to do cool, fun, and exciting things and you're always too young. We assure him that his time will come as well, and all too soon for us! This time, though, he was a faithful cheerer throughout the 2 day event.

There was less drama this year than last year, when so many kids were getting sick from the heat that they had to stop the meet until the nurses' station cleared out. Sam was 1 of the sick ones last year, collapsing while he ran the 400. This year, he and Ahnalies both got sick after the 1500, and as he entered the nurses' station, one nurse looked up and said, "I remember you. I wondered if I'd see you this year!"

The first race (1500), however, got things off to an exciting start. 2 guys from the Delhi school (the largest school by far, therefore the best and most arrogant) were very confident they would easily take this and all distance races. They were really caught off guard by Jake and Sam, who stayed with them throughout, and the last 200 meters was an all out, desperate sprint to decide the top 3 spots. Very exciting.

Whew! This is a record for me: 5 posts in less than 24 hours! However, I think that covers the highlights (at least of the good things) of what has been going on here in the last month. The next month will be yet another whirlwind, starting at 5:30 tomorrow morning when Mark and I fly to Peoria for 1 week to look for a house, schools, cars, and attend a wedding in Iowa. Enjoy the photos!

SAISA Track and Field

Mark and Head Coach Eric check the schedule for the day.

The loyal fan

A little pre-race advise, and a lot of "I feel sick!"

Ahnalies in the 1500 - the first race of the day.

Jake and Sam in the 1500

Ahnalies did High Jump again this year.

She loves it!

Jake in the 4 x 400 relay

Sam, same race

Sam and Jake in the 3000

The whole AISC team

Ellie and Ahnalies

Put on your game face!

We really enjoyed the weekend.

The goal of SAISA events is to meet students from other schools in Asia.

Ahnalies receiving her 1st place medal for high jump

3000 awards - Sam in 2nd, Jake in 3rd

2nd place team finish in their age group with only 3 guys!

Seniors got special recognition

Sweet 16

2009-05-01T08:28:00.001+05:30

April 16, 2009 our baby Sam turned 16. Sam is a huge fan of cut-up cakes, primarily because he likes to eat the parts of the cake that I cut off. Go figure - I'm pretty sure it tastes the same as the other part of the cake, but he isn't convinced. This year, he chose a man shaped cake with a twist: he wanted an Indian man. This led to the most politically incorrect cake I've ever fashioned. We did get a few laughs, though!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

We made a brown guy, wearing just denim short. The candy at the bottom represents garbage.

Our kids with Zach and Nathan, Zach's cousin

Now our man in disabled and a beggar - anyone seen Slumdog Millionaire?

I know, I know. Perhaps it wasn't very sensitive and all that, but it was amusing! And I have to admit, I am becoming more callous and have less of a good attitude about daily life here since I know we're leaving. Please don't send me comments on my hard heart. It was all in good fun.

Holi

2009-05-01T08:12:00.000+05:30

Holi is a festival celebrated primarily in Northern India. It's purpose is to welcome Spring and color. As there really isn't a "spring" in Southern India, there isn't a huge reason to celebrate it, I guess. However, given that our school is populated by Indians from all over the country, as well as just a bunch of teenagers who love a good time, Holi does get celebrated at our school.

The festivities include hurling powdered paint at any and everyone in the general area, followed by spaying everyone with water. The result? A huge mess, and apparently, lots of fun. I stayed home, so I missed some photo ops, but I stayed nice a clean.

Joe and Ahnalies were simply observers, and still ended up slightly colored.

This is what the actual participants looked like. After a shower, Jake still had purple around his eyes and looked like a heroin addict. With a bit more scrubbing, he only looked a little bruised, as did Sam. The purple seemed to adhere well to the skin!

We went to the Land Down Under...

2009-04-30T20:17:00.004+05:30

Last year after spring break, Mark and I decided that we would let Jake choose our destination for SB '09, as it would be his last major vacation before graduating. For him, it was a quick and certain answer: AUSTRALIA, OF COURSE!!

So on March 29, we were off to Cairns, Australia via Hong Kong. We had a long enough layover there to leave the airport and see a bit of the city, giving us one more country to add to our list of places we've been. Cairns is on the Northeast coast of Australia, near the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. We spent a week in this area, and had the chance to snorkel the reef, swim at the base of a few waterfalls, read, talk, and search the internet to find out more information about our upcoming move (which we found out about while we were there).

We flew to Sydney for 5 more days of exploring and enjoying another part of this beautiful country. We climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, visited the Opera House, went to a zoo, aquarium, and Navel Museum, had my hair fixed after a disastrous cut and color here in India, and enjoyed many, many delicious, meat filled meals. It was fantastic.

Australia

We had a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong, so we had a chance to go into the city.

Sam worked on a photography project, "Ant's Eye View."

This beautiful waterfall was a 10 minute walk from our house.

A refreshing shower for Jake

A natural whirlpool

Jake and Joe - talk about swimming upstream!

Joe

Sam

Ahnalies and Lynn at the Great Barrier Reef

We took a day long boat trip out to the reef and snorkeled in 3 different locations.

Jake and Friend

What a nice way to spend the afternoon.

We took a boat cruise on the Daintree river.

The Daintree River, Queensland, Australia

We suspect we know people who have partaken. The forbidden fruit??

Koalas are my favorite!

"I couldn't eat another bite!"

We climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The Opera house

It was really cold for us!

The "men" decided not to shave - a bit of gray seems to be making its way in there.

Apparently, this is not recommended.

Hello??

2009-04-30T18:41:00.002+05:30

Oh where, oh where has our blogger friend gone?

Oh where, oh where could she be?

She started a blog, but now it's a dog.

Oh where, oh where could she be?

That is a rather feeble attempt on my part to finally post something on this space. It isn't that nothing has been happening here, but rather that so many things have happened at once and I haven't taken time to tell anyone anything. So, here I start.

First of all, for the few folks out there that may not have heard, we are moving back to the US. We left in 2000 for "3 to 5 years." We figured that would be more like 2 to 3 - a little adventure before our kids got too old. Little did we know the plan God was laying out before us as we followed it one step at a time. Here we are, 9 years, 3 countries, 3 continents later, returning to our starting point, Peoria, IL.

Mark will continue to do the same job he is doing here, but we are returning to save money for the company. This means he will be doing a lot of traveling back here, which none of us are looking forward to. However, he does still have a job, and that is something to be very thankful for at the present time.

The transition will be a bumpy ride for all of us, and we are very well aware of that. We are also looking forward to many things that we have missed over the years - holidays with family, community involvement, library visits, clean, livestock free streets, and convenient, odor-free shopping. We are excited about owning a house for the first time in 9 years - Ahnalies is well into planning her "funky"room that she will actually get to paint! It's the small things...

Change is the theme in our house right now. Jake has been accepted to Villanova University in Philadelphia and will be heading there in the fall. He has received an Air Force ROTC scholarship, and plans to study engineering - big surprise there - we've been saying since he was 2 that he was heading down this career path. He is very excited, we are very proud of him. Today was his last day of High School, and I'm so not sure how we got here in so few years! All he has left is his IB and AP exams, graduation, and class trip to the Himalayas.

Our summer will be consumed with relocation, camps, driver's ed for Jake and Sam, and adjustment. We plan to leave India sometime in mid-June, giving the kids a few days after school is out to hang with their friends here and say good-bye. This is by far the hardest part of our lives in the last 9 years. We have made wonderful friends everywhere we've lived, and leaving is never easy. I've said countless times that living Internationally is life in a pressure cooker. There is more pressure on all areas of your live, causing everything to "cook" faster. This applies to marriage, family, and friends. The friendships we've made have had to develop more quickly because your friends are your family when you are 1/2 way around the world from everyone you know.

So, that is one of the things that has happened in the last month. All other things have been affected by that and there have been a number of notable events that I will get to, but I'll stop this post for now in the highly probably event that you are losing interest. Next time I'll add some pictures - that always breaks up the monotony of my rambling a bit. A bientot..

Exciting Events of the Week

2009-03-21T10:02:00.003+05:30

It's been another big week for Ahnalies. Last night was the Cabaret at school, and she and a group of her friends performed a dance. Obviously it is impossible to get any good action pictures, but Sam snapped this one after they were done. I just noticed 2 girls are missing from this picture, I'm not sure where they were. Oh well.

Khali, Ellie, Ahnalies, Eline, Seline, Charlotte, and Mira

Not pictured: Pooja and Emma

Here are represented 2 events: First, Ahnalies got her braces off this week after just over 1 year. She was really happy, and though Jake and Sam were slightly bitter that they had to wear theirs for 2 and 2 1/2 years, they were happy for her, too.

Secondly, she because the proud mother of a watermelon for 6 days. She has to treat it like a real baby to get an idea of how difficult it is to have a baby. This required me to hold the cute little bundle in the orthodontist's office while she got her braces off, since he/she couldn't be left in the car. Oddly, the guy next to me seemed to think it curious for me to be holding a melon with a hat on it. Hmmm

Traffic Patterns

2009-03-17T15:00:00.002+05:30

Several weeks ago when my friend, Shannon, was visiting, her ATM card was confiscated by the cash machine she was using when the power went off during her transaction. Consequently, the following day we had to find a specific branch of the bank to retrieve the card. My driver wasn't exactly sure where it was, but we were on the correct street - a 6 lane, divided thoroughfare. We drove slowly along looking for the bank, but realized too late that we had to turn on to a frontage road to actually get to the bank. What to do? Drive to the next intersection, turn around and return to the former intersection in order to turn around again, proceeding on to the aforementioned frontage road to get to the bank? Bah. That is silly. The driver simply put the car in reverse and backed up until we got to the entrance of the frontage road. I looked at Shannon and asked, "So, have you ever backed up on a 6 lane road before? Yet another unique, Indian experience. You're welcome."

