Pool Prank!?

Only 26 days until I teach my first Zumba class (but who's counting!?) so in my spare moments I am either practicing my routines or listening to my songs on my ipod.  Today I got to thinking, "You know what?!  I should go sit at the pool and listen to my music.  There's no reason I need to stay couped up at home!?"  With that, I packed my pool bag with my Zumba choreo notes, my ipod, sunscreen, a few rupees and my sunglasses and left for the pool.

I hadn't been at the pool too long when I started to think..."Boy! I sure would like an ice cold Diet Coke about right now and come to think of it I'm a little rumbly in my tumbly so maybe I shall order some lunch as well?!"  While I waited for my little shnacky to arrive I hummed along to my tunes and mentally practiced through my routines.  When a shadow formed in front of me, I opened my eyes to see the pool waiter holding my sweating glass of Diet Coke and my Club Sandwich (fit to feed a small army!)  Before I dug in like a starving refugee, I thanked the waiter and paid my bill.  I continued to munch my lunch and had just put down my plate when a new shadow arrived.  This time it was not a member of the restaurant staff it was a young Indian boy.  I would have guessed about age 12 (although he told me he was 16?!).  Mind you we have five pools.  Yes, count them....FIVE pools to choose from and there are a million pool chairs scattered all over the complex and this boy comes and sits right down at the waters edge next to me in my pool chair.  No biggie but I thought it was a bit strange.  I mean you could sit anywhere and I was at the "upper pool" specifically because usually there is nobody up there.  He was humming a happy tune and as he plopped down next to me he asked me, "Where are you from?"  I told him, "America."  He said, "Oh!  I like Americans wery much!"  "Nice!"  "You have a nice look, Ma'am!"  "Ummm..Thanks?!"  Then he cast his eyes to my plate sitting next to me.  I had eaten most of 3 out of 4 sandwiches.  He commented, "They have delicious food here?!"  "Yes.  I like it very much!  Would you like to have my last sandwich?  It's too much food.  I haven't touched it and I'm too full to eat it."  Without skipping a beat he was devouring the last sandwich like a hungry lion.  We exchanged pleasantries.  I said, "No school today?" to which he informed me that he had "sports" today.  (Not exactly sure what that meant?!)  "What sport?", I asked.  "Futbol!"  "Oh, cool.  My boys like futbol too."  I asked him to guess how many kids I had.  He gave a good guess of "3" and when I told him I had four kids he looked around and asked if they were at the pool too.  "No, they are at school."  I found out that his younger brother was with him and swimming in the indoor pool (although I never saw the brother and am not convinced that he was really there swimming or that he really had a brother at all?!)  Supposedly, he's lived in Banaglore for 5 years and came here from London although he was born in Bangalore.  His mother lives in Kerala (another part of India) and then he said something about his Aunt and told me he was supposed to meet her but he lost his money.  He looked very sad and forlorn as he asked me, "Ma'am you have any money?!"  I lied and said, "No."  He commented on my cell phone, "That's Apple?"  "Um.  No.  I think it's a Samsung.  Oh.  Nope.  It says LG."  "It's expensive, Ma'am?  How much?"  "Oh, Brother.  I have no idea?!"  (Even if I did I don't think this was an appropriate question nor one I felt like I should answer.) 

Then he commented on my sunscreen.  "What's that?!"  "Oh.  Sunblock.  See how I have all these brown spots?  They are called freckles.  I get a lot of these when I'm in the sun and if I don't put on sunblock my skin will turn really red.  I get burned and it hurts.  So that helps my skin not get too burned."  He picked up the bottle and flipped the lid open and said, "Ooh!  Smells nice."   "Go ahead.  You can try some if you want."  He took a little dab and said, "I like it."  We chatted about other things like WWE (unfortunately, I am not up on the current wrestling circuit so he did most of the talking and I just listened.)  Apparently, he's a BIG fan!  Then every once in awhile he'd divert from what he was talking about and he'd make some random comment like, "You have a nice look."  or "I like how you look."  Which was all very awkward and I would try to divert the conversation back to school or wrestling or anything not related to my BOD!  ARGHHH!

