the last week and a half.

well.

here we are.

it’s been an

interesting week

and a half

for the

three of us

in bangalore.

so far we’ve done

everything we

can to get on

a normal schedule.

we failed

for the first week,

but things are

getting better.

maddy is now sleeping

through the night,

but she’s not the

12 hour sleeper

that she is

in los angeles.

out.

i’d like to think

it’s the jetlag,

but i think it

has more to do

with not wanting

to miss out

on anything.

exhausted, once again.

but she’s not

the only one

who is exhausted.

tired.

a week and

half is a lot

to summarize, but

i’ll do it rather quickly

(and with a lot of photos).

we’ve walked around

town quite a bit

so that maddy

and rachel have an

idea where they are.

walking.

hand on daddy.

upside down.

i taught them

how to

cross a street

maddy learned

a thing or two

about the importance

of keeping quiet.

seriously.

i introduced them

to indian breakfast.

maddy about to eat the biggest dosa of all time.

rachel's first indian breakfast.

we have

breakfast together

each morning

before i go off

to write my book.

breakfast.

we’ve spent some

time with some

old friends.

maddy & vinod.

smith, karthik & madeline.

playing.

reaching.

walking with her two favorites dudes (of the moment).

getting some help from auntie eshwari.

we met lots

of new friends,

saying goodbye to naja.

meeting people.

making friends at the market.

most of whom

have been men.

maddy back with her friend.

making friends.

surrounded by dudes.

with some dudes.

(the dudes in the photo above insisted on watching maddy while we finished breakfast. as we walked up, they were frantically scrubbing her forehead. turns out she used one of their pens to draw a nice horizontal line across her forehead).

madeline has become

kind of a celebrity

around here,

and now she’s

acting the part.

"no photos, please."

she learned why

she’s still in diapers

thankfully maddy wears diapers.

and why dowries

are a bad thing.

himalayan dowry.

we met another

tired kid

and her dad.

two dads, two tired kids.

madeline figured out

a new way

to get my attention.

we went to

a mosque

inside a mosque.

and a temple

bull statue.

rachel.

maddy touching a bull statue.

temple.

we took in

the sights of

the area near

russell market.

between two movie posters.

vegetable seller and vegetables.

walking.

flower stalls at russell market in bangalore.

smelling a garland.

we walked through

commercial street

and the surrounding areas.

shop.

flower shop.

shop.

eating a banana.

textiles.

maddy and rachel

took their first

auto rickshaw ride

first autorickshaw ride for maddy and rachel.

so happy.

and a few days

later, maddy

drove us around

in one.

driving.

i performed

a successful

street diaper change

diaper change.

then celebrated

our success.

success!

we’ve both

experienced a bit

of separation anxiety

upset because i went to take a shower.

but maddy and rachel

have become fast friends.

she is one

of the few

women to whom

maddy will go.

elephant ride.

exhausted.

maddy and rachel.

maddy and rachel after lunch at the leela palace.

this is how maddy and rachel spend nap time.

she even lets

rachel do

her hair, which

is a huge

win for all

of us.

looking at daddy.

maddy.

we’ve explored the

place i’ve chosen

to spend most

of my days.

"frog!"

madeline.

hand-in-hand.

it’s a spot i used

to visit when

i needed a break

from the noise

and busyness of

the city.

i’d sit here,

read a book,

drink some tea,

just escape.

and when

liz

was in town,

we spent a lot

of time here.

so this is

where i write

most days,

because it brings

me back to

a time and

a place.

and somehow

it helps to

know that

we

were here together.

and that now

i am here with

maddy every morning.

and the amazing thing?

the writing is

flowing way

better than

i could have imagined.

i mean, the words,

the feelings,

they’re all coming out.

and there is

no way i could

have written this

anywhere else

but here.

i just hope my

editor loves it.

we’ve done

a ton of shopping.

shopping.

shopping.

outfits for maddy.

shopping.

shopping.

shopping for some faux ed hardy gear.

and i fulfilled

a promise

i made to

liz.

i promised to

bring her a

set of bangles each

time i went to

india, so that

by the time

i was done with

the ol’ travel for work

thing, she would

have a nice collection.

well, she had three

sets stolen when

our house was

burglarized back

in january 2008.

i promised to

replace her jewelry

over time.

i’d forgotten about the

bangles until i

walked past the shop

where i’d purchased them.

so for

liz,

maddy is

gonna have

one hell of

a jewelry collection.

just like her mom.

and she seems

to like them

as much as

her mom did.

show me.

and after getting a

warning from the people

who run our apartment,

36037039

we celebrated diwali.

madeline.

walking.

"look!"

crawling through...

running in fear.

running.

crackers.

fire cracker sales.

looking on.

mess.

outside of our apartment.

enjoying the show behind the glass.

diwali celebration.

watching...

cracker sellers.

crackers.

learning some dance moves from the super star.

fireworks display.

really, we’ve

just been enjoying

our time together.

asleep.

walking.

on my lap.

dinner.

maddy & me.

maddy & daddy.

on my shoulders.

kisses.

waiting while the ladies shop.

well, most of

the time.

pissed.

(oh…and thanks to everyone who voted in the christie cookies charity giveaway. with your help, we received enough votes to win $1,000 for the liz logelin foundation. add to it the 20% match i pledged, and we raised $1200. thank you all so much!).

This entry was written by matt, posted on 10/18/2009 at 2:30 pm.

Filed under liz, madeline.

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