One day, we were bringing a friend of Ahnalies home. We had never been to her house before so the driver didn't know where exactly to turn. As we approached her street (just off a 4 ish lane divided road) she said, "Turn left here. Here. Here!! Back there." We pulled over, assessed the situation, and apparently decided it was too much of a bother to go to the next break in the median, turn around, proceed back to the last break, turn around again, and make the left on the proper street. No, we just turned around and drove on the wrong side of the road back to the turn.

While Jan was here, we finished lunch and told the driver the next desired stop. Sadly, the parking lot of the restaurant was just a bit past the ever important break in the median, and you might guess, it was too difficult to go to the next break, so we once again drove down the wrong side of the road to get to the spot where we could turn. After her initial alarm, Jan found this quite humorous and stuck the camera out the window to capture the moment. Sadly, I don't seem to have a copy of that photo.

These, and countless more examples should have prepared me for today, but still I was a bit startled. On my way home from school, we were making good time down the 6 lane, divided road mentioned before. In the far left lane were parked a line of buses that transport employees to various companies located on this road, leaving 2 open lanes. Just then I look up and see we are on a direct collision course with a large, sky blue water truck, heading North in the center lane of the South-bound side of the road. Predictably, this didn't seem unusual, illegal or inconvenient, and we simply moved into the remaining open lane and continued on.

Traffic patterns: merely suggestions.

Basketball Tournament Time

2009-03-16T20:58:00.003+05:30

Having grown up in Iowa, where Basketball Tournament time is big, big news, the "AISC Making Friends Weekend" seems pretty insignificant. However, to the Middle School kids who took part, it was very important. And to the parents who only get to watch their kids play this one weekend, it's very important.

Our school hosted the tournament, so we were able to enter 3 teams girls teams and 2 boys teams, which meant all the kids who went out for basketball got to participate. Ahnalies's team, "Team X", placed 2nd. All the kids had a great time, and learned a lot during the weekend - when you only have 1 event all year, the time you get to learn from experience is very limited!

Being one of the tallest on the team was an advantage for Ahnalies. So were her long arms, as she succeeded in snagging a few passes.

This was the tip-off to begin a game against another of our school's teams.

Ahnalies didn't fight for the ball like she would have if she was fighting with Joe over a ball! However, she did get a few fouls called on her in 1 game, so we were really proud of her for that.

Basketball is the 3rd sport she has played this year, and now she's taking part in both Track and Volleyball at the same time. This means she has been at school between 6 and 6:30 all of the school year except for 1 week. She gets up on her own (setting 3 alarms to make sure she doesn't oversleep) packs her breakfast and is out the door just as I'm rolling out of bed. Now that Track is underway, she has company, as Jake and Sam are also running and Mark is helping coach. We're pretty impressed with her determination, though to be fair, I'm pretty sure some of it has to do with the social opportunities these sporting events and practices provide. Either way, she's had a fun, sporty year.

2009-03-09T18:01:00.002+05:30

My sister is visiting, and the following slideshow is some of her impressions of India. It's fun for me to see things again for the first time through her eyes. We find we've gotten used to things to the point that they no longer strike us as odd, interesting, or even noteworthy, so it's good for us to be reminded about the uniqueness of the place we live. Thanks Jan!

Enjoy.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our Latest Outing

2009-02-20T17:37:00.003+05:30

The kids had Monday off of school for Presidents day, so we took advantage of the long weekend to visit a National Park we'd heard a lot of good things about. It is where Ahnalies went on a field trip with her class back and November, and she enjoyed it enough that we thought we should all go back.

Our jeep driver recognized Ahnalies immediately - “Chennai school!” He hadn’t driven her jeep, but apparently she was memorable enough to him - I'm not really sure if that is good or bad, you decide. It was about a 1 hour drive from the resort we were staying to where the safari actually started in the Rajiv Gandhi National Park, where we left the blacktop road and headed out on dirt trails. This park is also a reserve for tigers, which we were really hoping to see at least 1 of, but sadly, the illusive tiger eluded us as well. We did, however, see a bear and a leopard (for a blink of an eye) which are both considered rare and "lucky" sightings, in addition to lots of more common animals. It was just nice to be out of a busy city for a weekend to relax and spend time together.

Before we left on the safari one day, Sam made a stop in the washroom. He came out, shaking his head, chuckling, and said, “Only in India.” Of course, this totally piqued our curiosity, and he went on to explain. In the bathroom there were 2 toilets – or holes in the ground. When he walked in, both were free, and a man was peeing in the sink. He said, “I didn’t really think I wanted to wash my hands.”

We were a little curious as to what the train might be like, we'd hear good and bad stories. While the train station in Chennai pretty much represented everything that is bad about India, especially at 5:30 AM, the train itself was quite nice and a comfortable way to travel, at least for 7 hours.

All in all, it was a fun, relaxing weekend. Enjoy the pictorial journey.

Nagarole

We took the train from Chennai to Mysore, a 7 hour trip.

We rode in the executive class, because we are spoiled, rich Westerners.

This is 2nd class on this train. These are far from the worst seats on a train in India.

Nothing new here...

Ready for our Safari.

It was breezy in the jeep - I had to beg a ponytail holder from Ahnalies.

This is called a Powder Puff flower. Hmmm.

We spent some time climbing trees - Sam went first.

Joe was 2nd in line.

Mark went last, but Sam had to go again, since Mark's time was faster.

Chicken fights!

In the National Park is a village where elephants are trained to work.

Our Jeep

Wild boar

We assume pollution free vehicles are not a priority here.

Elephants

School children on a field trip.

This little girl thought we were just as curious and interesting as the animals.

There are a few small villages in the park.

When did I get short??

But I still fit here perfectly!

Spotted deer

Buffalo

Monkey in the Middle

A Sambar deer with the elephant

A peacock, India's national bird

This should be getting harder as Joe grows, but Sam keeps growing too, so...

He always seems to be carrying someone.

Fish Food

2009-02-12T18:03:00.004+05:30

Life is all about trying new things, right? OK, maybe not all about it, but it is fun sometime, for sure. India has provided us with quite a few opportunities to try new things, something we are very thankful for. Today was another of those day when I thought, "Oh, what the heck, why not? It's not something you do every day." So off I went to a nearby resort with Donna, Lisa, and Carole for a nibble.

Yes, we ate lunch.

We also had a fish pedicure. What might that be, you ask? Not a bad question. You put your feet into (in this case) a bathtub full of Turkish fish who like to eat dead skin, and they have lunch. It is very unnerving at the beginning, I'm not going to lie! Those little buggers are just swarming, waiting to

get their mouths on your dangling feet.

My feet must have been less tasty than Donna's, who I shared the tub with, because they were much more interested in hers than mine. The feeling is sort of like tiny bubbles all over your feet, but there are a few

over zealous fish that can bite a bit too hard, and this is nothing short of startling. Did they make a mistake and put in a few piranhas? Actually, nothing ever actually hurt, but I'm very ticklish on my feet, and this was a big test of my self control. I like to count it to my credit that I lasted 45 minutes with the little critters munching on me without freaking out too much.

As I said, it was intimidating to actually stick your feet in!

All in all, it was a fun outing with

good friends. I'm not going to rush out and do it again - a pumas stone works pretty well, and quite a bit faster - but it was a memorable experience, to say the least!

We are off tomorrow to Eastern India for a long weekend at a Nature Preserve. Hopefully, we'll get to see some tigers and elephants in the wild.

Happy Birthday, Ahnalies!

2009-01-31T16:55:00.003+05:30

After a week without internet, I'm finally reconnected and ready to let the world know that we have 3, count them, 3 teenagers. Shocking, a bit scary, and I'm so not old enough for this, but it's true, time marches on. Our baby girl in 13.

Her friends surprised her on Monday, a day off from school, by showing up at our house with a cake and presents. On her actual birthday, Tuesday, we had a low-key family dinner of Sloppy Joes (her choice) and a caterpillar birthday cake. Oddly, since the incident that has come to be known as the "Pink Castle Disaster of 2002", Ahnalies has always picked easy cakes for me to make for her. Did I mention she's my favorite child?

Her "Growing in Grace" Precious Memories collection keeps growing, thanks to Aunt Jan.

I also want to wish Uncle Bill a very happy birthday, a few days late.

Freedom Rocks!

2009-01-22T10:57:00.005+05:30

Sunday morning at church, I said to a friend, "You look really pretty in pink." She responded, "Thanks. I never wore it until I lived here!" I found this quite shocking - what little girl doesn't wear pink at least sometimes? However, this little girl grew up in Lithuania during the Communist era. "We all wore black, white, or gray" she explained to me.

Several months ago, I was discussing praise songs with my Chinese friend. She said, "I still don't feel comfortable singing. We didn't have music when I was growing up, besides some propaganda songs. Sometime in the late 80's, some songs started to filter in from Taiwan."

Wow. Of course, growing up in the 80's we learned about communist rule, the restrictions, the laws. I guess I never translated this into the average person's daily existence. Communists were bad, and we were good, simple as that. I never thought about how difficult, how utterly controlled their lives were. No music? No colors? It makes me so thankful that I have the opportunity to tell my kids if I don't like their musical preferences, or if a color might not be the most flattering, or if their jeans are too far down their butts.

