Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

KU wins the NDT!!!

Ok, so this is old news. The trophy has been engraved, the rings have been handed out, the t-shirts have been printed, the congratulatory emails and facebook posts have been written, and across the country, the celebratory drinks have been imbibed. And I utterly failed in my Jayhawk debate alum duties by forgetting to post about it here.

But now there is a new angle on the story. Check out the coolest new addition to the beautiful Kansas landscape:



How neat is that?

Congratulations to the KU squad on a fantastic accomplishment. And particular congratulations to Coach Harris, Coach of the Year. In an activity full of smart, hard working, nice people, there is no smarter, harder working, or kinder coach out there.

Long time no see

Boy have I missed Kansas! The land of the waving wheat, Jayhawks, wide open spaces, old friends, smiling strangers, basketball, easy parking, family, salt-of-the-earth people, Mass Street, and more. It has been wonderful to be back.

In addition to our Indian festivities and family visits, we have been busy catching up with old friends. On Wednesday, we drove to Lawrence, home of our alma maters. It was great to troll Mass Street, have lunch at La Parilla (my absolute favorite cheap restaurant), walk the KU campus, and visit old professors and debate coaches. That evening we met Cassy--my brilliant, thoughtful, quirky, delightful roommate of four years--at our favorite sushi place in Lawrence. I almost didn't recognize her, as she had cut off all of her trademark long hair; but other than that, she has remained true to the wonderful Cassy I've always known and loved. She even brought me a Macaroni and Cheese cookbook--awesome! =) Dinner was followed by a delicious home-made ice cream cone at Silas and Maddy's, and then the three of us retired to the delightfully hippy, unique, Lawrence-esque Java Break to round out the evening. It was great to see her.

Yesterday, we met Justin--Ankur's roommate of four years--at Boston Market. It may sound like a weird place to meet for lunch, but I was very excited about bland food. He regaled us with stories about medical school while doing a relatively good job of keeping it lunch-table appropriate, which was much appreciated. It was great to see him as well.

In the evening, we finished our tour of KU roommates by going to McLouth, Kansas--a tiny town of about 800--to visit the mayor and his wife. Yep, my former roommate Jennifer is now the wife of the mayor and the mother of three beautiful girls (see the pictures above), not to mention a pharmacist herself. I got to hold the baby much of the evening, which was heaven! =) Jennifer made us a lovely dinner, and the wine fueled a spirited political conversation. When you get me in the same room with someone who regularly listens to Rush Limbaugh, you might expect sparks to fly--however, it remained remarkably civil and fun. A great evening.

That's all the excitement for now. Hope all is well with you!

Happy Diwali!

It is the biggest holiday of the year for Indians--Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. This festival is like Chanukkah (also the Festival of Lights), Christmas (the big, relatively secularized national holiday where families get together and eat a lot of sweets), New Year's Eve (tomorrow actually is the New Year in the Hindu calendar), the 4th of July (Diwali is usually celebrated with Fireworks, but the city of Topeka won't allow fireworks outside of the 4th of July), and everyone's anniversary (most businesses, new relationships, etc. are begun on a special day in the Diwali season, considered an auspicious day to buy gold and start new things--my engagement ring was purchased on this day)--all rolled into one big multi-day celebration. We are fortunate enough to be able to be in Kansas with the Indian half of our family this year, so we can join in the festivities!

We arrived on Saturday, just in time to change into our Indian finery and go to a Diwali show. The show was basically a talent show by the Indian community here, with singing, dancing, and skits. My mother-in-law sang a beautiful song--I was quite impressed with her skill and composure! There were also a number of traditional dances performed by small children who were learning to dance, which was incredibly cute. Afterwards, as at every other Indian event that I have attended, we had a big meal.

The next night we began the cycle of visiting families for Diwali. We actually have a dinner scheduled every night this week. I am always keenly aware of my status as the mzungu wife at these events, being the only non-Indian, non-Gujarati-speaking, non-chili-eating, etc., etc., person in the room. Everyone is more than kind to me, however, and I am sure that it will become easier with time. I am definitely getting an appreciation of how it feels to be a minority, however, and what my husband went through when he first came to America. Which is unquestionably good for me.

And with that, I must go join in the fun! Happy Diwali!

Off to see the wizard

We're going home! Hooray!

As we haven't seen either set of parents in a year, we figured it was time to head home for a longer visit (before I start work and am never heard from again). So we're off to Kansas tomorrow, and then to Oklahoma on Nov. 5. Our original plan was to head to Oklahoma on the 4th, but my father kindly informed us that we were not welcome in his home while the election results were coming in. I thought he was kidding. My mother informs me that he wasn't.

So ... speaking of election results ... if any of you who don't have an elephant shrine set up in your living room would like some company on November 4, please let us know!

In other news, we are basically unpacked from the move now, which is quite a relief. The boxes are gone, we have hung pictures, and our canned goods are nicely placed in their kitchen drawer (you read that right). We even had our very first houseguest, Pat, over for dinner yesterday. (Having learned our lesson from our first dinner party in South Bend, when I forgot to include the chicken in the "chicken pasta," Ankur cooked the salmon and I stuck to the salad and couscous.) I think this means we are officially DC residents now, even if we are not DC domiciliaries.