While it seemed a normal day from a work and school standpoint, several hotels around the city had Thanksgiving Feasts on Thursday.  We opted to join 2 other couples and their children for a dinner at my personal favorite, Hotel Novotel.

As you can see below, the food that was delivered to us was quite ornate and impressive. I really have no clue as to the names of the dishes, so I just wrote what they contained.  While my descriptions are lacking, taste surely was not!

Fancy Appetizer #: Apple and Ham something or other

Fancy Appetizer #2: Lobster bits

Fancy Appetizer #3:  Onions, Peppers and Zucchini

A large shrimp (called prawns here), served in a broth

The main course: Turkey and Stuffing and a baked potato

Dessert: Raspberry cheesecake! Yum!

While the food was very tasty, it ended up being a bit too fancy for our children’s very discriminating palates.  They really would have preferred a plate of french fries to the beautifully presented, lavish food that was placed in front of them.  So, instead of eating, they spent the majority of the time in the lobby with the face painters and balloon artists.

Again with the tiger face....

Ender Potter (notice the lightening bolt)

Happy Kids, Happy Thanksgiving!

With the good food and the delightful conversation with our fellow expats, we had a wonderful time.  What a great way to spend Thanksgiving in India.

In light of the tragedy that we awoke to here in India this Thanksgiving, I thought it would be nice to reflect upon what our family has to be thankful for.

We are thankful that our children are healthy and happy.  Many here have little or no access to doctors, medications or clean drinking water.

We are thankful that we are financially stable in this worsening economy.  Many here have no jobs to speak of, no means of support.  They must beg on the streets or dig through the rubbish for their livelihood.

We are thankful for all of the friends and family here and back home who love us and support us, even if they are angry that we are so far away… Many are all alone on this day and every day, with no one knowing that they exist at all.

We are thankful that we have plenty of food on the table, a roof over our heads, and clothing on our bodies. Those basic necessities are lacking for people in many parts of the world, and not just in the “third-world” countries.

We are thankful that our children are able to receive a good education. In many places, children have no access to education, or must work for a living starting at an early age to support thier families.

We are thankful that we are all together today. Many families have been torn apart by war or disaster of some sort.  Children and parents left wandering and searching for one another, most never to see each other again.

We are thankful that we have had this chance to explore and learn from this great big world. The lessons that we learn here will follow us for the rest of our lives.

We wish you all of the best on Thanksgiving day, and throughout the year.

Love,

The Fluegges

I’m sorry to say that I may have inadvertantly deleted a couple of your comments due to the fact that the website was being hit with over 250 spam messages in the past 24 hours.  If you posted in the past couple of days and the post is gone, that’s why.  I’m very sorry.  I have a temporary fix on the issue, but I need a little more time to research a more permanent fix.  I will try to be more careful in the future.

The terrorist attacks and bombings of last evening were in Mumbai, far far from us.  The International school is closed today as a precaution, but otherwise life goes on here as normal.  Our thoughts are with those in Mumbai right now who are living through this nightmare.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!  Traditionally Beauty has taken after my wife in the coordination department.  She is forever missing objects that are thrown, having issues navigating the stairs (she DID have a cone for weeks so that may be part of that), and generally displaying a distinct lack of athletic ability which was obvious.  That’s why I was so surprised when I threw a piece of popcorn her way tonight and she snatched it out of the air!  As a test I threw about half a big bowl and she caught a good 85% of them.  Some arching high over the bed, others zooming in low, didn’t matter.  She snatched them from all angles.

Now we have another pass time for when the power goes out and there is nothing better to do!!

Scott managed to find some strawberries at the store this weekend.  That is the first time we have seen them here, and we were greatly pleased.  As a bonus, they were only slightly crushed and hadn’t quite reached that overripe mushy stage yet, so they were a definite must-buy.

The kids were overjoyed, and were clamoring for them to be cut up with a little sugar this evening.  I was hoping that they’d go easy on them so Scott could have a few when he got home, but the whole batch was gone within minutes.  So much for sharing with your family…Scott and I tasted not a one.

I guess I know what to buy when we visit the US in a few weeks.  Strawberries and bacon for breakfast everyday!

