Last Day in India & Home (Well, almost)

The Lotus Temple was amazing to see in person and the gardens were just beautiful. It was very special to see the service inside (even if we were a bit distracted by the cuties in our arms who were happily babbling). As to be expected we garnered quite a bit of attention and a number of young guides talked to us for awhile. To keep from melting (it was VERY hot that day) we sought out an a/c shop. Somehow we ended up at a shop called Delhi Haat around the corner which is a fixed price store and the prices were quite good. It was much more pleasant to have another family to shop with!

After we returned to our hotel and packed up we hung out in the hotel lobby for an hour and a half (and Riyani napped on one of the couches there). Then we headed over to our travel guide's office to complete some paperwork. It was unexpectedly fun as we chatted with the office personnel and they took turns coming in to speak with us and play with Riyani. Then it was off to the airport and again we were incredibly lucky! They let us in to the airport over 3 hours ahead of time and we were one of the first in line for check-in. No problems at all with check-in, we had very smiley clerks and they went out of their way to get us the bassinet, which was a lifesaver! Greg and I both commented that the flight back was actually much better than the flight out with the extra leg room (even with the addition of a baby!) She slept in it on and off for about 6 hours (the bassinets are tiny so every time she went to roll over she woke up- but still soooo worth it).

We made it into Charlotte early and this was the lovely sight greeting us:

It was wonderful having both sets of grandparents there to meet us too!

We delayed returning home another day due to my illnesses- a return of the stomach sickness and a major sinus infection were unwelcome flight home gifts! So we're reaping the benefits of an additional day with extra help before making the hour and a half drive back tomorrow.

Lia Riyani is doing well- sleeping a lot and sometimes gets a bit overwhelmed by her crazy, loud brothers. But she took a few steps today (toward her big brother who is thrilled!) and is doing pretty well, although I do think all the changes and new people are at times a little much for her. Greg has been forced to do a lot of her parenting of late (she flip flops back and forth between which of us she prefers- but I'm trying not to make myself paranoid that we should encourage one or the other to foster attachment- trying not to constantly be thinking that if we don't do it perfectly we'll mess up her attachment forever!)

On our Way!

We are checking out from our hotel so hopefully next post will be from the US sometime Friday! Hoping for safe and easy travels. Can't wait to see everyone at home! Miss you!!!!

p.s.- saw Lotus Temple & went shopping with Heather & Nathan- had a great time and will post more about that later!

Last Day in India

It was surreal to wake up this morning and realize before another night comes we will be on our way home! Of course it will be a very long and no doubt challenging journey. We are taking Continental (like Amy and Clint) so I am expecting a nightmare-ish airport experience.

But today we explore! We are off to meet Riyani's little cribmate at the Lotus Temple for a little exploring and then hopefully I will find someplace to go shopping! We have done most of our souvenir shopping but now I am on a quest to find clothes and toys. We'll come back and check out of our hotel at 2pm then have several more hours at our disposal before we head over to the airport. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post a few pics of our morning adventures while we're packing up.

A few words for future traveling families (I keep thinking of them but forgetting to post)- bring at least four cans of puffs and 3 packets of yogurt melts (she loves them), bring enough clothes so that you have an outfit every day AND a clean pair of pj's for every night (trust me despite your best efforts your clothes will NOT smell fresh, even pj's, and don't be like me and plan on washing in the sink- took days to dry and just not how you want to spend your time), whenever and wherever you can get small bill rupees (we have had a heck of a time getting anyone who can change a 500 or 1000 bill, even the hotel cashiers who give them to us!) you'll need them for tips, Croc sandals have worked wonderfully (didn't need the sneakers that were a bit heavy in the luggage), hide the newspaper from your gotchya day (we saved ours but housekeeping threw it away), watch tv once in awhile (we have been totally surprised by weather and other events- duh, we could've turned on the tv there are English channels), make your in-country flights for the morning (yes it will suck because you'll be getting up very early but if it's canceled you'll at least have a shot at getting out the same day), ziploc bags ARE awesome (truly I was skeptical of this but we have used them for so many things), we didn't need as many granola bars (probably 1 box would have sufficed- I brought 4!) or any of the bottled water I packed (the hotel will give you some each day). Expect lots of security at your hotel (I was a bit shocked at the car searches and metal detectors at the entrances) since the Mumbai attacks. I'll add more if I think of it!

On a last note our hearts and minds truly are with the people of Kolkata. The talk of the devastation of the villages brings to mind Riyani's birth family who we know lives in one of the outlying villages of Kolkata. We truly hope that they are safe.

