So we are back. We have been back for a while actually – Paul and Nia for about a month now and Max and I for almost two weeks. Paul and Nia had to come back earlier, so she could start school in Falls Church. My parents really wanted to see the kids and had been asking us to stop in Bulgaria on the way back from India, so they could spend time with all of us. We couldn’t leave India any earlier because of regulations and such and it didn’t make sense for Nia to miss school but we compromised and I went to Bulgaria with Max for a couple of weeks.
So I spent a few nice lazy days in Bulgaria doing pretty much nothing, which was just what the doctor ordered after the craziness of packing out and leaving India. Max earned both of our keep by helping my father with some important projects…
… ran around in the rain…
…visited some Roman ruins…
… said a tearful good-bye to this Indian drink:
… also known as 99% of Max’s diet for the last 2+ years. He used to drink 5 bottles of this thing a day, so we were the product’s best customers, probably. I am sure the people at Mother Dairy (the manufacturer) are scratching their heads right about now trying to figure out what happened with their demand. Here he is with the very last bottle:
One day, after the end of the hefty stash of said strawberry lassi (which I had smuggled into Bulgaria to nurse my son’s addiction a few days longer) I found Max desperately rummaging through our backpack (where historically there had always been a bottle or several of his favorite thing. I asked him what he was looking for. “Delhi milk,” he said, his voice trembling a little. When I told him there was no more “Delhi milk,” he thought for a moment, then said excitedly, “Let’s go back to Delhi then!” I had to tell him that going back to Delhi was not an option any more because other people were now living in our house there. He was heartbroken and proceeded to tearfully sing the song “No More Delhi Milk” to his toys for a half an hour. Then he was better. His diet is still pretty limited though. He’s still eats no meat whatsoever and lives mostly on bagels, pretzels and orange juice.
Occasionally, he’d eat macaroni and cheese, rice or ramen noodles but that’s about it. We tried really hard to get him to eat fresh fruits and vegetables from parents garden - peaches, nectarines, figs, tomatoes, papers, etc – he said no to all. So that’s work in progress. But I digress…
While we were in Bulgaria we also hung out with my best friend from college and her family, which was wonderful:
Finally, we made it to the US, also known as a “huge awesome playground with lots of cool toys and a pool,” according to Max. Just before we took off from Frankfurt to Washington, Max made the following important observation: “The men are loading our bags in the butt of the plane!”
So what have been up to since we got here? Well, at first, I didn’t want to do anything. I felt discombobulated and overwhelmed and did not want to leave our cave at Oakwood but slowly I’ve started getting out and doing the things we used to enjoy before India:
So I spent a few nice lazy days in Bulgaria doing pretty much nothing, which was just what the doctor ordered after the craziness of packing out and leaving India. Max earned both of our keep by helping my father with some important projects…
… ran around in the rain…
…visited some Roman ruins…
… said a tearful good-bye to this Indian drink:
… also known as 99% of Max’s diet for the last 2+ years. He used to drink 5 bottles of this thing a day, so we were the product’s best customers, probably. I am sure the people at Mother Dairy (the manufacturer) are scratching their heads right about now trying to figure out what happened with their demand. Here he is with the very last bottle:
One day, after the end of the hefty stash of said strawberry lassi (which I had smuggled into Bulgaria to nurse my son’s addiction a few days longer) I found Max desperately rummaging through our backpack (where historically there had always been a bottle or several of his favorite thing. I asked him what he was looking for. “Delhi milk,” he said, his voice trembling a little. When I told him there was no more “Delhi milk,” he thought for a moment, then said excitedly, “Let’s go back to Delhi then!” I had to tell him that going back to Delhi was not an option any more because other people were now living in our house there. He was heartbroken and proceeded to tearfully sing the song “No More Delhi Milk” to his toys for a half an hour. Then he was better. His diet is still pretty limited though. He’s still eats no meat whatsoever and lives mostly on bagels, pretzels and orange juice.
Occasionally, he’d eat macaroni and cheese, rice or ramen noodles but that’s about it. We tried really hard to get him to eat fresh fruits and vegetables from parents garden - peaches, nectarines, figs, tomatoes, papers, etc – he said no to all. So that’s work in progress. But I digress…
While we were in Bulgaria we also hung out with my best friend from college and her family, which was wonderful:
Finally, we made it to the US, also known as a “huge awesome playground with lots of cool toys and a pool,” according to Max. Just before we took off from Frankfurt to Washington, Max made the following important observation: “The men are loading our bags in the butt of the plane!”
So what have been up to since we got here? Well, at first, I didn’t want to do anything. I felt discombobulated and overwhelmed and did not want to leave our cave at Oakwood but slowly I’ve started getting out and doing the things we used to enjoy before India:
- Checking out all the playgrounds and sandboxes in the D.C. metro area,
- Eating our favorite foods - Baja Fresh, Chipotle, District Taco, Qdoba and the like,
- Living our new rule of thumb: No meal is complete until you are in a food coma!
- Food shopping at Safeway, Shoppers and Costco and realizing that as much as I missed meat in India (mostly turkey and beef), I am completely grossed out by how much meat we Americans consume,
- Eating fresh fruits and vegetables without having to bleach the hell out of them,
- Drinking water from the tap,
- Shopping at TJMaxxx, Marshalls, and Ross – not very classy, I know but loooooving the prices and the awesome stuff,
- Enjoying Amazon Prime in the US, where you often get your stuff the same day!
- Freezing my butt off – it’s been in the 60s F here in the last few days and I have been wearing fleece jackets and such. I think Delhi has made a complete cold sissy out of me,
- Slowly reconnecting with friends and family,
- Unpacking our UAB, which came yesterday and I realized that it’s too cold for half of the clothes we shipped. Dang!
- Spending my Home Leave (27 days of leave mandated by Congress, so diplomats going from one foreign post to another can reconnect with America) at Falls Church. So exotic, I know but the timing of our departure from Delhi killed our plans to travel around the country and show the kids some National Parks. Hopefully, next time.
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