India is obviously not the most repressive society in the world, especially not for me, a white skinned foreigner. However, I find I chafe at being directed in such pointless ways. I resent being stopped on the way into the bank and asked, "What do you want!" I want to go into the bank, now get out of my way! I feel my blood pressure rising when a man in a meaningless uniform directs my car into a specific lane at the toll booth - I feel confident that I (or my driver) can determine which line is shortest, and it isn't the one he directed us into. I want to shout something rude, but the driver (and all the surrounding ones as well) passively goes where instructed. I hate being sent around to a different entrance to a building purely because this person can make me. I find it utterly pointless to wait in an immigration line for 45 minutes, get my passport stamped (after showing the official where my visa is in the passport) only to be stopped in another 10 feet to have another guy check to make sure I have the stamp! How would I have gotten past the immigration desk without a stamp? On the back of government trucks are slogans like "we 2, ours 1" and "1 family 1 child" to encourage people to have only 1 child - this isn't legislated, just encouraged, though the government won't pay to educate more than 2 children in a family.

I've never thought of myself as being fiercely independent, aggressive, or even overly assertive. I'm usually OK with taking directions, and given a choice, I'd rather not be the one in charge. (Yet I have 4 kids, I guess I sort of like to be in charge) However, I find the American in me comes out and gets a little sassy when I get too much direction, and I want to explain (calmly, of course) how this system really isn't so efficient. I'm sure a study could be done, and probably has, on whether we Americans are born with an independent steak after generations of living in a free society, or if we develop the attitude because we do live with such a huge variety of choices in all areas of our lives, from clothing styles and colors to food to where we attend university to whom we marry to where we live to if and how many children we have to where our children to go school to where (or if) we go to church. Our choices are truly endless.

I realize that right now, there are lots of people feeling like they don't have a lot of options. I'm sure many don't in certain areas of their lives, but by and large, we have more freedom to make choices than most of us can ever grasp, and I for one am very thankful for this freedom. I just got a small dose of reality this week.

Sharing Culture

2009-01-19T12:44:00.007+05:30

One of the wonderful things about living Internationally is getting to meet people from other places and learn about their culture. We learned about this particularly unique tradition last year at Christmas when we were visiting our British friends in France, and it was renewed this year. We felt it was our duty, in the interest of broadening our friends here in India, to introduce this custom to them. It is called The After 8 Game.

We had a few friends over for lunch yesterday, and one family had brought some Andes After 8 mints back with them after Christmas so we had the necessary supplies. One is required to place 1 unwrapped mint on the forehead and work said mint into the mouth by various facial contortions. Joe is the reining champion of our house.

Admittedly, we aren't sure if this is an honor or not.

Isaac did quite well as it was his first time enjoying the game.

There is an interesting wrinkle to this game when you play it in the sub-tropics - the chocolate melts a bit faster than it might somewhere else in the world, leaving some pronounced evidence of one's afternoon pursuits.

Mahra couldn't get hers to move at all, regardless of the lovely faces she pulled. Emma and Ahnalieseventually got the chocolate in their mouths, but not without invoking the 5 second rule a few times.

Mahra, not one to give up easily, eventually got that sticky piece of

melted chocolate in her mouth as well. Good things come to those who persevere!

We aren't really sure if this is truly a British tradition - it seems like a game that could just as easily have originated in the US, but either way, thanks to the Ainslies for sharing it with us!

Cold Weather Wear

2009-01-14T10:28:00.002+05:30

This is the coolest time of year in South India. In other words, it is beautiful! However, there are cold snaps one must prepare for. On the way to school, I saw one such prepared child. It was in the low to mid 70's, and this 3 year old had on a sweater with the hood up and tied securely under the chin. From the waist down, he was completely naked.

I guess only the top half was cold.

December in France

2009-01-08T15:38:00.013+05:30

We had a wonderful, relaxing holiday season back in France. We started out with a short visit to Paris, partially since Joe really didn't remember much of it, and partially because I just wanted to go back! The weather was foggy, damp, cold, and not so nice, but I was so happy to be there I just didn't care (too much.) We re-visited some of the big sights and went to a production of the Lion King, which was great! However, this big event was overshadowed by the rather scary metro ride back to the hotel, when 3 guys who had been abusing some sort of substances (who are we to guess what kind?) got in an argument. That was all OK, though unnerving, but when 2 of the 3 got off the train, the remaining guy started yelling at us in 4 different languages (2 of which we understood but pretended not to) about how Mark should have helped him, how he wasn't raising "men, " on and on and on. Since we were in the suburbs of the city by this time, we didn't really have the opportunity to exit the train, and if we did, we weren't sure when there would be another one to get back on! We endured his verbal assault until our stop, and thankfully exited without further incident, The Lion King completely forgotten.

Jake and Sam got to spend time with a French friend they met here who is in University in Lyon before we headed out for Christmas week at a ski station. The snow was a bit patchy, so we had to watch out for rocks. We have decided to give an award to a family member each year who wins the title "Most Epic Fall of the Year." Jake took the prize last year, but this year he took things to a whole new level. I'll give the abbreviated version - left to him, he'd fill the screen.

We were heading down an easy blue slope that turned to the right at the bottom onto a narrow section along a ledge. As Jake (probably going faster than the average skier...) went around the corner, he must have hit an edge in the snow and 1 ski came off - this is not a good situation at any time but in the middle of a turn, it's nothing short of disastrous. He says he just kept thinking, "I need to stop! I need to stop!" Obviously, there was no way to do that and after sliding 15 feet he tumbled over the edge of a steep drop-off, falling another 40 feet before coming to a stop. Of course, Mark and I were far behind them, so by the time we arrived, all we saw was skis and poles across the slope and Sam, Joe, Ahnalies and a stranger standing on the edge looking down. Sam got his skies off and ran down as quickly as he could, but Jake was sitting up so we knew he was pretty OK, at least. Quite a crowd had gathered, though, by the time Ahnalies cleared the slope of his skies! Thankfully, he was only very sore, with some minor cuts and bruises. One more time we thank God we wear helmets.

Compared to those 2 incidents, the rest of our vacation was positively boring. We went back to Grenoble and stayed at the home of some friends while they went back to Canada for Christmas - what an amazingly, generous offer! They live straight up the mountain from where we lived and have such a beautiful view, all we wanted to do was relax, hike, read, and enjoy the view. We also got to touch base with other friends which is always a treat. Sam got to spend a day skiing with his Grenoble ski buddy, and they even had some fresh snow to make tracks in.

Now we are back home to reality - we have to set our alarms again, what a bummer. Ahnalies started right into basketball this week, with more before school practices - what a trooper she is! We are, however, thrilled to be back to pleasant temperatures - this is truly the best time of year in Southern India.

Following are some photos of the trip, mostly of the skiing part. We were a little too busy relaxing to be bothered with a camera.

Holiday in France

Before we left, we had a quick birthday celebration for Isaac, whose birthday is Dec. 28.

We spent 1 week at Les Menuires - it is such a beautiful place!

Hard-hearted Joe wasn't moved to share his frites with this sad face!

You feel like you're on top of the world here.

The snow wasn't great, so some decided to brush up on their snowboarding skills.

Joe quickly remembered the technique and was off.

Jake got a little frustrated, but in the end, did it another day anyway.

Mark decided to give it a try, tutored by Ahnalies. He spent a lot of time on his butt, and was pretty sore at the end of the day!

Sam was ready to go, every morning!

Joe was thrilled to find the fruit here we had discovered in Israel!

We stayed in a great chalet with a kitchen so we could cook when we wanted. We also had the choice to order meals in, which is what we did on Christmas eve and Christmas day. We were able to have great food and not shop for all the ingredients, or have to go out in the cold after warming up at the end of the day.

This is the only Santa that came to our house!

In the evenings, we just relaxed by the fire.

This is "Jake's Cliff." The snowy part between the 2 rocky parts is where he went over.

We weren't necessarily ready to leave at the end of the week.

Ahnalies is always easy to spot on the slopes in her pink!

How could we complain about spending another week with this view?

Picture Tag

2009-01-06T18:27:00.005+05:30

My friend Darlene sent me this and I am fulfilling my duty:

The object of picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture.

4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

No Cheating! (cropping, editing, etc)

So, this is Joe, in June of 2002 at age 2. My brother and his lovely new wife came to visit us in France for a delayed honeymoon. We all drove to Geneva and the Chateau Chillon in Switzerland for the day and stopped at a park for some little kid fun. Obviously, this was FUN!!

OK, let's see. Yvette? Marsha? Teresa? Jennifer? Anyone else think this sounds fun? It really was!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-15T16:25:00.024+05:30

Since if you read this blog, you are pretty up to date with everything we've been doing this year. Instead of writing a letter, I'm summing up the year in pictures. Enjoy!

January

We began our year in France, eating, skiing, and enjoying friends.

Joe, Sam, Jake, and Alex

Holly and Ahnalies

New Year's Eve was spent at the Simoni's house.

February

Grandpa and Grandma Vannette came to visit.

It was fun to show them around, and hear how similar things were to Nigeria.

We went to Delhi and the Taj Mahal for a long weekend.

March

Jake, Sam, and Zach formed a band and played at the Cabaret at school. They were really popular!

Boys' SAISA soccer was held at our school. We all helped in some way - Jake sold t-shirts,

Sam played.

April

April brought the Holi Festival, more of a North Indian tradition, but since we have students from all over, it was very popular in Chennai as well. It is colorful, and messy!

Hari and Jake

Sam and Zach

Lisa and Lynn at the PTA Charity ball

May

Braces off for Jake and Sam,

but on for Ahnalies. Prom 2008

June

The end of school mean lots of good-byes when you live Internationally, sometime for a long time, sometimes just for the summer.

Marjorie was one of the first people I met here, and one that I have to say a long good-bye to.

