It started with a wine/dinner function.  John had to leave for an unexpected business trip to Turkey so I asked my good friend Erika to be my "date".  At some point after many glasses of wine, the wine/dinner facilitator  came over to our table to see if we could answer a wine trivia question.  She put the microphone in front of me and as I didn't know the answer to the question, I instead sang out "I love you Madonna!" Fifteen minutes she came over to our table and said "if you ladies are interested my agency has tickets to the Madonna tour in Abu Dhabi, let me know if you want to go".  And that's all it took.  Next day I sent out an sms to my date from the wine party and my new friend Jennifer.  Jennifer and her husband immediately were in, I knew I was in but I wasn't sure about John.  By the end of the day John was in too.  That was a few months ago and now, here we are the night before we fly out to Abu Dhabi to see Madonna live, second show of this tour, I am beyond thrilled. In my excitement and anticipation of this concert I would like to take you back to when and how my Madonna love started. I'm 45 now but I remember....I'm burminung up burning up for your love.....I think that was the first Madonna song I liked (no I didn't like "Everybody", still don't)...but the first Madonna song that I LOVED was Borderline......feels like I'm going to lose my mind (sing it with me girls) you just keep on pushing my love OVER the borderline.  I think I saw it and heard it at the same time on MTV...back when I still wanted my MTV....the music video for that song is still one of my all time favorites. I remember the songs, the clothes, the accessories, ahhhhh the pure fun of it.  I don't remember in which order the songs came but the hits kept coming,  Dress you up in my love, Get into the groove boy you've got to prove your love to me...and who could forget, because I'm Crazy for you..touch me once and you know it's true..Material girl,  La isla bonita, etc.  Controversy followed very quickly with  songs/msic videos such as Like a virgin,  Pappa don't preach, Open your heart to me, and the song that got religious folks up in arms, Like a prayer. And of course Vogue.  I still try to twist my arms and hands around like a maniac trying to Vogue!  Man was I hooked.  Every song that came out I loved, and sang to, and danced too....and in 1990, when the Blond Ambition tour schedule was announced, and Houston was the kickoff for the American part of the tour at the Houston Summit, yours truly stood in line the night before tickets went on sale and scored 8th row  center seats. It was the kickoff, first concert of the American  part of the tour,  and I was at that concert! And I remember it like it was...well 22years ago......meaning it was 22 years ago people, I don't remember every minute of it I just remember that it was amazing! I don't remember all of the songs but I do remember  Express Yourself, Open Your Heart, Like A Virgin, Like a Prayer, Pappa Don't preach, Cherish, Material girl, Into the Groove, VOGUE!  And who can forget what she wore, the bullet bra, the long blonde ponytails, she made everybody want to wear their sexy cone shaped bras on the outside and show those babies off! I remember every big city the tour visited there were calls to arrest her and her dancers for obscenity, vulgarity etc.  Didn't the pope even condemn that tour? All I remember is that I loved the concert, yes it was shocking for those times, but it was exciting, fun, CRAZY! Those were the times and they were freaking awesome!!!!!

Twenty two years later and here we are. Lots more Madonna controversies, music, husbands and children between then and now.  Lots  of crazy antics from her too, (the sex book, the Britney kiss, etc) but 22 years later from my first Madoona concert I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow night when I will begin my journey to see her in Abu Dhabi to see her live, in concert , once again.

Wow. Madonna in Abu Dhabi! Just saying it out loud is a contradiction, an oxymoron, almost unthinkable and so ironic. The trend setter of wearing bras on the outside, the "boy toy" herself will be performing in a country where the culture for women is to cover up. I'm wondering what kind of performance it's going to be, what kind of outfits she's going to wear, "will I enjoy it at least a tiny bit as much as I did the other one?" I will never forget the encore, when she sang Just like a prayer and bought the audience to their feet. All singing and swaying and dancing.......it was climatic. 

Truthfully, I can't imagine this concert will top that one.  Everything was so new and taboo and incredibly fun then, but I don't need this concert to top it, it's just great that I am going to be there "again"....at another time in history of the Madonna legacy...and mine, wink, wink.

I absolutely can't wait and I'm glad I'll be able to take you there with me:)

I'll write again tomorrow!