No matter how hard I tried the conversation just got weirder and weirder.  At one point he just blurted out, "I want to kiss you, Ma'am!"   "WHAT?!"  "Yes.  I want to kiss you Ma'am."  "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"  "Please Ma'am.  A lip kiss."  "WHAT!?!?!  You are crazy!!   Noooooo, Sir!"  "Why?!  I just really want to kiss you on the lips.  A lip kiss like Titanic."  "Titanic?!?!   The movie?!"  "Yes. They lip kiss.  It was very nice."   In a desperate attempt to try to change his perky mood I said, "Oh yes. That was a very sad movie.  Lots and LOTS of people died!"  This did not curb his enthusiasm at all.  So then I told him, "No.  I only kiss my husband."   "Nightly?!"   "Yes, Nightly and he would be very upset if I kissed someone else."   "Love Marriage, Ma'am?!"    "Yes, LOTS of Love!"  (Quick interjection about him asking, "Love Marriage".  He was simply wondering whether I had an arranged marriage or not.  Here in India if you do not go the traditional arrangement route they will say it was a "Love Marriage".)  Then he asked,  How long have you been married?"  "14 years this summer."  If he had still been finishing my sandwich...he would have choked as he gasped and said, "14 years?!  You could be my Mom!!!.....Kiss your Son!"   I think I let out a big guffaw at that point - I mean it was all so ridiculous and he was so persistent.   I felt like someone should come leaping out the bushes at any moment to point out the hidden cameras catching this bazaar situation LIVE on tape.  But nobody jumped out to say, "Haha!  The joke is on you" and so the craziness continued!  He informed me, "I really like Americans.  Especially white ones, like you."  and he added ,"I do not like black people."  Horrified I said, "What?!  God loves us all!  I am always telling my kids that it doesn't matter what color your skin is or what color your hair might be - then I tapped my heart with my hand and said, "It's what's in here that counts."  Puzzled he looked at me and said, "So your husband is black!?"   Again, I think I burst out laughin!  He missed my point entirely and he didn't let up on his quest for a kiss either.  Begging.  Pleading.  I just kept saying, "Nope.  Absolutely not.  No kissing!" and he kept saying, "But I would be so happy!  Just only one kiss?!"

Finally, I found the distraction I was looking for when I said, "So aren't you going to go swimming?!" and he looked around like, "Oh yeah!  You're right!  That's what I came here to do!"  He went back to his happy little humming tune that he arrived singing and said, "Yes!  I AM going swimming!"  Mentally I was thinking, "THANK GOD!  Yes!  Go for a swim!!!!"  I said, "So nice meeting you, Anderson."  He extended his right hand towards mine and as we shook hands he said, "You too, Jen!" and then he KISSED the back of my hand!  That little sneaky varmit!  He may not have got his LIP kiss but he got A KISS nonetheless and he was as happy as a pig in poo.  And like that - Poof!  He was gone.  Vanished.  By the time I got my wits about me at what had just happened I stood up to see if I could see him walking to the indoor pool to link up with his "supposed" brother but he was gone.  I have no idea where he went.  If he had a brother or if any of his stories were true BUT in the future I have decided this whole situation could have been avoided!!!!  You know that old saying, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach?!"   Next time.....I will NOT offer to share my lunch.  I think that was Pandora's Box today and now I think I shall go and kiss my husband b/c afterall - We DO that NIGHTLY!!!! ;0)  Sweet Dreams All!

Old Fashioned Butt Kicking!

Wow!  So, two of my friends took me mountain biking with them this morning!  WHAT AN ADVENTURE and a good old fashioned butt kicking!  Forget going to a spinning class - I was taking part in a real life mountain biking excursion!!!  Near as I can remember I don't think I've ever been mountain biking.  I mean I've ridden atop a mountain bike but the bumpiest terrain would have been going up the curb to get back into my driveway in MN and in MA when Matt and I go bike riding it's always a family affair.  You can't go terribly far with four little ones in tow and the terrain is always easy-peasy.  Well, today, Yvette and Mallory totally took me out of my comfort zone on a bicycle and it was GREAT!

I borrowed Yvette's husbands bike.  Yes, I am THAT big or he's just THAT small....all depends on how you look at it ;0)

So, I met Yvette at her house.  Her driver piled our bikes into their Innova and then we made the trek to Mallory's house.  Mind you, Mallory lives just a short bike-ride down the street from us but crossing the road to her house....well, today we didn't feel like looking death in the eyes so we opted to NOT cross the road by bike.

