A blog of sorts (aka cheating....)

I am sure MANY of you are forsaking our names and maybe even protesting our blog since our dismal "show" in October (our lowest blog month yet). Not to make excuses, but between our internet being "down" for a week, Tracy being in MPLS for 10 days and our week vacation to Sri Lanka, we were very negligent and apologize!!

So... and an effort to efficiently catch you up we have blatantly plagiarized from our friends blogs the key highlights of the month of October. These are not in chronological nor priority order:)

Post Script - We WILL make up for it in November. We PROMISE!!

Oktoberfest (from http://www.wacmiller.blogspot.com/)
"....And then we arrived at Oktoberfest Bangalore, and it was incredible. Before even getting to out table with our identified friends, we all had large mugs of Kingfisher beer and a robust German toast was playing from the full band. All around were traditional Bavarian costumes mixed in with the normal expat array. There was an eerie familiarity as if we had somehow stepped into the beer garden at the State Fair. It was an awesome time with great food (even sausage), free-flowing Kingfisher beer in Oktoberfest Bangalore mugs, and great friends. I haven't had this much fun since...well a long time, pre-kids for sure. Imagine 1000 people dancing on tables, drinking properly to German beer songs and singing at the top of their lungs. Did I also mention its LEGAL to smoke inside, in fact, its almost a requirement for an Indian party.
When it was finally time to go, I decided the mug had to come along with me - really, "Oktoberfest Bangalore" is something that needed a souvenir! At first the guard protested, then tossed out a sale proposal of 500 Rupees, then a negotiation ensued and we settled on something much, much less - priceless."


Indian Night (from http://www.wherearethefischers.blogspot.com/)
"...I had the chance to go sari shopping a couple of weeks ago and Bob bought himself a "Kurta Pyjama" and a pair of red pointy shoes to match. Vimala, our maid, painted "Mehendi" on my hands, brought me some bangles and a Bindi for my forehead, helped me find a tailor to stitch my sari "blouse," bought me a sari slip, agreed to babysit our children and arrived early to wrap me in my 6 yards of silk. Other beneficial commentary that led me to believe I had no idea what I was doing: "You're not going to wear your hair like THAT, Madame?" and "Where is your eyeliner?" and "You don't have any matching sets?" (dubiously eyeing the jewelry I'd set out). Undaunted by my obvious lack of experience with both social custom and Indian formal wear, Vimala had me wrapped, tucked, pinned and emerging as a proper Indian lady in no time. How she did so, is still a major mystery... However it all occurred, I was greeted by both kids with serious approval: (Owen) "mommy you wook bwootifuw" (Grayce) "you should always dress like that, every day." Did I mention the safety pins? Are you aware that safety pins are only for slackers? That those 6 yards of fabric are simply wrapped around and tucked into a slip? Or that Indian women do more than just stand there carefully, trying not to move too much? Vimala wears a Sari every day cleaning and mopping my house. It's amazing...just getting in the car had me in a panic!Fast-Forward to Raffle Ticket Time: Several prizes given away, including Bollywood dancing lessons, in which another woman went up to claim her prize and had the dance studio owner/instructor surprise her with an impromptu and very public lesson. A second set of lessons is announced. Bob looks right at me and says, "you know you're going to win this." I suddenly just KNOW that he's right (damn "The Secret," it's always getting me into trouble!) I suddenly just KNOW I'm going to have to get up and dance...Bollywood style...which is not exactly "conservative".I win. 8 lessons. Free. I am on stage and I am dancing. Thank God for Vimala, Sari Pins, and a realllllyyyy charming choreographer by the name of V. Arun Kumar....proprietor of Zealers dance studio. (Probably, the wine helped, too.) It wasn't until it was all over that I realized I'd missed my chance to send Bob up to claim his prize."


Expat Fashion Show (from http://www.ehler.blogspot.com/)
"Due to a suggestion by one of our favorite team members, the expats put together a fashion show. This was the opening act of a talent show that was one of the fun events for the building. ALL, and I do mean all, of the expats participated. Kudos to Todd and Paul, newly arrived only a few days in Bangalore, who jumped in with both feet!
To music, we all entered in small groups, dancing and vogueing our way across the stage. It was so much FUN and the crowd loved it! This was a surprise for everyone involved and was an awesome way to kick off the event. Thank you to all who participated in the planning and for including us all."