29
December

Wrong digits

It took approximately two months for me to get my mobile activated here. A lot of this was me, not being organized enough to figure out what I needed to do, but there were a number of steps and hoops that we had to go through. The first of these was to get it tweaked so that I could use my Canadian phone here, then to actually get hooked up to a plan.

The most frustrating of this was the “address verification”, where they call on the mobile to arrange a time to come to the house to verify that we lived there. They called a few times, but I either missed the call, or did not understand the person on the other end, as they did not speak english. It took much back and forth between Willy and the provider and the phone getting disconnected once before we had resolution. It is now activated, and for the most part works when we want it*.

I have very few contacts in my phone, just Willy, our driver and the few friends I have made here. I don’t get that many calls, and there is much text and voice spam here, so I generally ignore numbers that I don’t know. Occasionally Willy will tell me that we are expecting a delivery, or that someone will be calling. On those days, I answer everything.

It was one of those days when I got a call from someone who only said “hello”, repeatedly. I assumed that it was a dead spot in the house and he could not hear me, so I answered again when he called later. He still just said hello multiple times. He reached me a third time, and I tried to get more information out of him. I asked if he wanted to speak to me or Willy, if he was coming for work on the villa, if he was calling because our landlord asked him to. This time, he responded to me in what I believed was Hindi. I tried to explain that it was a wrong number several ways and hung up.

He called several more times that day, but I ignored the calls. Then I got this:

I ignored it. He still calls a couple of times a day, I still ignore him.

 

*Data plans are silly cheap here, and when you are in the right spot, the connection can be lightening fast. Finding that right spot can be difficult tho, especially when you are on the move. You get what you pay for, right?

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28
December

The call

We have been struggling with early morning wake-ups since we moved here. At first we blamed it on the time difference, and figured that things would go back to normal soon. They didn’t. It must be the light we figured, noting that the curtains in the lils rooms were pretty sheer. We searched and searched for good blackout curtains, but failed to find ones that were thick enough. They’ll get used to it, we thought.

Goose did, for the most part. She still has to combat the early morning visits from woo, but she does ok. Woo, on the other hand, is still waking. Even now that the mornings are short, he still wakes every morning about 5:30. Some days he is great about it, and plays on his own. We are really impressed with how well he does these days.  It’s the other days when he wakes some or all of us. It’s getting tiring. Literally.

This week my brother-in-law and mother-in-law helped me figure out just what it was that wakes him. First Uncle D identified that there is loud music playing every day, pre-dawn. I am pretty sure that I have heard it too, but thought nothing of it. Then I hear it later in the day, and my MIL suggests it is the Islamic call to prayer. A quick google search confirms it. We clearly live near a Mosque. There is not much we can do about that.

This lil can sleep through fireworks going off outside his window for hours, but can’t make it through 30 seconds of music. We’re in a hotel today. He was up in the night with a fever, but this morning he woke up at 8:00am. No call to prayer here.

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25
December

Our traditional Christmas in India

For us, Christmas in India was not a tonne unlike Christmas in Canada.  We were awakened by an excited Woo, early in the morning, but not too early. We raced downstairs to open stockings and presents, happy that Santa came.  The opening was a marathon, lasting well over two hours.  We ate crepes for  breakfast, played outside, napped and played some more.  Then the feast.  For new friends and family, a good time was had by all.

While were decidedly western in out approach to the day, there were a few things that marked it as new and different from our Canadian Christmases.  There was no cold or snow.  When we played outside, we did so in shorts.  While no traditional Indian food was consumed, we ordered in non-veg portion of the dinner, a roast beast, with a side of turkey.  It was hot! Sunny and hot.  By far the warmest Christmas I have ever experienced.

Christmas is clearly marked here, in an obvious way.  Other than in commercial areas, it is also very clearly not a big deal.  We did the best to make it a big deal in our house!

Here is a peek at our day:

7:00am Stockings!

8:00 I swear I don’t know how that in got there

9:00 The aftermath

10:00 New Scooter

11:00 Practicing on roller blades

12:00 Not *quite* a thali

1:00 It was a very lego Christmas

2:00 Prep work for risotto, trying not to dirty extra bowls

3:00 Enjoying his new books!

4:00 Mama’s helper, post nap

5:00 Tennis, anyone.  Suits optional

6:00 This one was a hit with everyone!

 

 

 

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23
December

Well taken care of

One of the reasons that we chose to stick with our driver and cancel the purchase of our car was that our driver seems to really want to CARE for our family. He is clearly enamoured with the lils, puts up with Willy and I, is a hard worker, and does his job really well. We’re really lucky that he was referred to us and are confident that we made the right choice.

Grandma and Uncle D are visiting this week, and decided to venture off on their own today. We needed to get some last minute shopping in, so asked Subbu if he could recommend a car/driver for them for the day. Minutes late he let us know that the driver would be at the house at noon, and that he was at their service until 8:00pm. He arrived on schedule, and they set off to explore the city. We had anticipated that they might want to dine out, so let them know that they would likely have to pay thee driver more than the agreed upon rate. We level set as to what the cost might be, not so they could have enough money, but so they knew that it would be a fraction of the fees they would pay at home. They did have a good time, and texted us midday to let us know that they would not be home for dinner.

