Amesha's Birthday.....is Tomorrow!

Gamer told me "No gift - only bubbles". Ha - like I'm really going to listen to that nonsense.

I already had a few more things (not pictured below) - like 2 mini fans - they are going to loooove! And I'm going to give mine to Gamer's mom. She is so happy and greets me "Namaste" with the biggest smile every time I see her.

But I couldn't resist. Today I went to Crosswords - a very nice bookstore here. And bought them some scholarly items, pencils, crayons, paper, erasers, sharpeners,a puzzle, etc.

I told Gamer about it today and his face lit up like you wouldn't believe. I can't wait.....

Dinner tonight with Gamer & Gunga and then back to his house for visiting.

Hope everyone is well. I'm NOT looking forward to my trip back tomorrow....AT all. I had to purchase a new plane ticket to Delhi because of the prevalent cancellations and delays over here.... nothing is ever on time. I don't want to risk missing my flight back to the US. So...a lot of sitting in the Delhi airport tomorrow. Then a lot more sitting on planes...

Talk to you all later! I'm off for my last night here and I also have a tremendous amount of smart packing to start.

P.S. Mom, because I know you're going to ask, Amesha is going to be 7!
Love, Janelle

Mehndi

Well today I said screw it and went to the spa at the hotel. It was interesting because I asked for a manicure and pedicure they said "Certainly maam" then ask if I wanted "Nail polish?" Ah.... (?) I said "yes" and they replied not enough people were requesting it, so they don't have any.

Ok... so I took a trip to the mall. Bought two tiny bottles of nail polish for over 2 dollars each and came back - only to have my toe nails and fingernails both get entirely messed up because they don't know how to paint. (I know I probably should have anticipated that.) But anyway I couldn't deal with the toes - so I asked them to remove it and just re-painted them and my finger nails a 3rd coat in my room.) ANYWAY... the point of this post was... The woman at the spa told me the stamping is done with HAIR DYE!!! That's harsh chemicals on your skin and also the reason it burns and stays on so long. I'm sooo glad she told me that. So Gamer and I went to the mall and had this henna done instead. Much better- no long bus ride, fighting through crowds at the market - plus we stopped for a slushee afterwards.

Manicure and pedicure = a complete waste of money. I did however get a 45 minute massage that was heaven.

Love, Janelle

Bubble Delivery

I brought along a few suprises for JDeep & Amesha from home. The first was some bubble wands from WalMart - that literally cost 1$ each. Words can't describe how I felt sitting there with his family last night watching these two little kids go completely NUTS over these bubbles!I'm pretty sure they've never seen anything like it before. It was just... - well, I can't even say... Priceless is as close as I can get. (And I hope that doesn't come across as hoaxy. I probably shouldn't even attempted to explain it - lol.) Today gamer told me they were up until 12:30 last night playing with them and then JDeep woke him up at 5:30 this morning and asked to play some more. Lol.

P.S. And I think it's super cute the family (when talking to the kids) refer to me as "Auntie".

Love,

Janelle

Dinner With Shailesh & Surla by 26 Mile Motorcycle Ride..ugh....One Way

The language barrier does pose some problems. Lol. For example last night I thought Shailesh and his wife were coming to Gamer's hus (less than a mile from my hotel). Well....I was wrong. Instead Gamer picks me up and we ride 20 some miles on his bike to Shailesh's house. Then even further to the restaurant. OMG! And it started raining on the way and of course neither of us had a helmet... this is India. The thought crossed my mind more than once that I might not live to tell this tale on my blog.

Main Room of Their House (has this one and the kitchen - Gamer told me "Shailesh big house. (Because his house only has one room.))

Once we get to Shailesh's house all of his neighbors had ccome to gather around outside to see the white person - lol. It was really cute. Gamer said "Shailesh very happy!!"

Shailesh's Brother
Shailesh & Surla in their kitchen (2nd room). We had a nice dinner at a Punjabi restaurant and tried our best at conversation.

Shailesh is taking me to the airport tomorrow. He and Gamer have requested 2010, "Sean & Janelle Return to India?" Then Gamer followed his own question up by replying "We will be waiting..." Lol. I soooo am not ready to leave yet. I wish I had planned more days here. But I guess I should get back to work soon to pay for this trip... It's been ever worth it.

Love, Janelle