Miriam also wants to be in on what is going on

Although Miriam has had no recent additions or subtractions to her dentition, nevertheless, she had a great desire to have her teeth photographed.

Afterall, everyone else was doing it.

A Historic First for India

For the first time in Indian History, there is a State in India that has a freely elected government with a clear majority, that is a Dalit (lowcaste and outcaste) Political party.

In the state elections that recently happened here in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP won a majority, the first time in the history of India.

Note: India has several thousand political parties, so it is very unusual for any party to get more than 20 or 30 percent of the vote. Usually governance happens by getting a coalition of several Political Parties together, often with very opposite goals.

Minneapolis and Mumbai

The Economist recently did a review of cities, well worth your reading.

Two factoids jumped out at me, which your ever loyal and caring correspondent will now share with you.

Fourty percent of the tax revenue of India comes from Mumbai (Bombay). Wow. I think we can safely say the government doesn't get much revenue at all from our fair city.

In a discussion of whether cities should be governed in small portions, or with one big all powerful mayor, they gave the example of the Minneapolis Metropolitan area, which 344 local governments within it. ONce again, Wow.

190

The number of cities in Asia with more than one million people in them.

That doesn't count the scores more of such cities in Africa, Europe and the Americas.

I don't think I could even name half of them.

From The Economist, review of Cities.

I now live in the Majority, although I am now from the Minority

According to The Economist, sometime this month, the percentage of people on this Planet who live in Cities, will officially cross over from 49.99...% to 50.01... %. For the first time in history, more than half of all humans will live in cities.

I grew up in the countryside, and lived there till I was 22, when I went to Minneapolis for Medical School. In three more years, I will have lived half my life in a city.

"Wisely or not," quotes The Economist, "Homo sapiens has become Homo urbanus."

They have written a series of articles, that address a large number of issues.

They dare to address the question that haunts many of us rich folks... namely... Why do many of the people in the Urban Slums of Asia choose to live there when they could easily return to their home villages. Most people who live in the vast teeming slums of Asia, have come there recently, and could easily return to their home villages, and find food, water etc. Yet they stay in the slums for a reason. "Why do people prefer Urban Squalor to Rural Hopelessness? "

In India, many Dalits (low castes and outcastes) move to the cities to escape the harsh biggetry of the countryside, much like the serfs of Europe moved to the cities hundreds of years ago. "Stadtluft macht frei" (The City Air sets you Free), said the Germans of Prussia and The Mark.

In the past, most cities were Spiritual centers, drawing people for Spiritual purposes, in addition to its other draws. In the west (and elsewhere), this draw is loosing its shine as many people embrace secularism, but a new "Religion" has arisen to fill the void...namely Culture. The Culture of the city, and its many cultural events "are taking the place of God."

"No one wants to live in a city that is impossibly congested, suffers constant blackouts and frequent floods, chops down its trees, concretes over its parks, has aweful schools and hospitals, is devoid of any buildings of charm or character, and is governed by corrupt politicians and incompetent civil servants. Yet many people have to."

So it goes...

"So it goes" was a quote from Kurt Vonnegut (OK, I REALLY, REALLY cannot spell).

He died recently.

Does anyone else, when they read The Economist, read the Obituary first?

(You will be happy to know, that when The Economist arrives at our house, Nora Grace quickly grabs it and looks to the back, shouting, "Who died, Daddy, who died?")

Pre-Monsoon Shower Activity

We had a light shower today that cooled things off nicely. Dropped twenty-five degrees in an hour. (Granted, when your starting point is 110, it is still not that cold.)

This will happen on and off, Lord Willing for the next month or so, until the Monsoon arrives. It is called "Pre-Monsoon Shower Activity".

The Monsoon arrives in Varanasi on the 15th of June. I had not previously been aware that a Massive Weather System covering half a Hemisphere would faithfully follow the Gregorian Calendar, but who am I to question common knowledge?

Anyways, two hours after the shower, it is back up to 90 again, so this was just a brief respite. :)

But welcome none-the-less.

Still breathing

When I work at the Charitable Hospital, I try to do only clinic work, primarily because Expectations and Roles are so different between my home country and this fair city.

But it was just a matter of time before something bigger happened.

I was seeing patients in clinic today at noon, when a nurse popped in and said I should come upstairs because there was a baby who was not breathing.

Running up the stairs with her, I found a newborn lying on a metal trolley, blue, floppy with no heartbeat and not breathing. Well, that's no good.

I immediately began CPR, and got a pretty healthy heartbeat after a minute or two, as well as seeing the little boy begin to pink up nicely.

But he just wouldn't breath on his own. By history, he had had his cord wrapped around his neck. I wasn't able to get anyone to tell me exactly when he had been born or how many minutes he had been laying there. (His mother, laying nearby, clearly had just given birth.)

After about 15 minutes, he did begin breathing spontaneously, and a "Junior Doctor" (the local name for the Resident type folks who run some of the Hospitals) got an IV in (Strong Work!). The patients regular Paediatrician came after about half an hour, and I was more than happy to hand over the job to him. The baby was still breathing adequately, and his heartbeat was fine, but clearly wasn't out of the woods yet.

Hmmm, nothing makes me hungrier than running a "Code". Overall, this was a good thing for me to do, because it helped me to see a little better how the System works (Yes, there is a System!). When I know better how the System works, I can better help improve it. Normal Newborn Protocols seems to be one area.

Wanna help?

The Mufti and I meet yet again

We had the annual Nursing School graduation not long ago, and the Mufti of Banaras showed up to bless the event.

The Mufti is the spiritual leader of the Muslims of Varanasi (Banaras is another name for Varanasi), and we have met on a few occasions before.

He is younger than I am, and even more publicity shy, which is kindof funny considering the bulk of his job is to show up at special occasions and give a short speech to bless the occasion.

He is good at that part of his job, not sure how trained he is otherwise... presumably quite well.

Nurses Graduation

So why was the photo above (of the Mufti) rather blurry?
Well because of all of the candles in this photo.
Each of the nursing students and graduating nurses got a candle. The room was small and crowded and poorly ventilated. The candles were wrapped in red celophane which added to the smokeyness.
End result? An hour later the room was like a 1950's Doctors Convention (back then all the Doctors smoked in America, nowadays, they all do in India).

Give me Oil in My Lamp

So the Nurses had their annual graduation for the Nursing School. It was fairly uneventful for the most part: nice things were said about various people (most of whom deserved to have nice things said about them), and speeches were made about how needed these Nurses are (not that the Hospital will hire any of them; they hire their Nurses from the South).

At one point when all the Nurses were lining up to have Nursing Pins pinned on them, some of the other nurses (see picture below) began to sing, in a rich, thick accent belying their lack of native English, "Give Me Oil in My Lamp."

Huh? Where did that come from?

One of two of them are Christian, but I am wondering how the rest got roped into singing the song. Granted, it is not particullarly Christian song, and they modified the verses to make them even more generic ("Give me Service in my Heart, keep me helping, helping, helping..."), but "Huh?'

Mucho Kudos to you...

The last post ended with the phrase, "So it goes".

Big bonus points to the one who can correctly point out why that pop culture phrase is so relavent this week.

"I Didn't Clean My Shoes For a Week!!"

Well, assuming a foreigner visits America, what is the first thing he will tell his family on his return his home, assuming his home is our fair city?

My Urdu tutors youngest brother is a computer guy, works in India for some American outfit. They brought him to Chicago for a month of training. The fellow was the talk of the neighborhood here in Varanasi.

He seemed to enjoy himself, and the biggest thing that got talked about on his return was how clean America is.

In Varanasi, I clean my shoes before I put them on in the morning (it doesn't make sense to clean them in the evening, since they would just get covered in dirt while sitting through the night). By the time I get to work a half hour later, they are grey with dust, and I have a rag tied around my bike just for the purpose of wiping off my shoes one more time.

