sorry i've been neglectful

here i am back in france... and it's hard to believe that only a week ago we were still in india.

the transition is very difficult. everyone wants to know how ryan is doing, if she saw improvement, how am i, did i have a life-changing experience in india, etc. The answers to all of these questions is an emphatic 'yes.'

now i just have to sort out my life after two months of being elsewhere and see where the wind takes me.

click here to see michael almost kick himself in the head!

just another day in the pool

Today, much to the dismay of the Indian "lifeguards" (I put that in italics because I'm not convinced they actually do any life-guarding - it appears to me that many of the swimmers are nearly drowning and no one jumps in to save them), I taped Ryan and Michael swimming in the pool. Much of the audio on the videos I took includes me attempting to reason with the lifeguards about why I should be allowed to break the rule of "nothing on the deck" - which appears to include towels, bottles of water, apparently cameras, and, at one point, wheelchairs. I finally was able to convince them I should be able to tape by explaining that the doctors wanted to see Ryan and Michael's progress (this was not entirely true, though Dr. Ashish did express his interest in seeing the footage later.) This permitted me to tape for a few minutes, but then I was told my time was up. Lame.

But here is a video of Ryan swimming breaststroke. It's hard to see her hips moving forward like I mentioned in my last blog - I can see that best when I'm underwater. But she does look pretty freaking fast, and I think you all can agree (particularly those of you who have seen her swim breast before she came to India.) Even she says that her breaststroke feels faster.

ryan's hips don't lie

This morning we went swimming and while Ryan was diligently doing her workout and I was playing around in the pool, I happened to catch a glimpse of her breaststroke under the water. It was pretty unbelievable - her hips were actually part of her stroke. I really can't explain it very well, but at the point in her stroke when she would normally kick - her hips jutted forward. Of course, then her legs just kind of followed along, but there was definitely an active movement forward of her hips.

Perhaps this doesn't sound like such a miracle - but I've never seen her swim like that. Before, it was obvious that her hips and legs were just following her upper body on her stroke, but this was definitely different. Her hips were moving forward in an active motion. Does that make any sense?

I watched her do some butterfly and it was the same thing - though already her fly has improved immensely since she's been here. Her whole body is undulating, moving in and out of the water in a wave-like motion - but there it was again: at the point where she should have kicked, her hips popped forward.

It kind of freaked me out a bit! I've been watching her swim for the last 10 years, and I've never seen this before. Crazy... and great! Now if only she could feel it...

In another note, my birthday was fairly tame but still fab. Thank you all for the birthday wishes, they are much appreciated! Be sure to wish Ryan a happy 28th tomorrow (Monday 18 August)!

the countdown begins...

It's remarkable to think that we only have 10 days left to spend in India. The last month and a half haven't exactly flown by, but I feel like I've just really gotten accustomed to living in India, seeing Ryan do physio and walk in her calipers, and trying to fit everything in that we want to do. It's weird to think that we have less than two weeks left to do that. There seems like so much more to accomplish - both physically for Ryan and in terms of what we want to do in India before we go.

The last few days have a been a bit of a whirlwind. Erin left on Wednesday morning, and on Tuesday I found out that Kanako's dog is really ill and she needed to get home immediately. After a few days of going back and forth to the airport, calling the airlines a million times, and finding numerous inexpensive tickets online that disappeared as soon as
we tried to purchase them, we finally got Kanako home on Wednesday night. Her puppy is happy to have her home.

With Kanako leaving, I've moved back into the hospital (or at least I'm in the middle of doing so.) I have a lot left to do at my apartment (namely laundry and cleaning) but I figure I have about 10 days to do it, so I'm taking my time.

Today (15 August) was Indian Independence Day, and we celebrated with a great party at the hospital (complete with a band singing crazy English songs) as well as with birthday cake for Ryan and I (it was actually for Kanako, whose birthday is today, but since she left early, we had to celebrate Ryan and I's.)

Speaking of birthdays, mine is tomorrow (I'll be 26) and the anticipation of it has to be the most anticlimactic thing I've ever felt. As I've aged, I've tended to feel much less excited anticipation before my birthday, but this year is just crazy. It's like I have no connection to the fact that it's "my special day" whatsoever. Perhaps it's because this trip is really not about me, but it's somewhat refreshing to respond to the question, "what are you going to do for your birthday?" with "well, I think I'll go watch Ryan do physio, maybe go swimming, and go over and do some laundry at my apartment." I feel so mundane.

Ryan and I will have Ayurvedic massages on Sunday and then we'll go out to dinner at the Imperial Hotel to celebrate the anniversaries of our birth, so don't worry.

Anyway, life, as always, is exciting here in India, and I'm looking forward to seeing with the home stretch has in store for us.

spendo in vasant vihar

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Things seem to be happening too quickly to record them accurately.

On Saturday night, we had a spendo at my apartment in vasant vihar. I had invited the ladies over to watch the Olympics on my fabulous TV and couches - of course, without first checking to see if my apartment had cable (I swear the woman whose house this is said something about cable) but unfortunately there was not. So instead we tried to watch a Bollywood film on the DVD player instead, but because we bought it on the street for 69 Rupees, only about 69% actually worked.

So, without much to do but lots of energy to expend, we decided to do some masks. Doing face masks is one of my most favorite pastimes, and I am glad that I always encounter other people to enjoy them with me.

For the record, Kanako and I are wearing a Himalaya Herbals Almond and Cucumber peel-off mask (it's a mask, I promise we're not just that sweaty) and Erin and Ryan are sporting the Oriflame Tomato Clay mask. After a photo shoot and about 30 minutes of giggling, our skin was as soft as a baby's butt.

crazy street dogs

Here is a photo I took of a street dog waiting for the bus. I hope he has correct change.