Kid Questions, Answered

Several blog readers have told us that they are reading our stories with their kids.  So, I have been planning to write a post geared to what a younger audience might want to know about life in India.  Recently my high school friend, Julie (hi Julie!) asked if I would be able to do a Skype interview with her son Michael's third grade class in Omaha.  This was the perfect opportunity to get a list of questions from real kids!  Our conversation lasted about thirty minutes - 8:00pm my time, 8:30am their time. Michael did a fantastic job as interviewer and even though I could not see them, his thirty (yes, thirty) classmates were impressive in their ability to stay in tune with the discussion.  Well done Room 113!

Here are the questions I was asked, slightly edited to include a few from Robyn (hi Robyn!), Liam's dear friend back in Maine:

Do people wear clothes like we see in the US? If not, what kind of clothes do they wear?

Most men here wear clothes similar to what you would see in the US - button down shirts, khaki pants, etc. However, women here are often seen wearing saris, which come in a wide array of vibrant colors.

We saw your video on your blog trying to cross the busy street. How hard is it to get around since there are so many people in India?  What kind of transportation do you use? 

During a typical week, we don't travel too far and we are able to walk everywhere - to school/work, to the playground, and to the commissary at the Embassy across the street.  The boys also ride their bikes a lot.  

On weekends, we catch a taxi or auto rickshaw just outside the school gate to take us wherever we want to go.  Traffic can be really slow around New Delhi so we always expect it to take a while to get anywhere.  The school does have cars that we could borrow and drive ourselves but since traffic flows on the left side of the road and lane lines are really just a suggestion (that no one follows), we think it's better to leave the driving to someone else.


The taxis we take usually look like this:

And the ubiquitous New Delhi auto rickshaw which we take for shorter distances:

What kind of foods can you eat in India? 

We thought we would get tired of Indian food but we haven't yet.  We eat it a few times a week - lots of rice, vegetables, and spice.  The most typical food in this part of India is rice and dal (lentils). We love it!  Well Liam is not a fan, but he doesn't even like ketchup.

The boys especially like chipati - which is sort of like pita bread. Variations include naan and paratha.

 
Do you miss any foods from the US?
The boys don't seem to miss any particular food. They can still get a grilled cheese, peanut butter, french fries, and spaghetti. For breakfast, they have oatmeal or a toasted waffle with peanut butter.  One disappointment is that the hot dogs and pepperoni found here are not the same at home but those are two foods that we can live without for a few more months.  

The milk here is not what we are used to - it comes in a box that does not have to be refrigerated until opened.  We all look forward to farm fresh milk when we get back to Maine!  

Is it hard to communicate? What languages are spoken in India? Do you speak any languages other than English? 

The language in this part of India is Hindi.  We can speak only a few words (Liam is learning the most!) but most Indians learn English in school.  So, we can usually get by with English and when that doesn't work, hand signals can usually get us what we need.  At times it can be frustrating, but dealing with the language barrier is just a part of the overseas living experience.  

Do your boys play with different types of toys now that they are in India?
We packed a lot of toys in our sea shipment - puzzles, Legos, games, sports equipment.  In our apartment, we do have a playroom but it's a lot smaller than the one we had in Maine.  

Since the weather here is much warmer than at home, Asa and Liam play outside with friends every day after school right up until dinner time. 

Do you have TV? What shows do you watch?
Yes, we do have one TV.  The boys watch shows on Disney channel, movies on dvd, and videos on youtube.  Current favorites: Special Agent Oso, Jungle Junction and Mickey Mouse Club (that's basically the morning lineup) and Phineas and Ferb.

What holidays are celebrated? Do people celebrate Christmas?

The biggest holiday here is Diwali (which was described in an earlier post). And yes, some people in India do celebrate Christmas.  Our school community certainly does - we have already had three documented Santa sightings!

When are you coming back?
Our last day of school is Friday, May 27th and we will be back in the US during the first week of June.  We plan to spend lots of time with family and hope to see many friends too before we fly back to India on July 24th.  The first day of school next year will be August 8th.


For now, we are looking forward to a two week vacation in Thailand.  We are excited to have unscheduled time away from work and school and plan to spend many hours on the beach.  The first semester of this school year has really flown by, but we know that when we get back to Delhi on New Years Day, we will start counting down the weeks until our flight to the US!