Well, Northern Illinois was not like that. And the whole family was amazed to hear that he went a whole week without wiping the dust from his shoes.

So it goes.

It helps when most of them are named "Emily"

Nora Grace had a blast last month when I was getting my Continueing Medical Education up to date in Thailand. There were loads of other little girls (and boys) to play with, and oodles of space to run, and plenty of things to do. She didn't watch TV for two weeks and didn't miss it a bit.

On arrival, she did not know (or if she did, she didn't remember) any of the other children. She was greatly assisted in remembering names by the fact that most of the other five year old girls were named Emily.

Three doctors daughters in India

This photo is of three five year old girls, all of them Doctors daughters, and all living in India. Cozette (she goes by "Cozy", isn't that great?) on the left is from midwest, and Abby on the right is from the South.

Do they ever stop talking?

Still figuring things out

I am going to try very hard to respond to comments made on my blog from here on out, and I will attempt to do that in the comment section.

Us old folks (41 tomorrow, thank you very much), need a little extra time to figure out what comes so easily to some.

oh yeah, why we are here

Just a little reminder why we are here.

We have a genuine desire to see the weavers of this fair city improve their situation.

At left is a typical room full of these weavers doing finishing touches on silk saris, which they make.

"Sweatshop" doesnt really apply to the term, since the original term meant that was a place where people sweated, but people didn't elsewhere.

Here, at this time of year, everyone sweats all the time.

Regarding Teeth...

It has been a very eventfull week here, regarding childrens milestones.

Nora Grace has her first loose tooth (front lower right side). She burst into tears when she realized what it was, but is now quite excited. Mealtimes now involve Nora Grace giving Play by Play as to which part of her mouth she is chewing with, since she won't chew with that part.

Sam has popped in tooth number one, and tooth number two, both in the past ten days. They are both bottom middle, and he is more than happy to use them on anything he can lay his hands on.

And Miriam is doing quite well in the potty training department. She takes a nap in the afternoon with only her "big girl panties", and wakes up dry, but still wears a diaper at night. She can use both eastern and western styles.

My signboard

If anyone is interested in seeing me at the Charitible Hospital, you just have to find my signboard.

I am the second name down (sharing a room with an Orthopaedist listed above).

The devanagri script would transliterate roughly as: "Dr. Law-vail STaaz-fuss"

And thanks to the fact that most sign board painters are illiterate, I am now a member of the "AAFD"

(I am actually a member of the AAFP", though of course such detail is tiresome, isn't it?)

Old photo of our fair city

Found this old photo of Varanasi, dated at 1922.

The Riverfront has not changed much since then, though a few hundred feet west of here has changed dramatically.

A hundred years ago, Banaras (another name for Varanasi), was a sleepy little town hugging the banks of the Ganges. It has grown 10 to 20 times in population since this photo was taken.

Amy broke another Water Glass

We were sitting down to supper this evening, and Amy was pouring water from the fridge into everyones glasses. (Well, Amy and I have actual Glass glasses, while the girls have plastic cups).

She picked up her glass for a drink, and stopped and said, "Well, there goes another one."

Her glass had cracked right through the bottom. It was still being held together by her hand, but as she set it down, it fell in half.

Since the heat has come (107 F today, 41 or 42 C), we have broken a couple of glasses by putting water from the refridgerator into "Room Temperature" (i.e., very warm) glasses.

How are you all doing today?

More Comments on McDonalds

Lots of comments on the McDonalds posting?

Marika, it is in the IP Mall (just down from Liberty Shoes); Odyssey Books has moved there, plus a Pizza Corner has just opened, plus a bakery named Biscotti (doesn't actually serve biscotti) and an American Dollar Store will be opening soon (everything is 99 rupees).

The best entertainment at the mall is to watch people try out the escalator. (Think, this is a country where the International Airport in the Capital City has no working escalator). People just don't get it, and are inclined to hurt themselves. Growing up in a place where it was easy to make fun of Amish with their lack of worldly ways, I do recognize the rudeness of watching as people fall all over themselves going up an escalator.

But it is sort of funny.

Now who is in Chicago? Is that the Lindquists? We love you guys!!

(Should it not be the Lindquists, I am nonetheless confident of our great affection for you. We were just trying to figure out who wrote from Chicago) :)

Molly is correct in that the Chickenburger is not particularly more healthy.

And with the Taiwan comments, I am assuming this is Ingrid (aka supermom, superwriter, and of whom we have the best wedding stories to tell).

McDonalds Varanasi serves the McVeggie Burger (Potatoes, Carrots, Peppers, Chilis etc all smashed together with loads of clarified butter and fried), the Aloo Tikka Burger (Mostly potatoe, with lots of fried), and several wraps (The Maharaja Wrap, the Mexican wrap), and so on. I do not actually recall what is being served in the Happy Meals.

And why not? In Thailand, they serve Sweet Corn Ice Cream.

As Miriam is rapidly expanding her vocabulary, one of the first words we recognized from her was, "DONALDS", shouted when we would drive past McDonalds.

Progress, as it were

Well, McDonalds finally opened in the Holy City of Varanasi.

It opened a few months ago, to much fanfare, and has pretty much remained packed since then.

They do not actually serve beef, of course, since cow slaughter is forbidden in our fair city (and state, for that matter). But they do have a nice fish burger, as well as a Chicken burger that is pleasant. And the fries are the same, world over. But no milkshake machine. Bummer.

With the next nearest McDonalds being 500 miles away, and this being a somewhat crowded part of the earth, I think I could guess their local customer base would be around 100 to 150 million people. (In other words, the number of people on earth for whom this is the closest McDonalds).

Maybe it is more than that. Hmmmm.

Quick note to Aunt Lydia and Cousin Donny

And "Hello" to Uncle Carl. Not a week passes but I don't (at some point) recall your grilled chicken.

OK, Lydia and Donald... I actually do read the notes people write in a timely fashion, but I am just now responding to some posted some time ago, about a photo of me on the wheat harvest with wild hair.

Are you sure it wasn't Philip? Granted, neither of us had straight glistening locks, and both of us could have been hung by our hair with no ill effects, but the photo I am recalling is of Philip and Ron. Aren't they doing hand stands or something?

And Yes, Uncle Carl, I recall your chicken with affection.

I thought the girls had energy, until Reuben came along

We have a temporary Home School Co-op, with another family in town. On Tuesdays, Nora Grace goes to their house for the day, and on Thursdays, Reuben comes to our house for the day.

It is my job to do some educating of these bright young minds for the first couple of hours on Thursday. We have studying Music (singing and learning notes), Geography (maps like puzzles, and which way is east etc), Bible (just read it straight, they like it best that way), Theology (God is the Best, God is the Boss, etc), Poetry (still working on that) and then doing some reading to them. (Amy and Reubens Mom do the reading, writing, math part, Reubens Dad does similar things to me on Tuesday mornings).

It is loads of fun.

I bring this up, because I was under the impression that my children were energetic. Well, I guess I was way off.

Reuben, who is five, had a higher vertical jump than I do, and he can jump in one place indefinetely, something I cannot do. Getting the two of them to hold still is like herding cats.

From now on, I shall have to refer to my eldest daughter as "The Mild Mannered Nora Grace".

twenty five percent

25 %.

That is the percentage of times Miriam has actually made it to the potty, (as opposed to going in her pants), since potty training started yesterday.

She is quite proud of her little girl underwear, and prefers no pants or dresses, so that she might better show them off. That is fine for inside, but outside.... We shall see.

Good thing we have stone floors. They clean easily.

Stay tuned for cutting edge reports, here where the action is REALLY happening.

Well, actually, I have to go to work.