Once we met up with Mallory at her house, I began to wonder if I was in over my head.  I told her, "I hope I'm not going to be a liability?!  I so don't know what I'm doing!"  She's this totally fit and adorable woman.  With all the "right" gear.  She strapped on her camelback and clipped in her shoes as I stood by looking at my zumba tanktop and my Nike sport sandals.  Yvette also looked very official with her awesome PINK bike shirt with a snazzy little pocket on the back to safely store her cell phone.  How clever!  I was rummaging around my house trying to figure out what I could put my cell phone in.  Honestly, if I had access to a fanny pack - Today would have been the ONE and ONLY day in my life where I would have sported it proudly!  My shorts didn't have pockets.  A backpack would be a bit of overkill and if I lodged it between "Me Ladies" (which I do from time to time....keeps the cell phone in close reach and nice and safely tucked away) but I figured a mountain bike ride through the backwoods of Bangalore....well, My Girls might get a little sweaty and I'm not sure how the cell phone would deal with the salt factor!?  SOOOO!  I decided I could leave my cell phone at Mallory's house. 

After a quick tutorial on how to shift the gears on my bike....We were off!!  Zippety Zip - we were out of her neighborhood and bombing through the backroads of Bangalore.  Within only the first few moments of riding we reached what appeared to be a broken down bridge at the edge of a rambling poo-pond.  You think I'm kidding.  Wow!  NASTY!  Mallory told me she knows a guy that actually FELL in when he did what we were about to do.  GREAT!  This was not looking good for this balance and strength challenged Lady.  BUT!  One by one, we hoisted our bikes up over our shoulder and then with calculated footsteps on the broken rubble of the bridge and dooky water rushing parallel & below us...We all managed to cross the green stank reservoir and thank God nobody lost their balance and ended up going for a SWIM! :/

Then we came to the rice paddy's.  Mallory hopped off her bike to figure out the simplest and least soggy manner of getting across the bog.  There were hawks EVERYWHERE which made us think two things...."Mice or Snakes?!"  Luckily, we didn't see either of those two creepy crawlies and just witnessed the mighty birds hunting.  Mallory & Yvette gave me some good tips about how to cross the rushing water as well as how to get through the rice paddy....KEEP PEDDLING & GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN!  Apparently, that helps you not to get stuck.  Well, they didn't have to tell me twice!  As running is to Forest Gump - Peddling was to Jen Weimann - I peddled and peddled for my life.  God knows I did NOT want to have to abandon my bike seat and put my feet down and WALK it.  Then I might have actually seen snakes or mice....so I just kept peddlin' and my little heart was working overtime and I MADE IT!  SA-WEET! 

Then we reached a steep embankment where we had a  "get off your bike" moment in order to push our bikes up the incline and after successful completion of that we were then heading down a bumpity old dirt road.  We encountered local women who were IN the poo pond with their cows (I think maybe they were washing them?!)  We also bumped into a shepherd with a bunch of goats.  I had my leg in my best karate kung-pow position in anticipation if one of those goats started to get any wild ideas and came at me with their little billy goat horns.  They would have met the Jackie Chan end of my shoe!  Hiiii-Yaaahhh!

Once we came to the end of this road we were out in the busy Bangalore traffic.  Had to wait on the bridge for the trash truck to pass.  Mallory took this moment to share another tip,  "This is probably the most dangerous part of the ride.  Stay as far left as you possibly can (they drive on the opposite side of the road here).  Be aggressive.  If you have to YELL so people know you are there...DO IT!"  (I've decided we will all be equipped with a bike bell on our next ride!  Hehe!)  Then ZIP!  We were in the thick of it.  Right into the village traffic!  Luckily, it went surprisingly well.  While I was thinking I was going to get mowed down by a big Tata Truck - what ended up nearly being my demise was a big ole black "Leroy Brown" DOG!  He came out of one of the shops with a vengeance.....barking and chasing Yvette & Mallory and then realising, as all God's critters do, that in the circle of life - There is always a weak link and darn it all - I was THAT LINK!  ACK!  He was RIGHT on my heels - I think I even felt his doggy breath making my leg hot and warm as he got ready to sink his canines into my calf and then POOF!  Just like that, about 4 Indian men that were hanging out next to the shop started yelling and called the dog off.  PHEW!  I totally thought I was going to be the next Weimann family member headed to the hospital for rabies shots.

