Nico and Miguelito

Shudra Revolution

Okay, so I finally got a chance to wander outside of the hotel and the office on Saturday!  I tried to upload some photographs, but was only partially successful because the bandwidth here is quite limited.  I promise to upload more as soon as I return home Monday.

I should first explain that our hotel is the a "good" part of Bombay.  The suburb name is Powaii and is only recently been built up as a part of office complex development and high rise development.  Good is a relative word here, since the poverty right outside my hotel is painfully clear.  The hotel complex is heavily guarded; no one guests in who is not a guest and guests NEVER leave the hotel on foot.  There isn't even a path to leave the hotel on foot -- only by car. 

Well, yesterday I left t he hotel on foot to explore the surrounding neighborhood.  I consider myself fairly well-traveled and not easily rattled; but, I have to say that I have never been more shocked than I was by my little excursion outside of the hotel.  I may as well have been from Mars -- the neighborhood occupants stared at me as though I were some sort of crazy person venturing into their neighborhood.  The women were friendly and smiled very sweetly.  I was even able to photograph a few  of them.  The children were hilarious!  They followed me around, whispering to themselves, I suspect, about my possible origin and clearly questionable mental state.  The men, well, they were just as shocked as anybody else and stared, too.  Although they appeared to be more offended than anything.

Although I'm sure that most of them have seen Americans before, perhaps they haven't seen one that glows in the dark, like I do. 

Yesterday, some of my co-workers took me to an orphanage outside of Mumbai that takes in street children.  There were approximately 20 boys who range in ages 5-17 there.  I got photographs of them and they were incredible.  One of the boys is 17 and is so smart!  He desperately wants to be an engineer.  Presently, our company sponsors this orphanage to ensure that the children are well-fed and clothed.  However, the orphanage does not have the financial resources to send all the children to school.  It's still unclear whether the young man will be able to go to University or will be turned out into the street when he reaches 18. 

The orphanage was extremely emotional for me.  I did lose it for a few minutes and started crying.  If even for a second I think about my own boys growing up in similar circumstances, my heart breaks.  The young man who wants to be an engineer stood up as we were leaving and in perfect English said an amazing "thank you" from the children.  I asked the boys what I could bring them next time:  candy? chocolate? clothes?  They all looked at me blankly and said, "nothing, we have everything here."  They have none of the material advantages in life, and yet, they are very happy with their circumstance. 

At the end, one boy relented after I pushed some more and finally asked if I could bring a few notebooks so that he could study more.  If that doesn't break your heart, then nothing will.  These boys now have a very special place in my heart.  Every trip that I make to Bombay, I have promised them that I will visit.  Despite the fact that they didn't ask for anything, I plan to bring some notebooks, pens and tennis shoes the next time I visit.  Perhaps even a DVD or two.  They bestowed upon me a card which said, "thank you, didi Earin." They did their best to spell my name right, but the meaningful part of the card is "didi", which means "sister" in Hindi. 

The orphanage visit has humbled me beyond belief.  Out of dire circumstances these children have forged a brotherhood among each other.  They have made the best out of their meager circumstances and created a family.  They have genuine affection for one another and all of them interestingly aspire to be professional cricket players! 

It's difficult to find a way to end this post, Bombay is beautiful city with much to offer, but I have seen and experienced things in this short visit that have changed me forever. 

Working for the Man

Well, today was Monday, and like all good workers, I've been working at the Mumbai (f/k/a Bombay) office all. day. long.  Let me just say:  today was quite probably the longest effing day of my life.  Jetlag + finishing boring presentation for very important client = very tired, cranky Erin. 

I still haven't managed to snap any photos.  Due to the confidential nature of our work, security is very tight around our office.  Cameras, cell phones, etc. are strictly forbidden from entering the building.  I've reserved Saturday to really go to town with shopping and photographs.  I promise to not come home empty-handed!

Tonight, as I was eating dinner alone in the dining room, I finally realized why the staff seemed so excessively (and annoyingly) attentive to me.  Of the three females I've seen in the hotel, I am the only unaccompanied one.  I thought they were hoovering in order to please me, but I think that I must be some sort of oddity to them.  Like a two-headed shark or a frog with six legs. 

On Sunday, I went about in order to search for real coffee and Splenda.  BTW--there is NO REAL COFFEE in India.  [Note to self:  never travel anywhere in the world ever, ever again without an emergency supply of Colombian Supremo.]  Life without good coffee is a like living a life without coffee.  That's all I have to say about that.

