Food For Thought

             I'm afraid that I am officially obsessed with food.  Is anybody else completely obsessed like I am?  I find myself more interested in the food I eat now more than ever.  This is probably due to the fact that I am living without some of the foods that I am used to eating, but it also might be because I have time to actually cook a real meal and try new recipes.  There are so many differences in the way we "do food" in America compared to how things are done in India.  I thought it might be interesting to note some of these differences.  I am in no way saying that the way we do food in America is better.  I am also not complaining about the food we have eaten here in Bangalore.  Bangalore is a city in which you have access to almost any type of food that the world has to offer.  With that being said, just because it is there doesn't mean it is affordable or readily accessible.  There are certain food items that we will splurge for, and there are certain food items that we just live without due to cost or unavailability.  So here is my list of 20 differences that I have experienced on a first hand basis related to food, eating, dining, and methods of cooking.  Hope you enjoy!

1.  I love to bake!  It is one of my absolute favorite things to do.  I would much rather bake than cook a meal any day.  I have also encouraged this love for baking in my daughter Molly.  According to her, I am not allowed to bake unless she can help.  It is definitely something we love to do together.  Here in India we have found that chocolate chips and granulated sugar are a precious commodity.  For 1/2 cup of chocolate chips I pay $1.  Back in the U.S. I could get an entire bag of chocolate chips (almost 2cups) for $1.  For 1 cup of granulated sugar I pay 50 cents here in India.  In America you can get a 5lb bag for super cheap.  So I am definitely paying a lot more money to support my baking habits here.  Chocolate chips and granulated sugar are definitely things I will splurge for.  I love my sweets :)

2.  I have decided that mango juice is the best juice there is.  It must be in our fridge at all times!

3.  Crockpots do not exist here.  You can buy one off of amazon for $50, which is crazy expensive!  Especially when you know you can get one for $5 on a Black Friday sale in the US.  Luckily one of my American friends is letting me borrow hers while she is back home having her 3rd baby.  We have put it to good use and now I don't ever want to give it back!  (Thanks Mandy)

4.  Produce here is super cheap!  We have access to wonderful produce almost every day.  No, it's not displayed as nicely as the aisles in a Hy-Vee grocery store, nor do we have as much of a selection, but it is sufficient to meet our everyday produce needs.  Plus it is super fresh!  For example for 1kg (2.2lbs) of tomatoes we will spend around 20-30 cents.  The same goes for 1kg of onions.  These are staples here of course, but it is much less expensive than in the US.  Some things are impossible to find like peaches and most berries.  Occasionally I will splurge and by a package of strawberries, but this is quite rare.   But as I mentioned in my last post, we have been able to try all sorts of new produce, with Mangos being one of them.  I definitely love eating fresh, as opposed to a bag frozen veggies, or out of a can.

5.  Speaking of eating food out of can, this brings me to my next difference.  In the US we have many "dump and pour meals."  This is what I like to call, you open up a can of something and you dump it/pour it and mix it with other ingredients to make your meal.  For example: tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato soup, chicken broth, cream of whatever soup, etc.  These are all things that make cooking very convenient in the US.  If I really want, I can find some of these canned items, but they are very expensive and not usually worth buying.  Most of the time they would require an extra trip to a grocery store that is not nearby.  So I usually have to avoid any recipe that says "just add a can of… (fill in the blank)."

6.  Since I'm on the topic of recipes I will mention this:  Pinterest is not helpful for finding new recipes due to what I mentioned in number 5.  I cannot quick go to the store and buy a roll of crescent rolls or a package of cream cheese.  I cannot buy a bag of individually wrapped caramels to make those yummy bars, and I cannot buy a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups to add to that dessert.  (Well I guess I could buy a bag of Reeses, but it would cost me $10 minimum).  Sometimes I do search pinterest, but I usually end up going through about 20 recipes to find one that contains ingredients that I have readily available at my market.

