Day 5

We see Camille today. after breakfast we took a 45 minute trip to see our daughter. We arrived and were shown into a family room. Our daughter came in and she is just beautiful. she is sooo our daughter. She walked into the door. RN got down to her level, her room mother tried to push toward RN and she stood there defiantly hand on her hip refusing to move toward this stranger that she has only seen in a photo. We gave her a doll which she took but still was having none of us. We then went to her groups play room and sat on the floor and gave love to the other children. After about a ½ hour she warmed up and stated getting territorial toward us. When she saw the other children getting hugs and kisses she got a bit upset and pushed one or two away. She is sooo our daughter. Bossy, she will give our first born a run for her money. We were not slated to take her today so after a couple of hours it was time for her to eat and take a nap. As we were leaving she started crying out for her mama and dad.

TOMORRW WE GETOUR DAUGHTER.

Took a scenic ride back to the hotel. I wanted to see this 100 yr old dam. Our driver took us by a dam but it is a quite recent dam. It protects the region from flooding during the monsoons. We could not tell if this new dam is in the same place as the older dam or if the older dam got silted over. This is a problem of relying on guide books.

They periodically get updated but you don't know if all the information gets updated. So either the dam is still there and we were not taken to it or the dam is no longer visible. Oh well.

We are about 45 minutes from the ocean. When we got off the plane we were hit with very high humidity. Once I wash my hair I will get a good wave in it. RN commented it felt like being back home in Louisiana.

We were totally culturally out of sync today. After a four hour ride from Agra to Delhi, a 2 ½ hour plane ride another few hours spent in cabs I needed to get out and walk. Well you just don't walk in India unless you are too poor to afford some other type of transportation. Only the destitute walk. The next form of transport up is animal conveyance, bicycle, pedal power rickshaw, motorbike, powered 3 wheel rickshaw, cab. We walked and oye ve, caused a stir to say the least but my legs thanked me.

Not sure if I will have internet time to upload photos. If not then I will redo these pages when I get back to the states.

je

Day 3 & 4

A day with the Missus.

Today was ladies day. Camille will come to us with just the clothes on her back. Our hostess took us in hand for the day and we went traipsing across town to get the girls outfitted with proper clothes and accessories. As this was ladies day I was just there for escort purposes. Open the door, close the door, nod your head yes when she asks if it is pretty,

We have sent Camille a photo-book, some books and clothes. All the gifts that get brought to the orphanage are shared so when you get your child she will most likely have none of the items that you sent. One can hope that the photobook has survived the past year. If not no big loss as it was just memento of things to come. We brought a large parcel of gifts from prospective parents for their chosen children. Unfortunately they are not allowed to have them until the dossier has arrived in India and been approved. To further exasperate us expectant parents we don't fully grasp the process of what happens to the dossier once it gets to India. Some think that once it arrives that you will have your child in a month or so. That is not the case.

When you are preparing your dossier you are the one that controls how long the process will take. If you are super efficient you may be able to get it done in a few months. It took me about 6 months as I needed multiple documents from 6 different states. Once the dossier is completed and has been reviewed locally it gets sent to India where it is reviewed for entrance into the India system. Here is a surprise. Did you know that the Home Study that is done in the US is often incorrect for what is needed by the India courts. Of course we can't tell the social worker what should and should not be put into the home study but in reality the home study should be tailored for where it is going. There were a few items that got into our home study that should not have been in there. The courts neither needed it nor was it pertinent to what was to be accomplished. This will hold up the process as now the social worker that did your home study has to redo it. It then has to be notarized and apostilled. That can easily add a month or two.

As for telling the prospective parents how long it will take after your documents get to India we were lead to believe that we would be travelling almost 6 months ago. Instead of getting your hopes up it would have been better to say that it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Best to plan for the long haul and then be thankful for the blessing if it is shorter!

From 17-28 February is the Taj Mahal Festival. Very similar to a county fair. RN saw a shoe seller and just had to stop. Lucky for me her feet have swelled a bit the last few days and only one pair fit. I had to buy them. To my surprise the shoes she was wearing came off and the new ones were slipped on. I forgot to have her do the New Shoes Dance. After wandering around for an hour or so it was time to head back.

