Happy Indian Independence Day

Today is "Independence Day" in India and it is also the day at home that we celebrate "Australia Day". We are off to spend the day at the beach with friends. I don't think we will get to enjoy a "Snag on the Barbie", we may have to settle for some Chicken Curry and Naan, but it will be nice to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the beach and sunshine.

We received this as an email and couldn't help putting it on the blog. I don't mean for this to offend anyone but we all got a bit of a giggle from it and I hope you do too.

Finally someone has cleared this up for me...
For centuries, Hindu women have worn a dot on their foreheads. Most of
us have naively thought this was connected with marriage or religion,
but the Indian High Commission in Canberra has recently revealed the
true story.
When a Hindu woman gets married, she brings a dowry into the union.
On her wedding night, the husband scratches off the dot to see whether
he has won:-

A - Taxi licence in Adelaide
B - Convenience store in Melbourne
C- Service station in Perth,
D- Kebab shop in Brisbane
E- Take away cafe in Sydney
If there is nothing there, he must take a job in India answering telephones giving technical advice to Telstra and Optus customers in Australia.

Family Time

Just a few shots of our time together with Nana and Bob.

"That's My Boy"

Andrew and Bob out to lunch enjoying a Kingfisher or two.

Jen about to embark on her first Auto ride

Jen, Eliza and I in the Auto with the wind rushing through our hair.

Bob enjoying an Indian feast.

A few of the local colourful sights

Medical Tourism

Eliza has joined the ever growing numbers of teenagers with braces. It seems like half the kids her age at school have them. Maybe that's due to the very low cost of having them done in India. It makes it far more affordable than home. We paid the grand total of Aus $1000, one fifth of the price friends at home have paid. She has done really well so far and there were no real drama-rama moments getting them put on. Mind you she only has the top ones as yet and the bottom ones will follow next week once she is used to the top ones. I can't believe that you can hardly see them, unlike the old days you had a mouth full of metal.

The dentist clinic we go to is lovely, very clean and very modern. I often see other expats and foreigners making the most of the cheap procedures. Medical tourism is on the increase in India. And why not....

Eliza Turns "13" (and I get more grey hair)

On the 9th December Eliza celebrated her 13th Birthday, and of course it only seems like yesterday that we welcomed that little bundle of joy into our world. How our lives were to change and over the next 13 years she has bought so much love and joy into our lives. We now face the next challenge, having a teenager in the family. We hope we all survive this testing time ahead, when we are all growing together and learning the ways of the young lady that is blossoming before our eyes.

Yesterday we went shopping to the big mall in Chennai, Spencer Plaza. My gorgeous daughter caught the eye of many a young man. Probably not dressed appropriately in short shorts we all felt very uncomfortable and have learnt that in the future she will dress more conservatively, possibly in a paper bag.

A Celebration Of Life

Driving through the streets today we came across this funeral procession. They were letting off crackers, beating their drums and dancing through the streets, accompanying the body to the crematorium. What a sight to see, these people celebrating the the life of the deceased. Men only, and the women stay at home and mourn in private.

My Thoughts For The Day

Day 4 of Nana and Bob's visit and all is well. Jen had her first auto ride this morning when Eliza and I took her shopping to a nearby suburb. Andrew, Bob and the boys had gone to Saturday soccer and to hit a few balls at the driving range. So home alone with no car it was an ideal chance to get out and explore the town in a auto, there's nothing like a bit of fresh air and car fumes as you tear around dodging buses and trucks. Fun.

Wandering around the streets we came across a few police men sitting at a busy intersection. One of them asked me where we where from. Hesitantly I replied, Australia. I then was bombarded with questions from him about the terrible situation happening at home. Indians being bashed and robbed by Australians. For the first time in my life I was ashamed to be an Aussie. He was asking me why this was happening, he wasn't beating around the bush and was quite aggressive with his thoughts.

Every morning the paper here is reporting these issues. What do we do? Stand up and be proud of our country and risk being victimized for the actions of these bullies at home, or do we suddenly start speaking with a New Zealand accent and talk fondly of our love for our sheep and Fish and Chips.

Saturday Soccer

Sam is loving being back to playing Soccer twice a week at school. Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings he gets to go and kick the ball and run his sillies out.

He has also started playing Basketball this term, all this helps to keep him busy and fit.