Addie: Addie is doing great in school.  She is still an incredible bookworm, and seems to be coming along nicely with learning her multiplication tables.  Her favorite time of the week is Wednesday afternoon when she attends drama class for her after school activity.  She has been very interested in painting lately, and has moved away from the horses and flowers that she always has painted to much more colorful, abstract paintings.  They are very beautiful and creative, and am looking for some frames so I can hang them on the walls.  According to the music teacher, she is showing some aptitude with her guitar, though practicing her coronet is a bit of a struggle lately.  She has asked for a guitar for Christmas.

Ender: Ender is really into badminton.  He clamors for us to go out and play with him, and when no one will, he can be found in front of the house repeatedly hitting the ‘birdie’ into the door.  He also loves playing the Wii with his daddy or with his friends who live in the neighborhood and like to hang out at our house.  He plays the bongos in the band and seems to be doing well with that.  School is a piece of cake for him, though he seems to take after his daddy in spelling, requiring a good amount of studying in this particular subject.  His math skills are incredible, and he is able to mentally compute nearly any addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problem that you throw his way.  He got this from his dad too, because he certainly didn’t get it from me!

Stacy: I’m working at the school full time now.  Its tiring, but I do really enjoy it.  I’m trying to find a good balance between work and home, and hope to really get it all down to a science as soon as possible.  My ideas of gardening and painting are, obviously, put on hold for now, but I do hope to get around to painting the bathroom one of these weekends.  In the evenings after the kids are in bed, I enjoy playing computer games and working on this website while I wait for Scotty to get home.

Scott: Scott is busy working as usual, but now with the official titles of CIO and Senior VP of Operations.  Unfortunately, he still spends an average of 12 to 14 hours at work each day, but is ‘hopefully’ working on reducing that slightly in the future.  (Right, honey??)  He is still losing weight, and has begun working out in the morning after the kids and I are off to school.  He exercises with a friend or goes running by himself each morning.  He’s looking GREAT!

Scott and I both have facebook accounts now, so feel free to look us up if you are on there.  I use mine for games mostly, while Scott is busy reconnecting with friends from High School and College.  Who’d have thought he’d be the more social one??

Last weekend we bought some traditional clothing for the kids, and hope to take them to get a professional picture taken this coming weekend.  I would like to have a nice photo for everyone when we get to the US.  (Plus, I can’t remember the last time they had a nice picture taken together…I think it was probably at least 4 years ago!)

So, that’s the news on us.  We’re keeping busy and doing fine.   What more can you ask for, really?

So, the plans have ‘mostly’ been made.  Well, at least the flights have been bought.  The plan is as follows:

Saturday, Dec. 20th, 3am:  Leave Hyderabad

Saturday, Dec 20th, 5:00pm:  Arrive in Chicago, Illinois

Saturday Dec 20th-Friday Dec. 26th:  Stay in Wisconsin.  Spend a couple of days and X-mas at Wisconsin Dells water park with friends and family.

Monday, Dec. 22nd -Celebrate my 28th birthday!  (really!   )

Saturday Dec. 27th:  Fly to West Palm Beach

Saturday, Dec. 27th:  Go out with everyone in the evening and do things I’ll probably be regretting the next morning. 

Saturday, Dec. 27th to Saturday, Jan 2nd:  Stay in West Palm beach and visit friends.

Saturday, Jan 2nd:  Fly back to Hyderabad and arrive early morning, Sunday the 3rd.

Sunday, Jan 3rd:  Sleep all day

Monday, Jan 4th:  Attempt to make it to work/school in our sleep-deprived, jet-lagged state.

Its going to be a wild 2 weeks, but I know it will be great!  Can’t wait to see you all!

Ender Fluegge - Age 6

1.  How did you feel when you heard we were moving to India?

I felt bad because I want to stay in Florida.  I don’t like India.

2.  Tell me about the trip to India:

We took the airplane.  My ears were cracking.

3.  What did you think when we drove home from the airport?

I felt wet because it was raining, remember?  The place was flooding.

4.  Tell me your thoughts about the city of Hyderabad.

I don’t really like it because it is too dirty and there are too many dogs.  Its too dirty and people beg for things.

5.  What do you like about our house?

It’s good, except we need a bigger yard.

