Last day in Kolkata

Today is our last day in Kolkata. Max is doing wonderfully and even slept all night. He is very good natured and happy and eating well. He has bonded with Kristy so naturally and interacts so very well with Dan and I.

This morning we went out to have Max's visa pictures done, then took a trip to Mother Theresa's tomb and house of charity. This woman was remarkable. I have so much to tell you all and so many pictures to show you when I get back to class next Monday. I have been reading all your blog comments and want you to know how much I appreciate this. It brings a touch of home when I'm away. Shelby, I did receive your blog under the right heading.

Maddie, Myles, and Aurie, nana can't wait to see you at the airport and give you all hugs and kisses!!! You guys are all going to love Max. He loves to play with other kids and is going to have a blast with you all. I love and miss you very much.

This may be the last blog until I return because tomorrow will be consumed in travel.

Response to student's blogging - Nov. 27th

Thanks for all of your responses. Here are a couple of answers to your questions.

First- Yes Zach you still have to journal this week. Nice try though!!!
In answer to if the woman with Max was his birth mom - No, that is the woman who works in the orphanage and has primary care of him. We are very thankful that she has taken such good care of him until we could get through all the legal paperwork in order to come pick him up.
I do miss you guys for some crazy reason. Can't wait to be back next week to explain all the cultural aspects of India to you. (With pictures)

At 1:00 p.m. today we went to the orphanage to get Max. The orphanage was clean and the children seem to be well taken care of. There were 10 little ones in the room with Max, sharing sometimes three to a crib. Not much room, very few toys, but all and all it was clean.

Max met with us and immediately when handed over to Kristy (my daughter his mom) he grabbed onto her and held and snuggled. He is absolutely perfect and gorgeous!!!

Enough of the small talk, here is Max's debut:

Tuesday in Kolkata

Today is Tuesday!! The day we get Max permanently. It is now about 10 A.M. and we just got off the phone with the orphanage. They told us we could pick up Max (Rup) at 1:00p.m. After picking up Max we will be going to the Kolkata consulate to pick up his Visa. We can hardly wait. No more to say until later.

Last day in Delhi

It is Monday and our last day in Delhi. Today we finished our adoption paperwork at the U.S. Embassy. (See link) The process was relatively quick and easy, although we had to go through 3 security checks before being escorted to the department we needed. Our flight out of the Delhi domestic airport is not until this evening so we decided to sightsee to two more places, the Red Fort and where Ghandi was cremated.

This picture (below) is of my daughter and I with a group of girls from a military school in India that took about twenty pictures of us with them. Because we are from the the U.S. we were instant stars for a few minutes. Remember, we are the minority in this area.

This was outside of Ghandi's eternal flame. This is Kristy and Dan (my daughter and son-in-law) with a snake charmer and (Yes it's real) his cobra.
Below are photos of the human side of New Delhi.

Tonight our flight to Kolkata was again a smooth flight. Culture shock hit us pretty bad when we road to our hotel. The ride was about half an hour, the stench from the filth of the city was awful, and at no point did we see an afluent neighborhood. There are so many people living on the side of the roads and the rest in terrible apartments. Pictures and more on that tomorrow.

Earthquake in Delhi Nov. 26th

This morning we were startled awake by an earthquake shaking our hotel. It only lasted for a brief couple of seconds, but it jumped us. We found out it was a 4.3 on the richter scale with the epicenter here in New Delhi. I guess we are going to experience it all while we're here.
This morning we go to the American Embassy and then we leave for Kolkota this evening. Tomorrow we get to pick up Max!!!! I'll post back tomorrow with pictures.

Last day of sightseeing in New Delhi

Just to let everyone know, the Indian cuisine is very good here at the hotel. Remember, India is known for its spices so everything is spicy. We are able to eat all the food that the hotel serves safely, but are not able to tolerate the food sold by vendors. We drink only bottled water!! The local food and water may have bacteria we are not use to and we could get Delhi belly (an upset stomach with diarrhea).

This afternoon we hired a hotel driver and tour guide to see some final sights before we leave for Kolkata tomorrow. We started out by going to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, (see link) which is the official residence of the President of India. This is where we saw fireworks coming from last night. This was the Sikhs celebrating the festival of the sick. (It was not a celebration for an India idol like someone told us last night!!) It is a beautiful structure with 340 rooms, constructed on a hill. On both sides are impressive office buildings that are mirror images of each other.

We then traveled to the India Gate which is a war memorial arch built in honor of 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in WWI. It burns the Amar Jawan Jyoti, the eternal flame in tribute to all martyred soldiers of India.

