Report of 6 May '07
Hello from Mango Madras -
Chennai used to be called Madras, and it's mango season now. The luscious fruit sort of make up for the heat.
We are back after a huge breakfast outside - muesli, sausage and eggs, pastry, fruit. We then stopped by my brother's place to hand over stuff brought from the U.S. (diapers, deodorant, chocolate). The diapers are a safeguard for my niece, Ahana. As w/ several other Indian kids, she is potty-trained at age 18 months. Having lived in the U.S. for a while, I was surprised at this milestone, also. We had to put the chocolate in a cooler to take it over, as it would otherwise melt in no time at all.
So, life here is fine. The flight back was great. One of the Lufthansa flight attendants whom I gabbed with (and I do this a lot, to take the tedium off a long flight) told me of looking out her five-star hotel window and seeing a desperately poor family living on the sidewalk in Delhi. She said the mother there cleaned their living space much as the flight attendant ("f.a." from now on) would clean her house. The kids wore threadbare clothes, even in winter, moving the f.a. enough to bring her daughter's outgrown sweaters and leggings on her next trip. I found this to be a very sweet thought, from a great mind.
I am not back at the Banyan yet, as the boys are on summer holiday. One of the perks of working for free is not working for free, and the men and I have watched movies and lazed around. The boys were delighted to receive clothes that I'd brought, which Tori Scott had sent me after her son, Jordan, cleaned out his closet. Tori is a generous soul at all times and is a treat to be around. Sharon Cole-Braxton, a friend of over 20 years, had sent me 2 boxes of her clothes, and they are great! There was enough to pass on to sister and sisters-in-law, too, and Sharon has such good taste that the clothes have been very well-received. I had a great trip up to Chicago (to catch my flight) w/ Colleen Taber, whose company I always enjoy.
The boys are back to their usual fighting selves - so be it. All part of teenage-hood. Naren went to see a movie yesterday, went onwards to another activity from there w/o telling us, and has been grounded, losing cell phone privileges also; his argument for a cell phone was just that, that he could let us know where he was. There is an almighty pout this morning, expectedly.
"Like its politicians and its war, society has the teenagers it deserves." - J. B. Priestley
Unw -
R
Chennai used to be called Madras, and it's mango season now. The luscious fruit sort of make up for the heat.
We are back after a huge breakfast outside - muesli, sausage and eggs, pastry, fruit. We then stopped by my brother's place to hand over stuff brought from the U.S. (diapers, deodorant, chocolate). The diapers are a safeguard for my niece, Ahana. As w/ several other Indian kids, she is potty-trained at age 18 months. Having lived in the U.S. for a while, I was surprised at this milestone, also. We had to put the chocolate in a cooler to take it over, as it would otherwise melt in no time at all.
So, life here is fine. The flight back was great. One of the Lufthansa flight attendants whom I gabbed with (and I do this a lot, to take the tedium off a long flight) told me of looking out her five-star hotel window and seeing a desperately poor family living on the sidewalk in Delhi. She said the mother there cleaned their living space much as the flight attendant ("f.a." from now on) would clean her house. The kids wore threadbare clothes, even in winter, moving the f.a. enough to bring her daughter's outgrown sweaters and leggings on her next trip. I found this to be a very sweet thought, from a great mind.
I am not back at the Banyan yet, as the boys are on summer holiday. One of the perks of working for free is not working for free, and the men and I have watched movies and lazed around. The boys were delighted to receive clothes that I'd brought, which Tori Scott had sent me after her son, Jordan, cleaned out his closet. Tori is a generous soul at all times and is a treat to be around. Sharon Cole-Braxton, a friend of over 20 years, had sent me 2 boxes of her clothes, and they are great! There was enough to pass on to sister and sisters-in-law, too, and Sharon has such good taste that the clothes have been very well-received. I had a great trip up to Chicago (to catch my flight) w/ Colleen Taber, whose company I always enjoy.
The boys are back to their usual fighting selves - so be it. All part of teenage-hood. Naren went to see a movie yesterday, went onwards to another activity from there w/o telling us, and has been grounded, losing cell phone privileges also; his argument for a cell phone was just that, that he could let us know where he was. There is an almighty pout this morning, expectedly.
"Like its politicians and its war, society has the teenagers it deserves." - J. B. Priestley
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
12:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home