Pitcha Update!

Well, Trish had surgery the week of Thanksgiving to remove her appendix.  It was crazy but she was a trooper and came home after 2 days in the Siliguri hospital.

Chokey spent Thanksgiving with us...we hosted about 30 people.  Insanity!  But so fun! 

Esther is such a great Native American!

Of course we had our annual Flour Bomb War.  Except this time the adults had all the fun with a surprise attack from the roof.  Of course I was in on the surprise attack....with my accomplice, Angamla.

The Wards' friend (and now my friend!), Ping, came to visit from Thailand!  This is the "Thai pose."  Apparently they don't smile in pictures...

Victoria couldn't stop laughing at Ping.  She's seriously a hoot!  You wouldn't be able to stop laughing either.  She's the jolliest!

Me, Chokey, and V at the Orchid...what a special and fun dinner!  Ping, the Wards, and another American family with the IMB came.

What did we do to celebrate the first day of December?!  Make red and green pancakes, OF COURSE!  (and wear the Christmas scarf.  duh)

For those of you who don't believe I have (had) ants infesting my life.  The aftermath of a slaughter.

Abe Lincoln visited our house b/c we're studying the Civil War.  Thanks for saving the Union, Abe!

Ok, so this might not look like much, but this is Kangchenjunga  (K3...3rd highest mtn in the world.  HELLO!)  And you can see it from our backyard on a clear day.  Over the past couple days it's been surprisingly clear, so it's been jolly being able to see this beautiful sight!

So, we have a pile of puppies (5 to be exact)...they're almost 4 weeks old.  Because me and Victoria are crazy, we named them after philosophers.  I know, weird.  My favorites are Augustine and Spinoza.

Victoria created an incredible, life-sized Table of Elements.  So we took crazy pictures in front of it...at midnight.  Like...

Leap Frog, of course!

ps - Menuka's wedding is this Tuesday, so get ready for some pics next week.  All the American women are wearing saree's!

Chai

My college roommate, Julie Zaloba, first got me into the habit of drinking tea...specifically green tea.  I hated the taste at first but now it is an aesthetically pleasing and jolly morning (and afternoon...and night) routine.  I love green tea (and the added health benefits don't hurt either).  Straight up, no sugar, no nothin'.  I know, weird.

When I first came to India 2 years ago, I was introduced to Masala Chai (spiced chai).  When I moved to Siliguri, I was introduced to Milk Tea.  Also delightful.  And now I welcome tea as a daily (sometimes hourly!) drinking ritual.

Although I've lived in India for almost a year and a half, I'm still thoroughly American in regards to time.  Things are fast in America, and people have schedules they HAVE to keep...or so we claim.  In India, it's the exact opposite for most.  Slower is better, even if you're late.

This week I realized more and more that Indians use chai as a lasso to reel you in for sometimes hours at a time.  On two different occasions (Sunday and Wednesday), I had been visiting friends and was getting ready to leave...when, low and behold, the chai comes.  "Oh no no, you can't leave.  Just one cup!"  Riiiiiight.

Hot chai isn't something that you can just chug.  You don't even pick it up for 10 minutes because it's so hot.  And then you have to sip.  Unless you want to leave with a burnt tongue.  Oh, AND, despite the fact that Indians drink from wee cups...they give Americans their HUGE cups!  Go figure!  Well, there goes your next hour and a half.

I love chai.  And I love Indians.  But PLEASE, give us smaller cups!