Friends from All Over

When George was laid off from HP we were both shocked.  We had always thought that he would retire having only ever worked at one company - Hewlett Packard.  Moving to Portland was not something in our plans but it has been wonderful in so many ways.

One of the fun and rewarding parts has been making international friends.  The first company George worked for was an Indian company.  Every week we had lunch with one of the young Indian engineers.  He is the age of our boys and I had to catch myself to not say things like "It is raining so drive carefully."  "It's cold.  Where is your coat?".

This year we have gotten to be friends with one of the Japanese men who works for XIP and his adorable family.  They are moving back to Toyko next week.  We had a fun night playing mini golf and going out to dinner.

The two children have spent the last four years in the US so they speak English with absolutely no accent.  The chatterbox little girl told me that she doesn't like to speak Japanese.  Boy is she in for a shock!   They watched almost all the World Cup games so that was fun to discuss also, although we differ in our choices of favorite players! 

I am sure we will visit them again in Tokyo!  

Vinu

One of my favorite things about George's two years working for a company based in Bangalore, India was making new friends. Vinu is a young engineer who lived here in Portland for the past two years. Almost every week George and I have gone out to lunch with him. A couple of weeks ago he moved back home. When we asked him what he'd miss about Oregon, besides us of course, without hesitation he said, "Olive Garden".

He is the same age as our sons and I had to fight hard to resist the urge to 'mother' him. Sometimes I felt like saying, "Drive carefully it's raining" or "Where is your coat? It's cold today." We miss him but are confident we'll see him again!

Thanksgiving 2011

One of our favorite things to do while living in Spain was to share our "American Thanksgiving" meal with our Spanish friends. This year we introduced our friend from India to turkey, mashed potatoes and gravey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie! I think he liked it all!

Matt and Scott drove over from Boise and seemed to enjoy Mom's cooking too. We missed Johnny and Mary and Mark. I'm sure as time goes on it will be harder and harder to get all four of our children home for the holidays. We are so thankful for family and friends and the chances to be together!

Now let the Christmas craziness begin!

Where in the world are George and Marilyn?

Looks like Japan, huh? But actually we are in the Portland Japanese Gardens! There in the background is Mount Hood, looking like a watercolor painting on the horizon.

We spent Labor Day with George's boss who is visiting from India. It was lunch at the Peruvian Restaurant and then the Japanese Garden. A lovely day!

Just hanging around!

Our first day in India I was completely fascinated by the electrical wires. Can you see them in this picture? The phrase that comes to mind is "Oh what a tangled web we weave.....".

Then we went to Nepal. Just take a look at these!

Seems like a perfect place to dry some clothes.

They say that the shopkeepers know which wires go to their particular business and home and teach this great mystery to their sons.

I'm continually amazed at all the things we take for granted here in America.

Taj Mahal

I just got all the pictures from our India trip on my computer. I have so many that I could do a picture of the day for the next three years! I won't bore you with our close to 3000 pictures, don't worry! I thought I'd share a few of the Taj Mahal. We've all seen pictures of this view.

But I confess that I had no idea of the beautiful intricate detail that you seen when you get close up to the building.

The amount of detail is astounding

There is beauty everywhere you look. It was built as a mausoleum for a much loved queen who died in childbirth. The king planned to build a mirror image in black marble for his own final resting place on the opposite side of river. Unfortunately his son took over the kingdom and imprisoned his father in the fort until his death. Then the father was buried in the Taj Mahal along side his wife.

The whole building is white marble except for the colored inlaid pieces which are semi precious stones.

It is a feast for the eyes!

Day #13 - Windows

I have been fascinated by all the different windows at the forts and palaces we have seen. Here are a few of my favorites.

Day #12 Going Batty!

Check out all the fruit bats or flying foxes as they call them here! I'm glad it was daytime and that they all stayed in their tree.

Day #11 - Monkeys

Did you ever come out of your hotel room to find guys like these hanging around? I counted 19 of them just outside of our room. Katherine asked one of the hotel workers if they bite and he said, "Oh, no madam, they don't bite but the males are VERY dangerous!"

Aren't they so cute?

Day #10 - Celebrity

I don't really understand why all these teenage boys wanted their picture made with me! I think I posed with 6 or 7 of them! I suppose blonds are good luck...or maybe I just reminded them of their Grandmothers.

Day #9 - Charming!

Notice that there are TWO cobras! I'm glad I didn't have to get too close.

Day #8 - Taj Mahal

Absolutely breath taking! I can understand why this is one of the wonders of the world!

Day #7 - Holy Cow!

It's true....cows really do roam the streets in India! They are considered sacred to the Hindus. There is a fine and a week in jail if you run one over.

Day #6 - Dawn on the Ganges

Thousands of people come every morning to bath in the Holy Ganges! Today is our anniversary and it will certainly be one I'll never forget!

Day #5 - Shopping!!!!

Scarves, jewelry, jackets, saris, carpets and so much more! Shopping is a fun adventure and even better with a shopping companion like my sister-in-law Katherine!

Day #4 - Now that's a load!

Kathmandu, Nepal

George says that she is good woman! Equal rights for women in Nepal!

Day # 3 - How high can you go?

Mount Everest - No words necessary!

PIcture of the day #2 - New friend

While visiting the Sikh temple in Delhi, this cute little girl came up to me and very politely asked to practice her English!

Two Pictures of the Day on Day #1

I've seen traffic chaos before but never quite like this and it is Sunday which is supposedly a light traffic day! In our adventures we took several of these motorized rickshaws. The rule of the road seems to be to fill ever available space with cars, trucks, rickshaws, bikes, and motorcycles with the occasional pedestrians thrown in for good measure! Any rules about lanes are completely ignored. This picture doesn't really give you an accurate picture of what it is like but you can at least get some small taste!

Amazes me that in this metropolitan area of some 20 million people, monkeys still live in the parks! They seemed to like tormenting the dogs. Instead of chasing squirrels, these dogs chase monkeys!

Will it all fit?

Wow the day for the much anticipated India trip has arrived!!!!!

Normally I love packing for a trip. This time however I was pretty stressed. We are allowed one checked bag with a maximum weight of 44 pounds and one carry on, maximum weight 18 pounds. Our tour won't be stopping for lunches so we need to bring snacks for 15 days of 'on the go' meals. To the weight of that food add all the cameras, chargers for I-pods and Kindles and cameras, and I was worried that we wouldn't have room for clothes! I'm taking fewer clothes on this trip than I've ever taken. I'll probably want to burn every outfit when I come home I'll be so tired of them! Last night we put it all out on the bed and started trying to get it all in.

I started with my carryon and the first weight was 33 pounds...trouble! So I switched to a smaller, lighter carryon, rearranged a few thing and I was a little under 18 pounds! My big suitcase is almost totally full of food and 'stuff' with some clothes. And best of all it weighs quite a bit less than 44 pounds! I can shop till my heart is content and eat American junk food until my few pair of pants don't fit!

We're off on our 'passage to India'!