Cynthia

This is the tour schedule from the Blonde Ambition Tour......yes, someone is cruisi

Last week was full of new experiences and lots of fun "firsts" for me. My first trunk show in Bangalore, my first tuk tuk rides (three different tuk tuks in one afternoon!), a first good shopping experience for clothes at Forever New, and Splash, and the first time I, along with two of my favorite gal pals got mistaken for "cricket wives".  Think along the lines of wives of professional sports players in the US and UK and you've got the idea:). Funny and flattering (I think?) and another crazy story of our time in India.  

Onto another subject. John thinks I love my smart phone more than him.  My smart phone can tell me when I get an email on my yahoo, gmail, and facebook accounts.  My smart phone also keeps my calendar, can take amazing pics and talks to me sometimes even when I don't know exactly what I did to make it do so!  My smart phone is also my alarm clock, my world clock, it contains my grocery lists, addresses, etc. Like your smart phone is has so many apps and I use them all from google maps,  gps, googling info, sharing info, it's endless what our smart phones are capable of, yes? I'm sure most of you have smart phones and you know how hard it is to turn it off.  How hard it is to "unplug" , John's term for me turning off the phone.  Heehee imagine my delight at seeing the headline of a spouse who took their spouse to court for making her choose between him and her phone.  Ok so the newspaer story was nothing like what John and I go thru but I found the headline hilarious.

My first tuk tuk rides, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Honk, beeeeeeeeeeep.  BEeeep beep beep, and so on and so on and so on.  I never realized that the city streets were so noisy in Bangalore.  We are so protected from alot of the street noise inside our vehicle that it took me riding in a tuk tuk to really get a sense of the variety and loundness of sounds and commotion that goes on in the busy streets of the city.  Yes I see the traffic and hear all the various beeps on an every day basis.  But it's a whole different entity hearing this at street level.  Hahaha and boy the things you see!  I had read on someones blog once that everyone has their  "number" of how much they will pay a tuk tuk driver over the meter.  Most tuk tuk drivers won't use their meters for foreigners. They will try to bargain a rate with you of their choosing.  The ride can be two blocks away and most unfortunately will try to charge you triple or more than they would a local. So everyone has "their price" of how much over they are willing to pay if the driver uses the meter (for example 50 rupees over meter) or how much flat rate they are willing to shell out if the driver refuses to turn on the meter.  Some drivers are willing to forgo a fare at all if you don't meet their price.  They would rather lose your fare than not be able to over charge you.  So with this in mind my lovely friend and I took our final ride of the day to UB City from her house.  Our destination was within a short walking distance but we were both in heels and the streets in Bangalore are so torn up and treacherous, you risk a twisted ankle at the very least on these roads, so we hopped in to the first tuk tuk we saw and were on our way. We arrived at our destination very quickly and my friend informed me that she was going to pay the driver a generous rate for the ride there which amounted to way over what the meter would have cost us had he run the meter, but for me to keep walking and not turn back if he decided to argue.  No fee was agreed upon when we got in, and now as we were getting out this guy demanded WAY OVER the price of driving us two blocks.  As he was yelling after us we walked away very quickly to the sounds of "MISS MISS NOT ENOUGH!!!!!!"  Gigglig and not looking back, we felt no guilt as we paid him way more than the two blocks warranted.

The weekend found John and I a bit homesick.  Memorial weekend was upon us and well, it was but it wasn't.  We both respect the holiday and what it means and we decided to celebrate it the way we would if we were back home.  And that meant grilling baby.  So we chillaxxed, grilled, listened to music and enjoyed each other, our home and the lovely slow pace that we decided to take instead of our usually crazy weekends. We shared stories of family members who served the military and fought in various wars such as his Grandpa and my ex-father in law who both served in World War II.  John also shared stories of a former co-worker who fought the Russians in Afghanistan.  I shared the story of how my favorite uncle never got over his time in Vietnam etc.  We definitely took the day to remember, discuss and deliberate. Many quiet moments passed between us as we both remembered and honored those who give/gave and continue to devote their lives to the country they serve. I hope everyone in the US is enjoying a wonderful Memorial holiday and we thank those past and present who serve their country.  Especially to our family members who served and are no longer with us. Also, thank you Uncle Robert, cousin Marcus and brother Quint. We love ya.

Ahhhhh and of course the weekend rolled into today.  And today was of course crazy, and fast paced.  Trying to get too much done with not enough time as always and for whatever reason my body and my mind were not in sync.  Let's see I fell getting into my friend's pimped out Innova mini van, I dropped my hot, yummy red pasta sauce all over my clean kitchen floor, and then I proceeded to burn myself my trying to wipe it up with paper towels. Then to add insult to injury I fell going UP the stairs in bare feet.  No excuses.  Bruce also tooted very loudly and smelly as I was changing him into his PJ's and asked me if I thought that was funny.  LOL, yeah I guess it was. 

