Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!! (In no particular ranked order)

It's Christmas Eve, and I thankfully find myself with my wife and kids at Christmas. We'll celebrate Christmas in Texas, where, unfortunately, the weather is purposefully un-Christmasy, and then we'll travel to D.C. for New Year's. We'll fly to India on New Year's Day.

We know and regret that we'll be unable to see everyone prior to our departure for India. Please know that we would have preferred it otherwise, but time/money have been limited.

We hope each and every one of you have a very, very merry Christmas, the happiest of Hannukahs, and the safest, most splendid of New Year's. It goes without saying, but never should - we love you all.

To rob Dickens blind -- God Bless us all, every one.

Buzz Kill...

What kind of man would I be if I used this absolutely free forum to blog about nothing except monkeys on motorbikes and the pretty new raw silk table clothe I practically stole from some poor vendor? I can answer that honestly...not much of one.

Do you know what I learned? Approximately 50,000 children in India die every year from dysentery...an entirely treatable waterborne bug. I know, "Awwwwww, poor kids," right? In D.C. this was just another "fact" you could read on some NGO's pamphlet or hippie's shirt in Georgetown or hear Sally Struther's whine about on an early-Sunday morning "Save the Children" program. Maybe we heard it from some celebrity, fresh out of rehab and searching for a comeback via promotional empathy. For me it used to be a fact that affected me for a moment or two, until I felt I'd given it its due, and then I went on with my day. 50,000 to dysentery, and that's probably underrepresented. That's likely a drop in the bucket compared to the other completely preventable diseases that take these children young, not to mention the more immediate health risks...like taxis and buses and "tuck-tucks" running over them, which in New Delhi is simply the reason for yet another traffic jam...they'll be scraped up soon, and I can be home in time for dinner. In D.C. these were facts, nothing more. Statistics. Lies, lies, and damn lies, rights?

Everyday I get to ignore these "lies." While sitting in my car or walking to a market, I get to ignore the "walking dead." These children who are born to die. Conceived by parents who've forgotten them to a society that treats them as ghosts who dwell in a world that uses their deaths as fodder for fundraisers or political maneuvering or career ressurrection. The facts were easy to ignore in D.C. As I understand it, with practice these children will become easy to ignore here also.

In the end maybe I'm just a bleeding-heart liberal or a naive Westerner who sees meaning where none exists or maybe I'm just tired right now and overly sensitive. Whatever the case, tomorrow I'll count the number of children who, statistically, will be dead by next year. What makes them different from my own children but chance? Poor, poor me...all that sadness that I must witness and bear and choke on when I complain about being sooooo full or soooo tired or soooo hot or cold.

Ehh. Oh well. Bedtime.

UPDATE!!

You're going to be disappointed, and it's my fault. I purposefully titled this entry "UPDATE" in all caps with two, yes two, exclamation points to get all of you geared up for an exciting entry, tales from an adventurous life in exotic India. I had Dominos Pizza tonight after working thirteen-hours. BUT, it WAS delivered to the house in under 30 minutes. In India, that IS a promise Dominos intends to keep! I did receive my Christmas tree and some groceries in the mail today...so that was exciting!

The air in New Delhi is still heavy with fear and anticipation...and cow dung, but mostly fear and anticipation following the Mumbai attacks. The city remains on "high alert," and so has begun the "knee-jerk" reactionary measures. I'm not saying these measures are bad, but they're reactionary. Life, which is comprised of nothing but work, has become very hectic and taxing, and I've only been on the job for one month. It's great work, and I think I'll enjoy it immensely, once I figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing. I'm told this phase is normal, so I'll ride it out.

I don't have many wondrous tales to tell...not yet. I've visited many local markets, haggled with shopkeepers, braved the by-ways in a "tuck-tuck" and I've seen monkeys riding motorcycles (with their owners), but I'm not doing anything terribly exciting in what little free time I have. I'm waiting to share the many adventures with my family.

I recently returned from a work-related trip to Bhutan. The Kingdom of Bhutan is...Shangri-La of Legend. It is clean and beautiful, and the people are soft-spoken and kind. It's no wonder people clamor to visit the Kingdom... only to have their plans dashed against the rocks of futility (the Bhutanese government limits the number of tourists into the country). I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have visited, and the objective of the trip was achieved, or so I understood.