5000 naked men

The naked Sadhus were in town. (Sorry, Mom and Dad, I guess you missed this site.) (And thanks to whoever ArtWolfe is, I found this on the internet, and is way better than any picture I have).

Anyways, they are this large group of Hindu guys who wander around naked. (Well, some of them have some adornments). Mostly they wander alone or in small groups, but every once in awhile they will get together for a large procession, as they did in our fair city recently.

So mostly, I chose different routes for getting to work. No offence, fellows.

We are all here

We have had a week of fevers, coughs and "Loose Motions" (to use that delightful Hindi phrase, the other way of saying this locally is to say, "My bowels are just not right.")

Nora Grace has no symptoms at all. The girl just does not get sick. Miriam is more clingy than usual, and is refusing to eat, and Sam hacks and chokes when we lay him down from all the congestion (so he has been sleeping in his little bouncy chair by our bed, seems to work). Amy and I with fevers and sleeping a lot.

Anyways, we seem to be on the mend, but apologies for not writing more recently.

Back to Work

We got back into the city on Saturday afternoon. Had a good conference in Thailand...I feel like a Doctor again. Top notch education was to be had by all, and good conversations with other Physicians doing what I am trying to do (practice Western Medicine outside of The West).

Monday was one of my busiest days yet. I guess that is a good thing.

With the folks out visiting friends.

Grammar and the girls on a Rickshaw.

The folks are back in the States now (ask them about their adventures with snowstorms) and doing well.
Here is just another photo of them down by the River, with the girls.

He spoke well English

I was down on the street arranging a taxi to the airport for My Folks. My Dad was along.

As I finished up the transaction and was walking away, my Dad said of the taxi driver, "He spoke well English."

The only response I could think of was, "Yes, you're right Dad."

My Folks leave at 6AM Sunday morning for the longest day of their lives. They leave here for Tokyo, and then across the Int'l Date Line, arriving some four hours before they leave Tokyo.

Snowstorm predicted for Minneapolis as they are landing. A just welcome.

A Good time was had by all

Well, we are safely in Thailand, and the folks will fly out at 6AM on Sunday. That will be one of the longest days of their lives... they will get up at 2AM, in order to get to the airport. Then, thanks to the wonders of non-Euclidian Geometry (time zones, Int'l Date line and so on), they will travel for about 26 hours, and arrive about ten hours after they left.

They took the girls to the Children's Museum today, and much running about took place (primarily by the children).

We will be off for CME soon.

Going well

Had a good week. Sorry I haven't written more.

The Parental Unit adjusted seemlessly to the constant movement of our lives. Girls roll out of bed around 7AM, and it is non-stop thrills till 8PM, when they calm down enough to be quiet in their room. What a deal.

We had some visitors from Minneapolis: Erik and crew. They brought loads of treats (THANKS MOLLY), and I believe a good time was had by all, though it was hard to tell as they came and went so quickly. We certainly enjoyed seeing/meeting them.

Mom and Dad are off to the Ganges in the morning. I will be off to work.

I might be on Urdu television tomorrow morning. Some guys from the Morning Show came and video-ed my professor along with his students. (He privately tutors six different students, in addition to myself). Though as the others are all young European females, and I am a 40 year old bald guy, I am assuming that the others are far more likely to actually make the final cut. And rest assured I am just fine with that.

Miriam really likes Grammar

Finally, Miriam has someone to pay attention to her for her every waking moment!!

Sam with Pop-Pop

Fun to have my parents visiting.

Mom and Dad arrive in Varanasi

A few minutes after midnight, early in the morning of Thursday, 8 February 2007, my Mom and Dad began plowing through the masses at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

I met them there, and we got a few hours of sleep, before getting on the last leg of their journey to Varanasi.

They are doing well.

Nora Grace is ecstatic. Miriam played things cool for a few hours but is gradually warming up to both of them, especially Grammar.

Though tired yesterday, they even managed to get a pretty good nights' sleep last night.

Oh the adventures that await us.

It is off to work for me.

The Folks are Coming

I will leave by train on Tuesday evening, to go to New Delhi to meet my Mom and Dad, coming in from the frigid north. (We hit 90 last week).

They arrive a few minutes before midnight on Wednesday evening, though I assume it will be well after 2AM till we get back to the hotel. And then up early to catch the flight back to Banaras.

The girls are quite excited. Nora Grace has quite a large stack of books for them to read to her, and quite a few elaborate plans regarding the crafts that her and Grammer will be doing.

Miriam will mostly appreciate having someone to hold her. Miriam would be content to just sit quietly in someones lap for several hours a day, but her looser parents don't seem to have the time. Seems like a job for a Grammer or a Pop-pop.

Trucks go, "BEEP, BEEP"

Miriam's little friend Simeon was over the other day. We have a few token trucks and matchbox cars amidst the sea of pink ribbons and doll clothes, and Simeon immediately gravitated toward those.

I think when I was growing up, when I was playing with trucks, they would say things like, "Brrroom, brrrooom," and "Vrrooom", and make gear changing sounds and such like.

Simeon immedately began to say, "BEEEP BEEEP" and "HOOONK, HOOONK".

I guess it is what you hear.

Haven't checked in for awhile. We are doing well. My parents are coming to visit, what a hoot. They will be here in two weeks, and stay for two weeks. There will be much weeping and wailing when it is time for them to leave.

Busy week in clinic. Whole bunch of Spanish students in this week, and the Swedes arrive next week.

Back in VNS and Clarification

Well, we are safely back in our fair city, and busy as usual.

Have several guests coming next month, so will be quite busy next month. My folks are coming. Hope they do well on the plane trip. It is a long time to sit still.

Clarification!: The Archies mentioned in the previous post is a chain of shops (similar to Hallmark in the US) that sells greeting cards and trinkets. The one close to us with the odd name is just that: an oddly named shop. Indian English often does things with the English language that mean totally different things in other places where English is spoken. This is one such example.

I guess I am a little late in posting this

...but it was sort of fun, so why not?
When I took the girls Christmas shopping, so they could buy a gift for their Mom, we went to ARCHIES (this post has been edited for clarity on 20 January 2007), a trinket and card shop down the street from us.
The girls picked out some candles and a vase for Mom, and the cashier gave them the two santa hats for free.
They got a charge out of them.

Good News

Nora Grace and Sam each got their six month visas today at the Indian Embassy in Bangkok!!! Hooray!!! So we can go back to our fair city.

And we got our computer fixed, so double blessings!!

What a deal. Thanks be to God.

Girlfriends

Here is Nora Grace with a couple of girlfriends. Nev, in the middle, is from South Africa and is almost a twin to Nora Grace. Amy, on the left, is from England.

That makes sense, right?

Sheep in a Trolley

The Festival of the Sacrifice has just fineshed up in our fair city, for the Muslims. So the streets were were full of sheep, goats, and water buffalo being taken to be slaughtered.

We got over ten pounds of meat on that day, as it is tradition to give some away to poor people and friends (we would qualify as "friends").

Commentary on the Methods of Discipline Used by the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe

Some of you may be familiar with the nursery rhyme, regarding the Old Lady who lived in a Shoe. To writ:

"There was an old lady who lived in a shoe
Who had so many children she didn't know what to do,
So she gave them some broth and she gave them some bread,
And spanked them all soundly and sent them to bed. "

Granted, we do not have "so many children" that we "don't know what to do."

And granted, the rhyme shows a noticable lack of justice, in punishing all children equally, regardless of the severity of the offense, and even regardless of the fact that some of them may not have commited punishable offenses.

Nevertheless, there are some days when that makes perfect sense.

A Few Mennonite Jokes

OK, OK, I am not into forwording jokes around the internet too much, but if the Conservative Mennonite Conference's very own Brotherhood Beacon can publish these, goodness, they must be all right...