After that close call the rest of the ride was fairly uneventful - I was just battling the beast that is ME!  MAN!  When you are not used to doing a new type of exercise - WOW!  I was working hard; however, I was also getting to experience Bangalore in a whole new way and what an amazing experience it was.  It's completely different when you are riding in the back of your car or even on the back of a motorcycle but actually being right down in the village with the people!?  HOLY MOLY!!  You have time to actually exchange a friendly smile, say hello "Namaste" or a cordial wave. 

It was sooo cool!  Experiencing all the smells and sounds so up close and personal was something I will never forget.  The smells.  One moment it was that earthy farmish/cow smell (which I actually kind of like!)  It's like a "good" bad smell ;0)  Then you'd get a wafting of incense or a little sniff of onion and peppers cooking.  The smell of an open fire.  Man!  My nostrils were on sensory overload!  I LOVED IT!  The sounds.  Cows bellowing (in Boston you might get a catcall from time to time - In Bangalore you get a COW call as they acknowledge passers by!)  Tapping of hammers, buzzing of saws, slapping of laundry on stones, beeping of any and all motorised vehicles as they pass you by. 

We drove through a portion of the countryside where there were tamarinds falling from the trees and children playing on a pile of broken stone rubble and there was a barn-type shed housing hundreds of chickens.  (Not one of the better smells on the ride!  Haha!)  Close by you could see people laboring and making cement blocks and constructing yet ANOTHER building.  The rate at which they are building here in B'lore is absolutely astounding.  I wouldn't be surprised if in another year we wouldn't be able to take the same route as the countryside keeps changing all the time.

The other thing we encountered during the duration of our ride on the paved roads in the villages was speed bumps.  I don't know why exactly but Bangalore is the city of speed bumps.  They are everywhere and not just little ones - Like huge mothers!  Luckily, Mallory and Yvette were always in front of me so I could anticipate the bumps by watching them go over them but they seem to pop up with no warning and if you are distracted by any of the sites or smells around you (and there are a million of them!)  Well, you might just find yourself up and over the handlebars of your bike!  Craziness!

The last portion of our ride was a lot more up hill then down and I was wishing I had a "Live Strong" yellow bracelet for inspiration bc quite frankly I didn't know how many rotations my jelly legs could handle!?  At one point I lost site of Yvette and Mallory and started to think...."Oh Shoot!  I better catch up bc I have NO idea where we are and no cell phone." About the time that I was thinking this, I came upon Mallory waiting for me on the side of the road (God Bless You, Good Woman!) and just like that we were back in her neighborhood.

I will definitely "pay for" our fun tomorrow as my muscles are not used to bike riding but what an adventure and hopefully next time I will be a little stronger, a littler faster and won't remain the "weakest link" :0)  OH!  And I'm Sooooooooo getting some of those cool (and VERY official looking) PADDED bike riding shorts!  I mean really!?!?  How fab is that!?  In fact maybe I'll buy a couple of pairs and really rock the J.Lo booty but all for the sake of cushioning my poor BEATEN BUTT, of course!!! YOUCH!

Holi Holiday!

I have not been a very faithful blogger lately. :/  I will catch up eventually - Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.  :0)  We just had a wonderful week with Matt's parents.  Separate blog on our adventures with them to follow.....

BUT!  Before this crazy, colorful day comes to a close (MAN!  I love alliteration!) I want to share with you the spirit of the Holi Holiday here in India.  The children got the day off of school and well - We enjoyed it to the fullest. 

Erica has deemed Holi (Not Holly.  Holy.) as her FAVORITE Indian holiday and she thinks it should be celebrated at least THREE times a year instead of only once! ;0)  In short, Holi is a Hindu Holiday celebrating Spring.  Holi is very appropriately translated as a festival of color!

Today we gathered with a few friends and had a Holi WAR ;0)  A COLOR war, that is!

Got them to stand still long enough to take a "Before" Picture

(Although you can see Erica & David already have pink paint powder on them as one of the bags exploded before we had officially begun!!)

And so the madness begins....

Good thing Rachel borrowed some of my "J.Lo" glasses b/c this was only about 30 seconds into it and she totally got blasted in the EYEBALLS! ;0)

Holy Holi!  This is CRAZY!!