6.  Is there something you don’t like about our house?

Yeah.  Its always dirty and junky.  (Editor’s Note:  Thanks, kid!)

7.  What do you like about our neighborhood?

I like that we have a park really close and that I have friends here.

8.  What do you wish you could change about our neighborhood?

That it’s not dusty and so there’s not that many dogs so I could make it like Florida.

9.  What do you like about your school?

I like my class.

10.  What do you wish you could change about your school?

I’d like a bigger classroom and a ‘funner’ playground so there’s not so many kids.

11.  What do you like about living in India?

My mom buys us candy and we go to expat meetings which is fun.

12.  What don’t you like about living in India?

I don’t like my cough that I’m having right now.  Its too dusty and dirty and too trashy and people pee on the walls and we need to walk to the big store instead of drive.

13.  What surprises you most about living here?

There wasn’t any surprise.

14.  What is the strangest thing you have seen here?

Dogs have red, bloody rashes around their necks.  (Editor’s Note:  We saw a badly wounded dog one day. Must have left quite an impression.)

15.  If you could change one thing about India, what would it be?

So dogs don’t fight.

16.  What has been your favorite place to visit so far, and why?

Alexia’s house because it is soooo fun.

17.  What are some things you have learned from living in India?

I am learning how to speak Hindi.

18.  Would you recommend moving to India to any of your friends?  Why?

I would say “no, don’t go” because it is too dirty

19.  What do you miss most from the US?

I miss all of my friends.

20.  If you could bring one thing back with you from the US this Christmas, what would it be?

I would bring back that giraffe and zebra tic tac toe board that we had in Florida and my piggy bank.

People often ask me if the kids are adjusting well to life here in India.  Truthfully, I really am not sure.  While they seem to be doing ok, they both tend to be very close-mouthed about what they are really thinking and do their best to adapt to the situation whether they like or not.

I thought it would be fun to write up a list of questions for them to answer that will give a little more insight into what is really going on in their heads…

Addie is up first.

Addie Fluegge - Age 8

1.  How did you feel when you heard we were moving to India?

I felt sad because we were going to leave all of our friends.

2.  Tell me about the trip to India:

The trip to India was weird and the cats cried the whole way and the trip was long.

3.  What did you think when we drove home from the airport?

It felt different because I thought it was supposed to be daytime.  The street was crowded with cars.

4.  Tell me your thoughts about the city of Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is dirty and there are lots of animals walking around.

5.  What do you like about our house?

I like that our house if 3 stories and that its big because there is lots of space to run around.

6.  Is there something you don’t like about our house?

No.

7.  What do you like about our neighborhood?

I like the neighborhood because it has lots of kids to play with and a park and a garden and a clubhouse.

8.  What do you wish you could change about our neighborhood?

I wish I could change the fact that the pool isn’t filled and make more

toys in the park and put a slide in the pool.

9.  What do you like about your school?

I like my school because its big and there’s lots of kids from different countries.

10.  What do you wish you could change about your school?

I would make golden buses with a pool and theatre in them.

11.  What do you like about living in India?

If you compare it to Florida, they are different.  Living in India is like living in a different world.

12.  What don’t you like about living in India?

I don’t like that there’s so much pollution everywhere and the animals are eating trash.

13.  What surprises you most about living here?

The thing that surprises me the most is that everything is different and Hyderabad is bigger than West Palm Beach.

14.  What is the strangest thing you have seen here?

The strangest thing that I saw was that most animals are running wild including goats, cats, dogs and cows.

15.  If you could change one thing about India, what would it be?

I would make more animal rescue centers.

16.  What has been your favorite place to visit so far, and why?

My favorite place to visit was Delhi because it was better than Hyderabad and it had less pollution and it was less crowded.

17.  What are some things you have learned from living in India?

I learned that you can live anywhere and you get used to it after a while.  Different places sometimes aren’t the same as the old places.

18.  Would you recommend moving to India to any of your friends?  Why?

Yes, I would recommend moving to India to my friends because they might like it in India.

19.  What do you miss most from the US?

I miss not having beef and pork and poptarts and I miss my friends.

20.  If you could bring one thing back with you from the US this Christmas, what would it be?

I’d bring back my Fur-real Butterscotch pony.