A Few Pictures from Today

Pictures & The Embassy

Thumb sucking! Aww! I love it.

First bath- she LOVED it!

Post- bath in cute duckie towel.

All clean and lookin' pretty.

Mommy's 1st attempt at girlie hair, clearly I need some lessons!

How do you get them to sit still?!

The gods have smiled on us and we had a very easy and quick Embassy day. We started out today by getting our immunization waiver notarized (those of you traveling later do this before you leave the U.S.!!) and then headed back to the doctor's office. To put it simply our experience at this doctor's office SUCKED! I would not recommend him (he's the first one on the Embassy list and the one the embassy will recommend because he's closest- well, maybe not since I lodged a major complaint against him today). He had completed the exam on Riyani yesterday and told us to just stop by this morning with the form and we'd get our papers. 45 minutes after we hand in the form we're still sitting in the waiting room. He is happily sipping tea and reading the newspaper while his desk agents are dealing with other customers. I went up and very nicely asked what the hold-up was, he told us the Embassy had to send someone over, that all papers were ready to go but they were waiting on that person. 45 minutes after that I'm practically frantic wondering how in the world are we going to get to the embassy and get all our paperwork done and if we have a morning interview tomorrow and our paperwork isn't ready by the afternoon we'd miss our flights. The doctor still claims that they're waiting on the Embassy. I was practically in tears and asked- Why? Why does this process only take 30 minutes for everyone else but takes hours for us? He told me if I'd had the paper the day before it wouldn't have been an issue, that it's my fault. I told him we were in a big rush and really had to get to the Embassy right away. Miraculously right as I was making a fuss the girl behind him hands us our paperwork and he says 'There you go. Done.' Whaaaaat??? No embassy person came, no papers were delivered. I swear that man was messing with us (and during our visa interview the interviewer was shocked and said that it never should have happened). Anyway, I know many other families have used him and had no trouble, but think twice; it literally took us hours for no reason at all. By the way it was only one packet (not 2) but we were fine with it at the Embassy.

BUT the great news is that our embassy day was fantastic! We were in and out in under an hour and a half. I'm not exactly sure why our experience was so different perhaps it was the complaints that Amy and Heather lodged or maybe we were lucky but here's my advice to future travelers: (This is for after the USCIS immigration filing which will take you through the same area to a different room.) Once you're through security (you'll be in a very hot, very crowded outdoor waiting room) ALWAYS go to the guy at the desk and get a ticket (even if you're initially put behind a strap- get a ticket!) as an American your ticket should have an A or a J on it and you should be able to proceed right inside the (air-conditioned) building. If they don't lead you right in show your passport and nicely ask if you can proceed to Citizen Services. You'll probably have a J ticket and they'll show you the J counters and ask you to wait in the waiting area till your number comes up. If it doesn't come up in 15 minutes or so go over to American Citizen Services (it's in the same room) past Counter 24 and ask one of the tellers there. We weren't sure if Riyani's name/file were linked to our ticket number so I nicely asked. The woman behind the counter went back and asked and less than a minute later our number was called and we filed our paperwork. She asked us to sit for 20 minutes. Then we were called to a different counter and a wonderfully nice woman gave us an oath, asked us a few questions, had us sign our names and told us our packet would be ready in 15 minutes. That was it!! We were done. Oh, one other thing- the Help Desk can call your car for you (it's right there in the same waiting area). One woman said she couldn't do that until I told her I'd done it twice the day before, then she asked a supervisor who said for citizens yes. So basically our experience was once you get to American Citizen Services the people were fantastically helpful. One other note- if you can, file the I-600 a day before (or before you go to Kolkata) I think filing this yesterday really helped us speed through today. And today the Embassy was markedly less crowded so try to avoid the first day of the week if you can (usually Monday but because of Memorial Day ours was Tuesday).

We also ran into Heather, Nathan and sweet little Piyashi at the Embassy today and got to chat a little and now that we have a free day tomorrow hope that maybe we can catch up with them for a little shopping and sight-seeing!

Riyani is still doing amazingly well- she loves sweet things- fruit and jam and chocolate chip muffins (I know bad Mama!) and bread. She also loves soup (we had 'Cream of Vegetable' last night but it was actually a brothy, Chinese-like very yummy soup with bits of vegetable in it). She also ADORES other children and will always put her hands out to them wanting them to hold and hug her. Some of you from home have asked how big she is- I know the pictures look like she's got some chub but she's really tiny- she's in 6 month clothes, some 9 month but they're loose. We're having a blast with her and are back to happily enjoying India but really can't wait to get her home to her big brothers who she is just going to love!