1. Q: Why don't Mennonite women wear sleaveless dresses?
A: These refuse to bear arms.

2. Q: How was copper wire invented?
A: Two Mennonites found a penny.

3. Q: What is a significant Mennonite dilemma?
A: Free Beer.

4. Q: What do you get when you cross a Mennonite and a Japanese car?
A: A Toyoder.

5. Q: What did three GC Mennonites who were ice fishing say?
A: Wiebe Friesen Fast.

6. Q: Why are Mennonite guys afraid of meeting their dates' father?
A: They might play the Mennonite game and win.

7. Q: What goes clip clop, clip clop, bang bang, clip clop?
A: An Amish drive-by shooting.

8. One day a van of Mennonites was driving up the highway and they saw a sign that said, "Maximum 50". So they stopped and let off seven people.

Think it will rain? Oh, my mistake...

Yesterday, as I was leaving the Charitable Hospital, I looked up and saw several clouds in the sky. "Hmmmm," I thought to myself, "I haven't seen those in a few months."

So I turned and said, "Kya baraish ho ja-yega?", which means, "Do you think it will rain?" or more literally, "Is rain going to happen?"

They all looked at me with blank stares.

Oh yeah, I thought, my mistake.

There was nothing wrong with my Urdu grammar. There was nothing wrong with my vocabulary. There was nothing wrong with my pronunciation.

It was a problem with my world view.

Local people do not speculate about the future. They just don't do that. Why would you ask if it is going to rain? It obviously is not raining right now. Why would one try and guess if it is going to rain at some unspecified point in the future?

Have a Merry, Merry Christmas ... And a Happy New Year

We had a delightful Chrismas, if somewhat tiring.

Nora Grace was Mary in the Fellowship playon Christmas Eve, and did a good job of displaying her "melodramatic-ness". Miriam was a sheep, and with several other toddlers, acted like sheep; wandering about here and there, going places where they should not be, and generally ignoring their shepherds.

Chrismas Eve we had clam chowder, made from a can of clans we brought back from Thailand this summer. We ate well.

Christmas morning started with a phone call from Grammar and Pop-Pop, then breakfast, and proceeded to gift opening, which proved popular. Miriam was so excited she could hardly speak. (I recognize the fact that she can hardly speak anyways, but the excitement of the moment had her jumbling and mixing up what words she does know). The screetchyness factor from Nora Grace got a bit much at times, but what to do with a five year old.

For lunch, the lovely deVries family came over. (Their two teenage boys may not appreciate being called "lovely", but they really are a lovely family). Since they have two teenage boys, we got them food as presents. Makes sense, doesn't it? We had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, baked corn, peas and carrots, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pickles, and cucumbers, and Esme's pickled Chow-chow, and then hot cocoa, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, and Christmas cookies for dessert.

Then the visitors started, and we had visitors straight through from two in the afternoon till 8PM . Between having loads of children running about, not having had time to clean up in a couple of days, and all the new presents, the place got pretty chaotic by bedtime.

And a good time was had by all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Preparing for the Big Day

Busy week getting ready for Christmas. We got a little tree, and finally got a few presents under it. Nora Grace is ecstatic. Miriam is happy because everyone else is happy.

The extended time in Delhi put us way behind.

We haven't sent anything to our families for Christmas, since we were going to order things off the internet, and our computer is not cooperating. Sorry family!!! Hopefully we can send some things from Thailand.

But we are singing some good songs, and eating some good food, and Lord willing, will have some good fellowship in the next few day.

In Urdu, Christmas is just called BaRa Din, or "Big Day".

Back in Varanasi

Well, after ten very long and frustrating days, we are back in our fair city of Banaras. It is good to be home. We can stay at least through Christmas.

We had a good time in Kathmandu. What a great city: we ate at Mike's Breakfast (he is from Minnesota!) and the Roadhouse Cafe, bought mittens for the girls, rested a bit, and most importantly... got back to Varanasi.

The stamps that Nora Grace and Sam have in there passports expire on January 8, so we have a couple of weeks to decide what to do. We are leaning toward the Thailand option, but shall give it a few more days of thought.

The city is a pleasant 70 degrees during the day, and down to 50 overnight. A little fog in the morning, which will likely thicken in the next week or so. Our house is dusty, but it is our house. What a deal.

We'll keep you posted.

Made it to Kathmandu

Well, with the stamps we have in Nora Graces and Sams Passports, we were permitted to exit to Kathmandu, so Amy and I will not be in violation of our visas.

I took a poll of officials in the New delhi airport yesterday, and the majority said we could come back in tomorrow, so LW, we will return to Varanasi.

So we can at least have a normal Christmas, and then begin working on real visas for the two.

As James says, "As the LORD wills..."

The Continuing Saga... Where will we spend Christmas

In the continuing saga of the visas for Sam and Nora Grace, we now have some sort of "Observation" stamp in there passport, that alledgedly means they are permitted to leave the country. (We tried to fly to Kathmandu yesterday, and were turned back, as they told us the paperwork we had for Sam and Nora Grace was insufficiant).

Amy and I need to leave soon, or else our visas will be in violation. So, LW, we will fly to Kathmandu tomorrow. Then comes the big question...

Will they let Nora Grace and Sam back in the country? The stamp is vaguely worded, and in polling other people who have delt with the Foreign Registration Office in Delhi before, people are split 50-50, some saying they can come and go till January 8 (when the stamp expires), and others saying it only means they can legally leave, but can't come back without new paperwork.

So will we have to split up? Amy stay in Kathmandu or fly to Bangkok to work on visa issues for Sam and Nora Grace while Lowell takes Miriam back to Varanasi to get back to work?

Stay tuned, eager readers, stay tuned.

Discouraging Office visits

The past few days have been discouraging for us.

We came to New Delhi to get a visa for Sam, and for Nora Grace (who just got a new passport, as her old one expired). For Nora Grace when she was born, the process took one long day. We have been at it for five days, and now we only have a thirty day visa for them.

On Friday, we were told to go to the airport with a letter from the (oddly named) Ministry of Home Affairs, and we would get six month visas there. So today, with air tickets in hand, and a letter directing the customs officials to give Sam and Nora Grace visas, they refused to do it and sent us back to Delhi.

After another long day in an office, we now have thirty day visas for the Sam and NGL, and then we have to figure out what to do after that.

Hopefully, we can still get to Kathmandu this week, and at least have Christmas at home, before tackling the Orwellian Offices again. We shall see.

After that, I guess our only option would be to go to Thailand and try to get a visa from there.

It seemed like a good day for Miriam and Sam to have the dierrhea.

So many people are praying for us. This is the LORDS doing.

Still no visas

We are in New Delhi trying to get visas for Sam (who just got his passport), and Nora Grace (whose passport expired, and we got the new one, and now we are trying to get her a visa also).

We have tickets to go to Kathmandu in three days for a visa run for ourselves (we have to exit the country every 180 days, and for Amy, Miriam and myself, our time is almost up).

We have spent 12 hours a day at various offices, getting shunted around, sent to different places, and so on, and still no visas are forthcoming. The latest is that we were told to pick up a letter (but not open it) and give it to the customs officials at the airport on Monday which will allow us to exit and re-enter the country one time, and thus we can continue the process later).

Amy has taken the bulk of the name-calling, yelling, shouting and so on, that gets piled on people who go to government offices here, as she has Sam, and I have been taking care of Miriam in the waiting room. She has been a real trooper.

Goodness, we could use some prayers on our behalf.

PS: if you are trying to contact us by email, our computer is down, and we may have lost a couple of hundred emails.

PPS: For those of you who know Lynnette Stephen, she just had a little baby girls this moring.

Traveling to New delhi again.

