Money

It's been about four month since we moved here to India and although there is plenty of things that I can complain about the one thing that I cant complain about is the currency used here. Recently the Indian Rupee has varied anywhere from 47-50 rupee per American Dollar. It is usually pretty easy to do quick conversions in your head to see if you think you are paying too much for something. Such as the 8 dollar pack of Oreos or 12 dollar package of 6 slices of ham. (lunch meat)
What I like most about the currency here is that the paper money has the denominations are distinguished from each other by color and size. The 5 rupee bill is green and is the smallest. While the 1000 rupee bill is the largest I have seen and is red-ish. I have heard that some people occasionally mistake 1000 bills for 100 rupee bills. I though have never had this issue. This is probably because I rarely get 1000 rupee bills since they are difficult to use. If you want to use a 1000 rupee bill at most shops you better have about 900 rupees or more in merchandise. Otherwise the shop keepers give you dirty looks and ask if you have anything smaller.
The only complaint about using money here is that many places do not keep change in their shops. I have received small candies or chocolates instead of change. The norm is that one candy equals one rupee. While I do not get my change back I do get candy so I guess that makes it ok.
In other news a storm is sitting off of Bombay right now so it has rained all day long and will most likely continue to rain for the next day or so. Fun. Because of the storm, the temperature dropped a degree or two which means that every one is now wearing sweatshirts and coats. I however still roam the city in my shorts and t-shirts. Because I still think it is hot. Ok, that's all for now.

Trip to the zoo

A little while back I took the boys to the local zoo with a friend of ours and her children. We had a pretty good time. We arrived around 1030 am which is when the zoo opened. As our driver pulled the car into the drop off area in front of the gate, we were followed by a pack of 8 or so young children who immediately started to beg from us while we attempted to get the kids out of the car. Believe it or not, it is difficult to get 4 kids out of an SUV while being hounded for change. I attempted several times to stop the kids from bothering us while we walked to the ticket booth but I failed miserably. Surprisingly Nathan was the most successfully when he screamed "This is MY daddy!!" to the kids who were trying to tug at my shirt. Luckily when we entered the gate the children did not follow. Although I usually ignore beggars here on principal alone, (even acknowledging them will make it worse the next time they see you. And they will remember a white guy.) I really can't stand it when I have my kids with me because I am trying not to loose them while also fending off the beggars.
The zoo itself was really nothing to write home about. we saw approximately 9 exhibits while walking the 1/2 mile or so to the elephant area. (this is where the kids really wanted to go) out of the exhibits we saw, over half of them did not have any animals visible. Out of the exhibits that did have animals, 3 were different kinds of deer and one was a tiger which was hidden in the undergrowth of the pen and barely visible. The exhibits were so spread out that at one point the kids asked if there was any other animals while walking between two exhibits. When we finally got back to where the elephant area, we found out there was no elephant in site. I don't know if it was not there at all or just hidden from view. The elephant area was rather large with a wooded area and only a path for the elephant to follow around the exhibit.
After finding that there was no elephant, we then had to walk back to the front of the zoo and I had to carry Nathan after he refused to walk back. During this whole trip I slowly discovered that our group was as much as an exhibit there than the rest of the animals. We were stared at, pointed at, and laughed at while they were pointing. I really don't mind this at all. We were the only white people there. Actually, the kids were the real attraction. Little white kids turn heads everywhere we go. whats annoying is that people will grab your kids and try to take their picture. They will do this even if you don't know whats going on. I was walking while carrying Nathan and Alex and his friend Rowan were slightly behind me. I suddenly noticed that Rowan wasn't with me anymore. A family had grabbed her and was taking her picture. Immediately I went over to where she was and yelled at the family and walked off with Rowan. People here have no problem doing this. It is not only annoying but a little scary. You need to be aware of where all the kids are 110% of the time. Most of the people here are innocent but I don't trust any of them.
After we left we were again hounded by beggars while waiting for the car. I gave one little girl an Oatmeal Raisin cookie which I was sure she would have thrown away since they are usually only interested in money. But, she ate it, and I felt that I should have given her two. That's all for now.