So now good friends.  It's time for me to go make some noise with my hubby......me: John, please carry Bruce to his bed (he fell asleep next to Daddy very early tonight), John: huuuuuuuh?

Good night all, I leave you with more pics and hope that you had a wonderful Memorial weekend and to my kids, if you read this, I love you both so much and I know you missed John's chicken this holiday weekend.

Muah!

Last week is becoming a blur very quickly.  There was Wednesday at Kosmaderma....lol which turned into one big appointment for five fabulous ladies! Thursday which started out as a cocktails on the roof shindig  that turned into a wonderful potluck dinner with the kiddos, and Friday night that John and I finally discovered Modern Family. Heehee we watched all of Season 1 and enjoyed every minute of it.

__Saturday was a night on the town with some very fun friends at the Blue Bar at the Taj West End hotel. The DJ played some very cool tunes and though I told myself over and over that I would not dance as I could barely walk in my very high favorite red heels, I couldn't resist and danced the night away with John and our crowd. As most of you know, the bars close way too early in Bangalore.  When the lights come on we no longer ask "is there an after party?" but rather "where is the after party?", this time though, we had a busy Sunday ahead of us so this time, it was "no" to the after party and we headed home. Another blog soon on the after parties....they can be very interesting.

_Sunday morning came way too soon and my two fellas were sweet to let me sleep in.  Bruce and John presented me with a home made mother's day card and proceeded to let me sleep and only woke me when I absolutely needed to get up and dressed for our Mother's day celebration and to help pack for our road trip to Chennai.  Our Mother's day bash was at the Windsor with the Martin's and as it does every time we see Britten, Jennifer and Stella the afternoon went by too quickly.  Brunch was really cool, the chef kept popping over to our table making sure we had everything we needed.  Cocktails are included in the brunch price so of course we helped ourselves to martini's, bloody marys, mojitos and sparkling wine:). Yes, the food choices were good too. Pasta, seafood, pork, lamb, chicken, veg and non veg dishes.... a very good spread.  Bruce and Stella would skip off to the kids area and by the end of the afternoon we had quite an animal balloon collection. Bruce is crazy about Stella.  Stella"s crazy about John, lol, and she tolerates Bruce as he is a year younger but she is very sweet and patient with him (when she's not irritated by him) and we owe her for always stepping up and playing with him so we grown ups can have some chat and drink time to ourselves. 

_Immediately after brunch, we changed clothes and headed out on our first trip to Chennai! See, my passport has no more pages. Completely full and we are going to Abu Dhabi in two weeks (with the Martin's woo hoo!) to see the Material girl in concert!  So excited about that trip...but before that trip can happen a trip the American Consulate to get more passport pages was in order.

I wish I could say that the road to Chennai was exciting, (it wasn't) but it was really interesting.  Every fifty miles or so we would come to these areas of the freeway where it was almost party like....people hanging out, literally on the freeway.  There would be these little pockets of freeway where there seemed to be hordes of people and small shops.  All right smack on the freeway and people would be sitting out right alongside the road as all these cars zoomed by. I could not get a good shot with my camera as it was night time and we were moving along too quickly but it was an interesting thing to ponder. As in "aren't they afraid they are going to become road kill?" See, it's really, really dark on those roads and seeing those people in the middle of the road at all hours, well just seemed mighty dangerous to me. And though we had to pee....we never once felt comfortable enough to stop at the Indian reststop (i.e. the side of the road).

We got into Chennai about five hours after we left Bangalore.  The hotel was a short distance from the Consulate but as there was a lot of road construction, it took us about forty five minutes to find the hotel.  We stayed at the Raintree, which is known for it's eco friendliness.  It was a nice hotel but I gotta tell you I didn't like that it was a glass see thru window that separated the bathroom from the rest of the room.  I know we've been married 7 years but still....I like the door closed thank you very much with no audience please.  I did finally see that there were blinds in there thank goodness, but still not a fan of that set up.

I am very happy to report that the whole Consulate, passport page errand went very smoothly.  Bruce and I had made our appointments, filled out our forms and pages were added to both our passports and we were in and out of there in less than 45 minutes.  Why can't all of India run that smoothly?  (John just piped in "because it is run by Americans!")