Sickness, Cyclones and Cancelled Flights Oh MY!

Yup, it's been a rough couple days and we're about to go into the roughest following Heather and Nathan into Embassy Day One a day later. And to think I've already been reduced to tears and haven't even gotten to that part yet! We'll have good stories someday though (or at least that's what our guide kept telling us).

So Sunday started fine, we were going to go over to the zoo since Riyani was doing so well. Then the rain started. Apparently we brought the monsoon early. But turns out it was a good thing we didn't go anywhere- I have no idea why since all I'd eaten was scrambled eggs and croissant but I got violently, violently ill. And to think I was soooo cocky wondering why people got sick in India! Soooo glad we brought the pepto.

But by Monday I was mostly recovered so we packed up and got ready to go (keep in mind we haven't turned on a television since we've been here). It's raining but we just think it's monsoon. Then we notice how violently the trees are swaying. But we are totally distracted by flight paperwork. Well, we quickly discovered there was a problem when traffic stopped. It took us an hour to move 100 feet (we could still see our hotel). Our guide was frantically making phone calls trying to figure out what was happening with the traffic and the driver was going on the sidewalk a million miles an hour trying to somehow get ahead of the traffic. Turns out there were downed trees EVERYWHERE- huge uprooted trees laying across roads, highways, houses. We still just thought it was a bad storm and continued on. Somehow we made it to the airport and then about 200 feet from the airport a small tree fell directly in front of our car. The guide cursed loudly the driver screamed but we were able to get around it and are fine. Except after all that our flight was cancelled at the last minute. We still had no idea that we left the hotel at the exact minute the cyclone started.

They rebooked us for India Air (don't recommend it) for the next morning and took us to a '5 star' hotel called Vedic Village. It had no telephone, no Internet and tiny twin beds. And Riyani was freaked out by that time so it was a rough night. But the little trooper made it up at 4:30 am to go back to Kolkata airport, where the people were very kind. They had us wait in a small 'baby room' so she could have a bottle and sleep in peace. But then our flight was delayed for hours so we ended up spending waaaay too much time in there and she was very restless and wanted to get down (wasn't clean enough for that). We ended up running out of bottles before we ever got on the airplane. Ugh. But eventually we did get on and after a long flight and 20 minutes of her blood curdling screams (poor thing had just had enough!) we did finally make it to Delhi.

We went straight to the embassy and filed our I-600- so easy, but we caught them at lunch so we had to wait a little. Then we headed over to the visa part and did the pre-filing and got the med exam info. We got her medical exam done but didn't have the immunization waiver filled out right (and they wanted to give her 4 shots! That's when the getting up at 4 and the long travels finally caught up with me and I lost it! Thank goodness for Greg who kept it together.) So we have to go back to the embassy and have it notarized, go back to the doctors to get the final paperwork and then sit for hours and wait today. Sound like fun? I'm sooo looking forward to it!

In good news, except for a few meltdowns and who can blame her Riyani has done amazingly well. She's waking up now, will post pictures and more when we get back this afternoon!

DAY TWO

We have had our first full day with Riyani today and so far so good! The only tears we've seen have been when Greg went in the bathroom and shut the door (she had been following him and was not happy) and during the first couple seconds of car rides (not sure why these freak her out so but she's not a fan- then again it's hard to be a fan of crazy Kolkata driving!).

She is happy to be held by either of us although probably would choose Greg given the chance-he plays more and will tip her upside down! We are so very impressed with her motor skills- she can crawl very fast (she crawls just like Jack did with one knee up!) and can stand up in the middle of the room by herself (and claps for herself every time, it's funny). She can walk holding onto our fingers and would do it all day. And she is totally enamored with mirrors and often kisses the baby in the mirror.

We are amazed at how well things are going so far (I almost feel like I just jinxed us though) she is eating and sleeping very well and is a happy girl. We even decided to brave the outside world for a bit today. We got her visa pictures done (although turns out we didn't actually go to the place recommended in the travel packet but mistakenly went to the place next door- ah well they were nice and got it done) and headed over to Cottage Industries the government run handicrafts store which was great because there's no bargaining (we are awful at that, just awful we shouldn't even try, it's pitiful) and we bought half a suitcase full of souvenirs and stuff in an hour. We have roamed about the hotel a bit and the hotel staff are lovely to her smiling and tickling her (she doesn't like when anyone approaches her quickly and will hide in our shoulders but otherwise she will inspect them curiously and sometimes even smile) and even sent chocolates to her. In the 24 hours we've had her she's tasted chocolate and ice cream- yikes!

