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Thursday, 01 December 2011
Thursday, 22 September 2011
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Acacia's Class does "The Peace Book" (she is page 16)
I got to spend this past week being an Indian Studies teacher in the Elementary School. I had to laugh to myself that I have not even lived in India for 2 months but was teaching in the Indian Studies classroom. There is no way I could have made it through the week without the help of the assistant and the kind Indian guests that joined us in the classroom for the week. There were 4 ladies that came to teach the kids how to spin cotton like Gandhi did! There was also a potter and his wife that came to help the kids make diyas (clay candle holders) in preparation of Diwali (an Indian holiday on Oct. 26th that is also known as "The Festival of Lights").
I learned so much this week and felt quite honored to be in this classroom. I told the kids that I was definitely learning with them!
This lady in the picture above has been spinning cotton for 40 years!
The potter and his wife did not speak much English so we all smiled at each other a lot.
They have also worked with the school for many, many years. Some of the kids in the classes were helping me understand what they were saying in Hindi, ha!
The kids seemed to really enoy these different projects and I really enjoyed my week in the Indian Studies classroom. It was a busy and full schedule for sure!
A highlight was having Hava in one of my classes. She was so sweet and so excited to have me as her teacher. :) She was the perfect student (of course)!
So, all of our kids are really enjoying school and we are so thankful! I wanted to share the video below that Acacia's class put together in honor of "Peace Day" that the school celebrated last week. Acacia's picture is the last drawing in the book and you can hear her reading what she wrote. Cutie.
I also wanted to share both of the blogs from our girl's classes. Every teacher at the school has a blog and they do a great job of putting pictures and info on there for us parents.
Here is the link to Acacia's Kindergarten class
http://tthampi.esblogs.aes.ac.in
and the link to Hava's Second Grade Class
Saturday, 17 September 2011
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A hot and dusty auto ride with 3 squirmy little ones in our laps for at least an hour and a half in Delhi traffic in search of a guitar pick and case is definitely proof that my husband loves me. That was our Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago. Our kids make me proud so often on our spontaneous adventures in different countries.
My husband makes me proud daily...but on this particular day he succeeded with his incredible support of my new attempt to learn guitar. After years of wanting to take lessons I have finally begun.
We had the name of 2 different music shops and could not find either one of those but we did find this one! Success! It was quite busy and we figured that is a good sign so we waited for them to come up with our request of a guitar case. It seemed they were sending a "runner" to the basement or another store to find the case we requested.
A parade decided to go by outside the music shop....which worked out perfectly for keeping our kids entertained.
Not sure exactly what the occasion was but something was being celebrated (very loudly).
This lasted for quite a while...and thankfully when our mission was accomplished our auto and driver were still waiting for us alongside that parade...
Tolan was done and ready for dinner by this point...that's ok. I was too.
You can see David hold up the guitar case at the end of this video to prove our success in getting a guitar case...and it fit in our little auto rickshaw...squished behind our family of 5 in the back seat.
Most outings in Delhi so far seem to take MUCH longer than we anticipate. Whether it's because we have no idea where we are going or it truly is difficult to find things, the traffic is bad, we can't speak Hindi, we have 3 little ones OR maybe it's all of those factors combined! It is always an adventure. With each experience we learn. All of these "learning experiences" should add up to making the subsequent outings be a little "easier"...right?
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
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American Embassy School had the day off of school for EID which is a Muslim holiday. It fell on a Tuesday and so it was nice to have a day to get out and explore a bit of Delhi!
Our first stop was Lodi Gardens...which is described as "Delhi's largest green lung". It was large and we loved walking amongst all of the green.
There is SO very much to learn about India...so much history and culture that it can be overwhelming! In the midst of Lodi Gardens there were several Mausoleums built in honor of some really important people (did I mention there is so very much to learn?).
We had fun walking around and exploring each one...
Look at those smiles...and it was quite hot and humid out there!
Had to take a picture of this bicycle carrying this massive bag on the back.
We still aren't sure what was inside...
After Lodi Gardens we hopped in an "auto" (tuk tuk) and headed for lunch...
David had been craving South Indian food and so that is what we found...
and it did not disappoint!