_Our driver Shankar is (and no that is NOT him up there with the orange hair) from Chennai and very graciously asked if we would be so kind as to have lunch at his parents' home.  We were delighted to accept his offer and headed over there right after we left the Consulate.  It was about 11 a.m. when we headed towards his parents home and though we had been warned about the heat in Chennai it hadn't affected us just yet.  Don't worry it would later...

About half an hour later Shankar and I are in a textiles shop as I refused to go to visit his mother and father without a gift.  We could not find flowers so instead I bought two packages of sari material  for his mother and a shirt that Shankar just knew his father would love. I'm usually very selective when picking gifts, and this time was no exception....but it was getting hot and I knew I had to hurry it along.  We picked out some gifts and we headed to meet his family.

I'll be honest.  John and I were worried about eating home made food in a "local's home". Would they use tap water or filtered water? Where would they have gotten their meats and veggies? Our worries increased to a high level of alert when we entered the alley of the neighborhood to which they lived.  I had always wondered about these small apartments that were stacked up right on top of each other in these lively neighborhoods...wondered how big they were, did they have toilets and kitchens? Well I was about to find out!

Shankar's parent's apartment was tiny. Their whole three room apartment was smaller than Bruce's bedroom. The had a living area which became a bedroom at night, a bedroom with a sink and tiny bathroom area, and a kitchen. But don't feel bad because they were very proud of their home as they should be.  It was spotless and seemed roomier than it really was.  They had a daybed in their living area that doubled as a couch and bed, they had a small entertainment table that they rolled from against a wall to use as our dining table, and a wall that that was also a shrine devoted to Ganesh. Shankar seemed so proud to be introducing us to his family and they in turn seemed so happy for us be there. The minute we walked in we were treated like celebrities, or VIP's.  They were so nice and happy and really made us feel welcome.  The mother took my gifts and gave me a small bouquet of roses. We felt comfortable and at ease as soon as we stepped into their home.  It was with great relief that John and I both eyed the bottled water dispenser and it was with empty stomachs that we sat down to eat a lunch consisting of fried fish, mutton of lamb and chicken gravy over rice.....well all I can say is it was the best food we have had since we moved to India. So we dug in....and John and I shared a secret chuckle over how much food "momma Shankar" was trying to put on John's plate. The food was delicious. And I mean it. Why can't I find a cook who can cook like that? Damn. It was soooo good. The weird thing though was that they were all just standing around watching us eat and smiling. We had to beg and insist that they join us! When in Rome do like the Roman's right? What I mean by that is Indians don't use silverware to eat.  It reminded me of growing up with tortillas and tex mex food, you would tear up a tortilla and scoop up the meats, rice and beans and and whatever else on your plate and just shove it in your mouth. It's a little different here in India as sometimes there is roti and other various Indian breads to  scoop up your food with, but most of the time they just move the rice around and pile it up after it's mixed with veggies, chicken gravy, or whatever else is on the plate and scoop it up with their fingers and eat it with one hand. John couldn't understand how his food was falling all over his face and I was very lady like and pristine even while only using my fingers as well, haha!  The food was truly good and we had a fun time trying to outdo each other without silverware. Shankar's mother, was so pleased that we were enjoying our food that she insisted on sending us home with leftovers and we did not argue:). It was a very nice lunch and even though it was a bit on the spicy side we kept filling our stomachs as it was just that good!  After we ate our fill, we started to notice how hot it was starting to get in that small apartment. After lunch was finished and the dishes were cleared I noticed that I was sweating. They had two fans going, one on each end of the small living area and yet it was starting to get mega hot. There were only two very small windows with no breeze.   I looked at John and he was sweating too.  We knew we had a long road trip ahead so although we hated to eat and run, the sweltering heat of the day was upon us and eat and run we did. But first Bruce had to go poo poo.  Here is where we got to find out if they had a toilet or what....and yes! They did have a toilet! Whew. You will understand my elation when you visit :-~.

_It was a bit after 1pm when we said our goodbyes. It was extremely hot out and by this time all we wanted to do was get into the air conditioned mini van and head home. Shankar's sister and his son were visiting his parents, and they were planning to take the train to Bangalore the next day.  We had two empty seats in the car so of course we offered to let them ride home with us and within five minutes they were packed and ready to go.

