Art Camp at Studio Sattva

After completing their school year at INDUS, the girls used their creativity and colors at a great art camp, just down the road from Palm Meadows. The camp was 2 weeks long, from 10 until 1 each day. It turned out to be just the perfect thing for them, as they got to do one of their favorite activities, and meet new friends, as well as see some old ones. The students were from varied countries: India, the U.S., Holland, England, Mexico, Israel, Nigeria, and perhaps more(??). They made beautiful pieces of art, and a very special book came out of it also (more later on that). Thanks to some great teachers and helpers for a fantastic experience for Ella and Sacia and all the other fabulous kids!!

Ella listens with some friends to Miss Devika, as the day's assignment is explained.


Miss Devika's mother, Indira, watches on, as the creative juices start flowing.


Miss Devika with Sacia


the art camp crew at Studio Sattva, Lakeview Farms

Outdoor fun

I think the kids are missing all the MN parades this summer! Here they seem to be all set up for one! Fortunately we WILL be back for the Corn on the Cob days parade in Plainview, and perhaps some more. But really, the kids have been having a great time, making boats in the livingroom, and 'houses' out in the front yard. Can't wait for a bit more space to do this in! See all you Minnesota readers soon!

Art Mela pictures

A few weeks back, our entire street turned into a big party tent! There was an art event to discourage the use of plastics in Bangalore. Children and adults painted cloth bags, and eventually were judged for the winners. There was food and ice cream served, but most importantly, we had a tent on our entire street to play in! The kids watched intently as the 5 (?) tents were laid out and slowly pushed up. Notice the pretty patterns in the pictures of the inside top of the different tents.

Menaka, Sacia, and Zach watching (note the size of the ONE tent in front of them!)


beautiful pattern on one tent's ceiling


chairs and tables were set up inside the tent


another colorful tent-top

Zach says, "Fogger Coming!!!"

In Palm Meadows, every evening around 6:30 or 7:00, mosquito control begins. This involves a man on a bicycle equipped with a fogging contraption, riding all around the neighborhood, emitting toxic gases to minimize mosquitos. When the familiar buzzing sound is heard, our family quickly goes inside the house (where Menaka, our nanny, has already closed all windows and doors). Zach loves to watch the man ride down our street, and announces excitedly and very seriously, "Mommy, fogger coming, the fogger coming!!" Sometimes, it's an easy way to get the kids in the house if they're still playing outside, but usually we're already eating dinner or playing inside.

the view down our street, with women walking, and the fogger approaching


the fogger!

Weaver birds in Palm Meadows

There is a colony of weaver birds just across the street from our house in Palm Meadows. These amazing birds weave grasses together onto the palm leaves to form their nest. The green nests are newer than the dried brown ones. There are 2 chambers in the nests: one for the parent, and another for the young. You can see both in the far left nest in the photo. Once the eggs are laid, the 2nd chamber is enclosed, and the opening is extended into a tube. The bird itself is small to medium sized and yellow and black. At one time, we counted 15 nests in this single tree.

Look what's coming to Bangalore!

Driving to town on Saturday, we saw this poster for Papa John's pizza! Now that we're leaving, more and more familiar businesses are coming to Bangalore. I'd be very interested to taste their pizza here, as nothing is quite the same when made in India! I don't think we'll have the chance, or will we?! WE still don't know!

Friends at TGIFridays

This week on Friday, some friends joined us in our weekly tradition at TGIFridays. My friend Isabella took time away from her sweet twin 2-year-olds, and our friends, Jasmine and Yogesh, also met us (Ella's good friend, Zrey, and Zach's parents that we actually met on the Pondicherry beach in January). We talked through loud music (asking the waiter every 4 minutes to again turn it down!) and enjoyed the happy hour drink specials and appetizers before heading back home (or off to a downtown movie as Jasmine and Yogesh did).

Heather & Isabella


Yogesh, Jasmine, Heather, and Brian

Have you ever seen a Pomegranate tree?

One of the many fruits that we enjoy eating here, where tropical fruits grow locally, is the pomegranate. High in Vitamin C and very nutritional, I've grown to enjoy them (especially when my cook does the difficult part of peeling and extracting the fruit). Here are some pictures of a tree at our neighbor's house, one of a flower, and another of 2 half-grown pomegranates.

Leaping (?) Lizards

This afternoon, Zach escaped again, and was taking his dolls for a walk around the block. When he didn't return after a while, I went out to track him down. It turns out that two lizards were hanging out on the sidewalk, either fighting over territory or trying to keep warm on the cold monsoon days. We've seen these guys scampering off into the bushes, and never been able to get a picture until they were this distracted.

I must have gotten a little too close with the camera (privacy please) so they took off. I got this shot before he (?) vanished into the bushes.

Brian

Our Magic Carpet!

Brian and I stopped at some carpet shops while shopping on Saturday, and ended up getting the gorgeous carpet that I had loved in July last year. When in India, you must 'do the needful'! This is a very special carpet that will be a family heirloom with a great story some day!

Here is the medallion center of the colorful carpet.

It is filled with pictures of birds, flowers, and 'trees of life', and therefore seems very Indian as opposed to Persian rugs that contain only geometric patterns, no living things.

