Travels with Saheba September 5, 2008
Posted by KG in India, Traveling, Wife.2 comments
The most popular woman in the greater Aurangabad area last weekend was my wife. Everywhere we went, she turned heads. Local children were rendered speechless. Grown men clamored for her photograph. Teenage boys followed her around every turn, and ignoring the beautiful surroundings repeatedly asked for the favor of one moment of conversation with her.
If I were exagerrating, I guess that would be funny. But it’s actually no exagerration – more than one person was yelling loudly until the moment they saw the wife, and then went silent; we were followed up hills and into caves by groups of rail-skinny teenagers, all trying to gawk at the white girl; we did pose for more than one photo with groups of people we don’t know and will probably never see again. And since it’s true, it actually only started as amusing. After the fifth or sixth time hearing someone yell “Foreigner! Ma’am! Firangi! Photo!” we started the stiff-arm, please-no-photos routine. You’d probably get annoyed too.
Our driver explained that most of the folks following us around were people who had only seen Caucasians on television. That I can understand — but what I don’t understand is the indiscreet fascination. One person out of the scores was polite about it, telling us in halting Hinglish that he’d never seen a real white person, had never left Maharashtra, and wanted a picture to show he’d met one. Not that polite necessarily means true, but it’s better than yelling “Which country? Picture!,” I suppose.
None of this is reason to avoid traveling to the Indian boonies. Just be prepared to deal with curiousity that’s a bit… direct.
Three Days Away September 4, 2008
Posted by KG in 1, India, Photos, Travels, Wife.add a comment
On the first of our annual Labor Day weekend trips. (Having your anniversary coincide with a three day weekend: Smart!):
We went climbing all over Daulatabad Fort Monday, just after seeing the tomb of Aurangzeb and before the fake Taj. That was day three of our trip, after Ellora and Ajanta. Three days away from the city, our chance to see the other 90% — or is it 75% — of India, the rural, agrarian side that’s not evident in Mumbai.
Many a word could be written about the trip, but instead, here’s me showing off some shots from the new camera.
We Spent Our First Wedding Anniversary… September 2, 2008
Posted by KG in India, Travels, Wife.add a comment
Climbing a medieval fort in beautiful rural Maharashtra. With some other ancient sites added for good measure.
More photos to come!
God Bless Ornery Old Women August 21, 2008
Posted by KG in Calcutta, Family, India, Travels, Wife.3 comments
We got back from Calcutta Sunday, and I’ve got some great pictures to show from my trip. Unfortunately, our home internet is being a bit difficult and we’ve been busy. To tide you over, here’s a poorly lit picture of my wife in a sari, with my grandmother and one of my many, many aunts. (I’m still trying to figure out the camera settings…)
When I asked my grandmother what she thought of my wife, she replied curtly: “I like her more than I like you!”
South-siiiiide July 1, 2008
Posted by KG in Monsoon, Mumbai, Travels, Wife.add a comment
This Sunday we finally managed to explore part of south Bombay. We had a lot of fun, walking from Churchgate to Nariman Point, and then up to the by-then-closed Crawford Market. Of course I don’t have that many photos, as this was also the Sunday I forget to charge my camera battery. So someone remind me to steal some pictures from my wife when I have a chance. But for the curious, here’s a picture of the wife next to the Mahatma:
The verdict: south Bombay is pretty. And ugly. And utterly fascinating, kind of creepy, opulent, dirty, welcoming, and alienating. Sometimes all at once, but usually separated by a few yards.
Needless to say, we had a great time. We got home late, with filthy feet and sore legs. I’m anxious to do some more exploring, but we’re taking small bites at this point. Trying to do more would probably leave us, well…
Exhausted.
On the News Front February 5, 2008
Posted by KG in FS Life, Wife.2 comments
For that 1-2% of you who for some reason read this blog and don’t know, I have a wife. She’s a pretty great wife, all things considered. All things such as the fact that she lives in Seoul and I live in Washington D.C. We’re pretty used to that arrangement, though not fond of it.
The wife also keeps a blog, one that’s a lot less about pop culture and and a lot more about foreign cultures. But you knew that, right?
Anyway: as the wife has already written, we’re nearing the end of our separation. I’ve been more or less silent about my emotions during the post wedding limbo period. To break that stoicism for a moment: I was almost… no, I was absolutely elated when I heard that the pieces are moving and that we’ll see each other soon — and, for the first time in our married life, not be rudely separated after a few weeks of togetherness. Blah blah learning to live together blah blah change in routine blah blah adjusting blah blah blah. I won’t have to say goodbye this time.
That said, I am a bit troubled by how I received the good news (”Wow, so soon. Better start doing more situps.”).
