Selfish and Unselfish

In my view,  this topic is such a paradox in India. When I meet people in the street or anywhere,  they are extremely selfish and has total lack of respect to a fellow human being.  I can sit and wait for hours for a delivery,  but once the delivery man is here; HE is upset that I take 5 min to come down. Especially if he has called saying that he'll "leave now", be there in "20 min" ....like 3 hours ago. You get my point?

Within the Indian family,  the complete opposite applies.  If two sisters have a job for example,  they pay for the entire family. Everything. They don't keep a single rupee to buy something for themselves. 

I guess the selfish outside world in some way forces the families to stick together.  I mean if you can't trust government, the police,  a stranger. ....only family is left.

Well behaved children

Children in the western world need to come live in India for a while. Children are so well behaved,  polite and have great respect for adult.  Honestly,  I think many of our children lack all the above.

It's so nice to see a group of little munchkins playing in a park. They wave their little hands and yell.

-hiiii Aunty (people always call an older person Uncle or Aunty)

Dirty Feet

I always look at feet and when we arrived here like 8 months ago,  it was shocking to see so many dirty, crooked, ugly...yuck feet everywhere.  Wait before you judge ok...

8 months later,  I "understand" these feet. They are relentlessly carrying their human around in dirt, gazing sun and pollution.  Given the tough conditions of many lives, feet, are not a priority.

O no I forgot the "before" picture. Next time....My own feet are also deteriorating.  I constantly walk around with dirty feet. I wash, I scrub, peel, put lotion on them; but still the "after" shot only lasts a day or two.  Then it's back to having some grayish dust all over them. My soles are covered in a mixture of dust and some other stuff I can't wash away with soap. It goes into my skin and the only remedy is a full pedicure with wash, scrub, peel, lotion and even a foot mask.

Now I'm starting to understand why Indians consider feet to be dirty.

Why??

This is a good one for all western women constantly on a diet.

Today some said:
- You have lost weight. But WHY?

Sunshine of my life

You are the sunshine in my life. I love you more than words can tell.  God gave me the greatest gift. Through troubling times, your smile lights up my soul.

I love you my baby boy

Indian e-commerce

I would claim myself to been a pretty savvy e-commerce customer. I have purchased products from all over the world and this is my experience from India. It's got the cons AND the pros.

- Never buy anything unless the company offers COD, cash on delivery
- Never trust anything customer service tells you about delivery etc. They don't know,  has no authority and will lie if situation becomes uncomfortable
- Never believe the delivery mans estimate regarding time of delivery.  5 min can be 2 days.
- Words like reliable,  trustworthy,  world class have NO meaning whatsoever.

I recently bought a blue Hercules bicycle and received a red Avon with a crooked front wheel from one of the websites claiming to be all reliable and trustworthy.

Apart from that, if you still want to do online shopping in India

- There are some companies that are gems. Big Basket has never let me down.
- This is the country where you find the most beautiful home decor, furniture and fabrics
- The prices are like 1/10 of what you would pay in a western country

Scammers

Never give your login details to online accounts to anyone! Even if they claim to be the police. No company ever sends out emails or calls customers asking for these details.

It's like a Golden Rule of e-commerce.

I received such a phone call today....if you're reading the blog, don't think so. I won't accept any strange LinkedIn or Facebook requests either.

Do you see it?

Lil Lizzy. ..our newest "pet" in our family.  She lives in our room and eats whatever insects that are intruding. She just moved in here one day....and she is most welcome.

And I'm gonna put my money

Where my mouth is...or however the expression goes.

There's a crippled man on New BEL rd.  He's old (or younger than you think he is) and has something wrong with his leg.

Next time I see him. I will get someone to help me tell him that we will (if ok for him) take him to the hospital (5 min away) and get his leg checked at, and if necessary fix him a protes (in Swedish). I can't stand him sitting there with his cracked leg anymore.  I can't look away anymore.

One day I will stand trial before God. He will ask me - What did you do with your life? Did you help those in need? I will have to answer Yes or No.

In your face

Today I saw them at the restaurant. Five oversized men, wagging around with huge bellies only outshined by the fat gold rings that covered their fingers. Then I saw them parked in a line under the majestic tree corridor by the park. Stick like men, sleeping, trying to find comfort on the small passenger seat in the back of their autos.

