PuneXpat

First of all... brace yourselves.  This is quite a long post with lots of photos and video clips, but definitely worth scrolling through when you have the time. A 10-day Ganesha festival began on Friday, meaning that in spite of having the day off school and work we were roused early to the sounds of rhythmic and compelling drumming just outside our bedroom window.  We threw on clothes and headed out in the monsoon drizzle to watch our Hindu neighbours installing a Ganesha idol in the flamboyantly decorated pandal in our apartment complex.  For those of you unfamiliar with the words I am throwing around, take a look at the picture below ... if you're familiar with Hinduism feel free to jump ahead! One of the things I am loving most about our new apartment complex (or society as they are called here) is the welcoming attitude to newcomers.  I spent some time chatting to neighbours who kindly took the time to explain the festivities we were watching, and ...

Yesterday was Monday with school, work, Hindi lessons (which were fab BTW), and chores as normal.  However, it was a really just a blip in what has been a long and social weekend!  Today, Tuesday August 15th, is Indian Independence day and consequently it's a national holiday with no work or school.  Therefore, we have been able to enjoy some great social time as a family and with our new neighbours over this (sort of extended) weekend. On Saturday, we visited a part of town called Koregaon Park for a spot of lunch and a bit of a wander around the lush, banyan tree-lined lanes.  We ate lunch at the infamous German Bakery cafe (sadly, this place is most well known for being the site of a terrorist bombing in 2010 that killed 17 and wounded 60 - read more here ).  The food was great and the murals on the wall of famous performers sparked a fun conversation with the kids. On Sunday the weather was gorgeous - sunny and warm, without the typical h...

I can't face vlogging this morning. I'm feeling quite wobbly, and don't think I want to inflict an emotional outburst on you in all its HD glory.  Let's face it, nobody wants their ugly cry face broadcast on YouTube. via GIPHY So instead, I am going to write an update to keep my mind off stuff.  Because the boys started school today. We went yesterday for an Orientation Day, so the boys got a proper look around the campus (which is lovely!) and met some of their teachers (who are also lovely).  We also purchased their uniforms.  This last aspect was a bit chaotic, as I am realizing is the norm in India.  There was a sort-of-queue to try on uniforms and work out your requirements, but that didn't stop people pushing in.  Once we had our list of uniform items, we then followed the crowd and joined another sort-of queue that was for getting photos for ID cards.  What they didn't tell us until we reached the front of that queue is that the boys n...