At any rate, I went out in search of caffeine and Splenda.  The driver rushed me through the store and seemed very relieved when he hurried me back to the hotel.  At meal times, I have apparently been "assigned" a waiter.  And when I say "assigned" I mean that I am the only person he serves.  He just stands there, waiting for me to take a sip of water so that he can immediately offer to refill the glass.  I've noticed through my crack detective work that the other waiters appear to have multiple customers.  It's quite a mystery.  Do I really look that hard to please? 

I wish this post were a little more substantive, but I'm really exhausted and need to get myself to bed.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring relief from the jetlag!  Of course, a decent cup of coffee would be nice.

Bombay

Well, I'm suffering from a pretty bad case of jetlag.  I'll try to make this post as comprehensible as possible, but I'm not making any promises. 

I ventured outside of the hotel compound this morning, but didn't take any photographs.  I feel a little weird about just randomly photographing people and things.  I think after today, I will be a little more comfortable with everything and will be able to start taking more photographs.   I am very conspicuous here with my pasty white skin, blue eyes and short hair. 

I can't help but compare Bombay to Bogota, since they are both cities with approximately 8 million people, both the largest cities in their respective countries.  Thus far, I can honestly say that Bogota is in much better shape than Bombay.  Bombay is, of course, several centuries older than Bogota, so its infrastructure is understandably crumbling.  Bogota's feel is one of controlled chaos, whereas Bombay is more . . . well, just chaos.

As in Bogota, Bombay has more than its fair share of street animals, including dogs and lots and lots of random cows.  Yup, cows.  Just sort of wandering around the city with no apparent handlers.  This plethera of stray animals and an excessive human population makes for a severe rubbish problem.  I don't want to make any snap judgments about the city just yet, but there is a distinct garbage issue here.  This is something I will try to capture later on in the week with some photographs.  It's truly a side of India that I did not expect. 

The food at the hotel has been wonderful, although I've only eaten breakfast here.  No signs of stomach trouble.  I'm sort of wishfully hoping that since I've experienced extended stays in South America, I've built up a sort of acquired immunity to traveler's sickness, but I guess that remains to be seen. 

The people here are wonderful and remarkably friendly.  One point of frustration for me has been the language barrier.  Although most folks speak English, the accent and fast rate of speech is harder for me to pick up than I expected.  Even in Colombia, my anorexic Spanish skills were enough to allow me to at least hold superficial conversations whilst shopping and visiting with the staff.  In Bombay, I know zero Hindi, which is something I may have to remedy. 

The most surprising aspect of this trip is how much I miss Bogota.  I realize that must sound strange considering I spent about half my time in Bogota desperately wanting to return home.  I think I miss a certain familiarity that I have with Bogota.  I know where to find my favorite food, I know how to get there and I can venture around the city on my own without a driver or guide.  I don't have that same freedom here in Bombay.  I am totally dependent on a translator and there is simply no way that I would be able to venture around the city on my own.  At least not yet. 

Well, I can tell it's time for me to have a little "nappy-poo" as Nicolas would say.  The boys are probably sleeping right now.  Thinking about them makes me really sad.  Today as I was driving around, I thought about what Nicolas or Michael would say as we drove around.  Michael would probably comment, "beep, beep" at all the horns honking and Nicolas would certainly have MUCH to say, as he is usually not at a loss for words.  Maybe one of these days . . .

Air India

Namaste!

I arrived in India just fine.  The flight was surprising pleasant, considering it lasted over 15 hours and followed two domestics flights, during one of which I spent three hours on the hanging out on the tarmac in Minneapolis.  Let's just say:  it's been a long 36 hours. 

The flights were made pleasant, mostly, by the fact that I sat next to interesting people on both of my long flights and I had the DVD player to make the time pass somewhat quickly.   I was also surprised by the fact that I was able to sleep for a solid 6-7 hours on the flight over.  I heart Dramamine.  We did not fly over Africa, as I had hoped, instead we flew over Scandinavia and Russia.  Oh well.  I didn't have a window seat this trip anyway. 

The ride to the hotel was eerily familiar.  The sounds, smells and sights of India at night are strikingly similar to those of Bogota.  When you leave the airport, you are hit by wave of tropical air that harbors a slight diesel smell combined with the air coming off the bay.  Unfortunately, also similar to Bogota is the heartbreaking amount of street children. They are everywhere and I bet all of them have something to offer this world.  I believe that next trip, I will attempt to arrange to visit at least one of the orphanages here. 

