Trust

Yesterday we went on a walk to buy a few things and just get out of the house after the nice rain.  As we were walking, two rather tall girls stopped us and asked if they could ask a favor.  I thought they were going to ask if they could take a picture of Silas, but instead they asked us if we could give them a ride (assuming we had a car parked nearby).  They said that they asked us because they don't trust their own people, but they trust us (strange).  We told them we didn't have a car and they told us they were in town for a basketball tournament (explains the tall).  Then they asked to take Silas' picture. 

Another girl told me that the people of her country are bad, they cheat people and you cannot trust them. 
The wife of our language teacher told us, when we asked her to help us find a house helper, that she doesn't trust people, even the Christians because they are tempted by the things we have and they steal. 

So sad.  I am a very trusting person and it is strange for me to hear people say that they trust foreigners over their own people.  So does that mean I shouldn't trust anyone?  I hope I will find that I can.

Shopping

There are many things we take for granted in America, and one of them is one-stop shopping.  I miss the convenience of going to Walmart or Target to buy pretty much everything on my list.  Now I make my shopping list for the week, and then I divide it into different lists depending on where it can be purchased.  I go to one store to buy meat, one to buy vegetables, one for fruit, one for eggs, and then fortunately there is a grocery store that sells all of my grains, spices, milk, cheese... but office supplies, cleaning supplies, hardware, toys,... all have their own stores as well.  I guess the closest thing we have to one stop shopping is Pultaan Bazaar- though it is a distance from our house-  This is a few blocks of just stores: plastics stores, metal stores, wicker stores, clothing stores, paper stores, fabric stores, vegetable stands, fruit stands, chicken, fish, pork, eggs... these are all sold in separate stores, and the stores that sell the same thing are all grouped together. 
   There is however a positive to having to buy everything at a different store, and that is relationship.  Though I frequently went to the same checkout lady at Walmart and saw the same house wives shopping at 10am on a Monday, I never really got to know any of them.  Here, you get to know your shopkeeper, you build a relationship, a trust develops, and then maybe the vegetable lady will stop charging me twice the price she charges the locals (but I doubt it). 

Cloth Diaper Woes

Warning:  May not be suitable for people without children
As grateful as I am that we received 15 free Bum Genius diapers and no longer have to pay for disposable diapers, I have to say that I strongly dislike them.  I seriously do not understand the people who say "I love cloth diapers".  They are basically saying, I love looking at my child's poop and smelling it while I try to scrape into the toilet..."  Disgusting, gross, yuck, stinky, eeuuuuuuuw!! 
   We started cloth diapering full time about a week ago and it was working really well because Silas was constipated and, well, that is easy to clean.  I worked really hard to try to get him regular (prune juice mixed into his oatmeal did the trick), but now that he is, DISGUSTING!!!  Yesterday morning at 6 I changed Silas' diaper and greatly struggled to get the stupid diaper clean, only to have some of the poo fall on my toe "AAAAAH"- I screamed, JP running in to find me be overly dramatic and making up loathsome verse about cloth diapers.  Yes, I will stick with cloth diapers because disposable are about twice the price here as they are in America and because the waste disposal system here is not so bueno, but I will not enjoy it, and I will never say that "I love cloth diapers.

Silas with Laylah

This is before we left the US.  Silas with his arm around Laylah.  Aren’t they cute?

7 Months

We have officially joined the ranks of cloth diaper users.  Believe me, I prefer disposable and would continue using them if we were in the US, but since we are not, lots of laundry here we come!!  Due to the heat, Silas spends much of time in just a diaper, so at least cloth diapers are fashionable:)

I don't know if you notice a different, but the first picture is pre-haircut, and this is post.  Silas doesn't have an AC in his room and his poor little head sweats buckets.  I thought if I cut his hair shorter it might help a little. 

This is in Silas' orange room.  For some reason Silas has stopped enjoying getting his diaper changed (yes, he used to think it was fun) so now he screams.  This picture is post screaming, so his eyes are a little red.

My husband is such a good father!!  Silas is blessed to have a father who cares so much and spends so much time with him.  He kind of reminds me of my father.

Silas is trying really hard to be mobile, but so far this is about as far as he gets.  From here he normally either sits back down, rolls over, or takes a nose dive (we try to avoid that on marble).  Silas has learned how to grab the sides of his tub and stand up, making bath time quite difficult and frustrating for both Silas and mommy.

Here is my smiley boy playing on the cool marble floor.

