FLORIDA! May 9, 2011

   Home sweet home! Finally, we made it. We left Delhi at 4am (Delhi time) on Friday. Sajel was wide awake when we left the hotel and promptly  fell asleep when we got on the plane. Three and a half hours later, we made it to Dubai. We cleared security there and were soon on the next flight (the LONG one). Again, Sajel fell asleep after take off- she liked watching out the window :)! She and I slept for about 4-5 hours and then we had a little play time. She stood in front of our seats and entertained us. She was so happy and very good the entire time we were traveling. After a few hours, she slept some more and so did we. We arrived in New York around 2pm (NY time)!!!!! Immigration was a breeze. We though we would be waiting in the immigrant line for a long time, but they let us go to the US citizen line and the man was very kind and very quick! We ended up waiting for our luggage close to an hour- so much for the quick immigration clearance. We then cleared customs and made the long haul to drop off our luggage again, check in for the next flight, and then back through security. JFK security is not efficient, not quick, and not nice. Luckily we had a five hour lay over- we made it to our next gate in three and a half! By then, I was feeling very sleep deprived, a little under the weather and hungry. We ate and soon were Florida bound! Guess who slept the whole way??? Finally, we reached Tampa at ten fifty pm. Mom, Steve, and Jodie were there to greet us! We headed to the cars and the dreaded first ride in a car seat for Sajel. She cried a little, but did better than I expected. Marcus threatened to "drive up and down 75" because the road was so smooth! Haha! He missed driving. We soon made it home to our dogs! Ahhh- so nice to be home.Sajel was scared of the dogs, but soon was giggling at Maximus. Emmitt's going to have to wait awhile before she decides he's OK. I laid her in her crib around one am and she went right to sleep- not even a whimper. I am  so lucky. We all were not too far behind her :)
    Our first day home, we had some friends over and just spent the day relaxing. Sajel played with Brianna and I even got a picture of them kissing! Brody also came over and was teaching her how to play with all her new toys. It was nice for her to play with kids. Sunday was Mother's Day (my first) and we spent the day with family and played in the pool. She got to play with her cousin Priyanna and she showed her how much fun the pool can be! Marcus cooked both days- you know he couldn't wait to cook! We were all pretty tired and went to bed early. Sajel has been sleeping in her bed and continues to impress me with how resilient she is. Life is good, we have finally brought Sajel home............Love, Sajel's Mom

Delhi May5, 2011

     Good news- we are coming home! We went back to the Doctor today and received medical clearance. While we waited, we met another family adopting from the US. They asked Marcus a lot of questions and he was able to save them some time with his expertise! We then went off to the Embassy. Yesterday, it was so crowded and chaotic. Today, a lot of the windows were closed and we had to go to the very last window to find someone working. We gave our paperwork and they asked us to wait. Marcus was sure this was good news, and he was right. We waited less than 1 hour and our visa was issued! WooHoo! While we waited, we listened to people get grilled by the embassy workers. They do not play games! We had a late lunch and let Sajel have a late nap in order to keep her up tonight. It definitely worked. She is wide awake (it's midnight here) and singing away! I have been all packed since about 8:00pm. I had intended to nap a bit before we leave (at 1:00am), but I am way too excited. This trip has been amazing, but I am ready to come home. See you all soon.......Love, Sajel's Mom