Morgan and Ahnalies

Sam, Divya, and Jake

July

We arrived in time for the flooding of the Mid-West.

Joe and David

We took a family road trip to visit colleges for Jake. To make it more fun for everyone, we visited some interesting places,

and touched base with great friends!

Julianna, Cathy, Lynn, Lynne, and Sandy

Sam, Allen, Jake

Ahnalies, Adrienne, Carolyn

Carolyn and Joe

August

Jake played on the first boys' volleyball team in our school's history.

Joe received an early birthday present and couldn't wait to start lessons with Zach!

Isaac and Joe - where you find one, you'll most likely find the other.

September

Sam and Ahnalies joined the swim team. This meant lots of early morning, lots of hard work, and some fun, even they have to admit. SAISA was in Sri Lanka, and it provided a nice weekend getaway.

They were both pretty nervous, but did their best.

Ahnalies set a school record in the backstroke.

October and November

We celebrated Joe's real birthday before heading of for a week in Israel.

December

Jake had a great basketball season with a good coach and a fun team.

Joe made gingerbread houses with his friends, Mahra and Isaac.

Oddly, most of the candy didn't make it home.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE VANNETTES!

Birthdays!

2008-12-09T21:08:00.004+05:30

Every year since we were 16, Mark and I have celebrated our birthdays together. He never forgets my birthday, being the day after his. This year was no exception, but sadly our birthdays occurred while flying 1/2 way around the world - we boarded the plane in Des Moines at 8 AM on Mark's birthday, and arrived in Chennai at midnight on mine. We not only spent both birthdays flying, we lost 11.5 hours of them as well. I've deemed this year the worst birthdays in memory, and I wonder if they really count?

Happily for me, some of my friends here stepped in 2 days after we got back and rescued my birthday - they took me out for a lovely lunch. I'm sorry Mark, but someone has to work and someone has to celebrate!

Donna, Lynn, Birthe, Carole, Katrin

Lisa, Katrin, Lynn, Birthe, and Carole

Last Saturday was Jake's 17th birthday. He didn't want to do anything too fun because exams started Monday and he spent the majority of the weekend studying. We were invited to the neighbor's for a Persian dinner, which is something we never pass on, exams or not! I supplied desert in the form of birthday cake, and the evening was a success.

17? Are we counting right? Next thing we know he'll be getting college acceptance letters!

Sadly, Sunday brought the arrival of the plague to our house, and so far 2, possibly 3 of the 4 kids have had it. Everyone needs to get it out of their systems before we head to France for our Christmas break.

Delayed posting of UN Day

2008-12-05T17:29:00.004+05:30

UN Day actually took place at the end of October, just 2 days before we left for Israel, but with all that has gone on between then and now, I forgot to put up any photos!

Last year, UN Day was a highlight of the whole year for all of us, but this year, the administration decided the school had grown too much to do things the way they'd done them in the past, which included having parents provide lunch from their home countries for all the students and faculty. Many of us were very disappointed by that, but we can't get our own way all the time, can we? The kids (and some parents) still dressed in their countries native costume, which I've concluded for the US is obnoxious t-shirts, jeans, and various red, white and blue paraphernalia.

The day started with a parade of flags of all the nationalities represented in the school, a total of 29! The band played the Olympic theme, and it was very nice. There were a few speeches, then the kids headed off to class.

The 4th grade teachers decided they still wanted the food sampling, so we Room Mothers organized that in the afternoon. Since there is a smaller pool of nationalities in just 1 grade, we divided by continent. I helped with the North American table, bringing some chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We also brought various items that represented our countries/continent, so fortunately I had some things from Canada as well to share. All in all it was a fun day, though not the banner event it was last year.

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few:

Emmi (Japan) and Lisa (US)

Lynn and Ms. Sullivan, Jake and Sam's outstanding Spanish teacher. Guess our nationalities!

Harmony, Megan, Ahnalies, Kathy, and Emma, all American, though Harmony is 1/2 Chinese and wore a beautiful silk top from there.

Joe, Sam, and Jake

Ahnalies had soccer practice before school so I missed the group shot of the 4.

Basketball, Here and Gone

2008-12-02T18:32:00.003+05:30

The sports seasons here are very short for the kids. They usually have only 1 actual inter-school tournament, and frequently those are the only games they get to play. Basketball has been the exception - they played several games against local teams and had a tournament here in Chennai before the scheduled SAISA (conference) tournament. This was to take place in mid-November, but due to a contagious illness at the host school, it was postponed 1 week. Sadly, this week was the difference between Jake going and not going - we were in the US while the team played in Delhi. Though he was disappointed to be missing the big event, he did get to play in many local games, and he had a great season. Mark, harkening back to high school days, stationed himself under the basket and caught some great action shots.

The loyal Fans!

Home Again

2008-12-01T13:38:00.004+05:30

Our trip back was blessedly uneventful, given events in this part of the world during the past week. Just for reference, Mumbai is several hours from here by car, and a 2 hour flight. Things in Chennai are quiet, though with more security.

Ahnalies started the timer on her watch when we arrived at the airport in Des Moines, and stopped it when we got to Chennai - we were in airports/airplanes for well over 30 hours! Add automobile travel time to that, and we were over 33. 45 minutes of that were used up just in the parking lot in Chennai. How could this possibly be??

You might think that if you land after midnight, all would be quiet on the airport front. So not the case here! Most international flights arrive and depart after this hour, so when you exit the airport, there are literally hundreds of people standing behind the barrier waiting. It seems like there are way too many people around for the number of people arriving! Frequently, Joe gets his picture taken by the waiting hordes, but back to the subject. As we pushed 3 loaded baggage carts around the parking lot, it became apparent that our driver had lost the car. Fortunately, the parking lot isn't large (so how could he have lost the car??) and we only had to backtrack about 50 feet or so. We loaded 1 car with bags (and Jake), located the other car (more quickly) and loaded people. Here is where the trouble began - no, loosing the car wasn't what took most of our time.

As I mentioned, this isn't a large parking lot, and there were somewhere in the neighborhood of a million people milling about. All these folks had to get here somehow, so it stands to reason that there lots of cars. In fact, every parking spot was filled, so what is a driver to do? What choice would one have but to park in the driving lanes? Since it was after 1 AM now, obviously people get tired and fall asleep. We were stuck with no possible way to leave, as cars were parked in all available exit lanes. Our driver went from car to car, waking up drivers so they could all coordinate their efforts to clear a space for us to drive through. Hence, the 45 minutes in the parking lot.

As we made the trip home, we met with yet another obstacle. We were driving down the (fairly) newly completed toll road that runs through a major technical area of the city, when we came to a screeching halt - a herd of about 30 cows were bedded down across the 3 lane road. Why here, we wondered? What was it about this spot of road that made it the place to be for cows this damp, early morning? A true mystery. The driver beeped his way through and we were off again.

Jake, in the other car, had better exit access at the airport, and got home 15 minutes before we did - without a key to the house. Oddly, he wasn't all that pleased with the situation!

We had a quiet day yesterday before getting back in the routine today. School was out 2 days last week due to a cyclone that stalled out over Chennai for 3 days, dumping buckets of rain on the city. Though the kids were sorry to miss the unscheduled vacation days (they miss the irony of their logic), it does mean they missed 2 less days of school than we thought. Good thing, as exams are around the corner.

We are happy to be home in our beds. Hopefully, tonight we'll actually sleep all night.

On the Road Again

2008-11-28T06:29:00.002+05:30

We are in the phase of being in the US that I hate - it's time to pack up and say good-bye. I want to be home, I just don't want to go home. Add in the 7 hour lay-over in Chicago tomorrow, and I'm nearly in the fetal position in the corner. It is a very good thing that Mark is so good (and territorial) about packing and doesn't need or want any help from anyone. I'm on call for the inevitable questions of "does this go?" "WHY??" "What is (fill in name) wearing/taking/carrying on the plane?" I have answers, I just can't touch anything, which works well for both of us.

So, next stop, a soggy but safe Chennai. The kids have 2 weeks of school before Christmas break - 1 week of school, then 1 week of exams for Jake and Sam. Where did this semester go?!

Coming to you from...

2008-11-20T16:04:00.002+05:30

Beautiful, downtown Pella! Ok, we're not actually downtown, but we are in Pella. Didn't we just get back from somewhere else? It is 4:30 in the morning here, but I'm quite wide awake, sadly. We arrived here late yesterday for a week for the funeral of Mark's father. He was diagnosed with cancer when we were here this past summer, and we thank God he is home with his Lord and his suffering is over.

I could, of course, write about the wonderful, Christian man he was, how he influenced all our lives, how he made us laugh, how he made us mad, but knowing how much he'd hate that, I won't. (Though he'd probably get a big kick out of knowing how he made me mad - I'm so good at hiding my feelings, I'm sure he never realized!) I'll leave it at this: He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather who put God first and his family second, and we'll miss him so much.

Dead Sea Video

2008-11-16T20:43:00.004+05:30

I can't resist sharing the video of our time in the Dead Sea. We have about 500 pictures of the trip, but this is the only video, and this was so video-worthy as it just can't be described adequately. There are 2 clips, so be sure to watch both!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fall Break

2008-11-16T11:55:00.005+05:30

In India, October is the big holiday month - as in the biggest holiday of the year, their version of the Christmas season. Bonus for us: another week off school for the kids and a few days off for Mark, so where shall we travel?!

This year, we chose Israel. Yes, it is safe. Our friends, mentioned in the previous post, are an Israeli/American couple who were invaluable in our planning this trip. If it hadn't been for their help, we probably wouldn't have taken the trip, and certainly wouldn't have had the experience we had.