Overall we are having a great time but can't wait to get back home to the boys! You're going to love playing with your baby sister Gavin and Jack!

Our New Daughter!

I'm sure I'll write more later, it has been a wonderful day (and we got to spend quite a bit of time with the adorable waiting babies), but for now pictures.

Less Than 6 Hours and Counting!

Been up since 5am local time (I've been up super early every day- guess I'm a slow adjuster). Believe it or not I'm getting some work done! We packed up all the stuff to bring to the baby home last night and organized her snacks and bottle stuff and clothes around the room (Greg laughed at the huge pile of clothes I packed for her in 3 different sizes! She has the biggest suitcase of the 4 by far!) and selected a few toys to bring with us. I am amazingly calm and focused on work this morning but I simply cannot imagine what the car ride over will be like (we already found out our driver has no earthly idea where he's going- I imagine multiple calls to Anju on the way over- should be fun!). Both the last 2 families (one a little over a week ago, one just 2 days ago) mentioned that Riyani was closely watching what was happening- we'll see what happens now that it's her turn! So looking forward to meeting all the ayahs and other babies as well!! Take heart waiting families we'll snuggle your little ones (and I swear the end does come eventually!)

Kolkata!

leaving the flower market (some temporary housing)

Me by the bridge over the Ganges/Hooghly

Victoria Memorial

Pareshnath Temple

temporary housing by the flower market

(too dark to take pictures there)

Our first impression of Kolkata from the skies was that it is very lush and green. After dry, dusty (we were in several dust storms) Delhi it looked beautiful!

We had a fast paced all over Kolkata in 4 hours tour. We let our guide have free reign in showing us around (he was super-fantastic by the way- we had conversations about arranged marriage, Indian weddings, religions of India, why Indians don't paint their homes and why they're taxed when they do!!, immigration of Bangladeshis, stray horses, dating the Indian way, the history of the Raj, etc. etc. and learned sooo much). And one benefit of this was that we saw things we definitely wouldn't have chosen out of the guide book. Of course we saw some of the traditional sites- Victoria Memorial, the former Raj buildings (now Indian government buildings), Fort William, the Maidan park and Mother Theresa's shrine (he was going to take us over to the orphanage as well but it was closed- not sure if I am relieved or disappointed about that) where a funeral for a nun was taking place.

But he also took us on a walk by the river (it's the Ganges but is called the Hooghly in Kolkata) where we saw a funeral rite and our guide explained the process to us, saw laundry people working, people bathing etc. It definitely was not a tourist walk but it was important and eye-opening. We also saw the Howrah Bridge- one of the busiest (our guide thought maybe even the busiest) in the world.

He also took us to a Jain Temple- Pareshnath- which itself was arresting and interesting (had several talks about religion here) but to get there we had to go down a rabbit warren of alleys- which provided a close-up view of some of the more residential areas of Kolkata. Our guide was not shy- he would simply say- "those are some of our slums" and explain about the population and overcrowding. Lastly, he took us to the flower market. I'm sure we were far from the first tourists to go there, but we did attract a lot of stares. It is under a bridge next to the river and the stalls are packed in tightly so we were squeezing by the sellers and the patrons (its wedding season so there were a lot of flowers and decorations) and stopping to look at the different kinds of flowers. One young boy gave me a rose and said only 'it's a gift for you'. Sounds like an innocuous enough experience but this was the first time we'd been stepping through the garbage piles we'd seen, stepping over open sewage lines, yet it truly wasn't intimidating or scary. The people certainly stared at us but no one approached or asked us for anything. One little girl said hello and acted as if she might approach but her mother held her back and admonished her for her manners. These people were living in temporary quarters next to the flower market (read tarps and bamboo) in rough conditions but they asked us for nothing.

Again, we have seen heartbreaking scenes- the one that got me today was a little naked boy maybe two (not much older than Jack) playing in the water, who clearly had open sores over much of his body and was quite sick. The children by the river were adorable. They also were living in 'temporary' quarters in an old shipping building but were playing games and laughing (I was dying to take their picture but their mother was nursing an infant and I didn't want to disturb her). They smiled at us but didn't approach us to ask for a dollar or food or anything. I have honestly been shocked at how few people have asked us for money. One boy outside of Mother Theresa's and a woman down by the ghats but that's it. It makes our lives easier for sure although it doesn't make the first-hand knowledge of the desperate poverty any easier.

Tomorrow is the big day! We cannot wait!

Oh and by the way- Kolkata drivers waaaaay crazier than Delhi!

Agra

Akbar's tomb

The view out our front window (notice the oncoming traffic!)