Delhi May 4, 2011

     We are getting close to finally coming home! Marcus arrived back in Delhi safely with Sajel's passport on Sunday night. Monday we relaxed. Tuesday we had our Doctor's appointment for medical clearance. They would NOT accept the TB test from the Bangalore hospital :(  I almost had a mental breakdown, but I held it together and spoke strongly to the doctor about how upset I was. He did become quite nice and said he would make sure to sign our medical clearance asap on Thursday so we could take it straight to the Embassy. Then, he asked if we had the waiver form for immunizations. What? Apparently, you can get a notarized form waiving immunizations until you return to the states. This is available only from the Embassy. Guess how many shots poor Sajel had to have? SIX! The doctor gave the shots himself and Sajel screamed and screamed. She then reached for Marcus and let him hold her for awhile (I was the evil lady holding her down for the shots). When we spoke with another family (using the same adoption agency) they knew about the waiver because the agency gave them the information. Needless to say, there has been zero consistency or help from our agency. ARGGHHHH.  As soon as we left, Sajel was fine. She had no fever and didn't act any different. We attempted to contact the Embassy to change our appointment- with no luck. So, we went for our appointment this am and made it through the initial line and were directed to the immigrant line. One person told us to go to the US citizen line and then we were told to go back to the immigrant line. At this point, I'm getting a tiny bit angry. We make it through another security check and someone gave us a number. When we told her what we were there for, she directed us to window #26. Down a walkway and through some doors and finally we see window #1. So we made our way all the way to the other end to find window #26 and were told to wait until our number is called. I was looking around realizing that I am at the US Embassy with an appointment, waiting for my number to be called (which wasn't even close) and I am a US citizen. This doesn't seem right. Luckily, Marcus went to another window and told them what we were there for and they took his papers and sent him to pay. This took a few minutes- there was a sign that read "I am on break and will be back shortly". Marcus and I were cracking up! It was 9am! A break already? Finally, we paid and were called to a window very shortly after. The man was very kind and we explained about the TB test and when our flight was leaving. He told us to bring the clearance tomorrow so they could get our visa issued! Wooohoooo!
     We came back to the hotel and had breakfast  buffet in the dining room. They told us it was complimentary with our room and I thought Marcus' eyes would pop out of his head! Free breakfast??? We have been paying for food when free food was available??? I am afraid he will prolong our stay to take advantage of the free buffet. Please- can everyone convince him it's time to come home? :)
     Looking forward to seeing everyone very soon.......Love, Sajel's Mom 

Delhi May 1, 2011

     We finished off our trip to Jaipur on Saturday morning with an elephant ride up to Amber Fort. I definitely think this and the Taj are the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Sajel was excited when she saw the elephants- she was pointing and giggling. When hopped on and up we went. Sajel was holding on to the metal bar on our seat and thoroughly enjoying herself, as was I. At the top, we went into the fort and a guide gave us a tour. This place was amazing. It was built in the same era as Taj and was totally breath taking. The fort has a wall that extends around the city 72km! As we were leaving, we came upon some snake charmers. Sajel instantly started bobbing her head, she just can't help herself- music plays and she's ready to dance! We sat on the carpet with the snake charmers and had our picture taken. At one point the snake started turning around and the charmer put the lid on his basket and started on a different snake. I do believe that snake was not cooperating. We backed up a little after that :) ! Next, we toured City Palace. This was another beautiful place. We then had a nice lunch and headed for Delhi.
     Another 5 hour car ride and Sajel was great. She promptly went to sleep for the first few hours and Marcus and I were also able to catch a little nap. I started to notice the driver turning the air on and off occasionally (does this sound familiar?). It seems our air conditioner was working part-time. Either way, we made it (a little sweaty) back to Delhi and settled back into our hotel. Sajel ran around like crazy and played alot. I gave her a shower (no bath here) in the evening and she screamed and screamed. I guess we'll have to wait for home to enjoy bath time!
     Marcus was up at 0430 today and off to the airport. He arrived safely in Orissa and (EUREKA) has Sajel's passport in hand! The earliest he could get a flight is this evening, so he's hanging out at a hotel until then. They have day rates for hotel here :) Sajel is happy to be able to run around and has been doing plenty of just that! We are staying in today and I have been trying to do a little packing. I can't wait to come home on Friday!
Love, Sajel's Mom