Poof of Paint Powder

A little live footage

Refilling their ammo

I guess you can't exactly call it "good clean fun" but it was REALLY fun!

Mirja warning me, "Go put down your camera.  I'm warning you.  You've got five seconds and them I'm blasting you with this stuff!"  AND...she DID! ;0)

Too bad the Mommies didn't have ANY fun ;0)

I'm sooooo glad that Vanessa and Mirja came with their crew of kids and very kindly gave me the once over and said, "Is that what you are wearing for Holi?!"  And with that I was promptly sent inside to put on my trashy duds.  I told them, "I just thought I'd take pictures?!" and Mirja in her Finnish accent said, "NOOOO!"  That's soooo boring!"  I'm so happy that they didn't let me be "Boring" and that I joined in on the spirit of Holi & became one with the COLOR!!!   :0)  And as you can see we really didn't suffer in the picture department - We still got SEVERAL great shots!

Starting to run out of paint.

Rach & Joona, "HAPPY HOLI, PEOPLE!!!!!"

David asking Mirja, "Can you fill the bucket with more water?!"

The Prismatic Princess

Kaleidoscopic Keeka

Multi-Colored Mikey!

Dastardly Dave!

Rainbow-Rambo Arttu!?!

Rainbow Brite's got nothin' on my girl, Erica! 

Check out that hair!!

"AFTER!"

The Mommas

 

Happy to report there were no casualties of this war!

We all survived with laughter and smiles! :0)

Already looking forward to next year...or if Erica has her way - We'll start celebrating Holi at least once every quarter ;0)

Zumba® Love!

ZZZZ
         UUUU
                     MMMM
                                   BBBB
                                              AAAA
                                                            !!!!!!!!!
                                                          

To say I'm in LOVE with the fitness program, Zumba® is less than accurate b/c I'm also totally and completely obsessed....it's the best thing since canned bread!  (Kidding!  I can't believe they make that stuff and SERIOUSLY!?  Who eats CANNED bread, anyhow!?  ISH!)  Okay.  Moving right along.

A good friend back in the US tried for MONTHS to get me to attend a Zumba® class with her because she was having the time of her life....well, once I finally drug my lazy butt to the gym - I was HOOKED!  It's the MOST fun I've ever had exercising.  You sweat your butt off (literally!) but don't realize it b/c the classes are such a blast.

I went to one Zumba® class since moving to Bangalore and it proved to be difficult to get back to the class (ie coordinating my driver getting me there).  So, I basically was in a Zumba® draught for about 5 months!  THEN!  I received the most glorious email - three girls that live in my community had gotten certified to teach Zumba® classes and were going to start them in January 2012.  I'm not kidding you...the day I got the email I wrote the date of the first class on my calendar.  There was noooo way I was going to miss that class.  It was perfect.  I had no excuses not to get there.  I didn't have to depend on my driver anymore - I could walk to class, run to class, ride my scooter to class and quite frankly it didn't matter what mode of transportation I decided on - I just knew I was NOT going to miss that first class and I DIDN'T!!!  I arrived early.  Shoelaces tightly knotted.  Ready to ROCK IT!  And I didn't miss another class for the next 2 weeks and then I found out...dun, dun dun....Insert sad depressing music.....That two of the instructors were going to be leaving this summer.  I couldn't believe it!  I was devastated!  FINALLY we had brought the Zumba® party to my community and now what?!  Come this summer would we just have to end the classes b/c there wouldn't be people to teach them!??!  That's when I got the crazy idea that if I wanted to assure I could do Zumba® for our remaining two and half years in India - Well then - I might just have to become an instructor!?! 

So, I went online to www.zumba.com and started to snoop around when there would be instructor trainings and where.  Maybe I could get certified when I was home in the US this summer?!  WELL!  Would you believe it....EVEN BETTER!  I discovered there was going to be a training the very next weekend in Goa, India!  My heart started beating faster and my mind started to whirl.  Next weekend.  We don't have plans next weekend.  Hmm... This maybe JUST MAYBE could actually WORK! 

Meanwhile, Matt was on a business trip in Chennai and I sent him an email that said, "If you are on board with this idea- I am seriously thinking about flying to Goa next weekend to get certified to teach Zumba® classes?!"  His response was simply, "You Go Girl!"  WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!  That was the green light I needed and as they say, "The rest is history!"  I recruited my friend, Katie, to join me in my endeavour and the two of us started planning our trip. 