7.  I am really missing Greek yogurt.  I used to eat one of these every day, so it was hard to go without it once we moved here.  The yogurt that they have here is also known by the name "curd."  Curd is a staple here.  It's usually not sweetened or flavored, so it tastes rather sour to me.  It comes in all shapes and sizes from small yogurt-size containers to large tubs.  Indians eat a lot of curd to balance out the spice that they eat with each meal.  I have found that if I put about 3 tsp of sugar and some fruit in my cup of curd I can eat it.  I also enjoy making smoothies with it too.  I still miss my flavored yogurts though.

8.  After buying and drinking organic milk for 7 months I still don't like the taste it.  I don't think I ever will.  Sorry to you organic milk lovers out there.

9.  Cheese.  I didn't realize this until an Indian pointed this fact out to me.  As Americans, WE  LOVE CHEESE.  We eat cheese with almost anything and with almost any meal.  You can find nice cheese here, but you will pay a hefty price for it.  In fact, I haven't had parmesan cheese since we left America. Oooooh I miss my cheese.  You also won't find any bags of shredded cheese.  I do miss the convenience of opening a bag of shredded cheese and adding it to most of my meals.  The taste of the cheese here used to repulse me, but now I don't even notice it; in fact I actually don't mind it.

10.  If you go to the market in search of green bell peppers you better ask for capsicum.  I didn't know that green bell peppers had 2 names!  Cilantro is another thing at the market that goes by a different name…coriander leaf.  Some of you "foodies" out there probably already knew this, but I'm still learning!

11.  The beef here is not that great.  It is hard to find better beef than what we have in Iowa and South Dakota, so I guess I have a high beef standard.  Due to this fact we tend to eat a lot of chicken.  A lot of Indians are vegetarians and even if they aren't vegetarians they might only eat meat 1-2 times per week total.  We are used to eating it with almost every single meal of the week.  In fact many Americans won't consider it a real meal unless it has meat in it.  I don't mind eating vegetarian, but my husband on the other hand hates it when I cook vegan.

12.  There have been days when we cook eggs for every meal.  I have learned that when the cupboards are bare you can always get a rock solid meal out of eggs.  We make egg salad sandwiches, egg bakes, fried eggs, hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, egg burritos, you name it.  Eggs are easily accessible and make for a good source of protein when we run out of or get sick of chicken.

13.  I have officially fallen in love with my pressure cooker.  I had never even heard of one of these until I moved here.  Now I use it almost every day.  I use it to cook my rice, lentils, chicken, veggies, almost anything.  I'm slowly learning how many whistles it takes to cook each item.  I've also learned not to have John in the kitchen when using my pressure cooker because the whistles terrify him to death.

14.  We have drastically changed our mealtimes since living here.  The Indian mealtimes are much later than what we were accustomed to.  We do eat breakfast at a fairly normal hour, about 8:00am.  Lunch isn't usually served until 1:00-1:30pm (which is probably pretty early for Indians), and supper is usually at 8:00pm (which is also early for Indians).  You won't find many restaurants that will start serving you supper until at least 7:00pm.  You also won't find any coffee shop or restaurant open before 9:00am.  Kris really misses getting a coffee before heading into work.

15.  Homemade, homemade, homemade.  I think that I mentioned this in my Thanksgiving meal post a while back.  You don't find many things pre-packaged here.  For example I have started to make my own tortillas for when we have tacos or fajitas (I do have the taco seasoning imported from generous family members).   Tacos used to be a "go to" meal for me.  It was a quick and easy to meal that I could make when we were in a hurry.  Now it is a meal that takes me about 2hrs to prepare.  I must say though that homemade tortillas are definitely worth the time to make.  You can find taco seasoning and tortillas here but once again they are a bit costly.  I have also learned how to make my own chocolate sauce, carmel sauce, and tomato/spaghetti sauce.  All of my baked goods are totally from scratch as well.  You can find cake mixes, but they are also very expensive.   I also have Martha Stewarts pancake recipe memorized.