As we were putting the lils to bed, we got a call from Subbu, letting us know that he had been in touch with the driver, and that Grandma and D were looking for a place to eat. He was going to suggest a place to their driver, but wanted to make sure with us that it was OK. Later in the evening, he called again, to make sure that they got in OK. As luck would have it, they were walking, in the door, so Willy confirmed that they were safe and sound. Subbu also asked if the final cost was OK, and D let Willy know the final cost. There was a bit of discussion, that ended with Willy telling Subbu that the driver was gone now.

It turned out that Subbu thought that they had been overcharged, and had wanted us to let the driver know. We all felt that the rate was fair, but understand that it might have been too much be local standards. We half joked that Subbu would show up with the difference tomorrow, and moved on to other things.

A short while later the phone rang. It was security at the front gate, letting us know that the driver was back. Apparently Subbu had reached him, as he showed up with a refund for Grandma and D! As much as we all felt like the charge was fair, it is really nice to know that Subbu is looking out for us.

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22
December

Harmonium

This was going to be my wordless wednesday post for this week, but our internet was down for much of the last few days, so I wasn’t able to upload the pictures.  It’s late, so I added a few words!

We were invited over to a colleague of  Willy’s for an absolutely delicious lunch on Sunday, and had a pleasant time visiting.  The lils were very entertained by many of the toys and gadgets that they found in the house,  one of which was a beautiful old harmonium.  A harmonium is a piano that produces sound when air is moved through a series of reeds.  This particular harmonium was a small version, like the precursor to the portable keyboard, with a side of accordion mixed in.  The reeds are pumped by hand, as is typical of Indian harmoniums.

 

I only wish that I had taken some pictures of the carving detail on the cover!

 

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19
December

Not okay by me

While things are certainly starting to settle in to a routine on some levels, we still have a ways to go on others. The lils are doing well for the most part, but they miss home a lot and need a lot more attention than they have historically wanted. This is an adjustment for me too and more often then not, if the attention isn’t there, they let me know LOUDLY. Their behaviour has an ebb and flow to it, good for a while, then bad. The good is filled with calm and happy fun, the bad is generally filled with fights, not listening, time out pile-ups, and acting out everywhere and anywhere.

I know this is to be expected, but I hoped we would have settled to their normal selves by now. They haven’t, so we continue to search for ways to make things smoother for them. I have done a tonne of casual observation of their interactions with people, and have noted a trend that is really starting to bug me. I first noticed it with our driver and maid. If the lils were misbehaving around them, things like messing up the bed right after it was made, or climbing over the seats to get to the back of the car, my attempts to get them to stop were consistently met with “it’s okay, it’s okay”. I thought at first that it was because they love and are amused by the lils and also because they didn’t want me to be upset. While I wasn’t really upset with the lils, I didn’t want this kind of behaviour to become the norm.

Then I started noticing it elsewhere. When we were shopping and they were monkeying around in the stores, all the sales people would tell me “it’s okay”. If they were yelling in placed they shouldn’t, people would tell me “it’s okay”, if they were making messes where they shouldn’t, “it’s okay”. It is starting to drive me a little batty.

They hear this, and now I have become the bossy mom that they don’t need to listen to, apparently. It keeps getting worse. We were in a music class recently when Woo wouldn’t share an instrument that was being passed around to all the children. It is something that he has at home in Ottawa, and he realized it wasn’t here when he saw it. I tried to explain that he could get it back after all in the class had a chance, but he dug his heels in and started to get very upset. The teacher came over and started to tell me that it was okay, so I calmly looked at her and said, “actually, it’s NOT okay”. She thought about it, agreed with me, and asked that he pass the instrument on.

Woo did pass it on, and I felt a little vindicated. I wish there were more people who reacted like the five-year-old sitting beside Woo. When he started to get upset and refuse to pass the instrument on, she looked at him and said “that’s not very good sharing”. She was right.

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16
December

For the love of paneer

When willy and I started dating, I had never tasted Indian food. I thought curry was that powder that you bought in a jar at the grocery store, and I had no idea what roti, dosas, pakoras, paneer, or a host of other tasty treats were. Oh how things have changed! When we let the lils know that we were going on an adventure to India, Woo’s eyes lit up and he asked me in his serious voice, “does this mean we can eat paneer EVERY DAY?” While it is now a staple in our diet, both here and back home, I should not be surprised that so many people back home don’t know what it is. I am though. How can they be missing out on this tasty treat?!

Simply put, paneer is the Indian version of cottage cheese. It is firmer than Canadian cottage cheese, and not at all sour tasting. While you can easily make it at home by souring hot milk and pressing the curd into a brick, draining the excess whey, it is readily available in Indian grocery stores and now Loblaws back home, and everywhere here. I did make it once, and I now know that I will buy it for the rest of my life.

Paneer is a very versitile food. Since we have been here, we have had it prepared in a multitude of ways. In curries, like mattar (in tomato gravy* with peas), palak (spinach gravy), Makhani (butter and masala gravy); in pakoras and samosas; baked in paratha bread; grilled in a tandoor; in wraps; on pizza; and in lasagne (I made this one, not sure it is available locally). McDonald’s even sell a McPaneer! There are also sweet presentations as well, tho I have not tried them.