Next stop was Dilli Haat to check out some local handicrafts...
The kids loved looking around this place...even in the heat.
We bought one of these instruments for 1 dollar. That guy who sold it to us could actually play it and it sounded great. We have not had the same success (yet).
I took this picture for David's Mom who was looking through a book about India this summer and got excited when she saw colored doorknobs in one of the sections about arts and crafts in India.
Cool lampshades from Rajasthan...
and for Tolan...they were also awesome hats.
Huge colorful umbrella...also from Rajasthan.
So, for every adventure "out and about in India" there are certain situations that you can either allow to frustrate you or you can stop and be thankful that you haven't always had to deal with that particular thing. One example is having to pay to pee....or for toilet paper. It doesn't cost much and it's usually always worth it (2 Rupees is about 4 cents). Realizing that most people in India don't have access to a toilet helps me choose the option of "stopping and being thankful".
However, if I choose to spit I could be handing over almost 5 dollars (200 rupees is $4.34).
In our 5 weeks here...I have learned to always carry the following:
toilet paper
wipes
bug spray
an umbrella
water
camera (usually the one on my phone)
small candy for beggars (this is definitely one of the hardest thing about "being out and about in India")
patience
and a...
flexible attitude.
God, give us eyes to see this colorful country as you see it. Help us not become blind to what is around us...people in need. Don't let the reality of the trash, germs and poverty get in the way of seeing things as you do.
One of my nephews spent the summer living with a Christian musician (Brandon Heath) in Nashville who has a song with the following words in the chorus...
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can seeThis is my prayer for us as a family while we are here in India (and always).
Monday, 29 August 2011
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We spent last night at an ancient fort in Rajasthan called Neemrana Fort. Built in the 14th or 15th century we felt like we had been transported back in time...
Our kids standing in the massive door that welcomes you into the fort...
Taking in the details...
This place was really beautiful with amazing views everywhere you turned. It was definitely not built with 3 year old boys in mind as there were also drop-offs everywhere you turned. Tolan did a good job holding our hand and definitely heard the phrase "Be careful" a million times within our 24 hour stay.
We had fun exploring...
and seeing what was around each corner and up every staircase...
Taking a break...
I love the use of blue paint that seems to be common here....brightly painted blue chairs surrounded by ancient brown buildings and lots of green grass.
The views were wonderful!
This lady in her "burst of red" was sweeping the grounds...
These green parrots are a common sight and we even saw a flying peacock. I had no idea they could fly and also learned that they are India's national bird.
David and I took turns zip-lining. It was one of the highlights of our time there. Such beautiful views during the 2 hour zip-line adventure.
One of the instructors showing us how it's done...
I wasn't able to get any pictures of David or myself on the zip-line but David did get a video of me on the last of the 5 runs. The link is below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=yVanA2Syw9s 
A highlight for the kids was the evening show complete with "fire-blowing". Yikes.
They even danced with fire on their heads.
This was a "Faculty Retreat" for the school and so there were loads of kids which made the whole experience very fun for our kids as well.
The kids got in on the dancing at the end of the show...
So fun!
We were all pretty when it was time to go home. We enjoyed these Indian swings that we discovered in one of the many rooms in the Fort (our last hour there)....perfect timing.
The company, views, ziplining and food were great. Unfortunately the pool was a shocking color of green thanks to lots of algae (didn't get a picture of that). We passed on the swimming this time around...maybe next time.
Pretty cool place to have a "Faculty Retreat" I have to say...
Friday, 19 August 2011
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India celebrated Independence Day last Monday and for that reason we had an extra day to our weekend. We were invited on a trip to Jaipur. This city, which ended up being a very bumpy 7 hour drive away from Delhi, is also known as "The Pink City". The majority of buildings are painted in a pink hue (a tradition started in 1876 when the city dressed itself pink to welcome Prince Albert and Queen Elizabeth II).
Jal Mahal...a palace in the middle of a lake.
So many people...everywhere. I am so impressed with these ladies riding sideways on the back of these motorcycles in dresses.
Jaipur is an artist's dreamland. I didn't realize this before going but it is a hub for textile printing, pottery making, puppetry, carpet making, gem carving, paper making and probably much more! Wow.