The car was parked a few blocks away and so we walked with the crush of the throbbing throng getting jostled back and forth. My worry was my feet. We were sharing the road with motor lorries, motorbikes, three wheeled ricks, bicycles and ¼ of the city of Agra. Somehow no ones toes were stepped upon.. However I did clip the heel of someone but that is all right. The favour was retuned about 5 minutes later by someone else. Almost lost my flip-flop but I managed to wiggle it back on keeping pace with our step.

We have been staying at the Trident hotel in Agra. There is also one in the other th=state where we will be picking up Camille. The trident is geared for foreign visitors and I have been told really does not welcome in the local clientèle. Looking at the folks that come and go during breakfast I think the comment is correct. For me the place is a bi stuffy. Another person may just describe the place as being attentive. In either case we have not had a vacation in quite a while and this was a nice spoil as we won't get a spoil for a few more years to come. Dinner is served late in India which suits RN just fine. I grew up with supper/dinner at 1700 hrs or about 20 minutes after dad comes home. RN on the other hand grew up with supper/dinner at 2100 hrs. India is suited for RN more than JE. We got back to the hotel had a shower and arrived at dinner at the appropriate hour. We have been full on veggie diet since we got here as vegetarian diet is just about the norm here. I had a faux paux tonight. I got a soup and was walking away from the serving the serving tray when I got n “Excuse me sir, you must have an under-liner.” Well let me add that my lexicon. The saucer under the bowl or tea cup is called an under-liner. The British influence has also given rise to a Ground Floor the First Floor, 2^nd Floor... where in the US the Ground Floor is the 1^st floor and the 1^st floor is the 2^nd floor. I did not pay attention to what the Brits call the Basement.

Our family has been expanded. We now have an Uncle and Aunt that lives in India. This experience has been a bit like visiting the relatives on Sicily. We didn't know our relatives through relationship but just by name and this connection through the tree of life. We were welcomed into their home as the long lost relatives that we are and were shown the home town that we have not seen. There is a pick-nick/gathering of the family in Texas in October. Uncle has said that he plans on bringing the family out to the states. Since we live only a few minutes from LAX we hope that their flight will afford them time to spend a few days/week in South California. If not then we will take the few days in Texas. In a few years RN will be spending a week or two at a home in Nepal. She is excited about meeting her sister that lives there and giving big love to all the children there.

Day 4

Tomorrow is a travel day. Check out of the hotel, repack for the short trip. We are leaving some of our stuff (London clothes, dirty underwear, wool hat and gloves, bumbershoot) as we won't need them in the car. Why schlep stuff you don't need? The trip from Agra to Delhi is 200 km and take about 4 hours depending on the traffic. For this reason we are taking a late flight to our next destination. An early flight would mean leaving the hotel at 0600. I have one early flight and that is the flight out of Delhi back to the states. No reason to have more early flights than is necessary.

Diesel fuel is 45 Rs per Litre. Petrol or gas as it is called in the states is about 10 Rs more.

We arrived at the hotel around 9 and it took about 45 minutes to check in. We are saying at the Ginger which just across the street from The Trident. Let's say it is a drop down in attentiveness from whence we came. It is also more in the budget. I guess I did not inform RN well enough of the differences in the hotel. Let's just say this hotel is about 45% the cost of the one we left. We got in the door and noticed there was place to put your key to turn on the electricity. I jammed it in turned on the lights closed the door and puled out the key. 30 seconds later we were in a pitch black room. Ah you leave the key in. Grab the key on your way out. Nice this way the guests do not leave all the appliances and lights running when they are not in the room. Had a “square meal” and then went to bed. The hotel room is a bit like a dorm with a private bath. Just the essentials: clothes closet, 1 cu ft fridge, telephone, one chair, internet hookup. sink, shower and loo. Found out that our host was not able to get a room at the Ginger in Delhi. I wish I had known that before I cancelled our friends reservation. It would have been a few keystrokes to change the name. RN's boss was supposed to come an help us with this trip but about a week before we left her management cancelled her vacation request, which was for a mere 3 days.

je

Day 2

TajMahal

First a side trip to Fetehpur Sikri.

“ Fetehpur was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar during 1564 AD. A sonless Akbar had gone to Sikri to seek blessings of a Muslim saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. When a son was finally born (he had 3 wifes each of a different religion), he, in gratitude, constructed this capital city and named it Fatehpur Sikri. Later due to a shortage of water and unrest in the North-West, Akbar had to abandon the city. A marble tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti still attracts thousands who seek blessings of the revered saint.” The fort/city had a wall that surrounded three sides. The back wall was a large manmade lake. So after this fort the Red Fort we saw yesterday was built. The fort, as all good forts are, is built up on a hill and commands a 360 degree view. Very defensible against invaders. Unfortunately they did not have a continual source of water.