The morning of my departure, I drove into the office with Matt so that Claudius wouldn't have to back track to pick me up and bring me to the airport.  Katie lives in the city and her house is on the way to the airport so we agreed we'd meet at her house & then her driver would take us to the airport.  As we drove to the office, inevitably we sat stuck in traffic.  I have found that the traffic doesn't bother me AT ALL if I have a good book with me.  So I was happily entranced in my novel, flipping the pages (at lightning speed mind you b/c I didn't have any children vying for my attention.)  When out of my peripheral vision I could tell there was someone at the car window.  I have become accustom to the beggars coming to the window asking for money or people trying to sell some sort of whirring trinkity piece of junk (which of course, the kids ALWAYS think we should buy!)  Sometimes they tap on the window.  Sometimes they cup their hands over their eyebrows and put their face onto the window.  Other times they just stand there - If they are looking for money when they make eye contact with you they will form their hand into the shape of a birdie beak and then put their hand up to their lips to show that they want $$ for food.  Sometimes it will be a mother holding a child - Who of course will point to her beautiful baby and ask for $$ to feed the child.  It's heart wrenching!  Sometimes it's a young child holding a sleeping baby.  One time we even had a woman come to our window and it looked like her EAR had been blown-up!!  It was HORRID!  (I seriously think Michael was a bit traumatised by it all as he still brings it up and wonders what are you supposed to do if you are on the MOTORCYCLE and a beggar approaches?!....Good question, Michael!)  The lady with the bloody ear really scared him.

Shortly after moving here we had a family of beggars approach us coming out of a store.  The children were all tugging on our clothes and the mother opened up a basket with a SNAKE in it!  That sent us all into a record breaking SPRINT to the car.  Matt was directing our kids into the car like he was landing a jet plane.  Limbs flailing and barking, "Get in!  Get in!"  Then the kids began asking Claudius, "Why did they do that to us?!  Why did she shove that snake in our face?!"  Claudius tried to explain to us all that they didn't mean to scare you - They were trying to show you something "Cool" ie the snake - In hopes that "Now I showed you something unique and special...Now you pay me $$!"  Unfortunately, that tactic did not work well with our family.  We all went running for the hills like a bunch of scared school girls.  So instead of graciously handing them some coins we were all scrambling to get back into the car like a bunch of crazed circus clowns!

Since then, Claudius has helped us become good at spotting a "real" beggar from a "good actor".  One of the sad realities we have learned is that almost all of the children that are begging are "working" for someone.  The children don't get the money.  There "guy" does.  So we give the children little packages of crackers.  Something we know that they can eat right away and it won't get taken away from them.  The sleeping babies that are being lugged around by children are drugged to keep them sleeping.  The "guy" does this so that people will give the begging children more money and it is true - Your heart breaks when you see these scenarios.  The "guys" know this and that's why they drug these babies and send them out with young children.  So sad.  Claudius is quick to roll down his window and offer his own $$ to the truly needy.  We've come to learn to follow his lead.  You can imagine initially how horrified I was when Claudius offered no aid to the poor woman who was missing her ear!  As I'm basically throwing money out the window to her - Claudius is telling us all, "No Ma'am.  It all be fake."  Matt and I both said, "NO!?!?  WHAT?!  How could it be fake?!  She's bleeding and missing part of her ear...."  To which Claudius launched into a long talk about how people do "make-up" and her "guy" tore her clothes and they made her look like she had a terrible injury in order for her to get more money.  After he told us this - We did start to think it through a bit.  Ya know what?!  I think Claudius was RIGHT!  Looking back, if she really was that messed up and missing part of her ear (not to be too graphic) but the blood would have been gushing and dripping etc it was just "perfect" looking.  Ghorry and gross but that was it.  WOW!  We were duped!  She had on the best Halloween Costume EVER!!!  We've also learned that when one beggar is rapping on your window - If you look around there is probably someone laying down on a nearby sidewalk.  Another beggar that is taking a "nap" until they switch roles.  One begs.  One sleeps & then they switch.  These types of beggars also work for a "guy" who is no doubt somewhere close by - Watching and making sure they keep working. 

