First Days in our New Flat!

We have been waiting for this day for a long time...it's finally come...the day we move into our new home. It feels like it's been months and months since we've had a place that actually felt like home to us. Months since having a place of true refuge and rest. 

Thank you Lord for providing a place for us!

First days in a new home are always filled with cleaning, unpacking, arranging, moving, etc. This first day was consumed by such things, however, it was different from all other times I've moved in the past. This move didn't consist of bringing all my furniture, frames, decorations, kitchen supplies, etc. and just putting them in their place. This move consisted of bringing the little we had to arrange, knowing we'd be getting the rest some time later. I wasn't able to have any of the things from my house in America sent to India, so I was starting from scratch. (Stinks that we couldn't have another wedding shower once we got here:)

One of the most fun things was going into the room that would be Elijah's and giving him his new walker. Like all parents, it blessed Neal and I to give it to him and watch him play and enjoy.

Most of the furniture that would fill our house had already been ordered. Neal and I decided we wanted to have everything in place to be delivered around the time we moved into our home. So, we'd selected couches, table, chairs, fabric, rugs, and curtains before moving. Two of the couches for our family room and all of our rugs had already been delivered, so I was thrilled to lay out a couple of the rugs over our marble floors so that Elijah had a nice place to crawl. 

Our next project (after the kitchen was finished, our bed in place, and curtains up) was to put together Elijah's pieces of furniture (we only had one piece and his crib, we would get the second piece a couple of weeks later). I'd been excited and waiting for this since before he was born. Every mom wants to get the nursery for her new baby all ready and cute, and I was finally having my time to do that 9 months after Elijah was born. Neal was so faithful in helping me to get things ready, even when he wasn't the most thrilled to do so. Thank you God for my caring husband!

After working a while in our new place you're really hot. We only had one AC that could be turned on because of our transformer not been hooked up yet. We were told it would be all hooked up and ready by the 30th of May, so that's when we moved. It wasn't hooked up that day, so the guy that owns the place said he'd get the electrician to come and hook up power from his place to ours until the transformer was turned on. We thanked God because it was 10 at night and we were still without power. So, since we were sharing power we were only allowed to run one of our ACs. It was 110 degrees outside so you get quite hot working (we kept our bedroom door shut so that the cool air from the AC would keep at least one room cool). Praise the Lord, though, that we do have an AC in our bedroom!

With the heat we drank lots of water, Elijah as well. One of his favorite things to do is drink water from our cup. It's too cute!

Now, we wait for our furniture to arrive to finish everything else.

Neal Getting the New Flat Ready

Neal had been going everyday to our new flat for quite some time making sure that the workers were doing their job to get the flat ready. He'd go with our new landlord different places to pick up odds and ends that needed to be installed. He wanted the place to be perfect for Elijah and I, and for that I'm very grateful. Here's some photos of the guys working...there were a lot of guys.

Curtain rods being installed

Plumbing being completed

Faucets, knobs, and sinks getting installed

More curtain rods

Two guys who work as assistants to the landlord who like to come supervise and see Elijah

Floor getting sawed because the screen door is too long for the length of the doorframe, and therefore it wouldn't close. The fact that they cut the marble and cement floor to fix the problem makes me laugh. 

Last Day Living with the Family

The last day with the family was more sad than I (Kristen) expected. I was very excited about moving into my new home because I loved it and all the space Elijah would have to crawl around. However, when we gave them and our other neighbor hugs goodbye, and had them all stand at the gate and wave as they watched us drive away, I couldn't help but cry. They are my dear friends and I'll miss them being just steps away. 

Here's some videos from our last evening there in their house, and the day we left.

The little boy and girl are always so helpful with Elijah! When we were getting all the little things packed to have the flat completely empty they took Elijah in his stroller to help us out (and because they love being with Elijah).

The blessing is that I know they don't live far from our new place so we'll still be able to visit and hang out.