Our guide and prime barterer is Rama Krishna or Ram (short a as in ah) Krishna. A wealth of information of the local history. He warned us about the hawkers of wares once you leave each site. Unfortunately once you make contact they are very persistent. Leaving the Taj one was selling snow globes – just too tacky for me, I don't it snows here in Agra. Once he left about a minute later his brother approached us with the same pitch. I said, “hey we told your brother we didn't want a snow globe what makes you think we will buy one from you?” He looked at us quizzically for a moment and decided to pester some other tourist. Another urchin was selling magnets 100 Rupies, (~$2.15) , RN said oh too much. Please 2 for 100, no now you are trying to cheat me. 3 for 100, definitely not. 5 for 100. You are robbing me – no. I think she is picking it up.

Next stop The Grand Mausoleum. We were dropped off at a side entrance and were quickly inside. Like the forts the Taj has an outer and inner building. The outer is red sandstone and of course the Taj is white marble. All these forts and tombs include black onyx, jade, jasper, mother of pearl, malachite and other stones used for intricate inlay. I had seen earlier photos of the Taj and the whole tomb was surrounded by scaffolding. The scaffolding is gone but they are still working on the roof. The grounds are very well kept and they had the fountains running.

Tonight we are going out for a “traditional” meal. The hotel has a buffet breakfast . We noted that most of the foreigners were sticking to what they know. I looked at the room pamphlet to see what they had listed as an Indian Breakfast –

fresh fruit,

Poori Bhaji - deep fried whole wheat flour pancakes and spiced potatoe curry

Parantha - stuffed or plain fried whole wheat flour bread served with yoghurt and pickles (picked veggies)

Onion & tomato Uttappamn – lentil or rice flour pancakes with coconut chutney, tomato chutney and sambhar.

Sounds great, tasted excellent, all for a mere $12.23 per person. Should have gone back for seconds. I am trying to eat what my body needs rather than what my eye wants. My goal is not not gain weight on this trip. So the food I eat better taste really good. Due to a medical condition of the wife, the family has been on rather tight dietary restrictions. Off the menu is sugar, chocolate, starch. That does not leave much on the food pyramid. While in London we had a sandwich. As this is not on the diet I have become somewhat of a snob when it comes to forbidden food. If it does not have excellent texture and taste then I pick around it. The bread in London was less than average and was very disappointing. Indian cuisine can work for this diet and our forbidden food intake is in moderation and it had better be good.

The wife calls me the liar of the family and when we got back to the hotel after our days journey she apologised for thinking I was being funny when I told her the Taj is just one huge mausoleum. She thought I was joking. I wonder if I should tell her about my sister not getting the history question right when the following was posed to her “Who is buried in Grants (as in Ulysses S. Grant) tomb?” At least she will know she is in the good company of her FSIL.

Tomorrow we get trinkets for the kids and mementos of Camille's home country. I think I will people watch as the girls shop.

I wonder what the folks that live here think about those of us that don't After all it is normal to have mangy dogs running around, monkeys scrapping and begging for nuts and treats, the cacophony of horns tooting at all hours telling others to “move to the side I'm coming through.” What is normal for one is foreign to another. It is the music of life.

Everyone says Don't Drink The Water. Well don't drink the water from sources you don't know, that is for sure. but it really is a misnomer to say DDTW. If you live here the water from the tap boil it first. The real problem is when you are a foreigner and your body does not have either the defences or coping mechanism for the bugs that are endemic to he local area you are at a disadvantage. Thus your body is not ready for the bugs that live in the local treated water. In the states we call it Montezuma's revenge as South America/Mexico is a favoured playground for Americans. There is a local term for the stomach bug of which I do not know. The hotel supplies a bottle of Himalaya for each guest. There is a pot that is used just for boiling water. We boil it twice and then use it to brush our teeth. Showers suck because I tend to drink water when I am in the shower. A dry hand towel close by to wipe my face when it gets wet has helped me to not drink the tap water. Oh to be a native with native gut juices. Of course I wouldn't dare drink the water when I would come to visit they states as your water has bad bugs in it.

