Boys in (and out of) the Bubble

It was a delightful weekend.

Friday night, Jonah played poker off-campus in the Malcha Marg neighborhood with about 30 of the AES men. He didn't bring home any cash but it was a fun opportunity for him to get to know more of our colleagues and hang out with the guys. What's more, by the end of the night, Jonah says he finally understood how to actually play Texas Hold'em.

Saturday, Asa had his first t-ball game. Even though he is playing for the Yankees, he had a great time and seems very amenable to being coached and hustling for any ball with which the batter makes contact. In the afternonon, the already sweaty kids ran around campus with two other boys, all with their lightsabers (thanks Uncle Matt!), on the hunt for an elusive Darth Vader.

Later, Asa and Liam had swim school, lessons taught by high school students. Liam's teacher this week - who was subbing in for a sick classmate - was calm and sweet, Australian accent and all. He would have been happy to float on his back all day, as long as she was holding him. Asa's teacher is a super-cool dude who hails from Italy. "Will Julian be my teacher every week?" This could be Asa's first man crush.

After the athletic sessions were finished, we ventured out for our first family ride in an auto-rickshaw. We didn't notice the poster over Jonah's shoulder until we saw this photo. At first, I thought someone had been peeking in the window, then remembered we were in motion when this was taken:

Our destination was Khan Market which is fairly upscale for Delhi. Many of the stores are very nice so there are no bargains to be found. The mission was to let Asa spend some of his birthday money on a couple of puzzles (now up to 200 pieces!), and then find him new Crocs to replace the ones with a broken strap. Missions accomplished. Liam fell asleep on the ride there, snoozed through the shops and even the ice cream, and woke up when we got back home. He's good like that.

Here is a video clip of our trip to Khan that I took just after we passed by the Gandhi Museum. Asa wanted to know if the man who assassinated Gandhi was "Darth Maul bad".



In the evening, two ninth grade girls took over the helm and we went out on the town with our upstairs neighbors. We ate dinner at a hole-in-the-wall place which served amazing - and cheap! - South Indian fare and then wandered to the rooftop of a bar nearby for a nightcap.

This morning, we woke up to buckets upon buckets of rain falling from the sky. Our new Sunday morning routine has us ordering breakfast across the street at the US Embassy restaurant at about 9:00. Since we were not going to be denied pancakes and bacon, with puddle boots and umbrellas, we made the short walk and had a satisfying meal. Afterward, we met up with another AES family at the school gym where we set up an obstacle course and watched three boys and one two-year-old girl release their syrup-induced energy.

In the afternoon, I was off to a baby shower in the Vasant Vihar neighborhood with about 30 of the AES women. Jonah and another dad flying solo brought the combined three boys to the National Rail Museum, just a few blocks from school.



So after this busy and fun-filled weekend, I find myself pondering the question I get quite often: How does it feel to live in a bubble?

Because in reality, don't we all live in a bubble?

It's true we live on campus, and we really don't have to ever leave. Yes, there are walls and guards and gates but this does not mean that we live in isolation. I am still searching for the best way to answer the question so for now, I'm liking this bubble just as much as all the others I've lived in over the years.