I'll soon travel home to collect Julie and the kids. I can't wait! We'll celebrate Christmas in Texas, New Years in D.C., and then return to New Delhi. Once my family joins me here at post, then you can expect the entries to increase exponentially...elephant rides, the Taj Mahal, and other stereotypically touristy pursuits.

Well, for those who had asked "Where are the blogs? When is the next post?" Here it is...I'm sorry I don't have anything more scintillating to share. It's funny maybe how we humans struggle to find our routines when in a new place...I wake up, I go to work, I work, I eat, I pick up some groceries perhaps, I work some more, I leave work, I go home, I eat, I workout, and I go to sleep. Then, God willing, I wake the next morning to do it all over again. Maybe it's not funny, maybe it's sad or maybe it's both. Or maybe it's neither funny or sad...maybe it just is. Deep. Look at it this way...nothing much to report here, but I did use the word "scintillating" and you don't see that every day. Unless you write and/or edit romance novels...then you might see that word plenty. Goodnight.

Experience Keeps a Dear School...

I have co-workers, brothers and sisters, serving in locales where life is in lockdown, and where a car backfire probably isn't a car backfire, where they have to follow the sound with a self-check for injuries. I don't envy their position, and consider them the braver for it. While India has witnessed its fair share of terror, the events in Mumbai are the first acts I've witnessed from India. I prefer to avoid drama and theatrics, but I will say the events have been sobering and have encouraged quiet reflection.

We're presently safe in Delhi, assisting Mumbai from a distance, and waiting with "baited breath." It's the "what ifs," the "what's to come" that has me thinking "maybe I should have bid on Reykjavik."

This post isn't meant to spawn a wave of concern, not at all. I am safe, and hopeful I'll remain that way. To my brothers and sisters that live with this uncertainty daily, the dangerous potentialities daily...I can only say thank you and be safe. To those at home I can say, without any care for how dramatic it may sound...savor Thanksgiving Day, be truly thankful for the time you have with your loved ones, your parents, your brothers and sisters, your children. Bask in that time, enjoy it, and don't take a second of it for granted. Today, too many people in India and throughout the world have been denied a future with a loved one. We never really know what the next moment will usher in.

To my beautiful wife and children, I love you dearly. Family and friends, ditto. I'll keep everyone posted.

Peace.

Thanksgiving Eve

I'm sure many of you've heard about the terrible attacks which occurred in Mumbai on Thanksgiving Eve. I'm in Delhi, and I'm safe. Love to you all, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Late Call: Touchdown!

So I arrived safely to Delhi...not comfortably, but safely. I was packed tightly into a KLM operated 747...I think. I know it was a big plane, and it was full. I slept for most of the flight, and when I wasn't, I was conversing with an elderly woman from Sweden. I told her how much we appreciated IKEA.

I'm now trying to settle into a routine, settle into a new job, and into a new house. Until Julie and the kids join me, I'm not sure any of it can really feel like home or even an approximation. This isn't an epiphany, but an understanding.

I think we'll enjoy our time here as long as we continually remind ourselves that we're living in Delhi. No Target. No Whole Foods. Not to mention the complete absence of traffic laws and environmental protections. I ate Dominos pizza last night though, and I'm not dead yet or feeling near it. Delhi is beautiful in many ways. Roaming packs of monkeys, parrots flying free, fragrant flowers, and a city teeming with potential. It can also be very depressing. Ultimately, I really hope family and friends will consider our assignment here as an opportunity to visit, and see a part of the world, a kind of life that one usually wouldn't see. Consider that an invitation.

As soon as Julie and the kids arrive, and I reclaim our digital camera, then we will post plenty of pictures...of the kids riding elephants, playing with monkeys, standing in front of India Gate, the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas. All that and more. I will attempt to post regularly with observations, stories, and what could only be brilliant insights. Love to you all.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I'm off...to the land of elephants and tigers, of Verizon Customer Service and HMO calltakers, of curry and spices, of 120-degree heat in the shade and Amoeba swimming pools (AKA drinking water). It's been quite the delay, quite the headache, and remains a heartache, leaving Julie, Olivia, Eli, and little Alise. We'll only be separated for another six weeks or so, and for that we're grateful. Olivia was admitted into the American Embassy School, which is awesome. Eli just had a fine lookin' haircut, and is extremely proud. Julie has confirmed that Alise has at least one dimple. There may be a second...Olivia isn't happy about that as she's wondered why then Eli and Alise would get two dimples, and she only gets one.

Anywho. I'll provide further updates once I'm settled. I hope this blog finds all of our friends and family happy and healthy.