Last Day of School!!!

Ella is officially a 3rd grader now! She successfully completed her 2nd grade year at Indus International School in Bangalore, India. We are very proud of her! She has learned so much this year in a very enriching environment, learning things from her friends, teachers, and surroundings (all that traveling too!) that she never would have in Minnesota! (They don't teach the Indian national anthem there, or how to dig for clams in the ocean, do they?! ) :) She will start school in Byron this fall, back with her wonderful Minnesota friends, but will greatly miss the friends she's made from around the world here! Hopefully her geography skills will benefit from knowing all the places her friends are from!

Sacia is officially a Kindgergartener now! Here in India, she'd on to Prep-2 , which is another name for Kindergarten. She has adjusted amazingly to a full day of school here, playing and learning social skills along with her class, and learning great foundations for reading and math and more. We are very proud of her! Mrs. Hamilton in Byron will have a very energetic, bright addition (with a wonderful Indian accent!) to her classroom on RED day!

Look how the girls have changed:

Ella and Sacia on their last day of school (note the 'colored' clothes! no uniforms this special day!)


Do you recognize this little girl? Sacia's very first day of school!


Ella has grown up so much this past year! Here she is on her first day at Indus.

Go to March 25th blog

Go to March 25th blog entry to see Grandmas in India, updated! Have you noticed we're blogging like crazy these days? I guess we're trying to catch up before we leave India! July 1st we leave, arriving back home on the 2nd. Yes, we'll be there to celebrate the 4th of July in our home country!

Send us a note :)

Ella and Sacia's friends at Indus

The girls have made many new friends this year at Indus. Here are some pictures taken at school. It will be very hard to say good-bye to their friends from all over the world. Many other students will also leave Indus, a normal part of life for expats abroad. It has been an enriching year, and perhaps we'll be back?!

Sidi, Sacia, Emily, Hannah, and Pooja at recess (Emily is Australian, Hannah is English)


2 new friends(twins) with Hilla (from Finland), Ella, and Sacia


Sacia gives her buddy R.J. a big hug! He's from Michigan (practically a neighbor back home, considering we're now in India!).


Sacia and her friend Aparna (from Seattle), after the Music program a month ago

Motorbikes in India

Here are 4 photographs of motorbikes here in India.

Notice how the woman in a saree rides side-saddle, at very high speeds this concerns me!

This one is much less common. "Honey, I picked up some dinner on the way home!"


A boy riding home from school

Lalitha and Narendra's wedding

Last month, we were very fortunate (and thankful) to be invited to the wedding of Brian's co-worker and friend, Lalitha. She married Narendra, and now is moving to California where he lives.

Brian and I finally had the great opportunity to wear our Indian attire for the first time. So my friend, Avantika, helped me to get wrapped up in 6 yards of fabric, in the Gujarat style this time. (Thanks, Avantika!!!)
After the long duration of getting ready, I headed into town to pick up Brian. It took a whole hour to get to IBM, then another hour to get to the wedding (actually it was the reception; weddings in Karnataka are the morning after the reception). So we arrived only an hour before it ended, but it didn't seem to be too much of a problem.

Everyone lines up to have their picture taken with the bride and groom, and this goes on as long as more people are coming! Somehow we got escorted to the front of the line, then introduced to many family and friends of the couple, and brought upstairs for the meal. Being the only foreigners there, we received a bit of attention. Not only were we tall blonde Americans, but we were decked in Indian attire.
Our best wishes go to Lalitha and Narendra for their life together!!! Thanks for including us in your special day!

Here we are with the handsome groom and beautiful bride.


Just in case we weren't sure which wedding hall it was, this huge sign decked all in flowers gave us a big clue!


I wonder if we'll ever be seen like this again! (By the way, Sacia's class saw this picture, and started giggling and laughing (Americans in Indian clothes -- ha!), much to Sacia's disapproval. She felt much better when her teacher shouted for them to stop. :) !!!)

Jumping ahead, but a few pictures to share

I'll give you one guess where these were taken.



We did some snorkeling. Not as much as we planned due to some boat motor issues, but there was plenty of coral and fish to see.

More updates soon

End of Year Awards at INDUS International School

It's that time of year, can you believe it? The girls have successfully completed their school year in India! So Ella will begin 3rd grade in Byron, MN in the fall, and Sacia will begin Kindergarten! An awards program was held for each class, as well as a special presentation by Sacia's class. All of the children in both grade 2 and Prep-1 were given a "Praise Award" for their strong areas and achievements throughout the year. Well done!


"When I grow up, I want to be a teacher, to help children learn to read and write and do math." Sacia bravely stood up in front of her classmates and teachers and many parents! Great job, Sacia!


Sacia's class sing the "Helping Hands" song.


Heather joins the girls for lunch at Indus. (Ella joins the Prep-1 table.)
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Ella and Sacia smile for the camera during recess. They really do enjoy Indus! Can you tell? Children in Prep-1 and Prep-2 are allowed to wear casual clothes, and the older ones wear formal uniforms (on Ella here) or sports uniforms on given days.