Our First Week

We made it through our first week in India. The flights over were very long, but the kids were great. We couldn’t have asked for more. We arrived early Monday morning and got a few hours sleep at a beautiful hotel in Mumbai (Bombay) called the Leela. After a delicious breakfast, we headed to Pune via automobile. The drive took almost three hours, and the traffic is insane. Along the way we saw cows, dogs, goats, horses, and monkeys. We arrived at the John Deere guest house around mid-afternoon. The guest house is in an area called Magarpatta City, which is a self-contained community centered on a large business district. It has some shopping, a restaurant, a park, a fitness center, and a pool. Unfortunately, there isn’t much housing available at this time. Tuesday was Gandhi’s birthday, so Chris had the day off. A friend of ours, Depak, took me and Jerry shopping and sight-seeing while Chris and the kids stayed home. Jerry is a friend from John Deere who travelled with us from Moline and has been very helpful. On Wednesday, the kids and I went to see two flats. One was perfect, but has since been rented to someone else, so hunt continues. We checked out a preschool Thursday, but there are no openings at this time. Friday, the boredom set in for Anna as our air shipment has not yet passed through customs. Two dollars worth of play dough later, she is fine. We checked out a grocery store on Saturday and realized that anything “American” is way over priced here, but anything Indian is very reasonable. We also had dinner with some friends. On Sunday we visited the Sinhagad Fort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhagad). It was very high up and very beautiful. Anna and I went for a short horseback ride. Afterward we went to a true Indian restaurant. The all-vegetarian food was delicious, and surprisingly not too spicy. Overall, things are good here. The kids are starting to return to their regular sleep habits, Chris works crazy long hours, and I am trying to make sense of it all. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and remember to call, email, or write often. We miss you all!