Redefining Normal

We’ve been here for almost three weeks now.  Someone once shared with us when Priya was first diagnosed as being profoundly deaf that we just have to “redefine normal”  and this completely applies to our life here in India...

Some new normals include...

Eating lots of spicy food in our daily meals, so Priya is known to pick out and eat every individual grain of rice with absolutely no dahl on it.  Hudson has taken to the food especially the Indian sweets.

Living in a drafty house with no central heat in the middle of winter in the Himalayas, so we spend a lot of time outside in the sun which is warmer than inside or in front of our wood burning stove.

Residing in a cross-cultural environment where we are the foreigners, so Hudson is attempting to speak to his fellow peers in Hindi by using all sorts of strange utterances hoping that they will understand and Priya when approached by doting Indians, communicates by sticking her hand out and saying a firm “NO".

Walking the mountain trails to get anywhere, so we are learning how to get around on the trails with three kids and finally getting proper use out of our expensive kid carriers and Hudson is learning to trek.  He is excited about it as long as he can carry a “monkey bomb(large snap firecracker)”  in his pocket in case we have any perpetrators.

Taking bucket baths with bad water, so Hudson and Priya now cannot spit water at eachother in the bathtub.  I am sure the diarrhea will hit sooner or later.

I guess the not new normal is that we are doing this together as a family.  The last few weeks have consisted of adjusting to jet lag, figuring out how to live here and how to get things,  and Graham in a lot of meetings taking on a big leadership role here in the office.  An added bonus is that the tall(26,000 foot) peaks are in clear view this time of year. 

Losing the Battle With Jet Lag

When we walked off the plane Hudson’s first words were, “these walls are rusty and old.”  It was an old jetway and Hudson has a lot to learn about the developing world.

This last week of life has been a virtual whirlwind for our family, here is the rundown:

·         On Friday (Jan 8^th) we were told that we could not get an employment visas, but that our passports could be returned to us in time for us to leave as scheduled for India.

·         On Saturday (Jan 9^th) we moved all of our things into a 1-car garage sized storage unit.  Thanks to everyone who could come and help.  It was crazy in those few hours so it was hard to thank you each personally.  We could not have made the move happen so fast without each of your help.

·         On Sunday (Jan 10^th) we were able to finish up some odds and ends.

·         On Monday (Jan 11^th) we successfully departed for India. 

The flights went surprisingly well and we were able to keep cruising when we arrived a little late to Delhi and our driver said, “why don’t we just drive to Mussoorie tonight?”  So after a 15 hour flight we drove through the night and reached Mussoorie at 8am this morning.  Jetlag is taking over and we have all been struggling to stay awake so that we can have a shot at sleeping through the night.  Thanks to all of you for thinking of us and for praying.  We’re thanking God for a good safe journey to our new home on the cusp of the Himalayas.

After four hours of driving we stopped for chai at a roadside tea stall.  Our family is pictured with our driver, Mr. Sing.

Everett, Hudson & Priya losing the battle with jet lag in our living room.

Why Are You Going To India?

This video was prepared by the com. team at CCC and was used to help communicate our vision for returning to live in India.  We often are asked, "why are you going to India?"  I think this video scratches the surface in answering the question, why?  Of course it goes much deeper, but we are confident in our calling to be here and after arriving and settling in a little, it just feels right.  I am sure the challenges will  come and we'll keep you posted, for now we are excited to learn Hindi.


Thanks, Jay, for all your hard work on this video.  You do great work.