We went to one pottery place and met the artist and her family. They had a fire kiln in their backyard and a room full of beautiful pottery for sale that their family had created. Very cool.
One place I would recommend to anyone visiting Jaipur was this funky Peacock Rooftop Restaurant. The atmosphere was great (I personally loved all of the artistic details) and the food was delicious and cheap.
Happy kids.....ahhhhhhh.
Bursts of color are everywhere in India. There are bursts of other things too but more about that another time.
Women around the world amaze me...and inspire me.
Burst of yellow...
The Hawa Mahal....which we began calling the "Hava Mahal".
Mahal means palace...as in the Taj Mahal.
This building was fascinating to me. It looks so much bigger than it actually is but it's really just a facade. It is tall but actually very narrow. It was built so that the wives of dignitaries could go up and peek out of the windows down onto the street below and not be noticed.
So, we hiked up and pretended we were dignitarie's wives. It felt like the rest of India had the same plan that afternoon.
Peeking down...
Tolan checking to make sure his sister's don't have a better view than he does.
This place was built in 1799. It kind of felt like it.
Pretty view from the top...
After the Hawa Mahal we ventured on to The City Palace.
There are two huge sterling silver vessels of 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) height and each with capacity of 4000 litres and weighing 340 kilograms (750 lb), on display here. They were made from 14000 melted silver coins without soldering. They are officially recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest sterling silver vessels.[13] These vessels were specially made by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II, who was a highly pious Hindu, to carry the Ganga river water to drink on his trip to England in 1901 (for Edward VII's coronation) as he was finicky about committing religious sin by consuming the English water.
The above picture is one of those massive vessels.
Just a few pictures around town...
Acacia in front of one of the doors inside the City Palace.
Another door...
Acacia trying out a puppet...
This is a place that David's Dad and Uncle would have found interesting.
The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Maharaja (King) Jai Singh II at his then new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It is modeled after the one that he had built for him at the Mughal capital of Delhi. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved of these. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period".[1] Early restoration work was undertaken under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer for the Jaipur District.[2]
Checkin out all that Jaipur has to offer...
The humidity is all consuming and unlike Doha...there are not air conditioners everywhere.
Waving at our girls...
Sugarcane juice...reminded me of Kenya.
No idea what these were....except another "burst of color".
Our last stop in Jaipur before heading home was Amber Fort...
to ride an elephant!
Pretty exciting...
So, this next picture should be of us on the elephant. I will insert that once we get it from our friends who took it from their elephant.
David chatting it up with our friendly "elephant driver"?
What's ahead...
What's behind...(this tourist guy was taking a picture of us and I was taking a picture of them).
This guy was certain I wanted to buy this hat and followed us most of the way up the hill lowering his price with each step.
Former saffron gardens that were in the shape of little stars.
Our friends and their elephant
These ladies were stunning in their blue against the brown backdrop. They were eager to take a picture with our kids....as is most of India I've decided. Not so many blondies here.
The amazing thing is that these ladies are the "cleaning crew" of Amber Fort. So beautiful.
They requested I take a picture of their feet.
Walking back down the hill with the elephants.
Thank you Jaipur for the weekend away and for allowing us to experience a little bit more of India.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
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Today was a big day in the Beaty house! Tolan, Acacia and Hava were all at school! As you can see from the picture below Tolan was thrilled to be there. He is attending a little program called "Busy Bees". He loved his first day!
He didn't miss a beat when it was time for me to go...they were wise and had all kinds of fun toys set out for the kids to play with and to distract them.
Acacia started Kindergarten and is loving it! Her teacher grew up in Thailand at an International School and has an Iranian mother and Indian father. She is truly a third culture kid!
Hava is the "experienced one" of the 3 kids at going to school and has started off like a "pro"...
Outside of getting the kids settled into the school routine I am busy setting up house, still unpacking a few boxes, learning the ways of India, soaking up all of the color, patterns and designs that are everywhere!