Know where I am going with this. Yep when we get Camille home she is going to have her body inside thrown upside down. Her bugs will be fighting our water bugs and there is nothing we can do for her.

Note to Nani – we miss you and wish you could be here.

Dinner at Dasa Prakash Thali trays from North and South India

je

Day 00 & 1

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Travel day.

Got up late and packed our bags. The UK has bled us dry. Used up all the pounds I had converted and looking at the Mastercard we got bloodied. Bought 2 tickets on the tube and the ticket master gave me grief for giving him all my change. Oh well don't want to schlep it across the sub continent. Took our time going through Heathrow Terminal 5. It is actually 3 terminals A B and C. To get to the jet way you need to go down a flight of stairs either via the stairs or an escalator. The escalator was inop and they had about 30 folks that were either on crutches or wheelchairs, So they used the lift, which only holds 1 unit at a time and must be hydraulic rather than cable/electric – can we say slow. Our flight was delayed by an hour due to getting the passengers on board.

We arrived and karma-darma were having fun with us. I chose the only line that did not move. We finally queued up to a line and were just about the last ones out of the passport line. Great, our bags should be waiting. Walked over to the conga line and nope no bags in fact no-one had bags. Humm so much for waiting. Met a retied Bobby who was waiting for his bags. He had been to the states a few times for police exchange programs. Said it was the time of his life. We went through customs and came out the other side with our escort waiting for us. We have been using the Jetlag diet (see the other blog) but we were not faithful on this part and so around 10 am we took a “short nap” The telephone woke us both out of a sound sleep at 1430.

Getting to Agra was a short 4 hour ride. RN looked out on her side, I looked out mine, boom, spotted both a cow and a dog before she did. Then the challenge came for a Elephant. I could not deliver but I spotted a camel! The road from Delhi to Agra is miles upon miles of farm land and of course suburbs on the way out. As Usa (oou-sa) says, one of RN's colleagues, “oouh da traffic ooouh da traffic”. It flows like water, hustle and bustle. motorbikes, Pedestrians, cows, horses, three wheelers and monkeys and bicycles all share the road and in 4 hours we saw only 2 accidents and were involved in none. The three wheeled motorized bikes are of Piaggio origin while the motorcycles du jour /most popular appear to be the Honda Hero. The most I have seen has been a family of 4 on one of the 100 cc or so Hero's the women sit side saddle and everyone weaves in and out of traffic like a tapestry. The travel would not be so bad if the roads were a bit wider. they go from a two lane down to a 1 lane in about 30 meters and then just a quickly open up to 4 lanes only to revert back to and 1½. Ebb and flow.

Due the drought in the region there is a large amount of dust that gets kicked up. Heating for the roadside stands is from either dung or wood. There is a high particulate amassed in the air from this fuel source. I am told that when the monsoon come there is too much water and flooding. Feast or famine.

We dropped our bags off at the door to the hotel took a shower and after our short nap went to The Red Fort built in the early 1600's by one of the Moguls of the time, Mughal Emperor Akbar constructed of red sandstone in 1565. We walked around for an hour or two in the hot afternoon sun. Today was a holy day for Shiva so the post office was closed and the shrines were in celebration.

No pictures of our dinner as our fine host had us over for a Typical Indian meal. I think they spared the spices as the meal was extremely mild - I should have brought my Tabasco bottle. RN was invited to spend an afternoon in the kitchen so hopefully we will get some curry coming off of the stove.

I am not sure if I mentioned in the other blog but originally I was planning on flying into Delhi and then travel on down to the state where our daughter is located. The agency and a couple of other families commented on how enjoyable their trip was to spend time at the home town of their host/escort. Furthermore, culturally there is the way business is conducted. What works for the US is a dismal failure elsewhere. Business ventures first start out as a relationship. One finds a common ground built on friendship and understanding before you start a business venture. This is really in line with our adoption agency. RN talked to our agency close to 3 months building up a relationship before we signed up with them. This mix of relationship and business is what seals a lifelong compact.