It's so in your face. Poverty. ..bam, rich....bam, hardship. ..bam, life and death.

The first time I ever saw a dead person was here, in India.  I saw an adorned truck slowly moving along the street slightly tilted by the crowd standing in the back. When I looked more closely,  there he or she was; a shell of a human being.  Dead like a stone. Nothing left. No life, dreams or anything.

That's it. We all live,  we all die and when we go....we can't bring our bank accounts,  houses, fancy cars or gold. We die the same,  rich and poor.  So my question is, why don't we see each other when we live? Why don't we share more? What kind of world is this when some humans eat in gluttony and some starve. 

Honestly. There is no excuse in the world that will convince me that this is right.

Well...I mean, when it's so in your face! 

The one in a million shot...

If you love babies and.....dogs!

(Our dogs are very clean...shampoo, conditioner, blow dry and combing)

Streetrider

I bought myself a bicycle,  a Hercules Streetrider.  Not as a fitness equipment but as a means of transportation.  It's funny how people reacted with surprise when I wanted a bike. - You! ?, on a bike? Don't you like a scooter?

Another thing related to ladies bicycles. ..first of all,  the biggest model is to small 26' and they all look like girly bikes ie pinkish,  shimry purple etc.  So I found some blue/yellow unisex model instead.

An unexpected gift hihi

Every Swedish mother or father comes into contact with Baby Björn,  a Swedish baby brand. I guess it is rooted deeply,  but I've always wanted one of their carriers and today I got one for free! !! Since they're pretty costly I've chosen less expensive brands before.

So when our caretaker brings a brand new Baby Björn carrier for me....talk about an unexpected gift!  It even has a back plate for me ie ergonomic carrier!! 

But first I have to understand how to assemble it....dude, it's more complicated instructions than installing basically anything I've done before.  Well, the cargo is also way more important and precious.

I miss this little guy

I'm going through all the pictures in my phone and saw this....my furry little troll Persian cat. We always joke about me liking little dudes. I have a cat, a dog and a little son.

I miss him. We brought the dogs to India, but left the cats in really good care back home. This cat is one of a kind. He is very mild and goofy. So the question I ask myself,  if we are staying,  shoulda woulda coulda bring him here.

When this picture was taken,  I was trying to use my sewing machine....under his supervision and expertise.  Especially when it comes to the thread. He positioned himself right behind the machine and every now and then, furry paws tried to steal the thread.

Auspicious

I see the word Auspicious everywhere. ..I have never used it in my entire life, so obviously it catches my eye.  It means favorable or that if you do something on an auspicious day it could lead to future success.

Before the new year, they handed out calendars at the local supermarket.  The word was everywhere in the calendar.  This is an auspicious day to do an investment,  help a stranger etc.

I don't know what I want to say...haha...it's just interesting (for me at least) to observe a particular word used so much in one country as it us barely used where I've been.  Yea yea..I'm not a walking all knowing oracle, but hey it's my observation.

What are these called?

Pretty funny looking tree! I love this about India.  Wow!!!

Vicious Lady in the house

And it's not me. There's a Praying Mantis on our elevator door! It's the first time I see one live.

Why is this insect vicious? She eats her mate.

Mini Me

Or actually Mini Husband for you who knows us...

I had a new kind of nightmare last night. I dreamt someone was trying to take my baby away. Wonder if all moms have this?  Well,  it was terrible and when I woke up and saw my beautiful baby boy right next to me.....what a relief!  I love him so much and having a baby is extremely fun. He is becoming such a fun person.

The Great "Secret" of India

It's there on Wikipedia, in any fact sheet,  and all school children know it. You see it when you walk down the street or look at the news. It is also the biggest asset of this country and I'm not talking about the combined wealth of the richest people like the Reliance brothers or Tata family. It's not the hidden gold treasure of 22 carat yellow gold that lurks in every Indian home. It's not the cows, farming, the herbs, or the ancient system. 

It's the PEOPLE. The more than 1bn people that live here and the MANPOWER they represent.

Back home you're lucky if you can find a clerk in the store and here it feels like there are at least 3 people to each customer. Well, it might not be the best way to utilize the manpower,  but they are here. By the way...this example kind of shows the frustrating issue according to me. People are not utilized, it's not organized and effective.