While all of the kids were in school I took an autorickshaw (an Indian friend told me that is actually what the Indians would say instead of "tuk tuk") to a store called fabindia (which I first heard about a few years ago from a friend that had lived in India). It really is pretty fab. So many beautiful patterns, designs and colors on everything! I bought ONE lovely curtain to put in my kitchen window...would have loved to walk away with a lot more.
Also on my outing I bought mosquito repellent and these plug-in things for our house to keep the mosquitos away! With Dengue Fever and Malaria being carried around in those itsy-bitsy insects I do not care to have them as my guests. Today was also grocery shopping day. All fruits and vegetables that we buy have to be washed in bleach (or something similar). It is quite a process! However, we are really enjoying all of the fresh foods...especially the mangoes which are in season. They are amazing!
Each day gets a bit easier and we are settling into a routine with work and school etc.
We are so thankful that the kids all had such a great start to school.
We have some fun things coming up this weekend. I am going on a "Photo Excursion" to Old Delhi tomorrow evening and then the next day we all take off on a trip to a place called Jaipur. I don't know much about it yet but it promises to be an adventure! Will definitely be posting some pictures from both excursions. Monday is India's Indepence Day so that will be exciting (I am guessing).
Had to end with this picture of Tolan and Acacia on one of our autorickshaw(tuk-tuk is so much easier to say!) rides. I just realized today how much I have been getting ripped off on my autorickshaw rides, ha!
Sunday, 07 August 2011
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The kids and I had our first outing (without Daddy) this past week. We took a tuk-tuk (which the kids had been wanting to ride in!) to the Metro to meet up with a new friend and her 2 kids. It started dumping rain as we were riding in the tuk-tuk. The adventure had begun! I had one kid in my lap and my arms around the 2 beside me...since tuk-tuks are totally open on each side! Once to the Metro we took cover on the steps as we waited for our friends (along with many others as you can see from the picture above).
We eventually met up (thank goodness for cell phones) and headed to a place called Dilli Haat. I had heard about this place from an Indian lady on the plane on our way here. It is basically a market that has food and crafts from all of the different states in India. Pretty fun. Many were closed due to the rain but that didn't stop us from exploring and the kids having fun in the puddles!
My friend told me this is a good place to get spices. Unfortunately they were closed but I look forward to visiting again soon!
Acacia with a new friend...
I had a masala dhosa (South Indian cuisine) for lunch...yum.
SO much color in this country! I LOVE it.
Street food....
My 3 little troopers!
Back to the Embassy pool for some snacks and swimming...even with the rain it is still so hot and humid!
The kids love all of the opportunities they are having to get in the water!
On another note...school is starting this week! This past week all of the staff have been on campus getting ready for the year. One morning they welcomed and introduced all of the new faculty. The picture below is not a great one but is David up front (with his welcome garland) being welcomed to AES. There were about 30 or so other new people coming from schools all over the world....Egypt, China, Thailand etc!
Will post pictures of all 3 of our little ones as they begin school this week. We have excitement and some anxiety in the house!
Sunday, 31 July 2011
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INDIA!
India (and The American Embassy School) has given us a very warm welcome to Delhi! We were greeted at the airport with garlands for each of us. The kids loved that!
Outside our front door was a "welcome mat" made of colored rice. So cool!
And...our front door has our name on it in English and Hindi!
Our kids have been amazing. They have been eager to explore and try everything. Jetlag wasn't too bad this time around and so we have been out and about exploring. The picture above is at one of the playgrounds on campus inside a big Banyan tree (the national tree of India).
This is at a local shopping area called Khan Market...the kids wanted a picture in front of a tuk tuk.
The heat is about the same as Doha so far but with more humidity....yikes!
Barbie in India....she is everywhere!
So, before our shipment arrived we had very few toys. This pirate outfit was one of them and the kids have had a blast taking turns being pirates. They have been so creative with our empty house and so few toys....really fun to watch!
In keeping with the "pirate theme" Acacia made Daddy a birthday card with 3 little pirates on a boat and the card said "Arg Matey". :) So cute!
Hava also used her artistic skills to make Daddy a birthday card.
The kids spent 2 days in our empty house making things for Daddy's birthday. I loved seeing their creative juices flowing and how precious they were in focusing on making their Dad's birthday special.
We found a fun place to have lunch on David's birthday at Khan Market.