There is a small contingent of deaf community from London here at the hotel. Rn is quick to pick up languages and I have encouraged her to go to school for foreign languages. She is in the middle of earning her credentials in Sign Language and when we spotted a small group talking I told her to go say Hi. Ends up they are on holiday from London for a few days. As is typical with the spoken language we both speak English but the Americans can't understand the British and visa versa. After all a boot to us something you put your foot into and a boot to the Brit is where you put your groceries (the back end of a car or as we say the trunk). It is the same for Sign language. The deaf community in the USA have embraced what is called ASL- American Sign Language. It is spoke with one hand and when a word is not known it is spelled out (abc) The UK uses, I don't know the term, however they use two hands and there is no finger spelling! Separated by a common language. It gets better, While at the Red Fort we spotted deaf Indian but RN said she couldn't understand the signs which makes sense as each culture has developed their own language.

Tomorrow agenda, recover some more from Jetlag, last day of tourist traps – The Big Mausoleum followed by a day of shopping for the girls. The Taj Mahal is readily visible from he Red Fort. We were told that if it was not a high holy day we could have gone into one of the mosques in the fort. There is a small mosaic or such in one of the walls and one of the crystals magnifies the Taj. Not sure if this bauble was purposefully placed or not.

Temperature is moderate in the low 80's.

je

Day -1

The morning started out with an “English Breakfast” The dollar is still in the dumps compared to the pound. About 1.70 to the pound. breakfast as seen in this delicious plate is 8 pounds. Can't wait to leave. Today we were going to hit a museum but the weather was nice so it was a hike of fortitude. about 4 miles.

Started out at Cleopatra's needle on the embankment

Over to Whitehall where the gov buildings are located.

15 years ago you could walk up to 10 Downing Street and take a photo. Those days are long gone and now you can't even see the door from the street because the street is blocked off.

At the Horse Guards Parade - playgrounds we saw a statue of Lord Kitchner. He was one of the players in India at the turn of the last century (1900's) I have part one of his autobiography on my desk at the office. I think he passed before he got to part 2.

Got to hear Big Ben ring out 1100. The wife thought the parliament building was the palace. It is a rather ornate building.

Westminster was closed as it was being invaded by scores of scouts and guides. So I got a couple of shots of the flying buttresses and the gargoyles on one side.

Next stop was Buck Palace. This time the comment to me was good grief they live here. It looks like a government building not a palace. Well rest assured I bet it is palatial on the inside! Queen Vicky has a garish memorial to herself there in the middle.

Met a Bobby from Rosemead. Small world. As it was getting near noon the masses had gathered fro some pomp and circumstance. We waited for the big parade and then continued onward.

Between Green Park and Hyde Park is a memorial to a few wars.

We continued our journey across the full length of Hyde park. At the end of the park, across from the Albert Hall is a monster of a memorial to Prince Albert. Around the four corners are miniatures of key points in his life. Conquering the subcontinent of India, Africa...

Finally at the far side of Hyde is a 1912 sculpture of Peter Pan

The afternoon ended at Nottinghill when the tube stopped running. Not having a compass and getting totally turned around we started walking north instead of south. I knew I was turned around so we hailed a cab and called it a day.

can't wait to leave to pic up our daughter.

Last night the wife commented “Do you know how long it has been since we went out to dinner on a Friday night?” Yeah at least 3 years. Guess what it will be another long time before it happens again. Come to think of it this is the first “vacation” we have had since the kids came. Nice but I am ready to get back to my children.

No update tomorrow as it is a fly day.

Day -2

It started out rough when at 0300 we had to go to the hospital because a certain medical device malfunctioned. I was a bit perturbed to say the least as this device had malfunctioned in the past. It did it again. Unfortunately the hospital does not have the same machine as the wife however they said we could get a manual version at a local 24 hour pharmacy. So a walking we went. plunked down 25 pounds for a hunk of plastic. It works but not that well. Later in the morning we went to an electrical shop and they were able to set us up with a proper transformer, another 25 pounds but the wife is happy.

The plan for the day was to hit the crown jewels at the Tower of London, visit the bones of Sir Thomas Moore. The place has changed dramatically in 15 years. They have tackified it. There used to be a sense of pure historical magic. Now the magic is separating the visitor from his wallet. It faintly reminded me of DizzyLand, where you leave a ride and there at the end of the ride is a souvenir shop. Leave the Jewel Vault welcome to the SS. Finish with your visit to the armoury, here is the SS. Tacky.

Afternoon was spent around Picadilly Circus, most of the old book shops from 15 years ago are gone as are the old pubs. The whole area is undergoing a revitalization and some of the charm is getting lost to the yuppie high end. Ah, we did go down Saville Row where all the haberdasher shops are located, swank. Getting geared up for India we had dinner at Khan's of Kensington.