I often feel "there is a job for everything". Take the mall for example.  There is one person who presses the button in the elevator, but its a often a waste because that person does not know how the elevator works. So customers become irritated which leads to chaos in the elevator.  Do see my point?

Another issue I face is the fear of new things and using your own head to think outside the box. Probably because, and I've seen, if they do....they are yelled at and humiliated openly.  Not a very good management technique...

India is a young nation on its own feet after long time of rule by others.  Imagine the possibilities if they get their act together so to say. In my eyes,  they have the greatest of assets in the manpower as the basic ingredient.  Add some spices of efficiency, organization,  creative thinking, unity and remove the following ingredients: corruption, and superstition and let it cook for some time.  O boy....you'll get something amazing.  Something the world has never seen.

Finger cut

Dude..Indian medicine packages irritate me because I always cut my fingers on them. The basic construction is a blister pack in plastic and thin metall. So when I pop it, the metal peels open like a thin razor than cut my fingers.

"One good deed a day

Keeps the Doctor away". Original proverb is an "apple a day keeps. "

I wrote about doing at least one good deed a day before, but I will try it again. When you have a baby and pain, it is really easy to get totally caught up in your own stuff, but that is no excuse.

It only takes me 5 minutes or even 5 seconds to do something for a stranger.

There are tons of beggars on New BEL rd and since I'm a foreigner,  they always target on me. Ok I don't give money (unless old or crippled) cause it's the drunk men at their home who takes the money and spend it on liquor. I think that is how it works.

But I can still BUY a Mcflurry to the little beggar girl outside Mcdonalds.

Also put yourself in the shoes of this old or crippled person.  Who should even hesitate giving them 5rs, , it's less than 1kr!! They are out on the streets in their condition and they need than 5rs more than you do.

Medium Baba

Haha. My husband always talks about six months being some magical age for babies. .(ask him ok) but today is also a milestone. .

He is changing to medium Pampers! !! Tjohoooo. 

Careful what you post

I have removed some posts and will think twice before I post anything else. ..

That's the ONE place. .

She is not allowed to sleep! Haha On my husband's pillow.

Sting reminds me of old people in general.  It's like they have the attitude - I've done my duty and now I'm old and do what I want. If you tell me otherwise,  I pretend I can't hear you.  Hahaha

The cup collector

I've never been the collector type person,  but I like coffee cups with different mustaches. Well there is plenty of real life inspiration here as well as coffee cups.

Tittut!...Pekaboo

Who is this Ji?

I found a great super market today, Nilgiri's, with lots of stuff I like.  I love soy products but don't like the sugar bombs available in most super markets, soy milk.  Well I do like soy milk, but also need high protein soy for other things.  So I found soy flower and saw Mr Ji! I have no clue what it is but I had to buy a box of Mr Ji's product....haha....It's like Dr Oetker in Europe. ..who is he? The only "product guy" I know is Paul Newman from Newmans Own...haha

Great Indian inventions...

Sari tops. I saw on the stitching on the inside,  they have stitched so you can cut the seem as you get fatter!  In essence one top comes in 3 sizes. Haha...pretty smart

Mood swing Baba

This is an "old" pic of mood swing Baba, but that's him....strong will, short fuse, knows what he want, 2 second patience etc. Hmmm does he by any chance remind me of myself? ?? So I guess it's payback time for me and with him I'm forced to let his will rule, have a mile long fuse, want what he wants and have eternal patience.

Head bobble, wobble

Indians are known for wobbling their head when spoken to. It means yes, no, I don't know, I hear you or just anything. I have also picked up this habbit or..it just happens.  The real fun started tonight, when I spoke to our dogs asking them to come to bed....wobbling my head. Yes, to the dogs.

Yelling mama

I told our caretaker that each outing with Baba is an experience because people come up to him, trying to touch him and lots of stuff.  Of course they don't do it to be mean. ..but I draw the line here. I refuse to adapt to the culture in this aspect.

