Flashback

I have been having some pretty severe India flashbacks recently, which are exacerbated by the dozens of Indians staying at our hotel.  I'm sure they are nice people, and I have nothing against them personally, but hey, I've already stayed at a hotel with Indians.  For eight months.  Also, this hotel has kitchens in every room, which is nice, but unfortunately, they are not very well ventilated, so whatever anyone cooks floods the hallways (and elevators and lobby) with the smell of whatever they cooked.  In case you weren't aware, Indians like to cook food - curries to be exact.  They like to cook it in their hotel-room kitchen.  Again, I will stress that all of this is fine and I have nothing against them cooking or curries in general.  What I do have a problem with is the curry smell that floats under my door and through my walls, permeating my dreams and giving me nightmares of Baroda.  I think I have PTSD.

Further enhancing my flashbacks are the photos my friend Dori sent me from our scavenger hunt party we attended shortly before we left.  I love the pictures, but am having a pretty severe reaction on a mental/emotional level just looking at them.  Maybe some people just aren't cut out for Gujarat.  Maybe I'm one of them.

 

Me, Ken (Dori's husband), and some other lady whose name I don't remember posing for one of our scavenger hunt pictures.  We had to take a picture of all of us in an auto.  Not sure if the driver needed to be there or if he just wanted to be included.  If I had to guess, I'd go with the latter.  

 

Us with one of the front entrance guys at the hotel. (Another mandatory scavenger hunt picture.)  I actually really liked him.  Once, he had a questionable mole or tumor or something cut off the back of his neck.  I know this because he wore a bandage around for a while and I finally had to get a translator to explain what happened.  On a lighter note, check out that mustache!

 

With Ronald.  Classic.  

I'd also like to mention (in case I haven't before) that my team came in second in the scavenger hunt.  Matt's team came in first.  BUT one of his team member's lived right across the street and had most of the items on the list already.  So he wins, but we'll put an asterisk next to it.  Matt 1*, Cait 100 (I'm counting all the things I win against him in life.  Like Boggle, Scrabble, Taboo, reading, writing and arithmetic, etc).  

 

Us celebrating our victories.  We look good in Indian accessories, no?  (The answer is no.  We don't.) 

In other news, Sunday is Mother's Day, and you know what that means:  Six Flags Great America!  Matt and I have made a semi-tradition of going to Six Flags on either Mother's Day or Father's Day for the past few years.  It's awesome because there are no lines, so we can ride the Superman as many times as our stomachs will let us!  More flags, more fun!

Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday

False, it's MY birthday!  Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and presents!  And most of all, thank you India for giving me the best present of all: a ticket OUT of India!  Ahh, but I joke, I joke.  I love you, India.  And I love to hate you.  It's complicated.

Today has been great so far.  I've just been packing and had a birthday/going away lunch with my expat lady-friends.  They got me a wonderful (and HUGE) book on Iyengar yoga so I can continue to practice no matter where I am!  The book is amazing; it has pictures and detailed instructions of all the asanas, as well as a detailed yoga plan so you can do it easily on your own.  I also got a beautiful silk scarf and purse, which I promised not to re-gift to my lady-family members back home - sorry, Mom.

Matt always makes me a birthday card, and this year was no exception.  I think this time he really outdid himself.  For every holiday, the hotel gives us a "WelcomScroll" explaining (sometimes in far too much detail) the holiday and the meaning behind it.  Matt, in his infinite genius, copied their format and made it into a birthday scroll for me.  Behold:

Caitlin Streett Birthday Holiday - 28 February 2011

Each year, the American holiday of Caitlin Streett Birthday is
celebrated on the 28th of February.  This holiday is to commemorate
the day on which leader, visionary, and adventurer Caitlin Streett was
born.  This day is auspicious because it is the last day of February,
a short month, during non so-called “Leap Years.”

Caitlin Streett was born in a small town of Yellville, Arkansas in
America.  Local legend has it that babycaitlin was weighed on the
scale at a super market.  From early age, the strength and mental
prowess of street was clear and evidently.  It would not be said that
that Streett’s rise to the top was meteoric, even though it was.

In 2004, Steett once had an awkward birthday just to see what it was
like.  It is rumored and well documented that Amitabh Bachchan himself
in 2010 interrupted filming of a “Bigg Boss 4” episode to call Caitlin
Streett and tell her hppy bday.  Also, in Mother India, Streettji’s
birthday is celebrated with fireworks, some nice kite flying, and
dancing.  If you stand on RC Dutt Road one afternoon, it is possible
to have a glimpse of Streett having a brisk walk.  Sometime, Streett
birthday coincides with Hindi holiday of Holi, which is a great and
momentous occasion indeed.

Other notable celebrities born on this date include bombshell Ali
Larter, tennis star Jelena Jankovic, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu,
Italian-American race car driver Mario Andretti, notorious criminal
Bugsy Segal, and country music sensation Jason Aldean.  Jennifer
Kapoor, actress and husband of Indian star Shashi Kapoor, was also
born today.

On this day, 28th February, in 1948, the last British troops left India.

As a guest of Welcomhotel Vadodara, the management and staff wish you
the best of regards on the Caitlin Streett Birthday Holiday and hope
that the holiday celebrations are truly special.  We thank you for
choosing ITC Welcomgroup hotels, palaces, and resorts and trust that
your stay is comfortable. 

It had a WelcomHotel Logo at the top, but that didn't paste on here.  Also, he did the typos on purpose, as all the WelcomScrolls have typos and he wanted to be as accurate as possible.

Saturday night we had a scavenger hunt at Karen's house.  Karen has been living in Baroda for seven years and always has an annual fundraiser dinner to raise money for one of the orphanages in town.  This year was the first time they did a scavenger hunt, and it was awesome.  Matt's team came in first, and my team came in (a very close) second.  I think that's pretty admirable, considering we had to get items such as a turban, diya (those little oil lamps they use at temples), a brown hairy coconut, pictures of team members in an auto, etc.  We both won prizes (German meat, which we gave away, and an MP3 player!), and then I won a door prize of brunch at Little Italy!  I had to give that away, too, because we're leaving, but still.  It feels nice to win.  It was an honor just to be nominated!  (Forgive me, I watched the Oscars this morning on Star Movies.  Congrats winners.)

Anyway, that's about all I've got to say about that.  We leave this evening for Delhi, and then will be back in Chi on Thursday.  Can't wait to see everyone! Love to all, peace on earth, goodwill to men, etc, etc.