Riding the Metro!

We went on an adventure to ride the Metro in New Delhi. Audrey needed to do this for her Environmental Studies class (EVS). We drove to Connaught Place (CP) in the center of Delhi. The Metro is an electric train that runs above the ground and in tunnels. It is very new and clean! Getting on the Metro was fun because you have to use a token to get to the train.There were special sliding turnstiles. When you drop the token in the slot the little doors open. The tokens cost 9 rupees each ($.18) to go 5 stops. Chauhan our driver went with us. It was his first time on the Metro too! We only waited a few minutes for the train.

On the Metro it is always crowded. There are millions of people! People are smashed like crazy and we felt like we couldn't breathe. Mom and Dad helped us move to a spot that was less crowded.

It took us ten minutes to get to Patel Nagar - our Metro stop. We went there to look for a special toy shop. We took a bicycle rickshaw to the toy shop but it was closed! We found another one, but it wasn't very good so we walked back to the station. Chauhan helped us get more tokens. The train was still crowded.

When we got back to our car we drove to eat lunch at the Turtle Cafe. Then we went shopping for a little while. Audrey bought a magic trick and Evan got a little Lego kit. Then we drove home! We had a good day.

Greater Noida Swimming Competition!

Evan and Audrey spent their summer in swimming training at Lotus Valley. They got their first chance to be in a swimming competition here in India! The competition was held at the Jaypee Greens Sports complex in Greater Noida. It was in an Olympic-sized pool! Our friends from Austin (and our driver) got to watch the races with us!

Audrey competed in the freestyle (50 and 100 metres) and breast stroke (50 metres). Evan was in his first ever races in the freestyle and breast stroke (50 metres)!

The pool was 20 feet deep (Evan found this out) and was 50 metres long. There were about 7 kids in each race (heat). You have to jump off a block when your start the race.

We had to wait a while for our races. All of the big kids went first. It was pretty hot in the bleachers, but there were fans. The fans were big and loud. They could cut your fingers off if you weren't careful! The bleachers were covered with banners to help shade us.

They both did a great job with the races. Evan got 4th place in his very first one! He had a really good dive off of the blocks.

This was Audrey's 3rd competition (1st in India). She won three medals: bronze for 50 metre breast stroke and bronze for 50 metre freestyle. She also won a silver medal in the 100 metre freestyle!

We met some new friends and had some free food. It was a long, hot day, but we had a fun time...

Riding on Roads in India

Driving in India is like swimming in water. It flows like a river. There are many objects on the road, like cars and buses (sometimes even elephants). The most unusual thing we have seen on the road is a cow. The farmers let them roam around and let them graze. This is why you see them everywhere. There are lots of funny vehicles on the road. There are three-wheeled Auto rickshaws. The driver has a pullcord he uses to start the engine. It reminds us of Dad's old lawnmower. There are also bicycle rickshaws. The last funny thing are the bullock carts. These are two-wheeled wagons pulled by water-buffalo. You sometimes have to drive around all of these things to get where you are going... There aren't many rules when you drive: Just don't hit anyone and just keep going.

Our Dad started driving us recently. He usually doesn't drive because we have a driver named, Chauhan. Chauhan is a very good driver. Now Dad can drive us to the mall when Chauhan is off.

On the roads here everything is opposite. The steering wheel on our car is on the right side instead of the left. And the cars on the road travel on the left side instead of on the right like back in the USA. Riding in a car can be very exciting here because everything is so different and you never know what you are going to see next!

Austin Friends!

Our friends from Austin, Mazzy and Artie have been visiting us here in India for 2 weeks! They came with their Mom, Miss Jennifer, and her friend, Miss Nikki. We got to show them a lot of the things we like here! The railroad museum and the Qtab Minar. They got to visit Jaipur and went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (We haven't even been to see the Taj Mahal yet!) Our friends got to try some good Indian food (although we did enjoy some pizza and macaroni and cheese while they were here too!). Miss Jennifer and Miss Nikki brought us lots and lots of Macaroni and Cheese and Peanut butter from the US. Now we won't run out!

This last weekend we took a trip to Mussoorie on the train. It is high in the mountains so the weather was cool. Mazzy and Audrey got to take a horse ride and we went to see local Buddist and Hindu Temples. Artie and Evan learned some magic tricks! We had fun with our friends! We will miss them when they go back to Austin, Texas. : (