16.  Speaking of pancakes…lets move on to the subject of maple syrup.  I love my pancakes and french toast with lots of maple syrup.  Maple syrup is something that we have decided we cannot live without. For a bottle of maple syrup that only contains 2% maple we pay $7-8!!!  This bottle in the US would only cost about $1-2.  Want the real stuff?  You're looking at $20.  I can't believe I spend that much on maple syrup, but some things are just totally worth it in my mind.

17.  You will rarely see Indians using silverware to eat.  Indians believe that food is meant to be experienced with all of your senses.  You not only see, smell, and taste the food; but you must also touch the food to truly experience it.  They somehow make eating with your hands look very easy.  I have not mastered this art yet, but I try it every time we eat Indian.

18.  Pots and pans are known as "vessels" here.  You use many, many, many vessels when you cook Indian food.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a dishwasher here, because the vessels would never get clean in a dishwasher.  Plus it would be a waste of water and electricity to run a dishwasher.  Most Indians have a "house-helper" that will assist you in washing the many vessels you use when making Indian food.  You also do not have hot water to wash your dishes with.  I am starting to get really fast at washing dishes!

19.  I love, love, love cold water.  Indians prefer to drink water that is room temp.  Many Indians believe that you can get a cold from drinking any beverages that are chilled or even by eating ice-cream.  I believe that cold water quenches my thirst so much better than room-temp water.  However, I am getting used to drinking room-temp water as well.

20.  I love Indian food!!!!  This was not always the case for me as it has become somewhat of an acquired taste.  I have now found myself craving Indian food.  I still can't tolerate a lot of heat/spice, but that is the beauty of making it in your own home.  Now I can enjoy all of the flavors and spices that Indian food has to offer without all of the heat.  I simply cut down on the number of chiles or the amount of chile powder that I use.  We make a lot of gravy's, masala's, dal, rice, chapati's, roti's, and dosas.  This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Indian cooking.  Indian cooking is complex and labor intensive.  I allow myself at least 2-3hrs to prepare an Indian meal.  I have to give a big thank you to my friend Joanne who gave me my first Indian cooking lesson.  I also have to thank my friend Anita who has graciously shared some wonderful recipes with me.  If there are any Indians out there that want to share more recipes with me, or that want to teach an eager American how to cook, please let me know! I will close this post with a recipe that my friend Joanne taught be how to make:

Chicken Curry

-0.5 kg boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
-Marinate the chicken:
  -1tsp salt
  -1 tsp chile powder
  -1 tsp garlic ginger paste
  -4 TBSP curd

-Heat 2 TBSP of oil in pan with 2 cloves and 1 cinnamon stick
-add 3 chopped onions and 2 chiles chopped.  Sauté until onions are clear.
-add 1 tsp garlic ginger paste
-add 4 tomatoes chopped
-add 1 tsp coriander powder
-add a pinch of turmeric
-add marinaded chicken
-add 1 tsp of chile powder
-(if too spicy add more curd)
-simmer gravy on low until chicken is completely cooked and gravy thickens.
-finally stir in a small bunch of chopped cilantro (coriander leaf).

Serve with chapatis, roti's, or naan.

       Sorry Joanne if I missed something, but this is how I have been making it since you taught it to me!  Hope you all will try it out!!

     Well I'm sure there are many more differences that I have failed to point out.  Once again, my aim in this post was only to simply point out a few differences between the two places/cultures.  I, in no way, want to offend either culture on how we both experience food.  I am also not claiming to be an expert, but am only offering my own personal observations.  It has been so much fun trying new things, and I hope you all found this as interesting as I have!  

May in a nutshell

May proved to be another month filled with new and exciting adventures.  May also marked 6 months of us being in India.  Sometimes I feel like we have come a long way since November, and other times I feel like we are just getting our feet wet.  We continue to make new friendships, see new things, try new foods, and take in as much of India as we possibly can.  We still don't know how long God is calling us to stay here, but when we figure that out, we will be sure to let you all know.  In the mean time we will continue on with this journey and share with you as many of our experiences as possible.  