We leave Tuesday on the overnight train for New Delhi. We will pick up new passports for Sam and Nora Grace from the US Embassy (that we applied for last month), and then head to the Indian government offices for getting Indian visas in those passports. And then we have tickets to fly to Kathmandu next Monday to get everyone else's regular visas renewed.

We will stay at the SB guesthouse in New Delhi, and then LW at the Tibet GUest House in Kathmandu.

The visas could be painful. Last time we did this for Nora Grace when she was born, I had to put up with quite a few people screaming at me, cursing me, threatening violence, and so on. But such is Indian beauacracy.

Maybe I will send Amy with Nora Grace and Sam and I will stay at the hotel with Miriam. If Amy goes alone and dresses in blue jeans, and refuses to speak Hindi, and acts like a dumb foreigner, maybe they will just do the visas without all the bribes and so on.

We shall see.

It is technically a one hour proceedure, but we have four days scheduled, just in case.

And we go to the carol sing at the Australian embassy, which should be fun.

Going, going, ... not quite gone yet

Our laptop computer appears to be totally dying. There are a couple more things I can do to try and fix it. I may try saving all my files to disc and re-booting the harddrive (not sure if I said that right).

Oh well, what to do next.

We will be in New Delhi for the next week to work on passport and visas again, so that will be a good time for me to go through the psychologically healthy period of mourning for the death of this old friend, before moving on to another.

But where to buy another one? That is the hundred dollar question. Should I wait till February when we go to Thailand, and I can get the best quality (and in the meanwhile just use Internet cafe's for all our computing, which is no fun), or should we get one locally, which are much slower and poorer quality?

I think best about such things by mulling them over for a few days. So we will be doing some Mulling in New Delhi also.

Reguarding Apostrophes

"So what are the jobs an apostrophe currently has on its CV? Before we start tearing out our hair at sloppy, ignorant current usage, first let us acknowledge the sobering wisdom of the Oxford Companion to English Literature..., "There never was a golden age in which the rules for the possessive apostrophe were clear-cut and known, understood and followed by most educated people.""

That is taken from Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation! by Lynne Truss.

It is a really fun and well written book about punctuation, if you are into that sort of thing.

My wife and I have on-going battles about my alleged over-use and her alleged under-use of possessive apostrophes. (Note I did not put an apostrophe there).

Want to know what is really funny? I am at an Internet Cafe, and the keyboard I am using does not have several key punctuation parts, namely the colon and semi-colon. What a deal.

There really isn't anything we can do with this hair...

Amos son of Amos son of Amos, cousin once removed

My Dads first cousin Amos Stoltzfus is in India for awhile, with his wife Rowena (Oliver and Betty Mast's daughter), and youngest son, Dirgham. It was great fun to see them, after so many years. They live close to Delhi, and drove down to have supper with us.

Amos' Dad is my Paternal Grandfathers younger brother, making my dad Amos' first cousin. So I think that makes Amos my first cousin once removed, and Dirgham would be second cousin to our kids. Is that right?

Amos has over 100 first cousins (not their spouses or degrees, but just first cousins). That is a lot. My 50 or so pale in comparison.

Question: What is the Proper Protocol for Answering Comments on One's Webblog?

Many people have left comments in this blog, which I/we appreciate.

What is the appropriate web protocol for answering them? With another comment? With another blog posting? With a personal email?

PS: Red Velvet cake is regular old chocolate cake with loads and loads of red food coloring in the cake to make it look like red velvet (recipe on the web for sure). The girls love it because it turns their milk red (yes, of course my children eat their milk in a bowl with milk on top of it. What kind of person do you take me for?) I love it because chocolate cake, by any other name, is still chocolate cake.

Thomas Friedman's Book, "The World is Flat"

I just finished reading Thomas Friedmans book, "The World is Flat", about how the internet, Globilization etc are changing the world, so that now we are more like one big country, instead of numerous smaller countries. Here are some observations:

1. He is telling me stuff I already know, I just have been to busy to think about it.

2. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The method of maintaining relationships change (from letters to email), but a relationship is still a relationship. Business is still business.

3. The indirect references to the Tower of Babel are fascinating. The world is being leveled, "one world" is emerging. Walls based on nation, tribe, creed and tongue are being destroyed. What will G-d do now?

4. It works where Christianity is permitted and blessed. Much of it is based on trust, equality and peacefully working together and resolving disputes. These are Christian qualities. Where Christianity is hated, it doesn't work.

5. Mahoman Singh, in the early 90's, did more to change India than any other Indian since 1950.

6. It is creating a new type of "rich" and "poor", "slave" and "free". The geeks are becoming the ruling class. Computer illiterate people have a difficult time making a living wage.

7. The author likes Macs.

8. The author does not like George Bush.

9. I have many "flat world moments", but I don't live in a flat world. I might be in India seeing a Basque patient using a French person who speaks Spanish as a second language to translate about how to take his Chinese made medicines, but I still rode my bicycle over to see him.

10. The new jobs outlined in the chapter "the Untouchables", are mostly people doing one of two things: Either doing their old jobs in new ways, or showing people how to do their old jobs in new ways.

11. Learning how to do things by yourself (without formal training) is one of the best skills you can have. I never had a computer class, but I am blogging. On the other hand I have had many grammar classes, and just look at this mess.

12. The big important skills to have include: Curiosity, Passion, Getting Along well with Others, Being "Well-Rounded", and a Culture of Trust.

13. He thinks the answer to problems is Big Government. I couldn't disagree more.

14. His comments on Islamists (that they are not religious, but political, and so on) are profound and well worth reading.

I dunno, but this would appear to be Trouble.

Note that I spelled Trouble with a capital "T". This is Nora Grace and her friend Amiel. He is from South Africa. Man-o-man, can these two get into trouble. Don't let appearances decieve you.

Gifts for Sam

We have recieved a number of gifts for Samuel, from some of our local friends.

1. Disposable Diapers: for those dierrheal days when you just cannot wash another clothe diaper.

2. Eggs: Not sure why. But several people have given us eggs. I made French Toast with them. (French Toast being a classic Daddy meal. When Dad has to make supper really fast, there is a good chance it will be French Toast).

3. Cash: Several people handed us 1oo rupee notes in honor of the birth of son. Again, I didn't get a good explanation or if it is different if it is a girl. They just said it is what they do. Presumably, this particular tradition is subject to modern economic forces such as inflation, and they haven't always given 100 rupees. In former times, that would be several weeks wages. Nowadays it is two dollars. Sam plans to invest his fortune wisely.

4. Massage: Sam is getting a massage everyday, provided by some friends. For a nominal fee, Amy also gets a brief massage. It is traditional in our part of the world to massage newborn babies and their mothers vigorously with oil, something Sam has strong feelings about, usually not too happy. Amy doesn't mind, and Miriam would really like to get in ont the act also.

5. Clothes: Well you knew that we would be on this list.

6. Chocolate and local sweets: Hey, I can accept those on behalf of my son.

Week in New Delhi

We got into New Delhi last evening.

We are here to apply for a Report of a Birth Abroad, the first step in Sam's paperwork. Then when we get that, we can apply for a passport. Then when we get that, we can apply for a visa from the Foreign Registration Office of the India Government. So we spend the week in Government offices filling out forms.

We got here by airplane, the first time we have done that. When India began privatizing things a few years ago, one of the first prices to come down was Domestic Airline prices. A few weeks ago, one of the low-cost carriers began operating flights to Varanasi, and we decided to take advantage of them. So we got to the airport and checked in the waiting lounge by 11AM yesterday, in order to get on our SpiceJet airplane.

Unfortunately, it didnt arrive until 5PM. So we had a bit of along afternoon in a small room with dozens of other somewhat frustrated passengers. We all cheered and whooped when the plane did arrive, and the staff came around all afternoon offering free chai.

