Back from Sri Lanka, but no time to blog...

This sort of sums up our holiday: elephants and Buddhas.

But there was more, much more. I have to sort out the photos first and then I will blog about our 8 days in Sri Lanka.

Visitors, part 3

After our mega day trip to the Jain temple, we were forced to spend a day at home because of a state wide strike. Adriaan, Ian and Joshua kept themselves busy with constructing a hot air balloon from a bin bag, copper wire and tea lights. They managed to let the balloon fly up for a few metres, one or two times and to burn the grass in our garden to a crisp.

Monica made her delicious Singapore Laksa for dinner.

On Sunday we went to Nandi Hills, just outside Bangalore. Again we took the small roads, through the villages and farm land.

We visited a temple at the foot of Nandi Hills and then drove up the hill and walked down through the botanical gardens.

We ended the day at Costa Coffee, Ian's favourite coffee place, and picked up KFC hot wings on the way home (Monica's choice junk food, jammy!)

On Monday I took Ian and Monica to the Bull Temple and we went Saree shopping. To finish off their sight seeing in Bangalore, we went to the uber luxurious UBCity mall for lunch.

I love having visitors (hint, hint) and it was wonderful to spend time with good friends. Who can we welcome next????

Visitors, part 2

After all the sight seeing in the villages, we finally made it to Sravanabelagola, to visit a famous Jain temple with the Gomateshvara statue.

Lonely Planet India:

A steep climb up 614 steps (once at the top we were sure it was double the amount of steps) takes you to the top of Vindhyagiri Hill, the summit of which is lorded over by the towering naked statue of Gomateshvara. ....carved out of a single piece of granite...in AD981.

We were greeted by several men who wanted to sell postcards and little trinkets. They showed us their merchandise and said "Maybe later?" instead of "Would you like to buy xyz". We had to laugh, but they didn't understand why it was funny.

At the bottom of the hill/rock we had to take off our shoes, but we were allowed to wear socks to protect our feet from the boiling hot stone.

The climb to the entrance of the temple was long and steep so we had to pause several times on the way up, to catch our breath. Inside the temple walls, we had to climb up even further to get to the statue, but it was worth it.

View from halfway up 

Almost 18m high, made out of 1 single block of granite!



We were blessed

Close look at the statue from the roof of the temple

This is what you missed, Monica ;-)

Because we took a long time getting to Sravanabelagola and a long time to climb up to the temple and look around, there was no time left to go to the other places we had planned to go to, but on the way back we got held up by a Ganesha procession. Another great photo opportunity!

Typical Karnataka dancers outfit

Ganesha on tour

All accompanied by this Indian Ghetto Blaster, if it is not loud it is not Indian

Visitors part 1

On the morning of my birthday, I went to the airport to pick up our friends Ian and Monica. They stayed with us for 6 days and I have a strong suspicion that someone somewhere shortened the days, because they flew by.
We have known Ian and Monica since our time in Tripoli. Ian was Adriaan's boss till the reorganisation, when Ian made the smartest move ever and retired at 51, making Adriaan really, really jealous. Monica and I have been friends since the day we met and are never out of topics for a nice, long conversation and a good laugh. We have spent many hours over coffees and lunches and I love her Singapore Laksa.

On Wednesday we celebrated my birthday, so poor Ian spent the afternoon having lunch with 11 women while trying to battle a jet lag. He soldiered through like a trooper!

On Thursday I took them to the slum, to show them the Anu project and to buy some handbags (Monica will have her very own handbag-room in the near future).

Embroidering cement sacks to make into bags

Browsing through the tetra pack bags

After the shopping spree in the slum, we went to the Phoenix Mall for lunch, to experience the more luxurious side of Bangalore.

Adriaan had taken Friday off so we could go to see some sites outside Bangalore. We left with an ambitious plan to see 3 temples, but ended up only seeing 1, because we got side tracked in some little villages along the way that there was not enough time left.

When we go out on day trips, we prefer to take the smaller roads. This gives us the opportunity to see the villages and their people. We often stop to take photographs of village life.