The food was yummy and the company great. Happy 37th birthday (in India) babe! I love you!
Rain and grass....2 things that we are not use to coming from the desert. We are loving both.
Some shots around The American Embassy School campus...
This waterfall and grassy area is right outside of our house...which is on campus.
This has become a favorite swing.
Tolan Wade being a ham...
Once the rest of the new staff arrived the Director and his wife had all of us over to their house for breakfast and a "What we love about India" talk. This is the front of their place and you can see another "Welcome Mat" made of rice in front of their door.
Took a taxi to church last week...and it's great because we can easily get a taxi right out in front of the school.
The taxi driver quickly became friends with Tolan.
Hava and I had just read a children's book about India and it told a story of a man keeping his lunch (chapattis) in his turban. Hava leaned over to me in the taxi and said "Maybe he has his lunch up there".
Hava and I went out together one day for some groceries and we got a kick out of this cow. Hava thought it was following us because every time we came out of a store it was right there!
The school took all of us new staff on a tour of Delhi yesterday and our first stop was a statue of Gandhi and the Salt March.
I have to say this was pretty neat as Hava and I had just read about this in a book as well and then to see it was exciting for Hava as she recognized it from reading about it and seeing pictures in a book.
India Gate....
a memorial to thousands of Indians who lost their lives fighting for the British Indian Empire.
Lots of people sitting around this area...visiting and
selling things....even asking for money if you want to take a picture of this guys cobra.
Gandhi is everywhere...and rightly so.
Our Delhi tour ended with a wonderful Indian meal at a place that had wonderful flowers. Marigolds are in season and we learned that the Lotus is the national flower.
Yes, it was delicious.
The kids asked me to take this picture
These 3 have been troopers! I am so proud of them. From Doha to Delhi and with a lot of other stuff in between...
Will blog again soon...there is much to write about.
Right now...I must unpack!
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Our summer started off in Canada with a quick overnight stay with friends who lived in Doha with us. The kids had a great time together and it was great to see the Sears again!
The kids had no problem picking up where they had left off over a year earlier in Doha!
Silly faces...
These were the best apricots!
So fun to see Katie and family again!
After a night in Toronto we headed north with another good friend from "Kenya days" to spend a week at her family's cottage on Jack Lake.
Awesome
The water was cool, clear and so refreshing!
Acacia
Nothing quite as peaceful as a ride in a canoe...even with 3 kids!
Love this!
David taking the plunge...
Smores!
Another "life goal"...get a canoe.
Thank you Jules for an awesome week!
On to Kentucky for the Beaty Family Reunion...
David and Daniel
Ice Cream at Sim's Drugstore...
David, Dad and Daniel...
David with his Mom and Hava...
So much fun with the cousins!
David's sister, Kathy, made these adorable dresses for the girls to wear on the 4th of July! Of course they loved them! So sweet of her!
We made a trip to Georgia to see friends who we hadn't seen in over 3 years. The Bledsoes became good friends of ours while in Doha and it was so great to see them again!
We loved St. Simon's Island! Greg and Sara were awesome hosts!
Then to see Dan and Sara and the kids...lots of fun memories!
We made a trip to Lake Cumberland with our good friends the Barkers. We had a great time even though we never saw the Lake!
More fun with the big cousins on July 4th!
Lots of fun memories made in the summer time with family and friends! So thankful for each and every one of them and the time spent with each!
libbybeaty
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- Name: Libby
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 9/26/2006
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About Me
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I live in New Delhi, India. I love God, my husband and 3 children. I have many interests...some of them are....travelling, sports, the outdoors, good coffee, learning to play the guitar, cooking...especially ethnic and vegetarian things, most types of art...but especially pottery and watercolors. I grew up in Kentucky, Kenya and Zaire (the Democratic Republic of Congo) and love learning and experiencing new cultures and parts of the world.
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Trying to document our little clan as we have just recently moved after 6 years in the Middle East and have now landed in India!
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Putting the pieces of the puzzle of my life back together after losing my sweet Mom and so thankful for the weeks we shared together.
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Soaking up time here in KY with my parents and missing my husband who is still in Doha...a lot!
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