Good Sleep, a Passport, and Some Shopping

Ok, ok.  I know, we took a day or so off from blogging.  Let's not beat around the bush; we were TIRED!  We had been functioning off of 4-5 hours of sleep per night and we just couldn't do it anymore!

So, we got some good sleep and are now feeling MUCH better.  I'm sure we'll feel just right as we prepare to come back to the US!

This morning, after many phone calls and much planning, our passport arrived.  It was hand delivered by a man that worked at the Children's Home.  He flew here Saturday night, dropped it off this morning (Monday) and will be flying back to Bhubaneswar tomorrow.  We will attempt to have Jada's medical visit tomorrow and will finish up with her visa appt. on Tuesday.  After that, we should be ready to go!

Yesterday we had our best shopping experience to date.  We took a Tuk-Tuk (I'll try to include a picture of one) to Dilli Haat, a local market where the item's makers have booths and sell their crafts at very reasonable prices.  We spent an entire day there enjoying the many craft stands and even eating some "street food."  There were children there on field trips from school and were fascinated by foreigners.  We were asked multiple times to sign "autograph books" that contained signatures of foreigners the kids met at the market.  They were so sweet as they asked, "What country?  Please sign. Thank you!"   It was awesome.  

We also bought a cell phone and a prepaid SIM card to use while we are here.  We noticed that everyone seemed to have a cell phone and talked on it quite often.  Well, we now know why.  It costs approximately $1 to talk for 60 minutes on a cell phone here in India.  It also costs approx $1 to call the US from a cell phone here.  The cell phones are all ones you reload with money/minutes and there are no contracts.  So, after needing a phone on multiple occasions (and having to beg the use of one) we just bought our own. We picked up a nice little Nokia for $30 and an Indian prepaid SIM card for $2 and loaded it with another $2.  So, for $34, we have a cell phone to use any time we visit India!  Amazing!  It has come in SO handy already!  Also, this phone can be taken to any country and used in conjunction with a prepaid SIM card for that area.  This gives you a local phone number to use while you are there and makes traveling around easier and more safe.  Anyway, you can tell that I was excited about this purchase (mostly because I was the "phone beggar" before we got this)!

Miss Jada has some fat feet.  The shoes we brought for her would not accomodate her girthy (for an Indian girl) feet, so we wanted to buy some shoes for her.  We stopped by an Addidas store and other "normal" stores and the prices were no different than in the US.  So, after some investigating, we walked about 20 minutes to another neighborhood to go shopping in their local market area.  This is the place all the locals shop for, well, everything!  We found a shoe store that sold Crocs, Nike, etc. but they also sold some "off-brand" shoes.  We purchased some cute little shoes for Jada for 179 rupees, or about $3.50.  There is such a gamete of pricing here in India depending on where you shop.

Today, we travelled by Tuk-Tuk (our new favorite way to get around Delhi) to Kahn Market.  It was a busy outdoor marketplace with both cheap and inexpensive items.  The restaurant recommended to us was no longer in existence, so we decided to go all out.  We partook of the newest "craze" and had a slice of Chicago-style pizza!  We each got a piece for about $3.50 total.  Jada ate some,  but really wanted some bananas (her food of choice).  We then located some cans of Diet Coke because I was having a little DC withdraw.  We stopped at a bookstore and picked up a heartbreaking book about the life of street children in India and also some Indian children's books for the kids.  By that time, Jada was pooped and we made our way back home.

So here I am, on the bed typing this blog entry, as my two girls are fast asleep for an afternoon snooze.  Maybe I should wrap this up and join them?!   I think I just might!

Lots of love from Delhi!

Jeremy

PS.  Ask Diana about her "comfort level" in India these days.  I'd say it's up there a ways, considering she dropped some pizza while at the Indian market today, face down on the ground, and just blew it off and ate it!  She's ready to move here!  :)

Some new pics from the past 2 days:

Girly-girl?!  No way!! ;)

 

Jada loves her doll and purse!

 

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

 

 

The Mighty Tuk-Tuk

 

 

 

At Dilli Haat