September 1st

We have been waiting for this day for a long time. We are all so excited to go and meet Leann at the airport. Two and a half months has flown by so fast. Ashwin and Priya have been working on the welcome signs. Incidentally Priya is sitting on  the Indian version of the lazy boy chair called the easy chair. 

We had a couple of  birthday celebrations in August ;  Helen and Raja ( Raja Mama  to Ashwin/Priya).  Have included  pics of Priya choosing a gift for Helen and one with cousins and friends who attended the party.

Ashwin had a disappointing loss 3-2 in the soccer league  semifinals. It was a great match  and the game could have gone either way. Ashwin scored both the goals and set up some great chances. Coach Doug would have been proud of the play. 

The Autorickshaw

Driving  in Chennai has been  a challenge, especially while driving  my scooter. Most car drivers consider two wheeler, a nuisance they have to deal with on the road. Two wheelers include motorbikes(mostly 100- 250 cc),  scooters which make up for more than 70 % of the vehicles on the road. The Autorickshaw is a motorised version of traditional  rickshaw and is probably the most common mode of hired transportation in Indian cities. Its not the most comfortable ride , but widely available and  for extra payment would be willing to take as many as 4 or 5 adults. Its quite common to see 8-10 school children travelling together in  a single autorickshaw, after school returning home. There a picture of Ashwin/Priya going to school in an auto before we bought the scooter. In the other pics Ashwin and Priya were going to a mall called the Spencer's Plaza with their cousins.

Soccer League

Sundays are busy with church , getting ready for the week and Ashwin's soccer league.  The game today was one of the best and Ashwin scored 3 goals in a 6- 0 victory. The league should go on this early September and will keep you posted. To check their standing in the league you can check www.ashrayaindia.org as well. Ashwin plays with the Tigers in the 7- 9 yr old group.

Priya's Birthday- Part 2

Later in the day we had a small party with a couple of Priya's friends from school and our neighbour Shiva joined us. Following some games we celebrated with the singing candle and snacks.

Later in the evening we had our relatives come over. Priya and Ashwin had fun playing with their cousins and their families. The singing candle made its appearance again, with the cake. And following the birthday song(the extended version) and eating, the party went on till  2245 hrs. 

Priya's Birthday

We were eagerly counting down to Priya's  birthday on August 2nd. Apart from the celebration, it reminded us that Leann's arrival here is imminent. As per the local custom Priya got to wear coloured clothes to school on Friday and distribute candy sweets to all the children in her grade and to her teachers. 

On her birthday we took part in a carnival at her school in the morning. There were a few games In the pics you can see Ashwin  playing a game where you use a tennis ball to bring down the tin cans which were placed on top of each other and shaped like a pyramid. 

Spherical objects

After we reached Chennai; I was a little worried when Ashwin  didn't seem interested in  throwing any ball around. That thankfully  lasted for only 2 days and since then some of his favorite activities have been playing  tennis at school, bouncing a foam ball on a table tennis bat inside the flat and tennis on our terrace.  Also he leads a group in playing catch at school( may go up to 30 boys at times).

In non sport related news , Ashwin took his monthly test in 4 subjects  last week. He scored 50/50 in all of them except for English in which he got 49/50. 

Bay of Bengal Part 2

Following our visit to the beach resort we visited the Madras Crocodile Bank which was close by; before returning home. According to their website The Madras Crocodile Bank started out with 30 adult crocodiles in the 1970s  and currently hold over 2400 crocodilians of 14 different species. They also work on protecting the snakes and turtles. I have been here many times and I was happy to see the place thriving well.