Red Fort

Red Fort

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

A school bus Gavin! Like yours!

It was a long day, but worth it. You are all so right, I cannot imagine having made that trip in this heat with Lia! I'm glad we did it before we got her.

We left at about 7am this morning (but had been up since 4 since we're still on wacky time) and it took about 4 1/2 hours to get to Agra. Traffic was not too bad, it still amazes me that the cars and trucks, autorickshaws, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians all share a narrow highway. The lanes seem to be mostly for show as they drive down the middle of them or off to the side as they please. Everyone cuts everyone else off to within an inch or two, but what amazes me is no one gets upset about it. If I cut into traffic that close at home I'd get all kinds of angry hand gestures. Our guide commented that Indian people are amazingly patient, that they believe everything will happen in its own good time (I could use a bit of that zen!).

We only had our guide for our actual trip once we were in Agra I sort of wish that we had one with us all the time! He had great historical knowledge, explained all kinds of things we saw out the window and spoke amazing English. He knew a bit about what was going on with the US economy and politics and we chatted about the recent elections in India (he was thrilled that the same party will be in part for another 5 years- he said the current prime minister is a very honest and dedicated man).

I've thought all day of how to describe the ride to Agra and our first impressions of India. It is so difficult when you are getting such a small slice through an air conditioned car window. I was very aware that I was not experiencing India like those who live here do. Of course, I particularly noticed the children. The ones whose parents clung tightly to their hands and the one whose father threw her into the air until they were both giggling. Mercifully we didn't see as much of the desperate poverty as I had anticipated. There were absolutely heartbreaking moments and there is really no other word for it, the frail sick infant in his mother's arms, the children playing in garbage and clearly polluted standing water, the tarp homes that looked like they wouldn't make it through a hard rain. But overall I was surprised by how normal it all looked- people going to work, taking their children to school, buying food. It was different but so elementally the same, as well, if that makes any sense.

I remember when I was in 19 and in China that I was torn between wanting to get on the first plane back home to what felt familiar and wanting to live there forever and meet more people and see more places and see what it is truly like. That's similar to how I feel now.

The Taj was nothing less than magical and amazing. Saw many, many Americans there (probably 30% of the tourists there were American). Of course what struck me most was thank God Mumtaz didn't live to see her son kill her two other sons just to become king. We also saw Red Fort and the palaces there which was like stepping back in time, imagining the King and Queen seeing their subjects and being fanned on the rugs! The last thing we saw was Akbar's tomb- amazing building.

For those of you traveling in the future I will share the two things that have been most difficult for us thus far. Tipping and shopping. You really have to tip EVERYONE (and I of course never have money easily accessible and can never quickly figure out how much to give anyone- it stresses me!)- bathroom attendants, drivers, guides, porters, banquet servers, etc. etc. Our only foray into shopping this far was not planned- the guide took us to Cottage Ind. in Agra. The rugs and marble are beautiful but if you don't plan on spending $200 on a plate (although of course the quality is excellent) skip it- they really put on the hard sell.

Off to Kolkata early tomorrow morning! Greg and I keep saying to each other that this still doesn't feel real!

Last but not least we received word that Lia Riyani's passport is done, so we are right on schedule!

We're Here!

Got into Delhi at 7pm local time but it was dark already so we didn't see much. Guide and driver were fabulous (blinkers seem to not be on the cars here, and the hand signals and beeps make no sense at all to me and I was told that that was light traffic!) and hotel is nice.

It was a loooong flight, I cannot at all imagine what it will be like doing it with a one year old who has only known us for 6 days. Off to sleep as we have to be up EARLY tomorrow for the 4 hour trek to Agra! But by tomorrow night we should have fabulous pictures of the Taj!

Miss you Gavin & Jack and we'll talk to you soon!!!

On Our Way!

If all goes well our next post will be from India!

I was very sad to leave my two babies but am excited to finally get to bring home the 3rd. Hopefully it will be a fun and memorable trip!

The big brothers!

Itinerary

We are amazed, overwhelmed and so very lucky that this time has finally arrived. After 7 months of watching our daughter grow in pictures we will be united with her very soon! Thank you everyone for all of your support, love and kind thoughts.

Day One- Leave US
Day Two- Arrive in Delhi in the late evening
Day Three- Taj Mahal, Agra
Day Four- Fly to Kolkata, half day tour of Kolkata
Day Five- Lia Riyani Day
Day Six & Seven- Hang with Lia Riyani in Kolkata
Day Eight- Fly to Delhi
Day Nine, Ten, Eleven- visa & immigration paperwork and explore Delhi
Day Twelve- fly home!!!