Since December we have been attending a wonderful church called Mercy Vineyard.  We have met so many wonderful people and have enjoyed our times of worship there.  Some members of the church decided to come visit us one week to pray and worship with us.  We truly appreciated their kindness and loved hanging out with them.  They also discovered that Kris can play guitar and by the next week had him up front leading worship!  Kris was pretty excited to get out and play the guitar again.  (Thanks Jason and Eleena for letting Kris borrow your guitar for the month!)

Happy Mothers Day!!  Molly and John (and daddy too) got me flowers and a nice card for mothers day.  Kris also made me banana and mango french toast with carmel sauce for my mothers day breakfast!  The past 6 months have made me truly fall in love with being a mom.  Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work, but it is also so rewarding.  I will never regret these months that I have been able to stay at home with these 2 kiddos.  Yes, most days I stay in my pajamas until noon, and on a really good day I might even put on some makeup.  I have also found myself running on more of a roller coaster of emotions than what I am used to experiencing.  In the words of my wise older sister (who is also a stay-at-home mom), "some days are good and some days are bad."  It's a simple statement, but after she said this I finally felt at peace with the extreme highs and lows that each day presented.  I'm used to running pretty even emotionally so this has also taken some getting used to.  Overall the good has by far out-weighed the bad.  Seeing John's smile and Molly's "I love you mama"can almost always melt my heart away.  It has been such a joy and privilege to spend the past 6 months at home raising them.  I do praise God for giving me the opportunity!

May 14 marked John's 3 month birthday!  He is officially smiling, laughing; and as of May 25, able to roll over.  He has his daddy's blue eyes and the cutest dimple chin that we have no clue where he inherited it from.  He is almost sleeping through the night and absolutely refuses to take a bottle.  We continue to fall more and more in love with this handsome little guy.  I wouldn't trade him for the world!

May marked a huge milestone for Molly in homeschool.  She has officially learned how to count to 100!!  Most schools have a "100" party to celebrate the 100th day of school.  We decided to celebrate the fact the Molly can count to 100 with our own little "100" party.  We blew up 100 balloons, decorated the apartment, played lots of "100" games, and even had a breakfast, lunch, and supper in the shape of the number 100.  We also baked a "100" cake.  It was such a fun party and I think Molly enjoyed doing something special in her honor.  

The next few pictures are from Cubbon Park.  This is a park in central Bangalore that has many large beautiful trees with some nice walking paths.  We decided to pack a picnic lunch and enjoy some time outdoors.  

It's officially Mango season here in Bangalore!!  I don't think that I have ever had a mango before arriving in India.  I didn't know what I had been missing out on!  Oh, they are the most delicious, sweet, and juicy fruit that I have ever tasted.  You will see tons of roadside vendors selling cartloads of mangos.  We make as many things as possible with mangos like mango smoothies, mango pancakes or frenchtoast, and even mango salsa.  I will miss this terribly when we move back.  

We even like to just cut them up and eat them plain.  Yum, Yum!!

At the end of May I also had the opportunity to "help" with a VBS in a nearby village/leper colony.  I went with some friends from church and spent some time teaching the kids some songs and a Bible story.  I say "help" because I felt like I was only able to observe and just be a part of the VBS due to John.  However, I did help teach them one of the songs that we sang that day.  It was a really fun experience to hang out with these kids.  They are full of energy and joy.  I saw many smiles and heard much laughter that day.  I just pray that they will cling to the love of Jesus that was presented to them.   

Singing their hearts out!

Time for a Bible story.

John receiving much Indian love!

Some time to play around.

             This was also my first opportunity to serve while here in India.  This has been something that I have been struggling with since I got here.  I feel like when God calls you to another country half-way around the world you expect to be able to serve him in mighty ways.  I came to India with high expectations of doing great works for the Lord.  What I have come to realize is that God did not call me to India to serve.  (Yes, he did call my husband to serve in mighty ways, and I have stood by his side encouraging him).   However, he called me to India to learn how to be a mom; to be a stay-at-home mom.  At first I was so disappointed by this calling.  God, why would you send me half-way across the world "just" for this?  Now I have realized that the word "just" is enough.  Raising your kids to know and serve the Lord is "just" as worthy as feeding the homeless and giving money to the poor.  Teaching your kids how to pray and love others is "just" as worthy as volunteering to serve at the women's shelter, and being on the worship team at church.  God has greatly changed my view on serving him.  He wants me to serve him in what I saw as the little things, before he can entrust me to serve him in bigger things.  I hope that some day I will have the opportunity to help feed the poor and volunteer at the women's shelter, but for now I get to stay at home and serve this wonderful family that God has graciously given me.  