Only in India # 16

Only in India, is there so much paperwork and so many formalities, that if a foreigner wants to get a motorcycle- he is told that "it is not possible" because he needs to purchase a vehicle before buying the number plates that he cannot get. So as he goes to purchase the vehicle he is told that they will not sell it to him because he cannot get the number plates (the sad thing is that many of these are simply painted on and never checked). I feel I am going in circles just to get a simple scooter!

Sorry.. I am venting. God will work it out.

Only in India # 15

Only in India do men strip down to their skibbies (undies) and create a human "lift" to carry piles of dirt  up 4 flights of stairs to the roof in order to keep the "dhoop" or heat from reaching the top floor.

4 flights of stairs! This is all done by skinny dudes in the 110 degree heat while the manager chills downstairs. And it is all done for about the max of 2-4 dollars a day.

Sorry! No pics... use your imagination.

Bath Time

 They don't have bathtubs here, so we bought a round tub that people use for washing clothes or dishes in to bathe Elijah. Where we used to live, when we lived with the family, we would give Elijah a bath out in the living room or in our bedroom. We weren't concerned about him splashing water all over the floor because we knew it would dry very quickly with the intense heat.  

Elijah Laughing at Mama

Only in India #14

Only in India am I (Kristen) the tallest women around regardless of where I go. Not only taller than all Indian women, but taller than most men as well.

Only in India #13

Only in India is 'pan' served at a wedding amongst tables of food. (Chewing pan is the same as chewing tobacco in the states)

Only in India #12

Only in India does the white couple with the white baby get photographed at a wedding more than the bride and groom.

Only in India #11

Only in India do men wear jeans to weddings while women get all dolled up in sarees, bracelets, heels, make-up, etc. 

Our First Indian Wedding

We attended our first Indian wedding and it was quite an experience!

Weddings last four days, and the first two days the bride and groom do not see each other. The bride sits with downcast face while she's surrounded by her family, etc. It's not good for her to smile because it shames her family. Here in India, the woman leaves her family to move in with her new husband's family when she gets married. So, the wedding is a time of celebration, and a time of mourning for the bride. Most of the time, however, the sadness that is shown is not actually real, but more a pretending in order to make her family look good. Neal and I think it would stink to have to be sad and not get to do all the celebrating together at the wedding...but that's their tradition.

Weddings are not only long, but they're huge. I was told by a friend that they decided to have a small wedding, and they had 1000 people attend...WHAT? I can't imagine that being a small wedding. In the pictures and videos you can see all the lights and decorations they do, as well as all the tables of food - tons of food. I guess if you have over a 1000 people a you have to have a lot of food. 

I love all the lights hanging in the trees and from the bushes! I tried to make the lights at my own wedding reception look similar, so it reminded me of my wedding, and made me very happy. 

I'm used to seeing nose rings in the nose of almost all married women here, so that is very normal. However, it's not normal to see one that is so big it hangs below your chin and then connects to a chain that goes to your ear. This however, is what the bride wears on each wedding day. I wonder how much that weighs and if it ever gives her problems. I wonder as well how much her dress weighs. It's probably better that she sits almost the whole wedding because I'm not sure she could walk in that dress.

 

The groom arrives a few hours after the wedding begins. He comes in with a big group of people mostly made up of his family. Then he is escorted onto a platform on the opposite side of the reception area as the bride. He also comes in with these long pink flowers draped over his head so that the bride can't see his face. - Very interesting

Day 3 - Ceremony and first meeting and well as marriage of the bride and groom

The entrance into this wedding area was even more beautiful than the last!

Because we are white we are very popular and everyone wants to take pictures of us and with us, and especially with Elijah. A good example of this was when Neal and Elijah arrived in the marriage hall where the bride and groom were sitting everyone rushed them to the big cameras so that they could get pictures of them.