Why? First of all.  In my own country it's sooo rude. I would never ever try to take a baby from a mother's arm or touch it without asking the parent.  Secondly it is me. I don't want random people touching him period.  I don't know if they have washed their hands or just took a dump in the bathroom.
Ok so the first thing that happens at Cloud Nine (even before entering) is an elderly man who bends down to start cuddle with Baba. Like a cobra I yell at him to stop and eventually has to use force to get his hands of Baba.

And dude, I know. ..Indian respect for elderly,  women and men etc. So maybe I'm doing the unthinkable as a woman. ..yelling to an elderly man, but since he shows me utterly and zero respect totally intruding not even paying any whatsoever attention to me being there....then I don't care.

Enough is enough.  No touching my Baba. Every day I accept and adapt to Indian ways, but when this happens. ...you meet a Yelling mama.

His head is off the chart!!

Baba got his vaccinations and health checkup yesterday.  Look at the growth chart. He is picking up in all the curves,  but the top pink is just hysterical.

His huge head is off the chart!! I am so glad I opted for a Cesarean. ...if you understand what I mean. ..hmm.

No blogs today..

But tons to write about. Baba's huge head for instance lol.  Tomorrow.  Ok

Norfloxacin....seriously! !!

Some events led me to check a pill my husband got at a pharmacy when he had some problems, don't remember which but not THIS major! !!!

Not to worry any near and dear. ...the control freak in me drives me to always do extensive research on everything, especially pharmacy related, always also including anything that is prescribed by a doctor. WHY..I have trust issues,  which is actually a great asset here.

Check out the quotes from Wikipedia and the list goes on. Duuude, I would never like to take this pill in a million years.

"The licensed uses for norfloxacin are quite limited as norfloxacin is to be considered a drug of last resort when all other antibiotics have failed." from Wikipedia

"On September 23, 2008, the FDA required the manufacturer to add an additional warning to the package inserts that stated that “Serious and occasionally fatal hypersensitivity (anaphylactic) reactions, some following the first dose, have been reported in patients receiving quinolone therapy, including Noroxin.”

"difficile super infections and permanent nerve as well as tendon injuries"

"Norfloxacin is associated with a number of serious and life threatening adverse reactions as well as spontaneous tendon ruptures and irreversible peripheral neuropathy". 

Headache, Heat and Happy

Headache I got from delivery people not finding our house since last week until I posted my view on the company's Facebook page.  Then a perfect English speaking person called me and my pillows arrived within the hour.  This site Zansaar.com has the most beautiful interior design.  My taste to 100% and the prices are fantastic if you compare to what we pay in Sweden.  Here I payed less than 20kr for a cover that would cost me at least 200kr in Sweden.

Heat right now is just to much. I slept with a wet towel on my body last night.  Someone said it will be the hottest summer in 80 years! !! Maybe some headache comes from the heat also.

Happy.  I feel happy.  When I woke up this morning I actually got up not using all my willpower to overcome pain.  My body felt normal and I thought. ..ooo I actually forgot how it is what normal is.

Jeera cookies

They sold Jeera (cumin seeds) cookies at the super market and since I love trying new stuff,  I bought a package.  Very different and interesting flavor since for us, Jeera is usually used in food preparation.

A thief. ...

My husband was eating a bun and placed it in his lap as we were discussing something.  Then I see in the corner of my eye how Her Naughtiness starts licking the bun in "disguise".... hmmm...since this  bun now was ruined she got it all according to her "skills" and master plan.

She is old so we let her get away with a lot of things.  Mostly because she is hilarious.  It's like you can read her funny little dog thoughts.

Which one?

I bought 5kg or rugs the other day. Yes, you pay by weight.  I let my Father in-law choose one....which one do you think it is?

I hate pain!

I rarely say I hate something but pain falls in this category. I love sleeping on my stomach,  but if I do, I get stuch with my entire lower back and hip aching.  I have to use my arms to roll over. I hate walking around like Quasimido.  I hate how pain affects my mood and how it kind of controls my life, because it does.

I also hate taking pain medicines and always having to keep track so I don't run out of pills because if I do....I can't get out of bed and if you have a baby, what are your options?

Maybe this patch is the solution for now. I am seeing a great pain specialist who prescribed this 7 day patch. It's not a life long solution, but for the first time since last summer I feel like a normal person.