We had a quieter day today, and just stayed in at the guesthouse, having family Church.

Life in Varanasi goes on

Not too much to report here. Election results were released yesterday, so there was lots of problems with traffic, as people paraded through the streets.

Spent the weekend doing wedding stuff for N and H.

We are off to New Delhi on Saturday to work on a passport and visa for Sam, and Nora Grace, whose will expire shortly.

Amy's Birthday

Amy had a quiet birthday on October 31. That was also the day for local Elections, so the whole city was shut down, everyone at home and every shop closed.

All wheeled vehicle traffic was forbidden. Motorcycles, trucks, cars, scooters, bicycles etc. So wasn't much to do except stay inside and visit. And that is not such a bad thing.

Amy is of the opinion that no one can make her favorite kind of cake better than her, hence, she will make her own cake. There is good reason for her to think that way. She made a Red Velvet cake, and it is being enjoyed by one and all.

Boys had a great and glorious day on election day, since all the streets were empty, they could finally play a good round of cricket, a game that I am genetically destined to be unable to understand.

No one died in our local area on election day, always a good thing, though a few were hospitilized. West of here, several people died in poll violence.

The reason no wheeled traffic is allowed on election day? Because people will try to steal the ballot boxes (in areas where their opponant is strong) and dump them in the river. And yet you doubt original sin?

Elections coming

Elections are on Tuesday, local elections for the Mayor and City Councel. So the city is full of people demonstrating in favor of the candidates of their choice. Packs of flag waving motorcyclists are common, which doesnt do much to help the traffic situation.

This photo was taken off our our back balcony.

A Monday for Lowell in India

So yesterday was Monday... what was my Monday like for me?

Amy's alarm is set for 6AM, but Sam woke us at 5:45, so we almost slept till the alarm. Then it was the bustle to get kids up and fed and Nora Grace ready for school, as her bus comes around 7:30. I took her down to the front courtyard at 7:25, but there was no guard to unlock the gate, so we both wandered around the building looking for one. As Jim Likeks says, it is a marvelous thing that this 5 year old girl thinks it is normal and natural to hold her Daddy's hand as they walk down the stairs, with her chattering about the morning. Enjoy it while I can. Found someone with a gate key before the bus came, and saw her off, with the usual advice: "Stay seated on the bus, obey your teachers, be happy, do not sass, be kind to everyone even if they are not kind to you, you will be most happy if you obey, see you this evening."

Then it was back to our apartment, where I sorted laundry, changed diapers, shaved and showered, read the paper, cleaned up from breakfast, talked to one of the neighhbor guy's (No, you cannot borrow our Stove), talked to a couple of patients on the phone ("Yes, fever with no other signs might be Dengue Fever, see me at 2PM", and "Yes, Draining a cup of pus from an abscess on your leg is a bad thing, see me at 3PM").

Amy took off for some errands at 10AM, and both Sam and Miriam chose that time to meltdown, and so I spent the next hour holding two children, and reading "Hippos go Beserk", and "A Picnic with Monet" and "Sheep in a Jeep". All of those are fun the first couple of reads, but I think I have them memorized now. So do the girls.

We had lunch of Rice and Lentils with flat bread at noon, then I got dressed and took off for the Hospitals.

About half a mile from our house, there is a key underpass where the main road goes under the railroad, and it is being repaved at the moment. Since there is no other way under the Railroad for several miles, everyone HAS to go through at this small junction. So it was packed. The advantage to a bicycle is that one can weave ones way, and cut off a few minutes. I dropped off a disc of some pictures at a Photo shop (for some Eid pictures we had taken that friends wanted copies of), and wandered on down to the Heritage Hospital via back alleys, where I saw several patients, and took several phone calls). In between I studied some, read some, chatted with staff some.

The last patient probably did have Dengue, but we will never know for sure. The test for Dengue is over 20 US Dollars, and many Travelers are on extremely short budgets, so won't have the test done. (I am hitting about 75 to 80 % correct when I guess if it is Dengue or some other viral process that hasn't been defined). The patient also couldn't afford the Hospitals fee to see me (ten USD), so we bargained a bit, and eventually agreed 2 US would be fine. OK. The Abscess patient was a delightful Japanese gal who is studying dance at a local University. She has an abscess the size of my fist in her thigh and is has been fairly ill at home. Should do well.

So then I road my bicycle to a local charitable Muslim Hospital where I also see patients for free. Since there are elections tomorrow (local elections for Mayor and such like), there were numerous traffic jams as people demonstrated on behalf of the candidates of their choice. But got through, and maybe arrived on time. It has never been clear to me when I am supposed to arrive. The posted hours are from 4 to 6, but if I arrive at 4, there is no one there and I sit around for awhile. So they told me to sit in the office from 5 to 7, but everyone else leaves at 6:30 (including staff), so if a patient did arrive after 6:30, they wouldn't even know I was there. So I play it by ear each time.

Last night there were some patients to see me, but I did not actually see them (the Orthopaedist and the Dermatologist saw them, though the patients did not have Orthopaedic or Dermatologic problems). Since this was my first day back since Samuel was born, I spent the evening wandering around the Hospital with several of the Administrators, handing out Mitthia (Indian Sweets), and showing pictures of my new baby boy. Eventually got back to clinic at 6:30, but everyone was gone by then, so I made some phone calls and did paper work, and headed home.

In trying to get home, that same railroad crossing mentioned earlier was still incredibly jammed tight, and police with large sticks were beating people to get them to go another way. Didn't think I would try my chances there, so I wandered around awhile and eventually carried my bicycle across the railroad tracks at the Canntonment station, and took the long way home through the tree covered trails of The Cannt, which wasnt too bad, though I still got caught in several traffic jams as I came by some large Mosques just as prayers let out.

Got home, had some leftover chicken pie for supper, and put the girls to bed, giving them each a blessing and then sitting and singing for awhile. I have a collection of hymnals here, so I just randomly pick one and start singing the first song I open up to, and work my way through the book from there. Last night I picked "The Christian Hymnary", a fun little compilation by this Plain Menno fellow named John Overholt. Sang about ten hymns, and got interupted with more visitors. Miriam was asleep by then and Nora Grace was on her way.

So that was my Monday.

Eleven Candidates for Mayor, down from Twelve

Varanasi is due to have elections for Mayor and City Councel in two days. So the streets have been clogged with political demonstrations, and thousands of extra gun toting goons have moved onto the streets, allegedly to prevent violence.

There used to be twelve candidates for Mayor. It is down to eleven now.

Seems last week one of them had a bit of an accident.

Seems he wanted to get his picture in the paper. So some photographers egged him on to light himself on fire (in protest over something, just what escapes me), then they would take his picture, and then put out the fire. So the end result would be that he would get his picture in the paper emmoliating himself, but wouldn't get hurt.

So they dashed a little kerosine on his shirt, lit a match and quickly took some photos before putting the fire out. But the photos weren't very good quality.

So they did it again. Dashed a little extra kerosine on him, and tossed a match.

Only this time they couldn't get the fire out, and it spread too quickly (a bane upon this modern polyester clothing). And he ended up with 90% burns on his body and died later that day.

Isn't that frustrating when you try to stage a self-emmoliation in order to get your picture in the paper, and it actually works? I am sure there are lessons for us all to learn here, but other than "Don't be foolish", I probably won't mention any more.

Makes you say "Hmmm"

Last week was one of the biggest Hindu festivals of the year, Diwali.

On the day after, three different patients (all western) came in with various complaints, and all three mentioned that they had "seen things that they knew were not there" on the night before.

One saw some dogs, one some people, one just saw objects moving around in his room.

Where's the Moon?

The Muslim month of fasting officially ends when the New Moon is sighted on the last day of the fast. If you don't see the moon, technically you cannot end your fast. Usually, each larger area has official moon watchers to watch for the emoon on the last day of the fast.