Well, that about wraps up the month of May.  Once again, thanks for reading about our journey.  Please continue to lift us up in prayer about our future.  We are still unsure if God is leading us to stay another year or if he is calling us elsewhere.  We truly covet all of your thoughts and prayers and rely on them to give us the answers that we are needing from God right now.  Thanks again!

Waiting For a Sign

                "God, I'm waiting for a sign!  God, what's the plan?  God, what's next?"  Have you ever found yourself asking God these questions?  Lately I have been asking these questions to the Lord on almost a daily basis.  God is able to speak to us in many different ways.  Sometimes He will speak through a particular verse in the Bible, or in quiet times of prayer.  Other times it's through worship, in singing praises or playing an instrument.  Many times I hear Him through a pastor or teacher as they preach.  I have also had God speak to me through dear friends that have come along side of me to talk or pray.  Most of the time I wish God would just write it on a sign for me to read and have everything all written out.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Then we wouldn't have to read between the lines what we think He is trying to tell us.  We wouldn't have to second guess decisions that we have made.  We wouldn't have to wonder if we are going down the right path.  

                   This is how I am feeling about God and my life right now.  I feel certain that God called us to move to India for Kris to work as a chiropractor.  I feel certain that I was supposed to have my second child in India.  I feel certain that right now I am called to be a stay at home mom to two wonderful munchkins, discipling them to follow Jesus.  But what I am feeling uncertain about is God's timing.  There are many questions that I keep asking myself and God on almost a daily basis…  "How long does God want us to stay here?...If we move back to America, where will we live?...If we stay here, how will we afford to live in India for another year?...What is your will oh God????"  Plus I'm a planner, so I hate not knowing the plan!! (Hint hint God; tell me the plan...please??)   

                     Unfortunately I don't think that God is going to write out the answer for me on some big sign.  He loves it when we draw near to him so that he can draw near to us.  He enjoys our company when we ask, seek, knock, and ask and seek and knock some more.  We tend to do this more when we feel uncertain about the life around us.  Ultimately I know that God's plan for my life is perfect.  Knowing how to follow that plan is easier said than done.  

                    Please pray for us as we are seeking God's will for our future.  We hope to make a decision rather soon about how long God wants us to remain here.  We know for sure that we will remain here until at least October (that is when our visas run out).  Beyond that we are uncertain.  We are thankful to all of you who are already praying for us on a consistent basis.  We would enjoy hearing any scriptures or words of encouragement that you may have for us in the weeks and months to come as we make important decisions regarding our future.  

I will leave you with some other signs (not ones from God) that we have seen here in India and have made us laugh.  I hope that it will bring a smile to your face too :)  Enjoy!!

This sign was in Mysore at the palace.  Foreigners usually pay at least twice as much almost anywhere there is a tourist attraction.  

This sign is in another language, but the pictures are hilarious.  We saw this one at the Mysore Zoo.  It's basically saying don't go in the cages or you will be eaten/mauled by the animal and possibly bleed to death and then taken away by the police.  Ok, I guess I won't try and get in the cage with the Bison.  

This sign was also at the zoo and written in another language.  I think it's saying that you shouldn't feed the monkeys human food because they might get fat and then deflate?  Or the bottom left picture looks like he is trying to poop?  I don't know...

You see this sign all over Bangalore on almost any fence.  You see men urinating almost anywhere in the city.  There was even a commercial on TV that said you shouldn't litter or urinate on the side of the road because that looks bad to tourists.  It was a pretty funny commercial, because there is garbage everywhere and you always see men urinating on the side of the road.  

