A little bit of India in London

We didn't plan on making a sidetrip to India during this study leave, but our second trip to London this weekend gave us a wonderful taste of a country that is now firmly on the list of places we would love to visit for real one day.

Ravi (a friend of 20 years from our university days) and Kavi (his fabulous wife), when they heard I would be solo with the kids all week, suggested we come down for a little adult reinforcement and fun this weekend. So we did just that, leaving Friday afternoon. At some point in the journey down to London, I marveled at the fact that just a few years ago, if John had to go out of town, I needed help with the kids for even one night. Now, I was able to take three kids from a rental home in one city in a foreign country, use various forms of transportation, and end up at the right place in the middle of an enormous other city mere hours later, no help needed at all. Most of the credit is due to time... I don't think I could have managed that trip with newborn or even toddler twins, and a lot of the credit is due to the kids themselves. They understand how the subway works, they know where to stand when waiting for a train, they move quickly when needed and don't seem to mind the occasional bag whacking them in the face (which poor Katie experienced at Kings Cross this afternoon) or foot squashed by a busy commuter (Liv on the same trip). So it feels like we've all come a long way!

So anyway... we arrived Friday afternoon, got washed up and had a quick dinner for the kids before heading to a party with some of Ravi and Kavi's friends in London. This was an Indian feast, with amazing north Indian food and music that had all of the kids dancing. At one point, two of the older girls started doing a Bollywood-inspired dance... and all of the adults in the room apparently roared when Jack said, jaw on ground, "WOW" as they started. He then did an apparently not-bad job of mimicking them, and clearly had a blast (I was out of the room with tired girls, but saw a bit of video from Kavi's mom and heard all of the other mothers at the party talking about it!).

Saturday took the kids to the park with Kavi, sons Adi and Ani, and her parents, while I worked like crazy to finish an overdue editing project. Then Ravi took his father-in-law, me, and Katie to the Indian market while Kavi and Olivia made a birthday cake for Jack's early birthday celebration. The market was magnificent -- full of unbelievable fruits and fabulous-looking vegetables I had never seen in my life. Ravi treated me to a drink of fresh coconut water, and then we watched as the vendor (with a VERY large knife) chopped it in half so we could eat the sweet coconut pulp inside. I also had a delicious Indian ice cream that tasted like a bit like sweetened condensed milk (in a good way, not in a tinned, processed way), and couldn't believe we'd have to go home and eat more (but we did!).

John was able to get an earlier flight on Saturday (initially he had planned to return Monday) and he was waiting for us when we got home (yay!). His conference went very, very well, and any worries I might have had at the begining of this trip about a professor of Buddhism spending his sabbatical in France (and England) have long ago been thrown out of the window. He has done meaningful research and networking and should continue to have interesting work to follow up on for many years to come (yay, take two!).

Not surprisingly, Kavi and Olivia's cake for Jack was amazing. June is such a happy month for us -- lots of cake and celebrations all month long.

 So our Indian weekend ended on Sunday with the most incredible brunch (one part was savory-type crepes with lentils and coconut chutney, and the other part was friend bread, almost like sopapillas, filled with spiced potatoes). Then I got my thrill when Kavi and her mom gave me a packet of Indian spices (fresh, real, aromatic, amazing spices), and the girls got their thrill when Kavi gave them their birthday presents early... traditional (and gorgeous) Indian saris. They took them off only for the return train trip home, and waited for a bath before putting them back on. They are still wearing them as I write!

Reconnecting with old friends -- and making new friends -- has been one of the unexpected highlights of the last five or so months. And getting a little taste of Indian during our trips to London has just added another layer of richness to this experience. Like so many other moments during this trip, we are feeling incredibly fortunate, and I think all five of us returned from this trip feeling very much loved, too.