There is one English channel in my room, which is National Geographic.  Perhaps I'll get a lot of reading done this trip. 

The hotel is not lavish, but clean and comfortable.  The marble floors and granite counter tops certainly make it feel Old World.  I imagine that this hotel was considered very grand in its day.  I guess I would compare the smell and feel to an older lake cabin.  The smell is damp, but not intolerable and you can tell the staff really takes pride in this hotel and works hard to keep it clean. 

Tomorrow I have some work to get done, but after I finish, I think I will venture out of the hotel and snap some photos to post on this site. 

Leave me a comment to let me know if anyone is reading.  Since I've been so bad about updating this site lately, I'm surprised if anyone has stuck with me.  Sorry!

Update

Sorry for falling so severely behind in posting.  Hopefully, things will be a little more sane around here soon. 

The last week has been rather difficult for us.  On Sunday, May 20, Michael woke with a bloody nose.  As we prepared to take him to the walk-in clinic, I noticed he was acting rather lethargic and strange.  Instead of going to the walk-in like we had planned we took him to the emergency room.  After a CT scan, Michael began to act hysterical.  The emergency room doctor suspected what he called, "partial complex seizures" and admitted Michael to the ICU. 

After a CT scan and MRI, Michael was diagnosed with an Arachnoid cyst on the left front temporal lobe.  This is not an uncommon condition and approximately 1% of the population has such a cyst.  The cyst does put him at greater risk for seizures, so we were a little concerned about his uncharacteristically hostile behavior and apparent inconsolabilty. 

In addition to the new diagnosis of the cyst, the ICU doctor discovered a rather severe ear infection.  After some heavy-duty anti-biotics, Michael seemed to come around on Tuesday morning.  We were happily discharged on Tuesday night, very relieved to be going home with Michael on the mend. 

We have some follow-up appointments with a neurologist, but we think everything is going to be just fine.  Michael is back to his cheerful self and doesn't seem to be phased by the whole episode.  Nicolas is doing great and was a real trooper through out Michael's hospital stay. 

We hope every one is doing great and we're looking forward to a more "mellow" summer.  After a broken arm and scary ICU stay, I'm VERY paranoid.  I told the boys that they positively cannot get hurt again for at least another twenty years. 

Couch of Death

We felt that as a public service announcement we should warn everybody of our injury-prone couch, which looks like this:

Sure, it looks innocent, but the truth is that there may possibly be a colony of tiny injury-wishing fairies living beneath it.  They lie in wait for active little boys.  Just ask Nicolas to show you his arm. 

Nico's arm appears to be healing.  Before breaking his arm, Nicolas was undecided about whether he was a righty or a lefty.  After this inicident, I think he will be a righty, since he's not really able to use his left arm for very much any more.  Other than to bang it on things like a club, that is. 

This photo was taken the day after Nico broke his arm and we were trying to find creative ways to get him to take the Tylenol 3 for his pain.  In the photo, Nicolas thinks he's having fun making pudding -- what he didn't know at the time was that he was concocting his own "pudding to Dreamland." Good stuff, I tell you. 

Speaking of Dreamland, Michael, our little slumber baby is doing great.  Since the weather has been improving, we've been taking more walks as a family, which Michael really enjoys.  Both he and Nicolas played out in the yard over the weekend, which was great at bedtime when they were both too exhausted to protest. 

I never expected having two boys so close in age would be so much fun.  Sure, it was tough in the beginning when they were both in diapers, but it sure is a blast now.  They adore each other and even when they roughhouse, they have a great time.  I might have to suffer through a few broken bones and bruises, but having two boys is a blast!    

The Cast

Auntie Shannon wanted some photos of Nico's cast.  Here they are:

First day with the cast.

Nicolas demonstrates that a cast will not slow him down and that broken limb number two is not so much a matter of if but when. 

Michael performs his after-dinner show.  Michael recently started really using his first few signs, which we are very happy about!  He can now sign "milk," "shoes" and "more."  Of course, "more" is a key sign for Michael, because Mom and Dad never feed him enough. He's practically wasting away.   

Update

NO SURGERY! 

The orthopedic specialist said that because Nicolas is able to "hyper-extend" most of his joints (in non-medspeak it means that he is double-jointed), it is likely that when Nicolas fell, his little elbow bent forward, rather than backward causing the break.  For now, he has a cool cast on and was somewhat of a minor celebrity at school this morning.  His girlfriend, Riley, rushed into the classroom this morning shouting, "my boyfriend is back!" 