There’s No Place Like November 21, 2007
Posted by KG in Etc., FS Life, Family, Traveling, Wife.2 comments
It’s not just the retailers that have decided the holiday season starts sometime around Canadian Thanksgiving. My client base has as well.
Over the last three weeks, the volume of “welfare and whereabouts” calls (AKA W/W’s, and I have no idea why the slash is there) I’ve taken has increased exponentially. For the uninitiated, these are calls from concerned family or friends asking for the Department’s assistance in finding their loved ones. The stories vary from the tragic to the comic, but share a common aura of despair and sadness. Why the sudden increase? It’s a feeling in the air, I guess: the year’s winding down and people are noticing the empty spots in their lives. Maybe calling the State Department is a last ditch effort — an attempt to fill the missing chair at the table, or at least definitively push it in for another year.
Believe it or not, the Department takes these calls very seriously. No matter how improbable success is, I respond to every request, even if it is with the worst possible news. That’s part of the gut-wrenching side of ACS work; it’s not our place to tell families “maybe you don’t want to hear from X,” only our job to pass the messages along.
It feels like there have been more tears on the other side of my phone of late, more franticness, more manic breathing and screamed entreaties. It’s all I can do to just listen, quietly, and explain my limitations all over again. But in a year of doing this, I’ve learned that there’s a big difference between a happy ending and an ending, and we only have limited ability to decide where a closed case falls on that spectrum.
All work-related angst aside (kind of), I’ve been doing my own reflecting. And believe it or not, it’s good thoughts that pop up. In three hours I’m on a train north to see my parents and sister. In 30 days I’m on a plane west to see my wife and mother-in-law. Life’s not perfect, but I’m doing everything in my power to move it towards happy. For that inner strength, part inherited and part learned over many tough years, I’m truly thankful.
Happy Thankgiving!
36-24-36 October 30, 2007
Posted by KG in Food, Wife.add a comment
What amateur, single cook doesn’t try to woo prospective partners through making dinner? I’m not ashamed: I’ve done it. Hey, it’s part of why my wife seems to like me so much. But I’ve never gone as far as preparing actual aphrodisiacs. Primarily because I don’t know how to shuck an oyster (the shame!) and can rarely remember what other foods stir the passions. Turns out there are plenty of books out there on that topic. But that’s not (exactly) what this is about.
Sunday evening I think I managed to woo myself with a side dish. The main course and veg (rosemary crusted pork medallions, lacinato kale sautéed in bacon fat) were good, but my mashed potatoes made me swoon. I had seconds and thirds — which is unusual for me, especially with starches. Like a beautiful woman, the key was in the proportions: 16 new potatoes, one head of garlic, 1/2 cup room temperature heavy cream, four tablespoons unsalted butter, one tablespoon fresh minced rosemary.
When planning my dinner aloud with my wife, she made her jealousy abundantly clear. She loves mashed potatoes more than most, and after the recipe turned out successful I elected to taunt her over email about it. She took it well, all things considered. At least better than I did. The labor put in to dinner Sunday night was atypical, a special occasion dinner, and I felt the absence of someone to share it with in… rather specific ways. My visceral reaction (”Damn, these potatoes are… sexy!”) brought some sub/semiconscious thoughts into focus. The wife would undoubtably have showered me with affection for that dish alone. And though I doubt I’ll have any need to prepare special meals for her as a seduction tool when we do live together, that potato recipe is one to remember. (Insert obligatory burning calories comment here.)
One last thought: seriously, why haven’t I been eating kale all my life? That stuff is delicious!
More Than Rocks September 21, 2007
Posted by KG in Honeymoon, Wife.2 comments
There’s a small pile of rocks about 8,000 feet above sea level on Whistler Mountain, British Columbia. It’s one of many — inukshuks, each telling the world “I have been here.” What makes this particular pile of rocks special is that it is ours. Inspired by the scenery, we left the established path and scrambled to our own private overlook. The day, her smile, and my mood were golden. We arranged rocks there: “We have been here. Together.”
Each day of our trip was a treasure in its own right, but of all the memories of our honeymoon (or at least Honeymoon Pt. 1), I find that moment particularly poignant, preserved in amber in my mind. It comes back as a saccharine smile, enough to nauseate the cynics out there. Or remembering that we were together and now it hurts even more that we’re not (and I thought that was impossible…)
Since it probably won’t stand the seasons changing, I’m going to leave our inukshuk here as well. A website is a marker for memories that everyone can see: “This thing happened, I was there.” It’s as permanent as things get now, and I don’t want to forget that we were on top of a mountain, happy, beaming, newly married and acting like it. I’d like that marker to be in place forever.
M, I miss you.