Next stop - Humayun's Tomb which is an elegant example of early Mughal architecture, the tomb of the second Mughal emperor and the graves of his wives. This was an amazing structure that has all its buildings lined up symmetrically. Our last stop was at a Hindu temple that was absolutely amazing. There were many Hindus worshiping in their traditional garb. In the temples and mosques we had to remove our shoes out of respect. Tomorrow hopefully I'll post more pictures. If anyone has any comments please post them. Jenny and Carrie, I did read your posts!! Also remember that the links have additional info in them.
Tomorrow is a busy day, so I'm not sure what time I will be able to post.

Sunday, Nov. 25th

Last night at about 7:30p.m. we heard what sounded like a parade outside of our hotel. We looked out and low and behold we were witnessing a Bengali wedding. Up the road came a horse drawn carriage carrying a groom. He was in the Bengali traditional clothing, (white suit with a black turban) and there were lots of drums and lights. It was quite the celebration!!!
At about 10:30 we were woken by fireworks. We checked out our window and off in the distance we could see the Presidents house all lit up with the fireworks going off there. We later found out on the news that it was the celebration for the India version of American idol.
Today we are headed out to see the Red Fort and a Hindu temple.
Maddie, Auri, and Myles - I haven't forgot surprises!!! My students (don't tell Mr. Finn) but I haven't forgot candy from India. See you later!

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India, Nov. 24th

Today we did some sightseeing in New Delhi. We first went to a market that sold everything from food, clothing, and tourist novelties. The markets here in New Delhi are open markets where the merchandise is sold in very small shops and open shops out on the street. When shopping in these markets you have to wheel and deal. They give you a price and then you counter with another lower offer until you reach an agreement. The streets are overcrowded with people. There are also stray dogs all over the busy streets and monkeys running around (right in the middle of this large overcrowded city!!)

We next had the hotel taxi take us to the Ghandi memorial. (This will be a good internet research for my students. Start with the link on the right of this page). It was certainly a good decision. It showed his path to the ocean and also where he was martyred. (See photos)

We then came back to the hotel to get a good rest after the long day of travel yesterday. Tomorrow we'll be doing one more day of sight seeing here in Delhi and then starting Monday we will begin the best part of our trip doing the leg work in order to pick up Max on Tuesday!!
Monday we need to be at the U.S. embassy to file and receive some last minute paperwork to allow us to immigrate Max home to the U.S.(link to the U.S. embassy website to the right). That evening we will fly east to Kolkata (Calcutta) where Max is in an orphanage. Tuesday morning we will pick up Max (Rup) at his orphanage (link to web page on right). We will thengo to the U.S. consulate a(Link to consulate on right) to file for his immigrant Visa. We will then stay for three more days in order for his Visa to be processed and to allow him to adjust to us before flying home. We should arrive home Friday.

Our arrival in India, Nov. 23rd,

The first leg of our (My daughter Kristy, son-in-law Dan and myself) journey started at Logan Airport in Boston. This was Thanksgiving Day and the airport was empty. After clearing customs we boarded our plane which had a lay-over in Amsterdam. The flight was eight hours, and was very smooth and comfortable.

After arriving in Amsterdam we had three hours until our flight to New Delhi. We decided to treat ourselves to UNO pizza, knowing we would be eating cultural food in India all week. We next passed through customs again in Amsterdam to fly another seven hours to New Delhi, India. We were now beginning to feel what it is like to be the minority in a diverse culture. I'll speak more on this topic later.

The flight was again smooth. As we passed over the Pakistani border into India the pilot announced this, one of the few announcements he made during the whole flight. It gave me a queasy feeling!

After landing at the New Delhi airport (pictures here are not allowed) we went through customs and onto the baggage claim. No problems. Next we went to a money exchange booth and changed our American currency into Rupees, the Indian currency. It is now midnight in New Delhi, 1:30 pm U.S. time. We hired a taxi to bring us to our hotel. It took two hours to go four miles!! Our taxi driver did not know where he was going. The traffic, even at two in the morning was unbelievable! There are no designated lanes and it was very congested, drivers just go from lane to lane at will. We went through a pretty scary area that was filthy and had homeless people and families in small shacks (like canvas tents) along the way.
At last we made it to our hotel, which is absolutely gorgeous, but surrounded by a downtrodden area.
The photos above show the view from our window. In the first picture you can see kids playing cricket in the courtyard between their apartments. The next picture shows a more distant view of the courtyard with the apartments surrounding them. (Jenny, you may want to use this blog in reference to our sequencing in language arts and reading.)