An Update from India

I've been missing for a few weeks, so here's a quick update on what's happened and what's about to happen:

• Armen and Nyree left Delhi and headed off on their 3 month adventure. First leg: Australia. They were kind enough to leave us and their other friends with lots of goodies like a beautiful photo taken in Amber Fort, Jaipur, enough liquor and wine to last until their visit in February, and their driver.

• Mike came back to India. This time it was for work, which was great for him because he got to stay in incredibly nice hotels in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. While he was in town, we met up several times for tasty meals. Mike also earned the reputation of Cultural Attache for his colleagues.

• I'm heading to Bangalore this evening for a two day workshop on: Developing High Performing Women. Sounds thrilling, huh?

• Nyla also arrives early, early Monday morning (but I will be in Bangalore). But soon after landing in India, she'll head off to Agra for a night and then we'll meet up again in Delhi on Tuesday.

• Nyla and I are going to Goa this weekend! Looking forward to a nice weekend of sunshine and laziness on the beach as we celebrate Nyla's 30th birthday!

• We also have a wedding and wedding-related festivities to attend over the next week and a half for one of my co-workers. I prepared myself yesterday by going sari shopping. It was tons of fun and I wanted to buy lots of them, but I resisted! I'll pick them up later in the week and will definitely share photos with everyone. There are signs that wedding season is in full swing. You can't drive very far without passing white horses and bands on the roads or seeing firecrackers overhead.

• We still don't have our car. Boo. We were hoping to pick it up this past Friday, but there was a delay with some paperwork. Now since we are leaving in just a few weeks, we'll probably wait until January to take delivery. While I would love to have it now, waiting until January will mean that we can get the new 2009 model instead.

• Ani and I are coming for a visit in December. Our tickets are booked and we'll be back on December 11th. After the Christmas party, we're flying to San Fran and driving down the coast to LA. From there, we'll head for Vegas for the weekend before coming back home on the 22nd. It will be our first trip back in 8 months and our first Christmas at home, so we are looking forward to it.

I'll get better about the blog and will definitely post updates from Nyla's trip here and the wedding festivities.

More to come!

Fun Times at D-418

Last Saturday we had to start to do the unthinkable, say goodbye to Armen and Nyree, who are leaving India after spending two years here. We are really said to see them go because they've been great friends, neighbors and colleagues. From workday lunches at the Park or Karim's, to Saturday coffee breaks in Barista and late night dance extravaganzas in Smokehouse, they have been a critical link to our Delhi social life.

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To say goodbye to the masses that love and adore them, Armen and Nyree threw an amazing party on their rooftop last weekend. There were lots of drinks, tasty food and crazy dance moves throughout the night.

Armen, Alistair and Nyree

Marco and Sarah

DJ Jaan

Lucky for Armen and Nyree, they are not just returning to the cold and gray winter of London. Instead, they are off on a 3-month adventure through Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Not a bad way to cap off two years of ups and down in India. And Lucky for us, we have a few more friends to visit in London when we travel between Delhi and Washington.

My 3rd Diwali in India

I'm playing blog catch up today, so I'm going to start with Diwali. Although all of my colleagues thought it was my first Diwali in India, it was actually my third. It was also the first after marriage, which is supposed to be a special one.

Diwali fell on a Tuesday this year and everyone seemed to take off the day before and the day after. This resulted in a fairly quiet work week, and I was able to work from home. On Tuesday, we had a pancake breakfast and later one of Ani's sister's and her husband came by with Diwali sweets (yum!). Later in the evening, we headed to Ani's house for puja, dinner and the required Diwali firecrackers.

This is our house (second floor) with lots of Diwali/Christmas lights. And it's blurry because of all of the smoke from firecrackers. Great for the environment, huh?