Power Booty and other happenings...

Okay, so over a week ago (01.21.11) our new Australian friends and I decided to venture into Patancheru, to the area I was familiar with, in an effort to find some fabric for kurtis and dupattas. Off we went, Gillian and her 3 children - Ellie, Indi, and Guthrie - and Oliver and I, walking along the road to the "village" as I refer to it.

The children loved the baby goats and were greeted by other children on our walk. We first stopped at a little shop which sold bangles. As we were waiting for Ellie to make her selections, a crowd was gathering. My guard immediately went up, sensing a different atmosphere today. Sure enough, I was approached by a man who was rather enthusiastically telling me, with a very heavy scent of liquor, that the woman that was with him was "my lover. She smart - she my lover". All right then. I was relieved when we were able to move on...

(Gotta get groups shots from Gill)

The fabric store that we found had the stiffest fabric I've ever touched - we were reluctant to take their word that it would soften upon washing. So off we went again, with the creepy man still watching us. I didn't feel threatened, but watchful nevertheless. No sooner had I written him off, when another inebriated man came up to me to shake my hand - and his hand was wet. YUCK! Man, oh man, I couldn't find the hand sanitizer fast enough! (I continued washing upon returning home...many times).
Shortly after that, thankfully - and how often does one say that - the children were getting tired and ready to go home. The walk home was exponentially more pleasant - watching oxen pull a cart, goats herded across the highway, water buffalo sharing our street - until one of the buffalo decided to get all freaked out, getting wild-eyed, turning on us...scared the *&%# out of me! I was eyeing up our options, which were not many. Thankfully, she turned and continued on her not-so-merry way. When Gill suggested some gin & tonics, I did not hesitate to say "Yes!"

Yup, that's her - the crazy one on the right!

As five-year-olds will do, Guthrie wanted to get down from his mother's carrying wrap upon entering the ICRISAT campus, and immediately start falling behind, beginning to sulk. The heat had worn us all out, but I decided he needed a game to get him moving again - after all, Guthrie is usually a bundle of energy. So I did my best Zombie Mama run back to him (with Oliver still in the pack on my back - the camel pack, I call it). AAAAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!! Guthrie started running after the others  , and we began a game of trying to catch each other. Pretty soon he was running after me, transformer in hand, attacking my bum whenever I stopped. So I would stick out my bum (doesn't that sound cute in an Aussie accent - I think so!) and say, "Power Booty!" It was hysterical - listening to him growling as he crashed into me, Oliver belly laughing each time - then doing it all over again.
Power Booty became our new game - for Guthrie, Indi, and I. Those teachers in Australia have no idea what is headed their way - the new super-hero, POWER BOOTY!!!

Oliver relaxed with a warm bath