Jaipur April 29, 2011

     Today we received word that the orphanage received Sajel's passport! Marcus has been calling and e-mailing some "bigger fish" to try to make it happen and I think it really paid off. An e-mail was sent to the passport office on Monday telling them to promptly dispatch if all paperwork was in order and....they did! Yea!!! We already scheduled appointments with Embassy Doctor and Embassy interview for Tuesday and Wednesday in hopes this actually happened. Flights home were another story- we will be leaving on Friday the 6th (earliest we could get a flight). The 'not so good' news- SOMEBODY booked a flight that leaves at 0400! WHAT! That means we have to be at the airport at 0100. Not nice Brown Bear, not nice.
     We decided to come to Rajastan while we waited. The plan was to leave on Tuesday, but I was not up for 5 hours in the car. I woke up very nauseated- Marcus blames the snap peas I was eating the day before, but I think it was the coke on ice he gave me. I was good as new the next day and off we went.
     Wednesday we drove to Jaipur. We had  one minor delay about an hour and a half in....the car stalled. Ummm.....it was hot. Our driver got out (looking like he knew what he was doing) and popped the hood. He made several phone calls and went back and forth starting the car, stoppig the car, turning the air on, turning the air off...Is anyone else worried? Never fear, we made it (without air) to a garage down the road. About 30 minutes and 3 Indians later, we were back in business! How come we can't get our cars fixed that fast at home? I was impressed, I thought there was no way we were going to have a happy ending after that first stall. :) Meanwhile; Sajel was an awesome traveler as usual! We arrive in Jaipur and stopped for lunch. Sajel was really enjoying the live music. Our guide met up with us after lunch and we took a tour of Jantar mantar (a solar observatory) and Palace of the Winds. Both are in old Jaipur which is known as The Pink City. It was really beautiful. We also saw the cannons being fired at City Palace during a coranation of a new king. We couldn't go into City Palace due to the celebration, but we will visit there tomorrow. That evening we checked into our hotel and I had an amazing bubble bath. I so miss bath tubs. I thought Sajel might enjoy bubble bath also, but I was wrong. :(
     Thursday, we left at 0800 and were off to Rathambore (another 5 hours). Our driver warned us that we had about 1.5 hours of bad road we would travel on and he was not kidding. Ouch. We arrived at Tiger Moon Resort (not so much a resort) and had about 2 hours to rest before our 1st safari. Sajel was ready to play because she slept through the worst of the drive while Marcus and I were jostling all over the place. Noise and movement put her straight to sleep. Marcus played with her while I took a little nap. At 3:30 we left in our open-air jeep, 8 adults and 1 toddler. I know the other passengers must have been inwardly groaning when they saw us. Sajel showed them- she was an angel. She loves animals and was very excited to see the deer and monkeys. We were very lucky and spotted a tiger about 30 minutes out! Marcus managed to get a picture as well. Then, he got up and was growling very loudly. We were very far away and uphill, but it was amazing how loud and effective a growl can be. We also saw lots of birds, a snake and some crocs! The last hour was very bumpy (ouch) and Sajel slept. :) When we returned to our cabin/ concrete tent, we battled the crickets for bed and bathroom space and went too bed early.
     Today we woke up at 0600 to go on our 2nd safari. Everyone told us how lucky we were to have spotted a tiger on our 1st trip. The people with us had been out twice with no luck. Luck was on our side again...we saw tiger and bear tracks and followed them. Seriously people, I think I can work for Nat Geo now. We came to a spot where other jeeps were and the tiger was very far in the distance. We could barely make him out. After sitting and sitting and sitting (ok, maybe I can't work for Nat Geo), another tiger was spotted and we quickly took off! Sajel was very excited and was tolerating the sitting around better than I was. The 2nd tiger was much closer and easier to see. She was sitting in the water. We watched for awhile and then she went into her den. Success! Marcus was able to snap another tiger shot and we were very happy. Guess who passed out when we hit the bumpy road? We had brunch and headed back to Jaipur...another 4.5 hours. When we reached the hotel, Sajel ran around like a maniac! She had a lot of energy and we had a nice afternoon in our room. This evening I tried the bubble bath again.....and she played and laughed. It was such a great moment for me. Great ending to a great couple of days. We tour Jaipur some more tomorrow and then head back to Delhi.....Love, Sajel's Mom