Next week (if I can gather my nerves), I will do a surgery where he does something to block the nerves in my hip and leg. Through his practice I met an American woman who also suffers from pain. Even though I hate pain,  I also enjoy meeting and talking to someone who knows exactly how it is suffering from it.

Initial reaction

We put a wet towel on his head to cool down and this was the initial reaction.  Babies have no poker face whatsoever! They don't have much life experience either....haha...so pretty much everything is a first for them.

He liked it a lot, well,  after the initial reaction.

When Baba is hot

This is what you do.

What can you do?

Here's a list of everything that id prohibited in the local park. It has one entrance and surrounded by a high fence.

To me, it says something about India.  Well, this time not the good things (please remember I love living here).

The question I ask myself is what can you do in there? And more importantly,  what would this park look like if it was not protected by a fence and this strict sign?

What do you think I'm getting at?

Star Wars. ..episode II

Ok so Baba still loves Star Wars. ...haha. He kept on turning his head towards the TV, completely fascinated with the movie. ..so I put him in his bouncer and now we're both watching it.

Haha...the scene at the end where Yoda is tumbling like a green tennis ball.

Nut King

Haha...we joked with each other in the kitchen because my husband acts like an emperor in there. Then I saw this package of cashew nuts.

- This is you!!! You're the King and kind of nutty.

And this site...

Www.indiacircus.com

Check out this Auto cover....yea yea bad pic, but it's the best one I could find.

Pretty in Pink

It's summer now and it's extremely hot and our bedroom even hotter. Each night, I woke up in a puddle of sweat so we decided to switch bedrooms. ...to the pink one (the only one available).

It's easy to decorate a pink room if you're a 10 year old girl,  but not when you share it with a 36 year old man. (Or so I thought). I've been twisting my mind on what colors to use until my husband said - Pink is nice and these curtains looks great.

The color theme will be pink, turquoise, green and white. I found great home decor in this website:

Www.zansaar.com

A Hero for my hero

My husband bought a traditional bike to the full joy of both the salesman and by passers on the street.  The brand Hero is very suitable because my husband is my biggest hero.

Having a baby period whether you live in your native country or abroad is tough for any couple, especially in the beginning I guess.  I just want to tell you, my husband,  I love you more than words can describe.  I love our Lil Baba.  You are my Hero

 

How many Poms?

One or two? We have two dog beds but of course, only one is approved by both dogs. ..hmmm.They each got a delicious dog treat imported from Sweden.

By the way. ..the only time I ever see a surprised Indian cow is when I take our 3kg toy pomeranians for a walk.

- Do you still walk your dogs? A driver asked me with surprise. For us it's a really odd question because we're used to do everything ourselves.  However when I look around the neighborhood it is always kind of tragic and comic to see the poor servant being towed around by Sir and Madam's dog.

Deserted lot....local farm?

What is an Indian blog without a pic on a cow?!. My husband went to buy a traditional Indian hike (brand= Hero). We passed a deserted lot crammed between apartment buildings,  which to us seemed like the closest thing we've seen assembling a farm.

By the way. ..there's an extra bonus which to me was more interesting than all the cows. A white bird. I love birds! It's something comical about them...it's like,  we were checking him out, but who was really checking out who?? Dude, that bird was giving us the eye!

A really old car

I can only upload one picture in each blogpost....annoying but not really a problem.

An espresso in a coffee cup

"Sweet fart" caramel

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajmola

We got these caramels at the pharmacy yesterday and the green one tastes like a sweetened fart...prutt, mök.

They are good for digestion, but I had to spit mine out after I left the very happy pharmacy owner who laughed at us for at least trying the local candy.

World Class. ..remember?

Here's a mop....that is World Class. ..hehe

One long hair

Lil Baba's hair has started to grow now. He had some sort of fluff on the crown of his head when he was born,  but now real hair is growing. ....and one hair straw of the original fluff. It is really long and waves around,  but you have look really hard (and in sunlight) to see it.

A fun note on Indian superstition. ..a person told me to rub coconut oil in his hair so that the hair would get black. Hmmm

Regal Lady curriculum

The pic was to bug so I had to crop it into smaller chunks. ...but here is the curriculum.

Adorable and tiny

Look how cute! !!! These lizards stay in the house and do a great job eating insects.