Shopping malls and craft centers: one just ain't what we thought it would be!!

August 9th
I’m laughing to myself that this lifestyle of the past week will end abruptly tomorrow. The kids start school. It has also occurred to me that we have VERY little for me to make lunches with … bread is so fresh – it gets moldy within a few days. But it is really nice bread!! Sliced, even! The cheese slices only come with 5 slices a pack! Oh my! Sandwich meat is non-existent in the “regular” grocery stores… time to get creative!!

Well, since I still can’t upload the photos the next best thing is a website: www.dakshinachitra.net

We went to this craft foundation yesterday – completely by mistake! Actually, we headed south on the ECR (East Coast Road) – a new direction for us! Our driver had told me about a cinema and shopping mall south of us “near the toll plaza” so we were curious… well, it lives up to the… “it’s really not what you think it is because you are in India”. We weren’t going to see a movie (although Harry Potter & Transformers were showing) just to check out the “shopping mall… they charged 300 rupees (about $8) to get in – 250 of that was a credit you could use in the shops or food court. Shops consisted of 3 – small with a smattering of stuff. We got some cool things though, the girls got some sparkly Indian tops with skirts, the boys got a cricket bat and we all enjoyed Baskin n Robins ice cream (and lived to tell about it!) We’ll chalk that up as an experience and not repeat it anytime in the future!
The Craft Foundation was really cool, though! Demonstrations of local crafts and some museum type exhibits of buildings and displays… the kids watched a man etch Alina’s name in a palm frond and then they all mad a little clay pot – too bad we can fire it! I even took some photos! HA! One of these days we will have a faster internet connection, maybe!!

Today is Sunday. We still don’t have a contact for a local church so off to the roof top to sing some hymns!! Then off to Malapuram which is a village south of us (further south) that has some ancient temples there….