We were there 8 days, and we tried to pack as much into that time as we could. We didn't get to see everything, but we were literally all over the country - top to bottom, East to West. I've attached lots of pictures to give a small taste of what we did, but I won't bore you with all the details.

The first day we visited Akko, a crusader city in the North.

We ducked through tunnels that were used to smuggle in goods to avoid paying taxes.

We had flown in at 3AM local time, so we were all a little tired today.

These caves are located on the Israel/Lebanese border. The water crashed in at an alarming rate!

We were still dry at this point, but shortly after, we walked out into a thunder storm and were soaked!

2 peas in a pod.

The Israeli version of Subway...

I think we all liked this better.

We went on a jeep ride in the Golan Heights in the Northeast part of the country.

The Jordan River

We got to sample this fruit - called sweeties in English. We'd never heard of them, but they were good!

Megiddo - Biblical Armagedon There are 20 layers of civilization at this spot.

Their water source was accessible through a protected tunnel.

On to Jerusalem - it was POURING!

The Jewish Quarter of the Old city.

This isn't anything, according to our guide, just a pretty arch.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - too many people and too many politics!

Ahnalies and Joe went with me to explore some more ruins - they were everywhere!

The remains of the city wall from King David's time - 8 meters thick and tall!

Paving stones from Roman times.

Prayers stuck in the wailing wall.

Women at the Wailing Wall

We were there on a Thursday, one of the 2 days for Barmitzvas. There were celebrations everywhere!

And the Shofar blew!

We were going to walk through this tunnel, but there was too much water in it. We've been wet enough for a while!

We opted for the dry, if shorter tunnel.

Outside the Garden Tomb. This was a very moving experience for us.

Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

Peek - a - boo!

One of the caves where scrolls were found.

The Dead Sea! I couldn't wait for this.

It was just like the books tell you - you can't sink, even if you try!

If we stood up, we bobbed like a buoy.

This was so fun, though the salty water did sting our skin after a while.

Part of the experience is to rub the "healthy" mud all over our bodies. Jake took pictures.

We were 400 meters below sea level.

Ein Gedi, where David hid from Saul and cut a piece off his robe.

Masada - this was an amazing fortress beside the Dead Sea.

It was the last Jewish hold out against the Romans after Jerusalem fell in 70 AD.

These steps went down and down to Herod's palace.

We spent 1 day in Jordan. We were in "No Man's Land" here.

We visited Petra, a city carved from rock.

It is where the crusader in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was hiding.

Jake's conscience?

The quality and the magnitude of the carving was breathtaking.

Inside one of the caves - it was actually totally black, but the pictures turned out.

We visited the Air Force Museum - Jake could feel his dream!

Oh, I was there, too.

The last we spent in Tel Aviv just relaxing. Mark gave Joe some balance technique tips.

You can't relax without ice cream in our family!

Our flight was at 8pm, so we had all day to hang out, then it was back to reality.

This was an amazing experience, one I'm so thankful we were able to have. I don't think any of us will ever forget it.

Only in India...

2008-11-13T17:59:00.001+05:30

is it possible to go to Subway for lunch and be told they don't have any bread.

Joe's Real Birthday

2008-11-11T11:35:00.003+05:30

Yes, even though Joe got a "mock birthday" several weeks ago, (and yes, Sam did mock him until his birthday and beyond) he got to celebrate again on the day. Their fall break from school had already began, but fortunately we weren't the only ones not leaving town immediately so we were joined for dinner and cake by our new friends and travel consultants (more information forthcoming).

Ilan, Oz, Betsy, Daniel

This year, Joe was easy on me and chose to have kite cakes. They had earned the easiest rating of 1 candle in the cake decorating book, unlike the 3 candle rating of last year's choice. Perhaps he learned not to challenge Mom's cake cutting/decorating abilities so much?

Joe isn't the only one getting older.

CHEMUN

2008-10-21T15:46:00.003+05:30

And just what is CHEMUN, you ask? It is the Chennai Model United Nations, and it took place this past weekend. Jake decided this year, after much persuasion from friends, to join the school's Model United Nations (MUN), something he agreed to as long as he could represent the USA. Being friends with a few of the officers paid off in this case, and his request was granted. They meet once or twice per week and do, well, model UN stuff. They draft resolutions, amendments, etc, debate them and vote on them. Jake likes to say he doesn't like it, but he seems to enjoy what they talk about most of the time.

Last weekend, schools from around India converged on our school for CHEMUN. It lasted 3 full days - not leaving much time for relaxing over the weekend for the delegates. Sam was a photographer, since he is taking photography this year and it was a required event. The highlight of the weekend (for both boys) was the social night on Saturday. They had been given ballots earlier in the day to vote for fellow delegates for various "awards" and the results were announced that evening.

For:

Best dressed male Delegate: USA (Jake)

Best looking male Delegate: USA (Jake) Sam actually got a few votes for this, even though he wasn't a delegate - he was a write in candidate.

Most likely to take over the World: USA (Jake)

Best Officer: USA (Jake) and he wasn't even an officer

and my personal favorite:

Most likely to be killed by their fellow delegates: USA (Jake)

The only ones he didn't win were Best dressed female Delegate and Best looking female Delegate. We were glad he missed out on those 2...

7 Things

2008-10-07T17:53:00.003+05:30

A friend visited us from the US a few weeks ago. As we sat down to talk, I asked him what his first impression of India was, as he had only been here for 1 day. His immediate response was, "There are a lot of cows!"

This morning I woke up at 4:30 for some strange and unexpected reason, probably stemming from an upcoming birthday, aging etc, etc, since we all know old people can't sleep. Anyway, I digress. I was thinking how many things about India no longer seem remarkable. When Tim said "there are a lot of cows, " I thought, you know, there really are! I suppose that is noteworthy. This revelation led me to spent the day today trying remember and notice other noteworthy things I no longer pay attention to, and in the process, a song from Ahnalies's Ipod came to me. It's by Miley Cyrus, and called "7 Things," wherein she lists 7 things she hates about a former boyfriend, then 7 things she likes.

So here are my lists:

7 things I hate about India (though "hate" seems a bit strong. Let's just say "dislike.")

1. Garbage

2. Not being able to drive

3. Traffic

4. Organic human waste and the smell it produces

5. Begging

6. Crowds

And to borrow one from the song,

7. It "makes me laugh, it makes me cry, I don't know which side to buy."

"and compared to all the great things that would take too long to write I probably should mention the 7 that I like..."

1. The colors

2. The spices

3. The flora

4. The smiles

5. The children

6. Friends

And to borrow one from the song,

7. It "makes me laugh, it makes me cry, but I guess that's both I'll have to buy."

SAISA Weekend

2008-10-01T10:51:00.006+05:30

Our busy, SAISA weekend is over, and it seems like it was a learning experience for most! I'll start with Jake's Volleyball tournament, since I wasn't there so my knowledge is all second hand and brief.

There were 2 pools, and they were in the pool that produced 3 of the top 4 finishers. They weren't one of those, by the way. Jake said they played much better than they had prior to this weekend, but they still finished last. They got close to winning a few times, but still only won 1 game the entire weekend. I think that made for a long few days.

Jake was placed with a Korean teammate with a Korean family in Mumbai. He wasn't sure how he felt about that before the weekend (he would have preferred to be with his friend, of course,) but it ended up being a good experience, though he was embarrassed by his attempt to eat with chop sticks. He learned they were also Christians when they asked if his name was Biblical, and commented about his Bible beside his bed.

Overall, it was a good weekend, he said. He was glad to get home Monday afternoon for a small break before starting basketball practice Tuesday after school.

On to Colombo, Sri Lanka and the swim meet. We arrived there Thursday afternoon and the meet started Friday. Joe and I just hung out at the hotel for the afternoon, reading, relaxing, and eating. We don't know what the other kids did.

Ahnalies swam first of the 2. She competed in the 50 meter backstroke and made it through to the finals, which took place early in the afternoon. She did a great job, improving her time, and finishing 6th overall out of 18. Her last event of the weekend was late in the afternoon, when she took part in a medley relay, which finished 5th.

It was pretty tough to get a good photo of the podium, but that is her on the far left.
Sam's first event was the 100 meter freestyle. To say he was a little nervous would be a huge understatement. He was showing a few nerves at the start, but he actually did really well. He just missed the finals, but improved his best time by another 4 seconds. He placed 7th overall.

His next event was at the end of the day, when he swam the backstroke in the medley relay. Sadly, there was a change in the rules of how to do turns and he was disqualified. There were several swimmers throughout the day who had the same problem, and though the coaches protested, the ruling was made early and adhered to. I think he felt far worse about it since it affected 3 others as well.

Saturday dawned cloudy, and Joe and I were hopeful for a cooler, sunless day. Alas, we were disappointed when the sun broke brightly though shortly after we arrived at the school. Ahnalies had no events today, so her job was to cheer, which she did very well. Sam's first event was his best - the 50 meter freestyle. Again, he got a fantastic start and swam a great first 25 meters. However, during this time, his goggles filled up with water and he lost a contact. He couldn't see the wall, so his turn wasn't good and he was off course, causing him to run into the rope repeatedly on the final 25. His time was about 4 seconds slower than expected, so he missed the finals again. He was not a happy young man to say the least!

Since he had 1 more relay to swim in the afternoon, I needed to see if I could find him a replacement contact. (He hadn't brought any spares, something that his coach graciously got on him about so I didn't have to - thanks, Coach!!) The day before I had chatted with a few Moms from the Colombo school, and just then one of them asked how things were going today. I told her what was going on and she enlisted the help of a few others, who made phone calls, inquiries, and ultimately sent me on my way with one of their cars and driver, making the whole ordeal so much less troublesome and stressful than it otherwise would have been. I can't say enough about how helpful they all were. It all still took 2 hours since the school is in a suburb outside of the city and I had to go all the way back in, but it was still quite easy.