So, all that to say that sometimes - I don't look up.  You don't know if it's going to be a pitiful looking mother, a bloody faker or a legit invalid and I've learned to follow Claudius' lead.  So as I read my book, I could sense that someone was watching me - Although it was a little unnerving to know you are being watched- I didn't look up.  After all, Claudius hadn't activated the automatic window or anything.  So I just sat there.  Except now I wasn't reading.  I was just sitting there.  Pretending to read.  Consciencly deciding I was NOT going to look up.  Yet thinking "Stop that swaying all ready!"....Okay.  I can't take it any longer.  I HAD to look.  I slowly shift my eyes off the pages of my book, turn my head towards the window and I LITERALLY almost pooped my pants....I was nose to nose with the biggest BROWN COW I've ever seen in my life!  HAHAHAH!    Sucker scared me half to death! 

By the time I acknowledged her...she wasn't interested in me anymore.  I think I hurt her feelings?!

Talk to the Hand...or should I say...Hiney!?

  I wonder if she gets in trouble when she lays down to take a nap on the sidewalk?!

The view of the city from Katie's rooftop terrace

Laundry Day on the Rooftop (see the lady doing the wash?!)

Next time I go to Katie's the kids want to come along and try out her pool :0)

Catching some rays!

Our flight was delayed an hour.  Not a big deal when you are travelling without any kids.  We quietly sat in the terminal sipping our coffee and eating a butterscotch muffin.  I took the next picture for Rachel who is STILL obsessed with horses.  These guys were happily waiting for their flight (I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the beer they were consuming!)  They informed me that they had been in a production the night before and these heads were one of their props.  Oh man!  If only Rachel had one of these head's - This would catapult her imaginative play into a whole new realm!

CHEERS and CHEESE for the camera!

Shuttle Bus to the airport.  Adventurous!

Gorgeous Goa!

Sun is already starting to set by the time we get situated into our hotel.

Rooftop Pool

Looking out over Goa from the rooftop of the hotel

One of the ONLY times we sat down during our weekend.
The next TWO days (9:00-5:00) were spent Zumba® Dancing!

 Pretty PRETTY Pool!

Goodnight Goa!

Good Morning, Goa!  Time to Rise, Shine  & Shimmy!

Apparently, B'lore isn't the only place in India that utilizes the open sewer system. 

Woo-Hoo!  We MADE it to our training location!

The training center

Public Garden right out front of the building

I LOVE this sign!  Just in case we have time to shop I'm so glad there is a Blooming....Dales! ;0)

Our ZES (Zumba® Education Specialist) Carolina Arias, who came all the way to Goa from New Zealand, didn't waste anytime getting the party....I mean, TRAINING started ;0)

Stick out like a sore thumb, don't I?!

Wasn't long before that jacket came off! 

Feelin' hot Hot HOT!!!

Soaking in everything Carolina was teaching us!

Doin' the Beto Shuffle!

My Infamous BLUE soled shoes!

Havin' FUN!

Me and Katie....Shiny, Happy People!

Group Photo & the END of day one!  PHEW! 

Time for dinner.  Paneer, garlic-buttered naan & dahl makhani.

We loved it sooo much.  We ordered the same thing BOTH NIGHTS!  Hahah!

Day Two.  Look at all of the Awesome Zumbawear®

TIME TO SHOP!!

One of the best perks of Zumba®?!?  NEW FRIENDS!

This is Preethy!  Clicked immediately!  LOVE HER!

Great Minds Think Alike - Carolina and I both NEEDED our Diet Coke ;0)

Carolina's necklace and the Zumba® philosophy....

FEEL THE MUSIC!

Katie's Choreography Group

My Choreo Crew (I got LUCKY too b/c these two were SERIOUSLY good dancers!)  I learned a lot from them.

Much needed BREAK!

Sharing some Zumba® Love with Christy! xo

Posin' With Carolina!!

What an incredible opportunity to learn from someone so talented.  There are a lot of good dancers in the world but to be able to break those steps down and actually TEACH people how to dance.  Seriously!  She's got a gift!  So incredible!

Woot-Woot!  I'm officially part of the Zumba® Family! :0)

Although my eyes are totally creeping me out & this is highly cheesy - Here we are at our "Celebratory Supper" posing with our Certificates!  YAY!

Now that I'm official - It's time to share the LOVE of Zumba®

Vigorously working on my routines and I will be rocking a Zumba® studio near you soon! :0)  xo