This worked out really well as Shankar's son "Daviraj" sat in the back and watched movies with Bruce. Shankar's sister "Sushman" sat up front with Shankar and kept him company and John and I reclined in our seats with full tummies and tried to nap.  Well I know I did.

Seven hours later......traffic on the road home was insane in the membrane.........we finally made it home. 

John asked me shortly after we returned home if I were going to be up for another road trip soon....I say BRING IT ON.

That's all for now folks,

Later

It's too early, I really should still be in bed.  Last night we attended a "come as a drink" themed party.  The party was fun, lots of really cool interesting people and though I have been crazy tired lately, we stayed longer than we planned and that means the party was rocking.  I don't remember what time it was when we were first told that the cops were outside and that we needed to go inside, turn off the music for fifteen minutes and then the party could resume.  We all did just that and then a short while later, same thing happened, we were told cops outside, keep it down, blah blah blah, and then I think it happened one more time.  Here is where it gets interesting, a conversation ensued regarding what was "actually going on".  The cops merely wanted an incentive, a bribe, whatever, apparently the rule of thumb is you give them let's say $500 rupees, they come back an hour later, you increase it  little more and so on. Or you can give them a bigger sum, (I think the amount of $3000 rupees was mentioned) up front and you won' be bothered again the rest of the evening. Now let me preface this by saying I had a bit to drink and I really am not sure about the amounts that we were discussing, I'm hoping the numbers I'm stating are fairly accurate. Anyway, some of you might think that's outrageous or how dare they or some other kind of it's a matter of principal kind of thing, but a very smart girl put things into perspective. I think she said that cops make about $5000 rupees a month....that's roughly $100 USD.....so in the grand scheme of things is it really that much to just pay them off and let's all just have a lovely evening? You can argue both sides, it's corrupt, it's wrong, it's a matter of principal, but there's the other side of the coin in which these cops have thankless jobs, and they get paid nothing.  If you keep paying them bribes how do you expect the corruption to end, if you don't pay them is it really worth getting bent out of shape and having your party closed down for that amount of money? You might also think, but that's not fair, what if you can't afford it...and to that I am told, they wouldn't try to shake down those who couldn't afford it.  I kept joking that I  didn't want to end up as next week's episode of "Locked up Abroad".  I was joking but I was serious too. We are in a different country we are still learning the rules, like them or not there are ways that things are handled here.  And it's different and you simply cannot judge everything and compare it to how things are in your home bases. Bribes, incentives, whatever. There is corruption everywhere, not just here in India  .The difference is that is an expected part of everyday life.  It is so systematic and built into the society that you have to deal with incentives in every aspect of life here.  To get an internet connection can take a month, but if you flash a few hundred rupees, they will be at your house within the hour.   It is more in your face here, and very much out in the open. Baksheesh I think it is called.  So, was anything paid to the cops last night? If so how much? I honestly don't know. Like I said, not in a hurry to be on "Locked up abroad" so we headed home shortly after the third "the cops are outside" warning. At the time we left though, our hosts and their friends had everything under control and I felt that we were in a safe environment the whole evening.  I did see that the party lasted till about six a.m., so whatever measures were taken the party was never closed down and you won't be seeing any of our friends on my favorite show. I remain open and interested in life here.  It definitely is interesting.

Till next time:)

Cynthia

_Hello all, it's been awhile, there's always much to tell and I'm never sure where to start....what has become "the norm" for us, I forget is still amusing, astounding and crazy to our friends and family back home.  With that in mind, I will share with you one of the emails I received this morning from our community leader.

**Snake Awareness Lecture on 12 May Saturday at 10 AM**

Dear All Recently there has been spurt of incidents of snake sighting within the layout (within the villa also). As suggested by Mr. Vinod, owner of Villa # 49, it may be a good idea to arrange for a brief lecture by the snake catcher Mr. Nagabhushan which will educate us with respect to how to protect ourselves against the snakes and what first aid needs to be provided in case of emergency. We have therefore arranged for a lecture by Nr Nagabhushan on Saturday 12th May 2012 at 10 AM in the club house. Please do attend to improve our knowledge about the snakes and do's and don'ts in case of emergency so that we are better prepared.Regds
Indeed! You read that correctly.  Snake Awareness Lecture coming this Saturday, will we be attending? You betcha!  I have heard waaaaaaaay too many stories of big snakes coiling themselves around car tires, of snake charmers being called to homes of friends to rid them of snakes. Big snakes too.  I have even seen a very large, LARGE dead snake on the side of the road. We knew something was up when we saw our security personnel holding big sticks and slapping at the bushes in the park area this past weekend....immediately John and I both looked at each other and said "snakes". We didn't run off shrieking or anything, we are kind of used to this kind of thing now, but we absolutely want to get as educated as we can be should we ever need the info.