This sign says to park vehicles orderly.  In America you wouldn't have to post a sign like this because people almost always park orderly…mostly due to our large parking lots everywhere. Here in India, it's always a good reminder.  People will park anywhere they want and in any direction they want.  Plus parking is always a problem due to lack of  space.  

This is my last sign from the zoo.  I don't really know what it means…so I will leave it's interpretation up to your imagination :)

We just thought that the lady and the man on this sign looked kind of weird.  Plus we don't really know what the flames underneath of them are for??

This is a stop sign near our apartment.  MC hammer all the way!!

This sign says "Chicken stop"  "Succulent things, juicy breasts and great legs."  I don't think I need to elaborate any further.

You see this sign all over the city.  Nobody follows traffic rules.  Period.

You also see this sign all over the city.  Nobody follows lane discipline.   I wish I had a good picture to show the crazy traffic here.  They say if you can drive in Bangalore, you can drive anywhere in the world!

Adventures Continued (Part 2)

Sam and Jill left Bangalore late Sunday night, but Dad and Arlys were able to stay an extra week.  This enabled us to do a few more fun leisurely activities with them.  We took them to one of the fancy shopping malls that Bangalore has to offer.  Bangalore is known for its good shopping and restaurants.    It was a great way to get out of the heat and enjoy some air conditioning.  

Molly and Nana riding the train at the mall

 One afternoon we found a pool close by to cool off in.  Molly loved swimming with Papa and Nana!

More selfies in the rickshaw

One afternoon we headed to WCOI (World Cassette Outreach of India) headquarters to learn more about their ministry and spend time with our friend James and his family.   Our church in Sioux Falls is planning a mission trip to India to work with the ministry in July.  WCOI translates the Bible and offers it to many villages and people groups around India in a digital audio form.  This is an extremely powerful ministry that is being used to spread the gospel message to many unreached parts of the country.  After hearing some amazing testimonies from James and his dad, I realized that I have totally underestimated the powerful transformation that is possible when someone simply has access to the Word of God.  Sometimes I get wrapped up in how we can reach people for Christ by giving things like food, clothes, or medical care.  But this ministry doesn't offer any of those things.  It offers the Bible in an accessible format, and so many people have come to know the Lord through His Word.  We hope to be able to join our church when they come in July to help distribute these digital players.  Thank you WCOI for all that you are doing to further the Kingdom of God here on earth!

On Thursday night we took Dad and Arlys out for their 10 year wedding anniversary.  We took them to an Arabian restaurant that is popular here in Bangalore.   I believe they found it to be a unique and enjoyable dining experience.  We teased them about how it would be hard to top celebrating their 10 year anniversary in India.  

Getting ready for the 10 year anniversary dinner

Celebrating Dad and Arlys' 10 years of marriage!

On their last day in Bangalore we decided to head about an hour outside of the city to Nandi Hills.  This is a beautiful hilly area that offers many scenic overlooks and some nice hikes.  Once again I always welcome any time we can spend outside of the city.   

Nandi Hills

There were many of these canopies on the side of the road that offered some scenic overlooks.  

This man was dangling off the edge just to measure the canopy.  

There were monkeys everywhere!  This monkey was eating garbage on top of the rickshaw.

The entrance to the park.

Dad rocking John to sleep one last time before they got on their plane to America.  

It was so hard to say goodbye!  I didn't know if I would be depressed or feeling rejuvenated to survive the next 6 months with no visitors.  The verdict is still out on that one :)  All in all we had an amazing time with our family and we were so happy that they made the extremely long trip out here to come see us.  I hope that these past few blogs have motivated a few more of you to think about coming to see us while we are here in India.  We would love to have more visitors and would show you a really great time!!  

Adventures Continued...