Sam's final relay team finished 5th, so he finally made it on the podium, as well, but with all the photographers up there, I couldn't get a good picture. Besides, he still wasn't looking too happy.

There was time for fun between races, though, to be sure.

Joe was wonderful the whole weekend - never once did the young man complain, and to be honest, I was starting to complain by the end of Saturday! He cheered, took video and photos, played gameboy, and hung out with some of the other siblings of team members.

Joe and I had dinner Saturday night with friends at a Japanese restaurant in the hotel. We both loved it - it was the kind where they prepare the food in front of you, which was very entertaining. Sunday, we went to a local department store and shopped for a while before having a late lunch by the pool at the hotel and heading to the airport for a 6:30 flight. It was a fun weekend, and like I said, a learning experience for all of us.

Yesterday, their coach told them that if they made all the practices and did everything they were supposed to at each, they have swum about 150 kilometers in the last 7 weeks! I'm really sure if you added up all the swimming I've done in my entire 40+ years of life it wouldn't be even close to that. I'm very impressed and proud of them!

A Sporty Weekend

2008-09-23T21:07:00.003+05:30

Again, I'm a little delayed on this entry. We had a very busy weekend a week and a half ago, with the previous 2 entries and a volleyball tournament for Jake all on the same day, followed by a swim meet for Sam and Ahnalies the next.

Jake is playing on the first Varsity boys' volleyball team in AISC history. 35 guys started the season, dwindled to around 18, and was whittled to 10 for the Varsity, traveling team which Jake is part of. They played several games against local teams, had this tournament with 2 local schools and the JV team, and this weekend they head to Mumbai (Bombay) for the SAISA conference tournament. It's been fun for him, and he's looking forward to this weekend.

Saturday was the Big Bad Blue swim meet. Local swim clubs participated, and it was the kids' first (and only) opportunity to see what a swim meet was like before SAISA, also this weekend in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sam and Ahnalies had to be at school early, which is never a popular thing on a Saturday morning, and as is evidenced below, they weren't extremely wide awake when leaving home.
Mark took tons, and I do mean tons of photos of the meet. He had a lot of fun playing with his new camera. Both kids swam a number of events and learned a lot about swimming competitions. They've worked hard this season, and though getting up at 5:15 every morning nearly convinced Sam to quit, they persevered and had a great meet.

Ahnalies finished 3rd in 3 of her events. Her stoke has really improved through the last few months.
Sam took 1st in 4 events and 2nd in 1. Oddly enough, after this swimming was a lot more fun!
All this exercise has taken care of any weight the kids may (or may not) have put on in the US this summer, eating all their favorite foods and having grandmas making them an endless supply of treats!

With Mark in the US for the next few weeks, Jake in Bombay, and Sam and Ahnalies in Sri Lanka, Joe and I decided we couldn't be left home. We're heading out with the swim team on Thursday to cheer them on and have a relaxing weekend outside of India.

Ethnic Day

2008-09-17T17:59:00.008+05:30

Friday was "Ethnic Day" at work. Mark invited me up to see what was going on and get a little taste of the festivities. Everyone was to dress up in their native dress, but it seemed to turn into more of a dress-up day for adults as I saw a cowboy, and am not aware of any part of India where that constitutes the "native dress."

Some people took the time to decorate their cubicles, too. This one is covered with political posters - political posturing goes on all year, every year.

People also made food from their native places and everyone got to sample the various dishes. That was the highlight for me!

Mark wore Sam's Kurta we bought for him in January for India week. He had a dot on his head from the wedding we attended in the morning. This is Mark with Kamakshy.

Jeetendra informed me he wanted royalties if I put him on the blog. Yeah, good luck with that, Jeet.

Politically Incorrect Posting

2008-09-17T14:38:00.003+05:30

The other night, Mark and I were reviewing Jake's college application with him. We got to the question: "What race do you want to be considered (optional)?" Jake had marked white/Caucasian. Mark asked him why he answered it at all. I said, "Well, I'd like to be considered black/African-American. Can I do that?" Mark threw in that he'd like to be considered Hispanic. We all had a good laugh.

The next day I was discussing this with my black friend and her brother. They were also amused by the wording of the question. Does reality play into it at all? Or is it purely how I feel?

I realize there is some wiggle room in some families. Recently I was talking to a Chinese friend, married to an American. She said her kids ask sometimes when they are filling out a form what race to mark. Valid question. I guess my question would be, What difference does it make to the institution? Does it affect one's qualifications? Make one more or less desirable? I'd say not.

In the end, I think Jake remained white/Caucasian. To each their own..

Here Comes the Bride...

2008-09-15T14:40:00.010+05:30

Last Friday marked the first time Mark and I were able to attend a wedding here. We went to a reception once, but this time, we got to be there for the big event.

We arrived right on time, at 9:15 AM - wedding dates and times are set by an astrologer, who calculates the "auspicious time" for the event. We've heard of weddings starting at 5 AM and were glad this one was not one of those - really, what would be auspicious about 5 AM?

As we walked in, we felt like movie stars - they take their video documentation very seriously. 2 video cameras, complete with really bright lights on top, greeted us as we entered, along with 2 still cameras and lots of stares. The father of the bride works with Mark, and he also met us at the door, ushered us in, and cleared some chairs for us in the front row.

It was a serious assault on the senses. A band was loudly playing, the room was filled with flowers, incense was burning, and brilliantly vivid saris surrounded us. It was one of the most colorful things I've ever seen, and it was beautiful. Both Mark and I were completely smitten by all the adorable little girls in their formal clothes, but they were perhaps less impressed with us and not necessarily excited to be photographed.

After 1/2 an hour or so, the father of the bride appeared again to take us outside to see the traditional arrival of the bridegroom from the temple. He was greeted by various women carrying different things that they waved in his face before putting a dot on his forehead. I'm sure this was all very meaningful and symbolic, but it was all lost on us. We did get some good pictures as I stood on a chair, though, and appreciated being included.

This is the father of the bride putting a wreath on the bridegroom. Again, I'm sure it all means something, I just don't know what. Feel free to google it and find out, I'm not going to do it for you.

Here is the beautiful bride, lighting a lamp. She looked amazing!

The actual vows were taking place here. It was so odd to us that no one was really listening or paying any attention at all. When it was over, though, everyone came up around the stage and threw rice and flower petals at the couple - that seemed a bit familiar!

I suppose part of the reason no one was watching was that the stage was completely blocked by the photographers/video-ographers. Notice the guy on the far right with the power strip slung over his shoulder - it takes a lot of juice to power that light! It's a small miracle the bride and groom didn't pass out from the heat it generated.

Then it was down the basement to the reception. We were served on banana leaves - environmentally conscious paper plates that are ascetically pleasing and offer quick clean-up! The food was served out of silver serving containers that greatly resembled the buckets I used to use to carry milk in when I was a young, dairy farmer's daughter...

This particular event had to be documented - Mark really had a thing about eating with his hands - he hates it! Hamburgers are about the limit to his tolerance for eating without cutlery. Indians do not have the same issue. After a while, someone noticed he was using a small piece of crunchy cracker-like substance to scoop up his food and found a spoon for him.
It was a very interesting morning and we felt really honored to be included. I've been hoping we'd get a chance to attend a wedding, and now we have!

Joe's Mock Birthday

2008-09-10T15:54:00.004+05:30

Last week, Joe came home from school to find a freshly baked and frosted cake on the counter. "What is this for?" he asked. Fair question, as we never have cake at our house.

"It is for your mock birthday, which is today," I replied. His real birthday is October 26.

"What is a mock birthday?" he countered.

"It means we're going to mock you until your birthday," added Sam, always full of brotherly love.

"It's what we have when we live in another country and have your birthday/Christmas present shipped here on someone's household goods shipment, and it's too big to hide until your birthday," I corrected.

"So, I get it today!?" "Yes, you do."

Oh, homework and dinner were endless that day. Finally, the moment arrived. Since it was too big to hide, it was also too big to wrap, so plan B...

Your loving sister covers your eyes while the item is brought in the room...

The hands were removed, and we had a moment of what I read as sheer disbelief, after being told for about 9 years he could never have these.

However, the wonderful invention of electric drums that have a volume control switch have soften my heart, as has the built in, willing and very capable presence of a drum teacher next door in the form of Zach, the drummer.

Obviously, the mock birthday was a success, and he loved his present, even though this means he gets nothing else from us on his actual birthday. However, since he hasn't played with toys since he was about 2 and never knows what to ask for, that really isn't an issue. He usually opts for the cash option anyway, and buys something when an urge hits him - last year it was a cricket ball and bat and a rugby ball in November. We always tell him that means he's a content individual, which is a good quality to have.

So, Happy Mock Birthday to Joe!

I know, I know...

2008-09-09T13:09:00.002+05:30

I seem to be just a bit lax in the writing department since we returned from the US. I know, it's true. But I do have some fairly good excuses, I think...

After having our Internet down for a week (again) we're reconnected to the world. Whew, what a relief. It's amazing and a little sad how dependent we are on the Internet. I did have periodic contact, though. Picture this: If I took the laptop out of the bedroom, balanced it on the railing over the steps, pointed it at the neighbor's house through the 2nd floor window, I could sometimes access his wireless network. (Yes, I had his permission to do this. He had done the same thing to our house when he moved in and wasn't connected.) All the while I was worried my computer would go crashing down the stairs and I'm happy to have it back on a proper desk again.

