Easter Holidays!

We had a lovely lunch at a new restaurant close to where we live, sort of an Easter lunch since we will spend Easter Sunday travelling to Udaipur.

Have a Happy Easter!

YES! They have food that Simon likes ;-)

Pr(a)ise the Lord

I had seen this water tank before, but didn't have my camera ready. I kept an eye out for it and last week I finally saw it again. I asked my driver to stop so I could get out of the car to take a photo.

The back of the water tank.

 

At first I thought it was another funny spelling mistake, but then I saw the same mistake on the front of the tank, so I think the owner is serious about it...



The front of the water tank, with the same text, so is it or isn't it a spelling mistake?

So, if praising the Lord does not work, maybe prising Him will? How does that work? Something to ponder over this Sunday.

	praise  [preyz]  /preɪz/ Show Spelled
Definition:	congratulations; adoration
Synonyms:	acclaim, acclamation, accolade, applause, appreciation, approbation, approval, big hand, boost, bravo, celebration, cheer, cheering, citation, commendation, compliment, cry, devotion, encomium, esteem, eulogy, exaltation, extolment, flattery, glorification, glory, good word, homage, hurrah, hymn, kudos*, laudation, obeisance, ovation, panegyric, pat on the back, plaudit, puff, rave, recognition, recommendation, regard, sycophancy, thanks, tribute, worship

prise, prize [praɪz]

vb (tr)

1. to force open by levering

2. to extract or obtain with difficulty 'they had to prise the news out of him'



Lost in translation

Part of being an expat is getting to know the local language, at least at a basic level like greetings and counting. So far I have been lucky, with only one non-English posting (Libya), but the other postings provided us with some interesting dialects and use of words in a slightly different way from what we had learnt in school. Add that to our non-native English and misunderstandings are easily born.

It always takes a while to 'get an ear' for the English that is being spoken. The word that we use most in the first coupe of weeks at a new posting, especially on the phone, is 'SORRY?'
Trying to find things in a shop can end up in a game of charades, with at least 3 shop attendants looking at you with big eyes and helpful suggestions, but not the item you were looking for.

Yesterday one of my friends told me her driver had said to her "Madam, our blow is not right." Totally confused she asked him to explain and he said "Our blow is too low." That evening he told her he got the job done... (Turned out the tire pressure was too low)

When I write a post for this blog I rely on the spelling check to safe me from mistakes, but sometimes a word is written correctly but is not the word you are supposed to use. It also doesn't correct the structure of the sentences. I hope I haven't made too many silly mistakes that had my readers in stitches...

This a photo I took yesterday (from the car, through the front window, hence the terrible quality) that is a perfect example of the need to check your spelling:

Maybe not so cool....

more signs

On my way to the slum today I saw this truck and I wondered about such a specialised moving company. Will they have a lot of work?

Photo taken from the car

 

 

 



The other sign that has had me wondering is this shop sign. Who came up with it? Why this logo?

 

 



 

 

There are several Identiti stores in Bangalore and if I don't tell you what kind of store it is what would you associate the sign with? For me it would be a fertility clinic of some sort. My (twisted) mind sees an egg and a spermatozoid racing towards it. Does that lead to one's identity?

 

Nope, it is a clothes shop..... and no, not for babies and not for kinky, sexy outfits, just normal clothes (at least in the shop window).

Kevin



Image from the internet

 



When we lived in Tripoli, our neighbour Barry thought Simon looked just like the boy from Home Alone (Collin McCulkin?) so he called him Kevin. After a while Simon was little Kevin and Barry was big Kevin.

I feel like Kevin now...

Sunday morning 3:45hr we waved off Joshua on his way to the airport (yes, Adriaan and I stayed home, Joshua didn't really want/need us to come along), for his school trip to the Andaman Islands.
Ruben left that same morning at 9:45hr, to go white water rafting on the Ganges close to Haridwar in the North of India. Again we waved him off from our doorstep, because at 14 you don't want to be seen with your mum in public (especially when she wants to hug and kiss goodbye with your friends around).
So then there was one, just Kevin, for a whole Sunday. He loved it.

This morning Simon left at 7:00hr on the school bus to go on his, 3 day, school trip. He was all excited.

Now I am Kevin...

I really want the boys to have a great time on their camps and I told them not to bother calling unless there was a good reason to. I don't want them to feel they need to keep me posted on everything. No news is good news, right?
But the truth is I would love to hear from them, to know they had a safe trip, to know they are happy, having a good time, not losing their things or getting robbed...

Part of Ruben's trip is a train journey, I only found out last night it was an over night trip...trains in India are not the safest mode of transport....I worry, I keep checking the school's FB page to see if there is a message to say they made it safely to the camp ground...and then there will be the train journey on the way back again.

Joshua will be Island hopping, so that means boats.... again: how safe is that?

Simon is staying close to Bangalore, only a bit more than an hour by bus, but the traffic....


I have to stop thinking like this, it will drive me crazy. It does make me realise my parents were Uber Cool (or really good at hiding their fears) when I was young. They allowed me to do lots of things that would worry me if the boys wanted to do them. Is it because it were different times or because I am too obsessed with my children's safety?

OK, I have to let go. I'll say a few prayers and then I will get on with my life. They will be home again soon, with lots of stories to tell and bags full of laundry.

Along the Bangalore roads

Just some signs I noticed this week:

I bet you'll purr when you buy your furniture here

Just wondering what they will do with the rice when you finish your bath...

When did a puncture become a puncher? An all round shop, giving punctures and repairs for cycles and patching punctures in vehicles too.

City Market, part 2

Yesterday I posted the photos that I liked best, today I will post some of the flower market.
The city market is an abundance of colours and smells, a jam packed hive of busy bees. It is noisy and warm, but so much fun to walk around and observe. In the end I just sat on some stairs and watched it all happen.