CWG and A Tale of Two Pools

India, and more specifically New Delhi, is in the midst of a crisis regarding the Commonwealth Games, due to begin next Sunday.  What are those, you ask? In short, The Commonwealth Games (aka CWG) are an international sports competition for the countries that were once part of the British Empire.  Seven years ago, New Delhi became the first developing country to win its bid to host CWG, chosen over Hamilton, Ontario.

Since we arrived in New Delhi two months ago, the lack of progress on the ambitious venue construction and renovations to existing infrastructure has been front page news just about every day.  Monsoon rains that stayed unusually late and caused tremendous flooding exacerbated the problems including wide-spread Dengue.  Last week, there was a story on NPR's All Things Considered which raised awareness among the folks back home (click here to listen). There was so much money (an estimated $6.6 billion) invested and much hype that India might even outshine Beijing's showcase during the 2008 Olympics.  Now, we share in the disappointment and frustration that those in charge could not effectively manage this project and keep the promises made to the people of India.  It seems truly unfair that all of this money was spent to create sub-standard athletic facilities for sports that most citizens of this country will never have the luxury to play.

While the story of the Commonwealth Games is deeply disappointing, it does not represent how everything works here.  But at this point, many of us just want CWG to be whatever it will be and then, history. 

So this weekend, Asa played t-ball (Go...Yankees?!?) and we helped celebrate a 5th birthday in the afternoon and a double birthday (28 and 30) much later that night with great food, great dance tunes (yes!) and lots of really nice people, many of whom think that India is a find place to be for now, despite its frequent absurdities. Also, it seems the rainy season might finally be behind us and if that's true, we shouldn't see another wet day until get back to Maine in June. Crazy, right?

Here are some photos of the boys in "our" two pools.  One on the AES campus, and the other across the street at the American Embassy.  The boys have progressed so much in their swim skills in these two months.  We packed six sets of water wings in our luggage that are now obsolete.

Asa hangs on every word his swim teacher has to say:

Liam, working hard to join his big brother in level 2:

Liam freezing when lesson is over:

Asa, not freezing:

 

Our Sunday routine is to have breakfast across the street in the outdoor dining area with a few other AES families.  Breakfast is true American diner fare and quite tasty.  Afterward, now that the sun has returned, we float in the pool for a couple of hours.  This morning, Asa swam the length of the pool for the first time and Liam is not far behind. 

Asa jumps in after Sunday breakfast:

And then, needs a rest:

Liam, powered by bacon and cream cheese, is determined to swim only in the deep end:

Someone who has lived overseas for many years asked us what a typical Sunday was like for us in Maine.  I think my response was something like, "basically the same, we just traded the necessary chores of home ownership for time in the pool".  We are looking forward to the next several months of Sundays.  Many adventures planned!