Sam and Ahnalies have been busy with swim team. They are faithfully getting up at 5:15 each morning, though now they start a bit later so they get to sleep until 5:40, and swimming for 1 to 1.5 hours. They both made the team so they (and Joe and I) will be traveling to Sri Lanka in a few weeks for the SAISA swim meet. Mark will be in the US so he'll miss the event.

Jake is playing on the school volleyball team, so he will be traveling to Mumbai the same weekend for the tournament there. This is the first year the school has had boy's volleyball, and Jake is loving it. They've played a few local schools, and well, let's just say they are a developing team...

I have completed my Personal Trainer course, and am now an official Certified Personal Trainer! I'm very happy. I've been teaching a strength training class at school for parents and that's been going well. I've gotten some helpful suggestions from class members which I appreciate, and hopefully it can continue to be a good experience for everyone.

Jake, then Joe, then Sam, then Mark and me have had (or have) some flu sort of a bug. Sam was sure he was fit for school today, but had called me by 10 to say he could barely walk up the stairs. He's home again...

So, have I made enough excuses? I could try to think of more. Really, I've been spending all my spare time finishing the personal trainer course while I had momentum. All is well in India - we are fine, just not very communicative. I'll try to do a bit better.

But Why???

2008-08-21T16:28:00.003+05:30

I don't spend a lot of my time anywhere, but especially not here, complaining about life in India. It just isn't a good use of my time or energy. But today, I'm feeling inclined to gripe just a bit. Perhaps it's because I'm still bitter about the Olympic coverage, I'm not sure.

I was on my way home from school this morning about 10:30. This is still considered rush hour, so the heavy traffic didn't surprise me too much. We were headed down the new road that was recently completed that runs 1 block from school to pretty close to our house. It is a nice (ish) 4 lane (usually more, depending on traffic), divided road, which we were really impressed to see finished, and equally impressed (and surprised and a little annoyed) to see that the toll booths were completed nearly as soon as the road, though not opened yet. Anyway, back to the story:

We were moving along progressively more slowly until we came to a dead stop. Then we inched along, and along, and along. I was getting hot, hungry, and sick. Eventually, we came to the cause of aforementioned slowdown: The road has been completely torn out in 1 section, and is down to 2 lanes in 1 direction, a narrow space that we alternated through with the traffic from the other direction. My usual 25 minute drive was 50 minutes.

But I don't get it. It's a new road. Why did we finish it, then tear it out? Why did we give everyone this false sense of hope that there was a swifter, more efficient way to move South, then rip the hope away? And why in the world were the toll booths finished if the road wasn't?

As I said, I'm still a little bitter over the Olympics. I'll be OK, don't worry.

What's Up?

2008-08-20T17:46:00.005+05:30

It's been rather quiet here lately, hasn't it? What in the world have we been up to?

"Des poux sont arrivee!" This was a pink leaflet we used to receive from the school occasionally when we lived in France. The first time it arrived, I had no reaction, since I had no idea what it meant. I quickly learned from an extremely agitated friend that it was, indeed, something I needed to know and worry about, as it was informing me that lice had been discovered somewhere in the small school and it was time to do some head checking. This became my worst nightmare, and I breathed an enormous sigh of relief when we left the continent un-infested. I soon learned in Canada, however, that these miserable little critters were not extinct in North America either, sadly. Just over a year after arriving, they found the head of one of our family members. I don't want to say I over reacted, I think that would be a bit harsh. It just seemed like the perfect time to burn all the pillows in the house and replace them, and clean compulsively the entire house, including the dog. Every family member was treated, even though only 1 had them. I don't know that these actions would be considered extreme to the average individual.

When we were through this, I informed the family that if anyone, I mean it, anyone, ever got lice again, they would be getting a nice, short buzz. The 20 + hours I spent nit-picking were not to be repeated in this lifetime. Until 2 weeks ago. "Des poux sont arrivee" encore chez Vannette. I reacted a bit better this time (there was no bonfire in our yard) and no one got their head shaved. I did, however, spend another countless hours nit-picking. Sigh.

And I hear tell that the Olympics are in full swing. I'm fairly sure that means there are many Asians playing ping pong and badminton, some Europeans playing grown-up dodge ball (otherwise know as Handball), a bit of soccer, and shooting. Every now and then, there is a quarter or 2 of basketball, so we don't know if they play whole games or just partial. Rarely, we see some highlights that may include events or just live shots of an empty field or gym. Sometime, we even see a metal ceremony. All this excitement is punctuated by rousing commentary by 2 hosts, one speaking English and one speaking Hindi, but having a conversation with each other so we understand almost 1/2 of it. Since India has won 1 medal (and that the within the first few days of the games), we get to see replays of this exciting win (in shooting) and interviews with everyone involved in this amazing event. The young man has been given free flights for life on Indian airlines, lots of money from the government, and a 5 star hotel from his father - obviously a commoner. Then there is the Indian boxer who is still in the competition - we see quite a bit about him as well.

I love the Olympics. I have since I was 4 years old and watched Mark Spitz win his 7 golds. I can't explain how anti-climactic this Olympic year has been for us. We sit down anxiously each night, hoping this time it will be different. It rarely has been, though to be fair we've seen a few quarter final races and even a few semi finals. We saw the pole vault, that was exciting, but on the whole, it has been a real snooze. Oh well, maybe next time.

Road Trip!

2008-07-18T03:19:00.011+05:30

I actually started this posting when we were still in Iowa but never got more than the title written. It's been a strange summer, and not one that I'd like to repeat anytime soon. Our road trip, however, was great.

Though the primary reason for the trip was to visit colleges for Jake, we decided to incorporate some Americana and take the whole family. We went through: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, then back through Indiana, Illinois to Iowa. Ahnalies and Joe learned some US geography, a subject neither of them are strong in! We counted state/provincial license plates and concluded that not everyone was staying close to home due to high gas prices.

Admittedly, there were some moments of boredom in the car, so what better way to pass the time than to dress your little brother like a girl!

Our Americana stops included the Louisville Slugger factory/museum in Louisville, KY,

Rock City and Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain, TN,

Rock City was a curious place filled with gnome references. Sam really wanted this for a souvenir!

The World of Coke in Atlanta, GA,

and a Durham Bulls baseball game in Durham, NC.
Our college visits were Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA, Duke in Durham, NC, and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. Jake received a great amount of "encouragement" in NC to go to Duke, and an equal amount in Michigan to attend Calvin. At the end of it all, he had a lot to consider, and we'll wait and see what God's plan is for him.

It was a highlight to be in NC again and visit so many friends. It was fun for the kids to have people recognize them and remember what they were like when they were little. We all got to hang out with friends and reconnect with some of the best friends of our lives. What a blessing those few days were.

Yvette and Lynn

What a treat to meet the newest member of the family, Kate!

Steven, Skellie, Jake, Allen, & Sam

We have a photo of these small boys on another couch about 15 years ago - they fit better then.

Adrianne, Ahnalies, Carolyn, Sloan and

Evelyn

Sam, Duncan, Jake and Jon

In the 15 year old photo, these guys also fit on the couch!

Charlie, Lynne, Lynn and Mark - even parents have friends!

Us with Mike and Debbie - some of our first friends in NC almost 17 years ago!

I can't begin to describe the excitement in the car as we headed through Columbus, OH and saw a sign for...
Any Canadians or visitors to the Great White North totally understand!

Sadly, somewhere along the road, Jake left his Ipod in his pocket and it got washed. He was driving us all a little crazy for the rest of the trip. Here, he's trying to hear what Sam's listening to since he couldn't make his own choices.

We made one final stop in Illinois to visit friends from France who have added to their family, and continue to do so. Yet another blessed part of our trip.

Elijah and Joanna

And now, we're back in India. After living without Internet for a week and having a few minor electrical and plumbing issues, we're back on track. School started Monday and it has been a first week without drama chez Vannette. The new teachers seem good, the old ones are still good. Schedules have been tweaked to perfection and we're ready for a good year. As for me, I have started working on becoming a certified personal trainer, a course that is a bit more in depth than I expected. In another week, I am starting a strength training class for adults at school - as I've never gone to an exercise class - oh I guess I did once with Yvette in Peoria - it will be a learning experience for everyone! Hopefully, in a good way.

June in Iowa...

2008-06-27T07:25:00.007+05:30

We've done some relaxing...

But the trip started with a very delayed flight out of Chicago, due to violent storms. But we all handled it really well...

Sam

Joe

We've seen some beautiful sunsets,

and some scary skies.

We helped sandbag one day in a small town called Eddyville,

where there was a job for everyone.

The bags we helped fill were part of this levy.

We've seen lots of flooding, but we and all our families are fine and dry.

We've gotten to spend time with our families, grilling, camping, playing, and eating.

Phase II: The Road Trip will begin in less than 1 week.

Billboard's top 1

2008-06-07T20:06:00.004+05:30

No, you aren't seeing things, that is indeed our Sam on a large billboard add for a local store. He was having coffee with a friend one day when some girls from school came in. They were meeting with a photographer, and when he saw Sam and his friend, he asked the girls if they would bring the guys along to the photo shoot.

Late this afternoon, Sam got a call from some friends who were screaming into the phone that he was on a huge sign in front of the store. We hopped into the car to go see for ourselves. He isn't very happy with the choice of pictures, but we think he looks pretty cool. Besides, how many times are you going to be on a billboard?

Now, I don't want to say Sam's not a handsome guy, but perhaps he was noticed more quickly in a coffee shop in India then he would have been in a coffee shop somewhere else in the world.

We took this from a little farther back to get a little of the street scene in. Oddly, there isn't much traffic in this particular shot. A bit of garbage, though...

