Party Hard

In India, there are a few popular ways to spend your free time: watch movies (on TV or in theater), go for a picnic to a park, or eat at a nice restaurant. Mostly due to limited finances as well as limited exposure, very few people know how to do fly fishing, sailing, rock climbing, or other pastimes from the West. So what did I do on my birthday?

In celebration of my 36 years, we had a simple but nice celebration which involved: a movie and eating good food. Looks like I've adapted to the culture.

Seriously, there were several simple, but wonderful things about the day:
1. I got to sleep in til 8:30am thanks to my wife and in-laws. With 3 kids, this is rare priviledge.
2. We had pancakes for breakfast.
3. My wife got me a subcription to one of my favorite magazines, Wired. I also received a generous amount of cash from some relatives. Maybe I'll use it for subscriptions to Outside or Outlook Traveller.
4. I had a nice, long conversation with my friend Sumeet, who recently moved away to North India.
5. Had take out food from my favorite Chinese restaurant in the city. And HOMEMADE chocolate b-day cake with REAL Philadelphia Cream Cheese frosting.
6. Watched "The Peacemaker" with Nicole Kidman and George Clooney, one of my favorite action movies of all time and probably the first DVD I ever purchased.

Simple, but nice. That's how I'll remember this b-day!

P.S. Thanks to the dozens of people who sent me b-day greetings via Libby's Facebook page.

Reciprocity

In any friendship, there must be give and take. A two-way street. This is especially true in cross-cultural relationships that are genuine. It is also more difficult to develop cross-culturally and I've learned not to expect very many reciprocal relationships.

But, in January, just when I was a bit discouraged that we seem to be "giving" so much and not seeing much feedback/response, there was a flood. A friend asked me out to lunch, and then insisted on paying the entire bill (which was 5% of his monthly salary). Then another couple brought us dinner. And yet another couple came to our house and cooked dinner (one of my favorite meals in the world: India's dosa).

This all happened in the span of about a week. We were really encouraged. Sometimes work overseas is hard to measure. But we do look for deepening relationships that, just as in the West, are mutually respectful. When there is dignity on both sides, there is reciprocity. Very fun!

Outsourcing: potty training

Yes, India is known for outsourcing. When you call almost any 1-800 number, I suspect you hear an Indian accent. But we've turned the tables a bit...

Libby's mom, Kathy, has been potty training Shane for about 2 weeks. He is now consistently going "small potty" in the training toilet without any assistance. Yeah!! He just runs over, drops his drawers, and tinkles away. Then carries it into the bathroom and empties it. The next stop is the refrigerator where he picks up a gummy dinosaur (some friends sent a bag of candy from Singapore and this turned out to be the perfect reward). We probably should add another stop in there so he can wash his hands!

Of course, he is still working on going "big potty" ... and there have been a few messes along the way, but that is why I'm so glad we've outsouced. I didn't have to clean up! Anyway, thanks to mothers-in-law who have determination and endurance for such a task. I want to outsource some more things to USA-based people. Any volunteers?