Hmmmm what else has been going on.  Ok, on a "health note".  I have not been too healthy.  Friday night I forgot that you have to be UBER careful and decided the heck with it, I want Chinese take out.  Soooooo, I went ahead and ordered chinese food from a place that we had not yet visited and had no previous good recommendations from friends or other expats.  I just wanted take out and I was impressed that the order came within half hour and that they were able to find us! The food was delicious. It really was.  You know, I don't even think it was the take out because John ate too and I was the only one who later got sick. Very sick. Montazuma's revenge, Delhi belly, the trots, the runs, whatever you decide to call it, it's all the same. Let's face it people I had the big D and I had it bad. Baaaaaaaaaad.  It started in the wee hours of Friday night/Saturday morning at 4 a.m. and continued all day.....but I kept thinking "it'll pass".  Just kept on with my day and our plans and truly believed it wouldn't get the better of me.  We even had a lovely, really fun evening with our friends Saturday night and I think that the rum and cokes I was drinking kept the illness at bay.  Until I got home that is.....it started up all over again and by Sunday, I was thinking it would be easier if I just camped out in the bathroom. By Sunday night I was in severe distress.  It stopped being funny and started being very painful. I felt like I was having labor contractions, that's how bad my stomach started hurting. And I'm not exaggerating.  I was doubled over in the fetal position when I finally couldn't take it anymore and woke John up and told him we needed to get me to a hospital.  That is a whole other story........but the good news is that a few hours later, after three injections and two IV's of antibiotics, I was able to go home.  I'm still a bit dehydrated and I am still afraid to leave the house for more than an hour (on Monday I didn't leave my bedroom all day), but I truly am much better.


What else......oh! We got to see The Avengers two Saturdays ago:) and what is really cool is that we got to see if before they showed it in the US. I don't know why but that makes me happy.  Yeah y'all have fast food, "Whataburger", the best Mexican food,  etc, but hey I got to see The Avengers before you did and it was AWESOME. Yes, and Mexican food, that brings me to another story...as you all know Cinco de Mayo was just a few days ago right? There is a really decent Mexican restaurant here and we totally thought they would be having margarita specials or some kind of celebration as it is one of the biggest Mexican restaurant celebrations of the year right? But oh my goodness, not only were there no celebrations, they didn't even have Margaritas that day because get this.....they didn't have any tequila.  That was just so wrong on so many levels. They did have Coronas, but man...no tequila....at a Mexican restaurant....on Cinco de Mayo?  I shudder when I think on it. Thank God for the Martins! They had a little get together that night and to our delight they had John's favorite Mexican dip, what we call in our house the "Rosarita 7 layer dip"....and twas delicious!  I forgot to take a pic, but I assure you it was beautiful to look at and absolutely authentic in that it tasted "just like home".

_I was just interrupted by a loud rumble outside, it's looking dark and windy and my first thoughts were "yes! it's going to rain!" and then I remembered how much it can rain here and the tent, tarp, tin, and cardboard homes immediately come to mind and all of a sudden I am not so excited about the rain anymore.  I just can't even fathom how those homes survive even one night of such heavy rains. But then again a few months ago I couldn't fathom how those home could even be considered homes. If you would like a little insightful reading into life in the slum homes of India, I have read two books that have given me I hope, a better perspective.  Shantaram, and Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Both are very good reads, pick them up if you get a chance. You'll see what I mean.

On a whole other random note, one of the best things about expat life is the people you meet.  Some of the new people we have met are turning out to be very good friends. And thru each new friend we meet other lovely people and it is just so great to meet nice, good people who all seem to believe that we're in this together and we really try and help each other out.  In a country like India, where every single day could break your heart, your will, your faith.....friends are the most valuable thing you can have. We are so blessed, so lucky, so grateful that we don't feel like we're in this alone:)

I leave you with this song that will stay in your head all day long "keep smiling, keep shining knowing you can always count on me...for sure (everybody) that's what friends are for....

and I remain a "hot....corny mess"!

Cynthia


Next blog will be about the Indian ER, by our guest blogger John Specht.  I cannot bring myself to objectively write about this, so I will leave it to him. Stay tuned.