Change In Plans

Greetings from Delhi.  Several months into traveling as a family, this short post is an answer to the question “how are you doing?”

Before I answer, a quick update.  It took eleven hours for us to drive and fly from Bhandavgarh National Park back to Delhi, but we are delighted to be here.  The weather was gorgeous when we landed: cool and sunny, with blue skies and very clear air.  If it had been like this on the day of our first arrival, my initial impressions would have been more positive than they were. A mini lesson for me on jumping to conclusions.  

We have seen and done so much in the last three weeks that it seems like months, instead of weeks, since we were last here.  Zola and I went for a walk in the streets before dinner, and we were both surprised at how accustomed we have become to the crowds and the noise and the controlled chaos of India.

Several people have asked us by e-mail recently, “how are you doing?”  In a few cases, this was loving grandmotherly worry about grandchildren, but more generally friends and family were interested in how our health has been, how we were feeling, and how we were getting along with each other in a 24/7 famiy environment.

Everyone’s health has been great thus far (knock wood).  We are all physically tired from waking up at 5:30 am or earlier for six of the last seven days, and I think we are all a little emotionally tired from the sensory stimulus of being in India.  I was as sick as a proverbial dog for a couple of days while we were at the Pushkar Camel Festival, but only in the uninteresting sense that I had a cold and a cough.  All of our stomachs have been generally fine.  I may be one of the rare few people who gets measurably fatter while traveling in India: Indian food is great.  Zola has lost almost eight pounds, but this is due to his still picky (although much more adventurous than six months ago) eating habits, rather than any kind of GI distress.

We continue to feel a little overwhelmed by India, but have enjoyed our time here enormously.  It has been exotic and enriching, frequently beautiful, and always interesting.  

Zola has loved the glamour of the palaces and forts, and really enjoyed the tigers.  He has also been devouring books about Indian mythology (e.g., “Children’s Stories of Shiva the Destroyer”).  In our months of travel, his confidence and poise have come back in a way that we did not expect.  Even our homeschooling sessions have gotten dramatically better. 

Tallulah seems to be internalizing a lot of what we are seeing and doing.  In the five months since we left for Ireland on the first phase of this trip, she has grown up so much.  She gave up her imaginary friends in North Vaisa while we were in the U.S. in October, and now she gets cross with us if we mention it.  She is a happy and self-directed and opinionated and sweet (and increasingly mischievous) little person.  She has also figured out the core younger-sibling skill of getting on her brother’s nerves, when she wants to.  

Both kids have somehow become really good travelers.  We are routinely getting through five and six-hour car trips, or 12-hour flights,  without arguments, without roughhousing, and without drama. This has been a huge blessing, for us and for our fellow passengers. 

India (the person) was as happy as I have ever seen her when we were at the camel festival, and when we were tracking tigers.  All of our days in India (the place) have brought together many of the things that she loves most: being with family, traveling off the beaten path, being outdoors, meeting interesting people, looking at animals, and taking photos.  If she could run a little more frequently, and do some work which was helping people, particularly kids, she would have found perfection.

Generally speaking, I am always the most grumpy and maladjusted in our little group.  In India, though, I have been incredibly happy and relaxed.  Some of this happiness has come from getting into the rhythm of traveling together, releasing my hold on the professional world for a while, and embracing my role as Dad and travel companion.  This means holding Tallulah for hours as she sleeps and we drive around looking for tigers, and playing elaborate board games with Zola in the afternoon.  Some of the happiness is also from being here, and having my intellect and all five senses overstimulated all of the time.  Regardless of the reasons, it has been great, and has made me feel closer to my wife and to my kids than I have ever felt.

So, in answer to the question “how are you doing?” I think we are doing very well.  Thanks for asking.  India has been a wonderful part of our trip.  We look forward to our last week here, leaving for Agra tomorrow, and to Nepal beyond that.