Playing Violin

Right now I am taking violin lessons. I have just learned the first song in Book 1. Twinkle Twinkle. You can see the video of me playing on here. I have always wanted to play violin. My parents gave me my violin for my 7th birthday. When I first got it I didn't know how to tune it or use the bow. Now I know this and I know how to rosin the bow, tighten the bow, and play A scale. These are the rhythms I can play- Tugga Tugga Stop Stop, See Ya Later Alligator, 12sh4, Pineapple Strawberry and Up Pony Down Pony. I plan to take violin lessons here in the US until December. I want to take my violin with me to India and take lessons there. It is different to play Indian violin than Western violin.
One of the differences is that you hold it differently. In Western violin you stand up and you hold it between your collarbone and your jawbone. In Indian violin you sit down and rest the scroll on your ankle bone and the lower bout you rest on your chest.
Another difference is in Western violin you call the strings EADG, but in Indian violin you call the strings Pa Sa Pa Sa. This means the strings are tuned differently and they make a different sound.
One last difference is most of the time in Western violin people play music that has already been written by famous composers. In Indian violin people like to be more creative and play songs that have not already been written.
I am happy that I play violin.

More visa talk

Tonight I am making the list of all the documents I need to apply for Flip's entry visa. The whole application process has to be done in steps. So tonight I completed the first 2 steps.
1)the preparation step. This is when I finally decide that FB has been checked thoroughly and no one else is posting anything for the night. I have sent all possible emails including the random links regarding "32 things you can make with cardboard boxes" that I promised another mom. Very neat link, btw. The girls' sleep music has been put onto Marvel's old iPhone- a project I have been thinking about since our old iPod died about 4 months ago. I have soaked in the bath, started next week's grocery list, and done just about everything I can think of to procrastinate. This is when I click on the visa website.
2)the list step. I filter my way through the Travisa website making a list of all the documents and copies I need to make. Our computer has recently moved downstairs into the main room. While I love it down here, all our files and our printer is upstairs. So this time around I have learned to bring it all downstairs- yes the printer, too. The last round I got stuck at the "Print this Page" point. I tried saving to a zip drive, Marvel tried Dropbox, I tried contacting the help page, but finally I just picked up our printer and lugged it downstairs. Surprisingly simple, practical and effective.
But tonight, in step 2 I pause. Among the applications and documents, I must submit the paperwork to renounce my daughter's Indian Citizenship. Being a mother is hard. Being an adoptive mother is full of heartbreaking decisions and realities. I am not sure why this certain phrase has hit me so hard. This ball started rolling 4 years ago when we put in our application to adopt from India. We will always do our best to keep our girls tied firmly to India, but with this simple renunciation application I feel as if I am making the decision to deliver the final and official cut from her homeland.
And again I see the irony, renouncing her Indian Citizenship to earn a visa to take her home.

Gearing and Not Gearing Up

Remember how when you were a kid and summer vacation seemed so far off? But now that you are an adult, you can’t believe how fast another school year passes? This is where I am stuck- between a kid’s impatience and an adult’s reality. We leave for India in January. That means I have 2 ½ months until I pack up my family and shift us halfway around the world. Sometimes I can’t wait to go, I want to leave right now. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about when I will have time to go through the two shoe pocket holders FULL with little girl hair bows, pencils, stickers, rocks, last year’s Halloween tattoos, take apart erasers, and so many other tiny “treasures” our renters do not want have to look at for the 8 months they reside in our house. Then there is the practical side of me. The experienced traveler part who knows that it is going to be INSANE the last few weeks before we go and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. We can’t pack our bags now. We can’t pack up our house now. We can’t say our goodbyes and get in our last minute hugs. That has to all happen just before we head out.
So what can I do?
1. Paperwork. The necessary thorn in my side. When we started the adoption process Marvel applied and received his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status. This status can be given to folks whose parents or grandparents were born in India and held Indian citizenship. It can also be given to folks who used to be Indian citizens themselves. Star is in process of becoming an OCI. We are just waiting for her passport and her OCI book to be returned to us. I, by falling head over heals in love with and marrying an OCI, am a Person of Indian Origin (PIO). All these acronyms and statuses are important because OCIs and PIOs do not need visas to enter India. And we can stay as longer than 6 months without registering as a foreigner at the police station. Very useful, as anything that involves a queue, paperwork, and government in India takes 10 times longer than humanly possible. So what about Flip? The only one of our Setty clan who was actually born in India. She has her Indian passport from when she first came home in 2009. After we received our official adoption decree from the county here, we were able to apply for her US passport. BUT… she has not received her Certificate of Citizenship. So she can not renounce her Indian citizenship and apply for OCI status. So our Maharani is the only one that must apply for an entry visa, register as a foreigner and then travel to Delhi to renew her visa after 6 months. Funny how things work out, right?
Tickets. Marvel and I are in a debate right now- to stop or not to stop. He wants to push right through to Mysore. We are going to be tired, so might as well get to our final destination and then pass out. I want to stop and recover for a couple of days- fatten up on some croissants in France or soak up some Vitamin D in Qatar, then push on to Mysore. I don’t think we have much of a choice as the Fulbright dictates the kind of flight Marvel can take. It must be an American carrier and we must pay extra for our stop over. So we wait for the head of the travel department at the Fulbright office to return from holiday and inform us of our choices. Then we will shell out the $2000 a person flights are coming in at right now. Yes, donations are welcome. J
2. Study Kannada. Star and I are trying to learn the Kannada alphabet. Although it is incredibly daunting. We are still on the vowels. I love it. I love the curves and the loops. Marvel  told me a long time ago I would love to learn it. Star mocks me in true Setty fashion every time we practice writing and I declare, “Oh I love this one!” or “This one is fun to write.” She just rolls her eyes and says, “They can’t all be your favorite.”
3. Eat. I am emptying our cabinets. I know it doesn’t make sense. We still have 2 ½ months but I refuse to buy any more ketchup! We will go to McD’s and get packets if we need to. I am now face to face with my enormous surplus of dried lentils and beans. Why did I think I needed all those? But, as God as my witness, every last bean and lentil will meet my pressure cooker before January. Be wary of dinner invitations to my house in December, you know what you will be eating- microwave popcorn and bean soup.

My First Post

Our family is planning to move to Mysore, India in January 2012. My dad, has a Fulbright to go to India. Me and my sister are planning to go to school there. Right now my mom and I are studying Kannada. We are learning how to write and say different letters and words. I think many people will speak Kannada in Mysore.
This is not my first time to India. The first time I went to India I was 15 months old. The second time I went to India I was 4. I went to preschool for 3 months. The third time I went to India I was 4 turning 5. We went to India to meet my thangi. She was born in Pune. The fourth time I went to India I went for a wedding for my dad's cousin. This will be my fifth time going to India and the longest visit.
I looking forward to going to school in India. I think it will be different and fun. I am going to start off at a school that I went to before when I was 4. That school has expanded from preschool to eighth grade now. My thangi and I will go to the same school. I am also excited to move away from the cold. We live in Michigan so in January it will be very cold. We have our summer clothes in a box ready to take to India with us. I am not looking forward to getting dust in my eyes from the road.