          Family time did not end with our vacation in Mysore.  We had to show them all of the sights and sounds that Bangalore had to offer.  Kris and I have had little to no time to sight see around Bangalore, so we were excited to go around the city and see some new things too.
          The day after we returned from Mysore I sent everyone on an adventure to Commercial Street.  This is a huge, busy, shopping area with many crowded vendors and shops.  Kris had to work, and I stayed at home with Molly who was running a fever.  They ventured out in a couple of rickshaws and amazingly came home safe and sound!

This is a view down one of the side streets near Commercial Street

The rickshaw driver even let dad ride in the drivers seat with him.  

Enjoying the rickshaw rides!

So many shops to see.  It can get quite overwhelming. 

Once they made it home from Commercial Street, Roopa took the ladies saree shopping.  The store we went to had walls and walls of sarees to choose from.  It was almost impossible to narrow it down.  Jill and Arlys managed to choose one.  I, on the other hand, will need to save up some money for my saree. Apparently I am too tall for some of the lesser expensive sarees and I will have to pay more money for one with more fabric.  I will get one some day!  

They lined up to show us all of their beautiful sarees.  It truly was a shopping experience that I will never forget.  

They draped each of us with a saree so that we could see what we would look like with one on.  I would compare it to shopping for a wedding gown.  You don't know if it's "the one" until you try it on and stand on the pedestal in front of the large mirror.  Then you oooh and aaaah and say that's the one.

The night ended on such a good note with Sam and Jill singing us a song that they had written for John.  This was their baby gift to us and I will cherish it forever.  I can't wait until they get us a copy that we can listen to over and over.  Thanks Sam and Jill for all of the time and energy you put into writing this!  We loved it!

The next day Sam and Jill went with a friend to see an art museum in the morning and then met up with the rest of us for lunch.  We had lunch with Jude and Roopa at an Indian buffet.  Then if was off for more shopping to the Harley Davidson Store and MG road. We finished off the day with Krispy Kreme donuts and a metro ride back home.  It was another busy, busy day!

It was fun to try so many different Indian dishes.  

Dad was in hog heaven at the Harley store.  He managed to find his souvenir here :)

MG road is another huge shopping area.  The ladies found some fun scarves to bring home as souvenirs.  

Papa and Nana treating Molly to some Krispy Kreme donuts.  YUMMY!!

Our last big tourist day with Sam and Jill was Saturday so we decided to go to Lalbagh, which is a beautiful botanical garden located in Bangalore.  I was pleasantly surprised by how large and green it was.   It was very refreshing to see such a large garden with so many unique, huge, beautiful, old trees.    It was also very quiet and less crowded than anywhere else in Bangalore.  So we packed a picnic lunch and made a day of it.  It was hot of course, but the trees provided a lot of shade to keep us somewhat cool throughout the day.  

This is a garden that is full of bonzae trees

So many large, beautiful trees.

This particular palm was just so amazing up close. 

We sat under this pink tree for our picnic lunch.  I don't remember the last time I had a picnic lunch!

This tree was at least 200 years old!

Lots of orange blossoms on many of the trees in the park.

It was so nice to see this part of Bangalore.  I hope to be able to take Kris there some day too.  

We walked around the park for as long as our legs could tolerate.  Then on the way home I let Sam, Jill, and Arlys check out KR market.  This is an extremely busy, crowded, narrow market where there are tons of vendors selling a variety of goods.  I did not dare to venture into such a densely populated area with 2 kids, so dad offered to stay with me and the kids in the car.  We only allowed them to venture out for 30min because, once again it is too chaotic of a place to have children.  In that 30min they saw so many interesting things.  I would like to go back there without kids and see it for myself some day.  

Can you see Sam in this picture?

The night ended with a home cooked Indian meal made by Roopa.  It was absolutely delicious!  Thanks Jude and Roopa for your hospitality!

Well that wraps up week number 1 with the fam!  Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Sam and Jill Sunday night, but we had such a great time with them.  They went full speed ahead for the entire 8 days they were here.  It was so much fun to see them soak up all of the culture that India has to offer.  They truly did not let a moment be wasted while they were here.  Stay tuned for week number 2 of family time.  We did slow down a bit after Sam and Jill left, but none of us minded:)