Report of 29 May '07
Hello from steaming Chennai -
One child is on the couch in front of me playing a new Game Cube game. It is not an entity I understand well, but has worked as a motivational tool, much as money has with Naren, and I figure I really ought to accommodate the boys' deep desires.
Navin has turned 14 today. His cousins phoned to wish him, and I am grateful for the relationship we have with my sibs, sibs-in-law and their children. Navin's voice has cracked and he has come to need deodorant, which he sprays over his t-shirt, not realising that his clothes might smell great but his bod will continue to reek. We are teaching life's lessons as we go; when Naren hit puberty, we were in the U.S. and it was mighty easy to get updates from his pediatrician. As of now, these boys' doc is me, and they do not comply w/ exams as easily.
We went to Northeast India last week on vacation. It is gorgeous up there, and borders China in some places, thus some areas require special permits for foreigners. We were told by several officials that Manipur, our destination, did not need a permit and off we went; at Imphal (Manipur's capital) airport, we were asked for our permits and we tried to explain that we were told we didn't need 'em. We were summarily deported on the same flight back to Kolkata, and it was all very beautifully and efficiently done. We flew to Assam, and then on to Sikkim, which is also in the Northeast, and is gorgeous. Permits are also necessary for Sikkim, but the government makes these very easy to obtain, and off we went to its lovely capital, Gangtok. The option existed for us to head on to the border w/ China to see a magnificent lake, but that required a special permit also, and we passed. One of our transit points suffered bomb blasts on our return, so we preponed our return and bolted home. The whole trip was lovely, but we were glad to get home. I was saddened that such spectacularly beautiful parts of my country were faced w/ such troubles that tourists could not easily visit.
Our favorite restaurant in Gangtok had a little boy as a waiter. He'd come from Nepal, and was about 15. Our cab driver was also Nepali, and was 17, learned to drive at 14. I was saddened that our 16 and 13 yo's were on vacation w/ their fam, eating out, seeing sights and watching TV at night, and these Nepali boys were working their tails off. We took the waiter a bar of chocolate on our last day there, and overpaid the cab driver, which was fine by me. If my 2 sons were somewhere w/o their parents, I'd surely hope that someone would be kind to them. There is a lot of trafficking of Nepali women and children, and Sikkim is near Nepal; we might have seen evidence of young Nepali women at work, which saddened me considerably. I thank God almost daily that we can afford to keep our children w/ us.
There were patients galore on my return. The tomato lady's husband, who has TB, has perked up and his appetite has returned. She had lots of smiles when I saw her, and was mighty reassured that her husband was on the mend. I like to see smiles on the faces of my patients and their relatives. The fruit man's dad, who also works in the veg market, is complaining of itching, and his eyes are yellow; ostensibly, he drinks alcohol every day and I asked that he back off the booze, and prescribed a multivitamin supplement. He gave me a bunch of cilantro for free; this was what he could pay, and it was more precious to me than a fat cash payment. This really is a wonderful profession to be in.
Navin was teased by some locals in Sikkim, and has emerged wiser from it. Naren quickly circumvented this teasing by speaking a couple of words in Hindi (learned from me) and adopting the famous Indian head wag; he learned the benefits of this from the book "Shantaram," which I recommend to anyone interested in India. Apparently, Johnny Depp (one of Naren's favorite actors) is to play the character in the motion picture.
I'll be in Indianapolis in under 2 weeks and need to rent a dirt-cheap automobile for 2 months. If anyone has suggestions for me, or knows anyone who'd be brave enough to lend me a spare car for that time, please let me know. Thanks.
"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck
Unw -
R
One child is on the couch in front of me playing a new Game Cube game. It is not an entity I understand well, but has worked as a motivational tool, much as money has with Naren, and I figure I really ought to accommodate the boys' deep desires.
Navin has turned 14 today. His cousins phoned to wish him, and I am grateful for the relationship we have with my sibs, sibs-in-law and their children. Navin's voice has cracked and he has come to need deodorant, which he sprays over his t-shirt, not realising that his clothes might smell great but his bod will continue to reek. We are teaching life's lessons as we go; when Naren hit puberty, we were in the U.S. and it was mighty easy to get updates from his pediatrician. As of now, these boys' doc is me, and they do not comply w/ exams as easily.
We went to Northeast India last week on vacation. It is gorgeous up there, and borders China in some places, thus some areas require special permits for foreigners. We were told by several officials that Manipur, our destination, did not need a permit and off we went; at Imphal (Manipur's capital) airport, we were asked for our permits and we tried to explain that we were told we didn't need 'em. We were summarily deported on the same flight back to Kolkata, and it was all very beautifully and efficiently done. We flew to Assam, and then on to Sikkim, which is also in the Northeast, and is gorgeous. Permits are also necessary for Sikkim, but the government makes these very easy to obtain, and off we went to its lovely capital, Gangtok. The option existed for us to head on to the border w/ China to see a magnificent lake, but that required a special permit also, and we passed. One of our transit points suffered bomb blasts on our return, so we preponed our return and bolted home. The whole trip was lovely, but we were glad to get home. I was saddened that such spectacularly beautiful parts of my country were faced w/ such troubles that tourists could not easily visit.
Our favorite restaurant in Gangtok had a little boy as a waiter. He'd come from Nepal, and was about 15. Our cab driver was also Nepali, and was 17, learned to drive at 14. I was saddened that our 16 and 13 yo's were on vacation w/ their fam, eating out, seeing sights and watching TV at night, and these Nepali boys were working their tails off. We took the waiter a bar of chocolate on our last day there, and overpaid the cab driver, which was fine by me. If my 2 sons were somewhere w/o their parents, I'd surely hope that someone would be kind to them. There is a lot of trafficking of Nepali women and children, and Sikkim is near Nepal; we might have seen evidence of young Nepali women at work, which saddened me considerably. I thank God almost daily that we can afford to keep our children w/ us.
There were patients galore on my return. The tomato lady's husband, who has TB, has perked up and his appetite has returned. She had lots of smiles when I saw her, and was mighty reassured that her husband was on the mend. I like to see smiles on the faces of my patients and their relatives. The fruit man's dad, who also works in the veg market, is complaining of itching, and his eyes are yellow; ostensibly, he drinks alcohol every day and I asked that he back off the booze, and prescribed a multivitamin supplement. He gave me a bunch of cilantro for free; this was what he could pay, and it was more precious to me than a fat cash payment. This really is a wonderful profession to be in.
Navin was teased by some locals in Sikkim, and has emerged wiser from it. Naren quickly circumvented this teasing by speaking a couple of words in Hindi (learned from me) and adopting the famous Indian head wag; he learned the benefits of this from the book "Shantaram," which I recommend to anyone interested in India. Apparently, Johnny Depp (one of Naren's favorite actors) is to play the character in the motion picture.
I'll be in Indianapolis in under 2 weeks and need to rent a dirt-cheap automobile for 2 months. If anyone has suggestions for me, or knows anyone who'd be brave enough to lend me a spare car for that time, please let me know. Thanks.
"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
4:03 AM
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