In most parts of the world, Ramzan ended last evening (Monday Evening) and the offical celebration of Eid began in earnest, when large amounts of foods are consumed through out the Muslim world.

Yesterday evening, the official moon watchers in Delhi saw the moon, and declared Ramzan to be over. The same thing happened in Lucknow, west of us, and in Bihar and Calcutta, to the east of us. And to the south of us and to the north of us.

Everyone saw the moon, and everyone declared the fast to be over, and that Tuesday should be a day of feasting...

Except for Varanasi.

In our fair city, the official moon watchers either could or did not see the moon. So for our area, the fast is not over, and the celebration will not begin until tomorrow.

Sigh.

Need a Extra God?

With the Hindu festival of Diwali happening over the next couple of days, the air in this holy city is full of religious fervor. (Sorry if I mispelled that, Aunt Lydia). :)

So there are lots of folks who set up stands on the streets selling gods.

If you need an extra god, this is a good time of year to buy one.

If you bargain extra hard, you can get your god for extra cheap.

If the god you want is a little banged up, they will touch up the paint on your god for free.

Hmmmm. My God is not like that.

Friday Prayers

The last Friday of Ramzan (the month of fasting for Muslims) is a special day, and one gets extra points if one prays on the main noon prayers on that day. So the mosques are just packed.

Across the street from where we live is one of the biggest and more influencial mosques in the area, so it get really really packed.

The police block off all the surrounding streets so that people can spread their prayer rugs on the street as overflow. Got a 45 minutes sermon today, instead of the usual 10 minute homily.

Recieving Visitors

Today is Sunday. We had tons of visitors today. So we gave out lots of Mitthai (Indian sweets). Samuel slept through it all, being passed from person to person, having his cheeks pinched, and so on. The photo is our Landlady.

This Magnificant Non-Event (Well Almost)

The delivery of Samuel happened so fast, it almost seems like it didn't happen. We were home 20 hours after Amy went into labor.

The lack of any concentrated Hospital time makes it feel like it didn't really happen.

But then I'll walk into the bedroom and see Samuel laying there and say, "Where did that come from?". And Amy just pats her stomach and smiles.

So we are getting used to the new baby.

And lots of people are bringing us food. And we are eating REALLY well. Did you know that South Africans are one of only two countries where the average meat consumption is greater than the USA (the other being Argentina)? I say that in introduction because there are lots of South Africans in town, and boy oh boy can they cook the meat. So we are getting lots of protein.

And getting used to the new baby.

Samuel Calvin Christian Stoltzfus

Samuel Calvin Christian Stoltzfus was born at 6:25 PM local time on Thursday evening, October 12, 2006. Both he and Mom are doing well.

Amy's water broke at 2 in the afternoon, and our friends Jack and Neepa (who live around the corner from the Hospital) picked us up at 3:30. We stayed at their house for an hour and got the girls settled in there, and then Neepa, Amy and Lowell went round to the Hospital. The contractions started hard and fast at 5PM, and she went through a normal labor curve and delivered at 6:25PM.

Samuel was born pink and hungry, with lots of black hair (all our kids did) a very round face (his cheeks roll when he does), and long thin fingers.

He is 3750 grams, or 8 pounds 4 ounces, and 52 cm long (is that 21 inches?) and a head circumphrence of 37 cm (15 inches?). I need to double check those myself, as I have not yet done a complete exam on him myself.

Why would I do a Complete Exam on my son? Because I am the only one who will.

He latched on well, and slept a fair amount through his first night on earth.

His big sisters are ecstatic.

More later.

Samuel Calvin Christian Stoltzfus

Taken when he was 15 hours old.

Off to be closer to the Hospital

Hello, if anyone is reading this at this time.

It is 3 in the afternoon on Thursday, October 12, and Amy's water just broke.

There aren't any contractions yet, but we have called Jack (who lives close to the Hospital, and has a motorized vehicle that is not a rickshaw), and we are going to go to their house for an hour or two and await contractions, and then to the Hospital.

We will keep you posted.

WHOO HOO (I hope)

No particular reason

Two sisters waiting for a sibling...

Alter Altar? Lowell can't spell and Aunt Lydia rules

Thank you Aunt Lydia (aka, mtmama) for pointing out that I had mispelled "Altar" as alter.

For the two doctor job interviews I have had in life (HFA and Mille Lacs), in both of them, I verbally told them during the interview that I could not spell.

They hired me anyways.

"This is better than any brick road in Charleston"

Amy is still pregnant.

Various people have written with various helpful hints on how to induce labor.

Amy is still pregnant.

One friend (formerly from Charleston, South Carolina) wrote and described a Brick Road in the old part of town that was quite bumpy, and legend had it that if you drove over this road a few times, it would induce labor.

Last night we were coming home from an Iftar meal, when we came to a particularly bumpy stretch of road.

As the family bounced and tossed in our bicycle rickshaw, Amy commented, "This is better than any brick road in Charleston."

Amy is still pregnant.

I go to God's Bloody Place where the throats of the animals are slit for sacrifice

I was studying Psalm 43 with a friend (in Urdu) the other day. We came to the verse where it says (in English), "I will go to the alter of God".

I did not know the Urdu word for "alter", and asked my friend what it was. He did not know the word in English, and so gave the following English description, "It is God's Bloody Place, where the throats of the animals are slit for sacrifice".

Of course, it's an alter.

Sometimes I think of the "alter" as the carpeted stairs and dais at the front of the Church Meetinghouse. But it is not. It is a bloody place. It is where sacrifice and death take place.

I need to remember that.

Friends

Out for another Iftar meal last night. The girls has fun playing.

Got in big trouble at work last night

On Friday evenings, I see patients at a Muslim Charitable Hospital downtown. I share a room with an Orthopaedic Surgeon, who is an excellent physician.

Since it is a charitable hospital, people do everything to try and keep costs down. This includes the Orthopaedic Surgeon using old fashioned Plaster of Paris powder and hand making a cast (in the States, everything is pre-packaged). When you use Plaster of Paris powder in a room with a large ceiling fan (as ours does), it makes quite a mess.

Last night, the Orthopaedist put on a cast and then had to leave quickly. So I started cleaning up after him. You know, sweeping off the patient bed, putting paper in the garbage pail and so on. AND THEN ONE OF THE WARD BOYS CAUGHT ME!!

"Oh NO, Doctor, you must not do this," he shouted, calling others at the same time. So a Cleaner was duly fetched, who did the pick up. But when I bent down to pick up a broom, to get the Plaster of Paris powder out of the main walk way, the protestations got even worse. So then a Sweeper was fetched, so that I would not have to do that.

At this point the President of the Board of Directors came in (he has an office next to mine), and sat me down to let me know in no uncertain terms that cleaing was unacceptable behaviour on my part, and that if anything needed cleaning, I must call the appropriate person.

Then he asked everyone in the room to leave.

"Uh-Oh", I thought, "I really overstepped my cultural boundaries and am going to get an earfull now."

But as the room emptied, he looked at me, and said in English (before this everything was in Hindi), "Is there anything stronger than Viagra?"

Computer screen out

Well, I think my computer screen has died. By hooking up the digital projector, I can still see what is going on. How am I gonna fix that in Uttar Pradesh when a baby is due any day? We shall see.

No baby yet

Amy has been up in the middle of the night for the past several nights, with contractions. Some quite hard. But then after an hour or two, they just sortof peter out.

Hope to have a baby soon, as the LORD wills.

Up at 4 AM

Nora Grace fell out of bed a few minutes after four o'clock this morning.

While Miriam just briefly opened her eyes at the crying, then rolled over and went back to sleep, Nora Grace needed more attention.