Taking the outer skin off of the coconuts



A silk worm farm, the caterpillars are fed mulberry leaves

Adriaan was walking across the play ground of a little school on his way to a temple and the kids spotted him. They were very keen to have their picture taken by the tall, white Uncle and all of them wanted to shake his hand. It must have been at least 25C at that time, so I can't imagine how the boy in the jumper and woollen hat must have felt.

If the boy in the sweater and hat was warm, this guy must have been boiling. He was sitting inside the hut, keeping the fire going to cook the sugar water that the men outside were pressing out of the sugar canes.
We could only stay inside the hut for a little while, because the sticky air and the heat made it hard to breath.

The sugar cubes being stacked and packed

All this just on the way to the temple...to be continued



Disappointed

There is no such thing as crack resistant...not when it comes to me and my emotions

I had planned to write a blog about the trips we took when Ian and Monica were visiting us last week,but I need more time to sort out the photos and I am not really in the mood right now. The past two days I have spent the afternoon at school for the 'student led parent teacher conference'. Mostly raving reviews about my boys, they seem to be pleasant students that pay attention in class, they participate and ask questions, but then comes the much dreaded BUT....

One of them needs to get his act together when it comes to neatness and keeping his notebooks up to date, no news there, but it also turned out he has lost his diary AGAIN and he lost it a month ago, without telling anyone or getting an alternative in place. So his homework was not always handed in or not fully made.
This boy has lost so many school items over the last few years that I lost count. Water bottles, sweaters, lunchboxes, pens, the list is endless. He is either very careless or very unlucky, but the thing that gets me is the fact that he doesn't seem to care. I freak out when I misplace something and think it is lost, he won't even search for his.
Last night I saw his lunch card/library card/school ID had gone missing AGAIN from his key cord, I am ashamed to admit it drove me to tears.

Another thing that I was shocked to find out is that one of our beloved teenagers had not studied for 3 different tests. For one I could see why, because he was ill and at home on the day of the test and had to sit it unexpectedly the next day, but the other two he just didn't study for. Couldn't be bothered apparently....
Still got a pass on those tests... so he got proof there is no need to put any effort in...how do you reason against that with a hormone overloaded teenager?

I had to repeat a year in high school because I got so stressed about tests that I had black outs. I would study till late at night and then get up early the next morning to revise again just to find I couldn't remember a thing as soon as the test papers hit my desk.
I lost a bracelet while walking the dog when I was about 12. I searched and searched the area for several days and never found it. I cried and cried and till this day still feel a little twist in my stomach when I think about it.

How did I end up with children that seem to care less? Is it my over-controlling style of parenting? Do I freak out so much that they feel they don't have to anymore? Is it a boy-girl thing?
Why do I feel like I should have/could have done more to make sure these boys have their act together? Why do I feel I have failed???
I know I am over reacting, no need to point that out, thanks, so I am working hard on controlling my need to controle. Letting go is hard!
I love my children so much and I want them to make the most of their life, but it is up to them and they need to make their mistakes.

To summarize it all: I am mostly disappointed in myself I guess. I should probably have a long session with my dear sister in law, she is a psychologist. Sometimes it is a pity I don't drink ;-)

Ok, deep breaths, let it go. OOOOOHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Writing this down helps, so thanks for listening ;-) I will post a more fun filled blog soon, with all the adventures we had with Ian and Monica. 

The last day

It is the last day of our long weekend. Today is a holiday in honour of Gandhi's birthday and yesterday was a bridge day.

We had a lovely weekend filled with social activities, the boys met up with their friends and we all had lunch with a bunch on Sunday.

So tomorrow it is back to school for the boys, to the office for A and to the airport for me. I will be picking up our friends I. and M., that we know from Tripoli.

But today is the last day... of the long weekend, so J is studying for 3 (!) tests he has tomorrow, and of my 46th year on this planet. A and the boys have decided we will celebrate today, so I had breakfast in bed, they hung the streamers in the living room and they are baking a cake and will take care of dinner and the dishes.

Tomorrow is my birthday, I will finish 46 and start 47 as they say here. I will just say it is another 4 years till I am 50 ;-)