When I arrived in the marriage hall the same thing was done to me - rushed to the cameras and the bride and groom. It was neat how the groom got up to offer his chair to me in order for the bride and I to get a picture together. While sitting beside her I had an opportunity to talk with her a little, which was a blessing. (A couple of days later they invited us to visit them at their house)

Here's us with the family we lived with - we love them so much! It's always fun being with them and experiencing things together.

Elijah always being the social bug that he is in the midst of his own little paparazzi.

These three girls are the daughters of the family we lived with - so precious to Elijah and I. The oldest daughter (the one standing beside me and holding Elijah) and I have become good friends. She walked with me everywhere at the wedding, and everywhere we go for that matter, to make sure I was taken care of and that I had a friend at all times. She's learned the foods that I do and do not like so she even made sure that I found the food I liked, and stirred me away from the food I didn't.
I love how much they all love Elijah as well.

 At the entrance and exit of the reception guards stood with spears and small shields. Too funny!

We had to have a picture of Neal and the dad because they both wore blue and white stripped shirts to the wedding, and we all thought it was cute that they matched. Neal reminded him that he was dressed first and therefore the dad copied him - he just laughed.

And only in India do the men wear jeans to weddings while the women get all dolled up.

Getting Ready for our First Indian Wedding

We were invited by the family we lived with to go with them to a wedding of a friend. We were so excited because we've heard the music from weddings, seen the procession going down the street, and seen pictures of everyone all dressed up, but we'd never experience one. However, when attending a wedding here in India, the women need nice party wear clothing, which is not something I (Kristen) owned. So, on a Friday morning the dad, mom, son, Neal, Elijah, and I all went into the old city to find some outfits. The mom informed me that I needed two because we would be attending two wedding ceremonies...not two different weddings, but two of the four ceremonies. Yes, weddings last four days here, but the bride and groom don't see each other the first two of the days. Very different. The mom  decided I needed some frock, which is a fancy knee length dress you wear tight pants under (I don't like frock very much honestly), and a saree, which is what I wanted. Saree's are long pieces of cloth that wrap around your body like a dress. These are very beautiful and very expensive. Every woman desires to wear a saree to anything formal. 

After buying both outfits we went to look for shoes. I of course picked a nice pair of heels that would match both outfits. When I'd decided on the heels I wasn't sure why the men kept bringing out more shoes. The mom informed me that I couldn't wear the same pair of shoes to attend the same wedding. I had to get a new pair to match the second outfit. Then she and the dad just laughed...which is something they do often in regards to things we do or say.

Next, the bangles. The women deck their arms out with bracelets - a lot of bracelets! This is something that every married woman wears every day of her life, but for a wedding you wear even more. The owners of the bangle shops always come up with great combinations to go with whatever your attire is. It's interesting to watch them shuffle them around to make the perfect combination.

 

I wasn't sure how to wrap the saree, so I went to the moms house to have her do a practice run the morning of the wedding. I was hoping to recreate what they'd done that evening, but I wasn't very successful, so I went back to their house to have her wrap me again. I felt like a princess in my saree!

Mine and Elijah's Morning at the Park

There is a park so close to where we live that's wonderful! I prayed before coming here that God would give me a place where I could get outside and walk (or run, but that's not really what women do here) that was peaceful and beautiful. This park is just that. There's a great paved walking trail all the way around it, a fountain in the middle, big beautiful trees, areas where kids play in the grass, and all kinds of animals to see (monkey's and peacocks mostly). 

The platform where they monkeys are fed every morning

 I've been getting up in the morning while it's still cooler (not cool, but cooler) to go walking while Elijah and Neal sleep. This one morning Elijah was wide awake though, so I took him with me as well. He doesn't usually pay attention to little things, like the monkeys or other animals. I think he just doesn't know what to look at even when we are pointing to it. However this particular morning he was very aware of everything, and especially the monkeys.

He also loved watching the kids play cricket and soccer and clapping for them, which is one of his new favorite things to do.