She complained of varios aches and pains, and as each one checked out fine, that one would get better and another would begin. After five minutes of this, we moved her into our bed and attempted to go to sleep again.

Clearly was not meant to happen.

I quickly left the bed for the relative safety of the couch in the living room, where one is not subject to flailing legs and whispered questions in ones ear. ("Is God stronger than you, Daddy?", and so on).

No one, except Miriam, slept from then on. Looks like it will be an early bedtime tonight.

I understand why Muslims gain weight in Ramadan

Ramzan, the Muslim month of fasting during the day and partying at night, has begun.

So last night at the Muslim Charitable hospital, the administration sent me home early, saying simply that absolutely no one would come to the hospital when the sun is going to down and people will break the fast.

No problem.

The way that Muslims fast is to refrain from all food and drink from sun-up to sun-down, but no restrictions at night.

Iftar is when they break the fast, or as they say in Urdu, "Khol Raza" which means they "Open the fast", and start eating.

And eat they do. Most folks are at their home with many plates of various foods in front of them as the sun begins to disappear. When the call to prayer rings out from the local mosque, everyone digs in. Most of the folks I know will have three to four meals during the nighttime, and then begin the fast again next morning.

Makes sense they gain weight.

Phone out

Well our phone is out, so I am sitting at an Internet Cafe to write this. Oh well.

Amy is still preggy, though she would very much like to NOT be for the time being. God will do whatever God wants to do.

Nora Grace is FIVE

Nora Grace turned five years old on Wednesday.

She has been looking forward to this day for months (and is already talking about her sixth birthday). Amy made some cake which they took around to neighbors (here, one usually gives gifts on ones birthday). Some friends were coming over to pray, so we had cake and treats also with them.

She was so happy. She knew the party was about her, and she was quite the ham.

Thus far, the "Blues Clues" slippers seem to be the most popular gift (given by our landlords family). Though she is excited about pretty much everything, as is her want.

The House is Under 80 degrees!

We had a cool front move in over the past few days, with highs only in the 80's, and even cooler at night.

And this morning when I woke up, our indoor temperature was 79 degrees. Whoo Hoooo!!!

First time since early March.

What do you wear to a delivery?

As Amy is rapidly getting close to delivery, and because the traffic is horrendous in this fair city of ours, and because Amy only pushed twice with the last delivery, therefore I have taken to carrying around with me a few essentials in case I end up doing the delivery myself.
With the story of the Marstens still fresh in our memory, and recognizing that an autorickshaw would not be nearly so comfortable a place to deliver as an American vehicle, we ferverently pray that we make it to the hospital.
Nothing too extensive: sterile gloves, cotton and alcohol, couple of cord clamps, scissors. Amy has several clean cotton blankets she takes with her all the time also.
Anything else I should take?

Did I spell "ferverently" correctly?

Nora Grace and OC

Nora Grace wants to wear a Burka, because it is cool.
Not really much commentary needed on that one.
Oh everything is just backwards.

Still hot and Amy still preggy

Our house is still in the 80's (around 30-32 Celcius). It is still in the 90's everyday (upper 30's), with humidity around 90% also.
We are ready for the cooler weather, but that is still probably a month away.
Amy remembers when she delivered Nora Grace here five years ago (September 20) that it was 100 degrees that day (38C).
She is still preggy. When I did Leopolds maneuvers a few days ago, the baby is head down again, but still quite "loose-like", so may float around a bit more. Who can tell?

Ten years before you can bury again

Talked to a Muslim gravedigger the other night. He was a remarkably cheerful chap, considering the soberness of his profession. But I guess Undertakers in the States have that reputation too, sometimes.
(side note: He has his very own Caste).
When Muslims bury the dead, they do not preserve the body in any way, but just wrap it in a simple white sheet, and put it in the ground. No headstone, just a pile of earth. And in a hot and (usually) moist climate such as this one, bodies disintrigate rapidly.
Since space is such a huge premium in the mind-boggelingly crowded alleys of Varanasi, they obviously have to bury on top of a place where someone else was buried before. So I asked him how long would he wait, before he dug a fresh grave on a site where someone was buried previously.
His reply was "Ten years, Doctor-Sahib. I have every space memorized in these graveyards (accounting for thousands of graves), and I know where I can bury someone. If I wait ten years, then there will be no bones or anything when I start digging anew."

I could pray for a Christian, but I don't think I could pray for a Hindu

On Shoob Bara'At, Muslims go to the graveyards to pray for the dead, mostly family and friends.
I asked my Tutor, "Well, could you pray for a non-Muslim on that night also? How about Jews, Christians, and Hindus?"
He thought about this for awhile, and then replied, "Well, I guess I could pray for a Christian or a Jew, since we worship the same God, but I don't think I could pray for a Hindu, since they pray to a different god."
He offered to pray for any dead relatives of mine that needed prayer (such a kind gesture), but I opted to respectfully decline.

Shoob Bara' At

Shoob Bara' At is the night when most Indian Muslims go to the graveyards to pray for dead friends and family. This year, it took place last Thursday.
Reori Talib is a Muslim neighborhood that has about ten acres of graveyards, and is one of the most popular sights to visit on that night. Those ten acres of graveyards saw about 100,000 people visit during the course of that one night (it is a bit crowded, in other words).
Unfortunately, just west of here, there were some bomb blasts in Muslim graveyards, throwing an air of tension over the night. I was surprised how fast the government reacted, and there were hundreds of heavily armed police and dozens of elite Rapid Action Force troops patrolling the graveyards within hours.

Breech, no Vertex, no Breech

Amy has been back and forth to the Doctor several times over the last few weeks as she gets closer to delivery. Two weeks ago, the Doctor announced the baby was Breech.
Then last week, she said the baby was Vertex (head down), so we breathed a sigh of relief.
Then yesterday, she said the baby is Breech again.
I finally decided to do Leopolds maneuvers myself (where you put your hands on the pregnant ladies abdomen to determine where the baby is), and found that the Baby was Transverse (sideways).
I think that means that the Baby is not very big yet, and has lots of room to maneuver, and is staying quite active. Let us pray that when he or she finally decides on a position, it is Head Down.

Spent a good part of the morning watching dubbed info-mericals for Sauna Belts

Amy had a Doctor's appointment on Saturday morning, as she is well into pregnancy and the visits are more frequent now. I went along, as I had not met the Doctor yet, and to make sure I understood my role in the upcoming delivery (LW).

The Doctor was late so we ended up sitting in the waiting room for over an hour with dozens of other patients, also waiting for various Physicians.

Luckily for us (Hooray), there was a TV on to keep us well-informed. Unluckily for us (uh oh), the information was about the Sauna Belt.

It was an American Info-mericial made in Southern California (no offense to my friends in Southern California). Apparently, people in Southern California are all young, blond, attractive, find numerous articles of clothing unnecessary, and most importantly, they all keep there unrealistic figures by wearing a Sauna Belt.

The whole thing was dubbed in Hindi. Many of the ideas did not translate well.

The Sauna Belt, which this Info-merical was trying to sell, is a plastic and vinyl twelve inch high belt that you wrap around your stomach, put batteries in, and it creates heat. Lots of heat. Alledgedly, this will help you loose weight, and become a beautiful, thin, happy and fullfilled person.

It was 100 degrees in the waiting room (38 Celsius), most of us were dripping with sweat, and most of the others were studying the idea with apparent seriousness. There was a toll-free number where Hindi speaking operators would take your credit card information, and arrange for a courrier to send you this thing.

Amy and I found it rather amusing. Why, exactly, when one is dripping with sweat, would one want to wrap oneself in hot plastic and vinyl? We tried, often successfully, to hide our giggles and guffaws. But really it just seemed so odd.

We were happy to know there is also a toll-free number for Bangladesh, in case any Bangladeshi's want to order the Sauna Belt.