My favourite way to eat paneer is mattar paneer, which I made tonight for supper. It takes me a while, but the end result is guaranteed to please us all, so it is worth it.

I fry the paneer til it is just slightly golden

 

 

Add it to some veggies and spices

 

 

And voila!

 

 

It is delicious with some other local specialities…

 

 

Lilbunnyrabbitz mattar paneer
I can’t tell you how long this takes me to make, the lils are always distracting me. About 90 minutes 🙂

1 lb paneer

Curry paste
2 large onions, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 dried chillies (I omit these if the lils are eating)
1 tsp cardamon seeds (removed from green pods)
4 whole cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 pieces cassia bark (cinnamon also works)

Gravy
8-12 plum tomatoes, skinned and chopped
10 oz tomato paste
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp tumeric
1.5 cups frozen peas
2-3 tablespoons thick plain yogurt
Cilantro leaves (to garnish)

Cut paneer into cubes. Heat a fryin pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and lightly fry cubes. Pat down and set aside.

Make paste. Combine all ingredients BUT the onion in a morter and pestle and grind. Add onion at the end and lightly grind and mix with the spices.

In a large saucepan, cook the paste over medium heat until onions are transparent (about 5 minutes). Add tomatoes and bring to a boil until juice is reduced. Add tomato paste and spices and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the peas and continue simmering.

About 15 minutes before you want to serve, add the yogurt, stirring well, then add the paneer.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or naan, or both!

*gravy is what sauce is referred to in Indian cuisine

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14
December

Wordless Wednesday – Signs that amused us at the zoo

Assault by monkey

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12
December

Giving back

One of the things that I focussed on during last year’s 25 days of Christmas was giving back to those in need in our community. Several of our activities centred around preparing donations, making the donations, and talking about those who have a much greater need than we do. We feel that it is important that the lils know that there are people who are way less fortunate than they are living right in our city, and we want them to feel that they can and should give back.

This year is very different. It is abundantly clear that there are people that are less fortunate than us in Bangalore. We see it every day, pretty muh the minute that we step outside. While I will continue to support organizations in my home community, I also want us to help those in the community where we are now. The question for me has not been whether to do it, but how to make contributions that actually make a difference. I have been receiving daily emails from one of the ex-pat groups that I belong to, asking for donations or assistance. Sadly none of them have been in a place or time that the lils can contribute, and I want to do more than just give money and tell Woo and Goose about it. I want them to feel like they helped too.

This week I received an email from the school, and a notice came home in the lil’s diaries. It talked of three local institutions that our school was doing a fundraising drive for, and asked if we would help out. Woo read this notice in the car on the way home, and was clearly impacted by the contents. “Did you know that there is a school right near ours where the children have no crayons to draw with? And an older school where they have no dishes to eat on? Or a home where ladies have not toothbrushes?” I originally thought that the school had taught him all of this, but Willy tells me he read the letter several times. He has really focussed on the simple things that are needed, and that makes it a great place to include Woo and Goose. This was exactly the type of activity that I had hoped to build into the Christmas countdown.

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8
December

Night on the town

We knew that our social activities would likely decrease when we moved to Bangalore. For starters, there are no Senators games to attend, no hockey or baseball to play, no weekly #ThursPintsW tweetup, and we really didn’t know anyone to visit when we moved here. One of the biggest hurdles though, is the loss of our babysitting safety net. We no longer have family and friends that we can call on mind the lils, and there is no pool of teenaged children like we had at home. There are a number of nannies available for hire, but we don’t want a nanny, just an occasional babysitter. To prepare myself for this reality, I spent the weeks leading up to the move telling myself that we would not be going out at all while we were here. Just in case.

We haven’t gone out at all in the six weeks since we arrived when I got an email that made me pause. It was from an ex-pat group that I joined and it spoke of a Christmas dinner, the clincher for both of us was that it included the line “there will also be greatly discounted imported wines for purchase on the night” Sold. It was time to find a babysitter.

We briefly joked about asking our friend Carpet, who is staying with us this right now as part of his 8-week world tour, to mind the lils. We really wanted him to come with us, so we talked to our maid. Sheela is great with the lils, and had minded them for short periods while I was setting up the house. It had been our plan to try her out as a regular sitter and this was the perfect opportunity. She said yes, the lils were excited, and we were off!

The evening got off to a rocky start, with it taking Carpet and I almost two hours to get from our house to the restaurant, picking Willy up on the way. It was two hours to travel a distance of nineteen kilometres! Picking Willy up did not add to that time, he met us at the side of the road on the route we had to take. It was all Bangalore traffic! We arrived at the restaurant ready for a glass of wine. We were handed that wine as we walked in, and spent the rest of the evening meeting a few new people, eating delicious food and indulging in copious amounts of the wine. Carpet even won the door prize, a GC for a local restaurant, which he handed to me. We left pretty happy, albeit wineless (their supplier backed out). This needs to happen again, and soon.

I think I like this wine club.

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