These are a few of the scariest things...

We are surviving. Our house is a mess and I refuse to clean it. Our feet are sticking to the kitchen floor. There is practically no food left in the house. And if that has not turned you off from dropping by-our toilet bowl is taking on a rare shade of pink. The cleaning lady is due to come next week. I think I will leave her a few protein bars and a couple tanks of oxygen to make it through our home.

But tonight was a special night in the Setty household. I actually cooked so I will need to be brief so I can tidy up before taking on the mountain of clean laundry taking over my basement. Here are the happenings since my last post.

We received Flip's PIO. There was some major confusion over just what kind of visa she could get. The Travisa Outsourcing company who handles visas for the Indian consulate did not know how to process her as an Indian born child who was adopted by Americans and then heading home to the motherland. After being denied OCI- on the day we were due to leave for Florida for a week- we applied for PIO. Thankfully, we received her PIO card and guard it with our lives.

Marvel got word today that he passed all his prelim exams in 3 months! Candidacy here we come. He has an article to be published in The Journal of Global Studies on Education. I can not say it enough- I am so proud of him. He is a Marvel.

The girls are wrapping up all of their activities and saying good bye. Both of them have expressed worry over moving to India and I am so glad they are able to verbalize their feelings so we can talk about it. Star will miss her friends a lot. And Flip is worried there will be people with shakers and people dressed up in animal costumes- basically the scariest things she can think of without knowing what to expect. Marvel and I are doing our best to be realistic and excited at the same time when we talk with them.

We think we have found a place to live. It is in a high rise gated community. Totally not our style but we are hoping there will be lots of other families to meet and befriend. Plus it has a pool! I will have the address later for those of you who want to bless us with some letters of love.

We leave on the 28th in the evening.

The song that bothers us the most

You would think that we would be thinking about packing, but we are not. This song bothers us:

Do They Know It's Christmas?

It's christmas time
No need to be afraid
At christmas time, we let in light
And we banish shade
In a world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At christmas time

If I could say a prayer
And pray for the other ones
At christmas time, it's hard
But when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well, tonight thank god it's them
Instead of you

And there won't be snow in africa this christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
When nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's christmas time at all?

Here's to you - raise a glass for everyone
Here's to them, underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's christmas time at all?

And there won't be snow in africa this christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
When nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's christmas time at all?

And there won't be snow in africa this christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's christmas time at all?
Do they know it's christmas time at all?

--

Because water does flow. For example: the Congo, the Nile, the Niger, the Orange and the Zambezi. So, next time you here that song you will probably think of me and my mom.