They were very happy to see each other.   

Benched

Thursday afternoon, Brian emailed me at work to tell me that he had the stomach flu and was leaving work in order to go home.  Much to my surprise, I arrived home to quite a sight:  the boys were corralled in the play room watching a movie while Brian tossed his cookies in fifteen minute intervals. 

After a quiet dinner, I put Michael to bed.  At 7:30, Nicolas and I went downstairs to let Molly out one more time before bed, shut off the TV and lock the doors.  While I was turning off the TV and VCR I heard a "thud", which turned out to be Nicolas falling off the couch. 

I didn't think much of the fall, since he obviously couldn't have fallen very far.  After a half hour of crying, I noticed his left elbow was growing a suspicious lump and he was refusing to move his arm.  After I roused poor Daddy from his sickly slumber, we decided that an emergency room visit was definitely in our future.  Auntie Julie and Grandma Loberg came to the rescue.  Auntie Julie drove us to the ER, while Grandma stayed with Daddy and Michael.

Well, that tiny little fall was enough of an impact to break Nicolas' humerus bone near his elbow.  Monday we have an appointment with an orthopedic specialist who will tell us whether the break will heal with just a cast, or whether he's going to need surgery.  Given the low impact nature of the fall and Nicolas' young age, I'm really hoping that just a simple cast will do the trick, because I might lose my mind if they have to do surgery.  In the meantime, Nicolas has been benched.   

I've bragged a lot in the past about how smart Nicolas is.  I know now that his intelligence has a dark side; a wicked, bossy, dark side.  A dark side that comes complete with manipulation techniques not unlike those employed by the special forces to get what they want when they want it.  Nicolas is a master of Jedi mind tricks. 

"Nicolas, please pick up these toys you've thrown all over."

"My arm . . . I think it hurts.  Will you kiss it for me?"  He says whilst looking at me with his sad, beautiful, dark eyes.  Toys, what toys?

I've also discovered that having a toddler on pain medication is a lot like having an old man with severe dementia in the house.  He makes unreasonable demands, cries for no reason and wakes up wondering why the hell he's wearing a diaper. The biggest problem we've had so far is getting him to take the nasty stuff.  Nicolas is like the Borg -- once we've tried one technique to get the pain meds in him, he adapts and our tricks become futile.   

Nicolas has discovered that he can pretty much use the broken arm thing to skate on not having to use the toilet.  We've decided not the push the issue until we get more news on whether he'll have to have surgery. 

Poor little Michael is being a trooper through all this.  He still tries to wrestle with Nicolas, so we've have to keep a close on eye on both of them.  I've filled my ER visit quotient for the year and would rather avoid any more trips.  Grandpa Don assures me that this is just the beginning.   

Cowboy Up

This weekend was fun, but a little exhausting for everybody.  On Saturday morning, bright and early, we headed out to the Winter Show.  We saw the critter coral, some interesting (and expensive) RV's and ended the day with the rodeo.  Nicolas was captivated with the rodeo.  Aside from the 30 snoozer that he had to take in the middle of all the excitement, he had a great time. 

Michael had a great time, too, although he was decided less enthused about all the live animals and was mainly interested in seeing that the animals made it from the stockyards to his belly.  Michael enjoyed the food more than anything at the show.  What can I say?  The boy can eat. 

Nicolas and Michael both loved having Auntie Julie and Uncle Troy with us.  I'll admit it was awful nice to have the extra hands in order to juggle both the boys through a pretty long and exciting day. After the rodeo, Nicolas got his photo taken with one of the pickup cowboys, but the photo didn't turn out.   Hopefully, we'll see him again next weekend when we go to the rodeo at the FargoDome.   

Nicolas was definitely the hit of the show with his cowboy gear.  Not only was he the cutest little cowboy in the building, but he also was a trooper about getting to the potty on time, even when we had to wait in line a few times. 

Everyone is pretty tuckered out today.  Even though I was skeptical tht the boys would enjoy the rodeo, they seemed to have a lot of fun and really enjoy the atmosphere.  After a brief nap during the rodeo, both boys perked up and enjoyed the excitement.   

Nicolas and Uncle Troy are already talking about getting a calf for Nicolas' summer project.  If he starts a calf this year, he can show it next year at the Winter Show. 

We may just have a bona fide cowboy on our hands.