Pressure Cooking

So, I have heard great things about cooking with a pressure cooker, but was unsure of how to use one.  I discovered that I wasn't having much success because my pc was broken, so we took it to the store and exchanged it for a new one.  The joy of having a new pressure cooker is that it comes with an instruction booklet and a recipe book!!  Now that I know how to use it, I have been using it a lot.  The other day I put cauliflower, carrots, and a whole chicken in the pc with a cup of water, a dab of butter and some spices.  About 15 minutes later I had a fully cooked meal- pretty tasty.  Yes, the benefit of the pressure cooker is the speed.  It takes about 7 minutes to cook rice, 20 minutes to cook kidney beans, 10 minutes to cook whole potatoes, 10 minutes for chicken... and the list goes on.  I am very thankful for this time saver (though I still don't have it fully figured out) since prepping the vegetables takes a lot of extra time. 

Dupata Play

 It doesn't matter how many of Silas' toys are out in front of him, he always after the item that is not a toy.  One evening he was playing with my dupata, so I draped it over his head to play peek-a-boo and took some pictures.

playtime

Silas spends much of his day playing on our bed in the only air conditioned room in the house.  Here he is getting attacked by Roscoe the shark (yes, my husband names his stuffed animals).

Airplane Ride

 

On the way from DFW to London, Silas got to sleep in the airplane bassinet.  It was not quite what I was expecting, but he slept pretty well. 

Meena

Since it takes a long time to daily living activities here, and since learning a new language takes a lot of time and energy, I have a house helper, well kind of. Meena comes to our house Monday-Saturday at 8am and does the dishes from the day before, sweeps the floors, and mops. This is great, but we have communication issues. My Hindi is VERY minimal and Hindi is not her first language so it isn't all that clear. I would prefer for her to come a little later than 8, so on Saturday JP asked her if she could come at 9 and we thought she said that she would be here at 9:30. So this morning at 7:45, still in my pajamas, Meena shows up. (I am the kind of person who likes to straighten up a little before the house helper comes, so I was not quite ready for this). So before she left this morning I pulled out my text book and tried to ask her what time she would be coming tomorrow. I think she understood me, but I did not understand her answer, so I wrote down 9:00? She then said 11:30 (I understand this and then double checked). I said that was ok, but then she said something about 8:00- I gave her a very puzzled look, she laughed and then she had me check her work on the dishes. I don't know what time she is coming tomorrow, but I will try to be ready at 8.

Learning to Cook

I have quickly been reminded just how much time it takes to do everything in Asia. Shopping, cooking, cleaning… are not as convenient as they are in America. I do not have a car, a dishwasher, and oven…and I feel like I am learning how to cook all over again with new appliances. In my little kitchen I have a three burner gas stove, a skillet, a few pots, and two pressure-cookers. Pressure-cookers really are great things, but first I must learn how to use them properly. In a pressure cooker you can make rice in 5 minutes, beans in about 18, cook chicken, carrots, and potatoes in 10- all with just a little bit of water and saving gas in your gas tank. The only problem I have with the pc is that it is difficult to get the lid on and off and it scares Silas when it blows steam.

There is very little meat here, so I am having to try out new recipes and figure out how to be creative and make chicken taste like something else. There are meat markets here that sell Chicken and Mutton in many different cuts and forms (they have boneless, skinless chicken breast, but it isn't the greatest quality). Chicken Kheema (ground Chicken) is a wonderful and convenient alternative to ground beef which can be bought at Kumar's Grocery store in a frozen roll or from the meat market. I plan to attempt cooking with mutton at some point, but I am a little scared of the taste. While exploring in the Bazaar I did happen upon one pork vender, but I have been warned that it may not be very good quality.

So last night I cooked a pretty good dinner made completely of foods that I found here.

1lb Chicken kheema

2 cups frozen peas

One red onion chopped

Spaghetti noodles

Knorr's Cream of Mushroom soup mix (cut liquid in half)

Plain yogurt

Garlic salt

Paprika

Olive oil

Mixed all together made a slightly Asian flavored Chicken Spaghetti.

Holding onto Pride

There is a pride I must let go of if I want to thrive in my new country, if I want to find joy in my role as mommy. I pride myself if in my ability to succeed at school, to be at the top of the class, to know my way around, to be on top of things. I pride myself if my ability to learn language and adapt to new cultures quickly… and that has made me somewhat of a perfectionist. It has made me set too high of expectations for myself. I am not a single, carefree 22 year-old anymore.

I cried today during my Hindi lesson and my sweet little teacher gave me much wisdom. She said that I should not expect to learn so many words and things so quickly- just get a few things and you should be pleased with your progress. It is ok to not know it all yet. She said that God knows my heart's desire to learn the language and He will help me, but my first responsibility is to my precious child. Silas' soul is the one that I am to nurture first.

Yes I knew these things, but it is still so easy for me to put pressure on myself to perform. But God doesn't want me to put pride in myself and my abilities, even if he did give me those abilities. God wants me to find my strength in Him, to depend on Him, to cast all of my anxieties on Him. I am having a difficult time finding a balance here in my new life, but I must take it one day at a time, or maybe one hour at a time and God will provide the strength and the time to do what needs to be done.