On a different topic, we're off to the airport in a few short hours for many, many, many hours of traveling. We are really looking forward to being in the US for the summer, but it is very weird to be getting ready to leave home for 7 weeks! Mark will be here for about half that time, but there is a lot to think about.

Last week, Mark was in Pella visiting his dad in the hospital. He was just leaving to drive to Chicago to fly back here when he received the following text message from me: "We just nearly hit a water buffalo!" He responded, "Standing in the square in Pella: Your world couldn't be farther from mine right now!" I answered, "Two roads diverge in the forest..." I think we would be safe in assuming we are currently on the "road less traveled by."

We will see many of you soon, and we can't wait!

Prom, part II

2008-06-02T20:37:00.002+05:30

Sadly, no more photos, just an addendum from Sam. He wants to make sure everyone knows that, "I didn't have a date, but not because I couldn't get one. I chose not to have one because I am not into labels."

Just a clarification, in case anyone was wondering. We told him he wasn't old enough for a date anyway.

And the award goes to...

2008-05-29T21:10:00.005+05:30

Last Friday night was the Varsity Sports Award Banquet. This included all 3 older kids because Track was a completely varsity sport. We had a very nice dinner before the awards began. All went as expected until the track team was called up.

The coaches each had a few things to say, then the awards were given out. One coach began talking about how sports give kids a chance to do things they've never done before, and discover they are really good at something. One such athlete that did this didn't even want to compete in their event when they got to Delhi, but was convinced to, and ended up breaking the school record and placing second in her event. "The winner of the Most Improved Female Athlete in Track and Field is: Ahnalies Vannette!"

What a pleasant surprise! She worked hard on the high jump and really enjoyed it. We were so proud of her.

Next, the distance coach came up to present an award. She referenced the athlete who pushed himself so hard he vomited at the finish line, came back the next day to run the 3000m in borrowed shoes and place 3rd. "The award for Most Improved Male Athlete in Track and Field is: Sam Vannette!"

Again, what a surprise! Sam also worked really hard during track season but we certainly did expect either of them to win an award. Our proud parents buttons were straining.

The evening ended with the Varsity Athlete Awards. There was the Scholar Athlete of the Year, the Ironman Athlete of the Year, the Athlete of the Year, and one more. The Athletic director was giving out these awards and began describing an athlete who set aggressive personal goals in his sports and achieved them, who showed good leadership skills, and other things that we can't remember. "And the winner of the Most Improved Athlete of the Year is: Jake Vannette!"

Wow! I asked Jake when he thought she was talking about him, and he said, "Never! I was shocked when she called my name!" This would be the reason we don't remember everything she said - we certainly didn't expect the award so weren't hanging on every word.

The buttons popped off our chests.

Joe didn't win any awards this year, but if his teacher did give them out, he could easily receive the "Most Improved Reader in 3B" award. He started the year sounding out English words with a French accent, progressed to begrudgingly toiling through Frog and Toad, and is ending the year reading chapter books in the car on the way to school.

We are really proud of our Most Improved family!

Prom pictures, part 1 (I hope)

2008-05-22T09:54:00.007+05:30

Since I have sons, my supply of prom photos is limited. They both refused to take a camera, explaining that "all the girls will have cameras and they'll email us copies." That may be true, but as of today, 5 days after the event, I haven't seen any. Therefore, I can only share the pictures we took here at home before Jake went to pick up his friend/date. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some more later. They both had a great time and looked quite handsome.

Sam "helped" Jake get ready.

Sam said, "I feel quite fly." Jake responded, "As do I."

Sam with his "date, " Zach.

Maybe we're not going to prom, but Mark still thinks we're picture-worthy.

Joe didn't make it into any pictures because he was at his friend, Isaac's house, otherwise know as his "weekend family," as he's there almost as much as at home on weekends!

More Colorful Discussions...

2008-05-22T09:48:00.002+05:30

Today, my driver and I were talking about his new nephew. He proudly told me that the baby is very fair, "like you, Madam." As we discussed the skin color of his family (and how he is unlucky to be dark like his father), I told him that we westerners like to be a little brown, and sit in the sun to get that way. "But why, Madam?!"

The shock increased when I said Ahnalies wished she was black because her friend with a black father has such beautiful skin.

I'm sure this discussion will be marveled over, and offer further proof to the Vannette compound workers and their families that we are completely insane.

Traffic Flow Trials

2008-05-13T16:19:00.000+05:30

There is a new-ish intersection near our house. A large, 4 lane (or 6 or 8, depending on the volume of traffic at the moment) thoroughfare has been lengthened, and new businesses, office buildings, hotels, and apartments are popping up all along the route. A 4 lane, divided road connects the road we live off of to this.

One day recently, I set off down this connecting road en route to get my hair cut. As we approached this intersection, I observed the newly installed traffic lights, and they seemed to be working! This may not seem noteworthy in many parts of the world, but in India, there aren't all that many traffic lights, and they are largely ignored by the general population, except at the largest of intersections. As we sat waiting for the light to change, allowing us to turn left, I saw a traffic cop who was manually changing the lights as he saw fit. We waited 5 minutes to turn, at which time the cop gave up on trying to control traffic with lights on 12 foot poles (too subtle, I guess) and took to directing it himself, standing in the middle of the intersection. This is more efficient in some way, I suppose...

In the end, we waited 10 minutes to turn left (which is equal to making a right hand turn in much of the world, as we are left side drive here) and I was late for my appointment. All this would have been avoided if my driver wasn't so contentious and law abiding - everyone else that was turning left had taken the dirt track and missed the intersection all together.

Curiously, when I went home 3 hours later, the traffic lights were on again. I didn't see if the cop was controlling them or if they were just running on their own, left to whatever crazy whim might have been programed into them. Seems a little dangerous to me.

A day in the life...

2008-05-10T18:15:00.005+05:30

Here is a link to a CNN news story done by a reporter who has children at the same school as ours, and lives near us. It is an amazing view into what we see every day.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2008/05/05/neisloss.india.campaign.year.cnn

Exciting News of the Day

2008-05-05T16:01:00.011+05:30

And probably of the year, if you ask Sam. He got his braces off today! He is so very happy, since he and Jake got theirs on the same day, but Jake got his off before we left Canada almost a year ago. What a handsome smile they both have now.

Before...

After...

Ahnalies, however, is less cheerful because she still has braces (just got them on 2 months ago) and has to have 4 teeth pulled this weekend.

And in other news...

Before we moved to India, a colleague of Mark's told him that Chennai has 2 seasons: summer and super summer. As he is native to this area, we figured he knew what he was talking about. Well, we have reached Super Summer. The forecast emailed to me every day daily predicts sunny with temperatures between 40C and 44C (that's 104F - 111F). I'm rethinking the benefits of receiving these reports. It has been consistently hot, though I can't even give an exact daily temperature reading because we don't have a thermometer, and they don't have the time and temp posted on every bank here like they do in North America. I did see a thermometer Saturday night which read 41.8. That was at 8:30 pm. It's hot. When you get to a certain level of hot, temperature just doesn't matter anymore. Not that I'm complaining - I complained about the cold of Canada for 2 years, all year round, I really don't have a leg to stand on if I did want to start griping about the heat. I'm just reporting: It is hot. And humid. Iowa will be a refreshing break from this. And it hasn't even peaked yet.

But truly, I'm not complaining!!! I'll take +40 C over -40 any day of the week, and we've felt both over the last 14 months.

SAISA Track and Field

2008-05-05T14:45:00.007+05:30

The last weekend of April brought the SAISA track meet in Delhi. (You may remember, SAISA is the conference our school is part of.) Jake, Sam, and Ahnalies all took part in this event and though we were tempted to fly up and watch them, the prospect of paying Delhi prices for a hotel convinced us to just let them do this on their own. It was a weekend we were really glad to have cell phones, though! They were great at keeping us posted about what was happening.

The meet began on Friday, with Jake placing 5th in the 1500, beating his personal best by 16 seconds. Amazing how much faster you run with people pushing you!

Probably not the best, but at least the most exciting event on Friday was Sam's heat of the 400. He was in the 3rd of 3 heats, and started out near last place. At the 200 meter mark, he poured it on and passed everyone, in first place by about 20 meters (according to the detailed replay given via cell phone by Jake.) Just before the finish line, Sam fainted - just fell over, face down on the track. He got up and stumbled across the finish line, still in first place, but just out of qualifying time for the finals. He was helped to the first aid station, where he got sick, drank some saline water and got sick again before being taken to the air conditioned room with beds to lay down and rest.

He wasn't alone in his heat exhaustion/dehydration problems: It was 41 degrees (that is about 106 F) and at one point the meet was stopped because the nurses' office couldn't handle any more patients. One girl from our school ended up in the hospital overnight. We were glad Sam recovered after a short time to compete the next day.

Saturday brought more action and more success for everyone. Jake and Sam were on the school record breaking 4x400 relay team. Sam placed 3rd in the 3000, missing the school record by a few seconds. Sam took 4th and Jake 5th in the 800 - they were in separate heats yet finished 1 second apart. Ahnalies was the top finisher of the family with a 2nd place spot in the high jump, shattering the school record by 12 centimeters.

It was a successful 1st track meet for all of them (and the only one they have) but now they have some experience under their belt to draw from next year. They all have goals set for what they want to do next time, and are making plans for how they will accomplish those goals.

The only down side to the weekend was that Sam's running shoes got stolen. Sigh. Since we weren't there, we have limited photos, since we were depending on friends to get them and oddly they were taking pictures of their own kids as well as our! We're so glad we have what we have though, thanks, Donna!!

Ahnalies with her friends, Emma and Ali.