There's Babies in Them There Trees!

It's been awhile, and I've got some stuff to talk about.  We're having another baby, I seem to be doing pretty well at golf, I saved an injured street dog named Banjara, I'm learning a bit of Hindi, and the locals are beginning to love us for all of our American candy, thanks to Grandpa Harvest.

Of course the biggest and most exciting news of all is that we're having another baby.  Legs and I are totally stoked, and Thumper seems pretty happy about it too.  Bambi knows all too well what happens when we bring another member into the pack, so I think he's a little worried about moving down another notch on the totem pole, but he's being his naturally weird self and sleeping on Legs' belly every chance he gets.  We might as well quit using pregnancy tests, and just ask Bambi, or Thumper for that matter.  Before we found out about the pregnancy, Legs was putting Thumper to bed one night and he lifted up her shirt, put his hand on her stomach, and said, "Baby."  Who knows how he figured that one out!?  I'll just leave it at, he's a genius.

My weekly golf game has become one of my favorite pastimes.  I, and two other 'trailing spouses', go golfing once per week, and we have a blast.  It's pretty crazy golfing in the insanely hot weather here, but, nonetheless, we still manage to enjoy ourselves.  Today it was 109 degrees when I got home.  We can't really make it past nine holes now, but maybe in the rainy season we'll get through the entire course.  Last week we were playing the last hole, and I was about to tee off before my caddy said, "Sir, play left.  Baby."  I didn't exactly understand what he was saying until we realized that he was pointing at a baby hanging from a tree roughly 150 yards away, sleeping in a sort-of hammock.  I couldn't help but take a picture to share with everyone, all that is India...

Can you see it yet?

Yup, that's a baby in the tree.

A few days ago I was walking Bambi around the block in the morning, and as we were strolling past some burning trash I saw a dog laying on the side of the street, not even flinching as cars and people passed.  I could see the dog's chest rising and falling as it breathed, so I knew it was alive.  I tried to check it out as best I could with Bambi going crazy on the leash, and saw that it suffered a pretty bad head wound, most likely from a car.  I took Bambi home, and decided to just go with my inner animal-lover and took Bambi's crate down to the dog so I could take it to a vet.

At first the dog didn't really react as I tried to pick it up, but then, to my amazement, it got up and ran about 15 feet around a corner to get away from me.  I think that was the last little bit of strength she had because when I followed her and tried again, she didn't even budge.  I tried to get a man walking past to help me, but he looked at the dog, shook his hand, and said, "Bah!"

I carried the crate and dog, who I started calling Banjara, home as fast as I could because Legs needed to leave for work.  She just smiled and tried to look supportive, but I know deep down she was scared shitless that I was going to want to keep Banjara.  I can't wait until Thumper tries that one!

I took the dog to our local vet and when I explained what happened they all looked at me like I was crazy, but they started treating her anyway.  She had a pretty severe wound on her head and eye, so bad that you could actually see part of her skull.  They gave her some pain medicine, lots of fluids, and cleaned her up, and that night I was able to take her home.  I found an animal shelter that also provides free veterinary care, so I arranged to take Banjara there the next day.  She stayed the night with us, sleeping in the crate the whole time before I dropped her off.  Even though everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind, I thought it was completely worth it to see the dog start to recover, and also to see Thumper learn about caring for all living things.  The whole time Banjara was here, Thumper would say, "See dog!  Dog sad.  Dog happy!  Dog hurt.  Dog happy!"  In case you're wondering, Banjara means nomad in Hindi.

Here's Banjara recovering with her IV fluids and muzzle.

Hindi class is going quite well.  I have a long ways to go before I can actually have a conversation with someone in Hindi, but I'm able to use more and more words when communicating around town, and people usually get a kick out it if I say anything at all in Hindi.  The caddies at the golf course love it when I say the colors of the flags.  I think I made my Hindi teacher's day when I was able to write and pronounce the whole Hindi alphabet on my own.  Small steps to big gains  :-)

We received some care packages recently, and Legs actually had to arrange a different ride home because there were too many boxes to fit in the car she was sharing.  It sure was nice to get so many goodies, but we now have enough candy to stop hunger in India.  We've been "improving India-US relations" by giving lots of it out to the guards, kids, and Legs' co-workers.  It's tough work being a diplomat, but someone's got to do it.  Maybe we should have just sent a bunch of gummy bears and salt water taffy to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.  Who can do anything but smile with a mouthful of gummy bears?

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Summertime in India

It's been far too long since our last post, and we're sorry for our brief hiatus.  We are still adjusting to India and our new lives here.  Thumper is thoroughly enjoying his new school, and I'm having a blast attending it with him.  Legs is extremely busy at work, but is taking great pleasure in her job.  Her occupation doesn't require much work outside of business hours, so the evenings and weekends tend to be our time as a family. Bambi is, well, Bambi.

We feel like we really lucked out with Thumper's school here.  It's somewhat structured, in that they have different rooms dedicated to different activities, like drama, music, art, and dance.  He loves to play with the other kids in his class, and he's become very comfortable leaving me in the lobby while he builds his reputation.  His teachers are absolutely phenomenal with all of the kids; they are extremely patient, joyful, and caring.

Thumper's vocabulary is growing like crazy, and he's started to string together 2, 3, and 4 word sentences.  Along with his expanding vocabulary, he's becoming quite independent and stubborn in his ways, and he's mastered the art of the limp, screaming tantrum.  I feel like watching him change as he grows is an absolute joy, and I can't help but smile when his eyes well up with tears, his lips begin to quiver, and there's a slight stillness before his body goes limp and he screams with all his might because he wanted another treat, or he wanted to put the brush on the floor instead of on the table, or he wanted Mama to sit in this chair instead of that chair.  I'm sure the complexity of the problems will change with time, but he'll always be this special and perfect little person to me.

Leg's is working like crazy with the busy season for students traveling to the U.S. and also parents traveling to visit their children who are graduating from universities all across America.  She is constantly moved by some of the happy stories she hears, and also saddened by some of the more unfortunate tales.  Our laws for  traveling to the United States are what they are, and it's Leg's job to uphold those laws regardless of her personal feelings toward the situation.  Overall, I think this is a deeply fulfilling career for Legs, and I'm proud of the work that she has put into her profession to give us the opportunity to travel the world and experience different cultures in a way that we never really thought possible.

Bambi seems to be adjusting quite nicely to India.  He lounges around on the couches and tile floors enjoying a sliver of sunshine through the window if he's cold, or the cool breeze from one of the AC's if he's hot.  We try to stay away from all of the trash-dogs, because I don't think Bambi would fare to well in a fight.  During the day, it's all he can do to make it around the block in the heat, but I think he's happy just relaxing in our house most of the time.

I've managed to fill my time with some fun activities.  I'm still taking Hindi classes at the consulate; however, it's only for 2 hours per week and everyone else has dropped out.  Basically I get to meet with the teacher for one-on-one sessions to practice the lessons from the textbook.  Slowly, but surely, I'm learning more each week.  I've also been golfing once per week with another stay-at-home dad at the consulate.  We're both pretty much equally horrible at golf, so it makes for some fun outings.  It's really nice to get outdoors away from all of the traffic and noise in the city.

Overall, we're beginning to find routines that work for us here, and that's a tremendous help in adjusting to our new lives.  We are still very homesick though, and can't wait until we get the opportunity to come home for a visit.  It's just been too long since we've seen all of our family, and I can't even believe that the last time most people saw Thumper he wasn't even crawling!

Happy Travels!

Pancho