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