Delhi - April 24, 2011

     Happy Easter everyone! We are here in Delhi, relaxing and enjoying the day. Marcus has found a kabob restaurant we may try tonight. I caught him staring at a picture of a steak on the Internet! I laughed so hard, I was crying! Poor guy- he's so over lamb and keeps asking "where's the beef?". He said he misses his dogs and can't wait to get home and cook some meat curry :)
     This week we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. There really are no words to describe the Taj. I'm so glad we were able to go and experience it. Marcus went when he was 11, but I think he appreciated it much more this time. Don't worry- we have many, many photos! The drive there was about 4 hours- we left at 7am. We did stop halfway and had tea and snacks at a hotel/ shop. Sajel slept most of the drive and was an angel while we walked around in the heat and posed for photo after photo. We also went to a marble shop to see how the detail work is done (it is still done by hand today). Next, we drove by the Agra fort and took a few pictures (we needed to feed Sajel so we didn't walk thru). Lunch was next. Marcus had "the best lamb curry I've ever tasted" and Sajel and I enjoyed naan and bhindi curry. The drive home was also 4 hours (it felt like 8!).I really enjoyed the scenery. I saw camels,an elephant, monkeys, tractors, rickshas and lots of people and traffic! Sajel slept about half the time and seemed to enjoy the car ride the other half. She likes the constant bouncing around and also enjoyed the scenery. She was laughing and having a good time the last hour or so of our drive. We are so lucky; 2 year old + 8 hours in car + heat should = disaster!
     Friday, Marcus called to see if there was any new news on the passport. They still had not received it and Friday and Saturday = NO MAIL! AHHHHH! So now we are still waiting, waiting, waiting. We went to Red Fort in Old Delhi on Friday evening and were attacked by an army of mosquitos- the Fort's defenses were no match! Needless to say....we did not stay long. The highlight, for me, was the bicycle rickshas ride to the Fort. WOW! Sajel also loved it- she was laughing and seemed right at home :). We also went to TGI Fridays on Friday. The music was playing loudly and Sajel was dancing in her seat! She had a great time and so did we :)  Saturday we relaxed- nothing too exciting.
     Our next move will be on Tuesday. We are leaving for Rajastan to see the Pink City on elephants and go to Rathambore Park for a safari! We will return to Delhi on Saturday and hope for some news of a passport. Internet access will be limited for this next trip, but I'll post an update on our return. I love you all....hoping to return home soon......Love, Sajel's Mom

Delhi April 20,2011

     We have officially been in India for 4 weeks today! Our return flight was scheduled for 1 week from today, but we won't be on it. Marcus arrived in Orissa Sunday evening and went to the passport office on Monday. After lots of waiting and jumping around from room to room, he finally got an answer...."The file will not be reviewed until the 30th day" - which is Thursday the 21st. Booooooo! This was NOT the answer or news we were hoping for- not even close! So, Marcus raced to the airport only to have to wait about 5 hours to catch a flight back to Delhi. Poor Brown Bear :(
     Tuesday, we relaxed and walked around the mall. The mall is attached to our hotel and it's nice and cold! We also spent a lot of time trying to figure out our next move. We're still not completely sure what that will be. We did go do some sight-seeing in Delhi today. We went to Qutb Minar, Humayun's Tomb and Lotus Temple.  Everything we saw was amazing! Tomorrow we will go to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. I can not even fathom how beautiful it will be. I think we will probably stick around Delhi until Tuesday and hope our passport comes. Past that- we just don't know. After we finally receive the passport, we will have to see the Embassy Doctor and go to the Embassy to get her Visa. This could take, at least, a few days. So-here we are, 4 weeks in and just thankful we are waiting with Sajel.
     Miss Sajel: she is definitely a 2 year old. She runs, laughs, plays and tests me every chance she gets! She always tries screaming as her 1st choice to get what she wants, but that doesn't work with me :) She is starting to understand this and stops crying fairly quickly when I move her to a corner. I believe she was always picked up whenever she cried in the past.The big fight we continue to have is the shower. She would like very much to be the stinky kid! I hope when we get home and I can give her a nice bubble bath this might improve. For the most part, she is very happy. She giggles so much now and it is such a joy to hear! She gives kisses, blows kisses and is saying a few English words (and lots of Oriya words). I am so glad we are here with her and can't wait to bring her home.  Love, Sajel's Mom