Blast from the past - Early Childhood

Each one of the pictures has a small number in the lower right-hand side corner, for reference. Please click on the image to see a bigger version:

1-Newborn.
2- In 'Kindergarten'.
3- Sitting in an 'old-fashioned' stroller, which I'm sure was the latest model at that time.
4- Big cheeks, short dress.
5- One year old (or less).
6- Studio photo; one year old.
7- Squinting because of bright sunlight.
8- Celebrating a birthday.
9- Studio photo; two years old.
10- Studio photo; three years old.
11- Four years old.
12- Long hair, short dress.
13- Short yellow dress.
14- Sitting on my rocking chair with my toy car.
15- Short hair, red dress.
16- See? I've always been an angel, but in this snap you can actually see my wings!
17- My favorite picture.
18- Smiling school girl.
19- This picture reminds me of the Spanish version of this song.
20- Same red dress as in picture no. 15, but with long hair.
21- New hair style and going to primary school - Heredia, Costa Rica.
22- Proof that I have worn a bikini.
23- Nine years old, in Champaing, Illinois - USA.

Blast from the past - The project

The project I said I was working on is ready.

I have made three collages with old pictures from my past which I have grouped in the following themes: 'Early Childhood', 'Later Years' and 'Memories & Milestones'. I will post one collage at a time for the next three days.

All the pictures that I used in the collages are part of the family album and were already scanned by my Dad. I have many more pictures that I would have liked to include, but I don't want to go hunt for my other photo albums which are so nicely packed in a box, in the closet of the guest room. That might be project 'Blast from the past - Part II' later on...

For today, I will leave you with a memory of part of the celebrations that took place for my 4th birthday party. We had a piñata!

(Click on the picture for a bigger version.)

Bloggity Goodness!

Me: This weekend is the second annual Blogher conference.

You: The what?

Me: The Blogher Conference!

Since the Conference takes place in San Jose, California and not in San José, Costa Rica, I will follow it up online.

And also to get into the spirit of things, I have followed this great idea:

Fabi and I finally got our very own t-shirts (homemade, right here in Heredia City!). Now I don't have to use other pictures of t-shirts I find on the Net. :)

Welcome to Costa Rica...a happy country!

Look at this map: ( Red = High Levels of Happiness).

Adrian White, Analytic Social Psychologist, University of Leicester.

It turns out that Costa Rica is the happiest LatinAmerican country! :)

In fact, the American continent is an overall happy one, but something needs to be done about Africa!

Some of the results of the SWL (Satisfaction With Life) ratings are:

• Denmark: 1 (The first place)
• Costa Rica: 13
• USA: 23
• Dominican Republic: 42
• Mexico: 51
• Brazil: 81
• Argentina: 56
• Chile: 71
• Germany: 35
• Switzerland: 2
• France: 62
• UK: 41
• India: 125
• China: 82
• Burundi: 178 (The last place)

Go here if you want to learn more about the planet's happiness.

Hitting the road again!

Two weeks after I arrived in CR, I renewed my Driver's License. It's been exactly 15 years since I've had my first driver's license, but it's been almost 3 years since I have not driven a car (I *don't* drive in India!).

It's not the first time that I'm faced with the situation of getting behind the wheel after a long period of exclusively being a pedestrian. I spent almost three years in Germany without driving and when I came back home I wondered if I could actually remember how to drive a car. That time I soon discovered that it was easy...'just like riding a bicycle'. However, this time I wondered the same thing again because I wasn't sure if I had gotten used to seeing cars drive on the opposite side of the road. What if my brain would play tricks on me? Luckily, most of the streets in Heredia are one-way (to solve the fact that they're narrow), so it was easy to warm up again to the driver-mode.
Once again I found out that driving is really as easy as riding a bike...except I don't get wet when it rains!
Fabi was not with me the first couple of times when I went back behind the wheel. But now he enjoys the rides sitting in his car seat (never in the front, of course!). He likes his car seat much more than what is shown in these next couple of pictures. It shouldn't be a long ride, otherwise he gets impatient. Fortunately, all distances are short around here.
To make up for Fabi's patient ride on his car seat, yesterday we went to a supermarket where there are special shopping carts for kids. So it was Fabi's turn to be a driver!

Fast forward

My Dad's project has come out really well. It has inspired me to do a smaller project of my own, which I'm now preparing. It should be ready in a couple of days before I can post about it here.

In the meantime, I want to show you a couple of pictures with examples of what I call 'fast forward in time':

(Click on the pictures to see a bigger version.)

Toy Train at the Club:

With my cousin Diego, who incidentally, left today for a short stay in Europe. All the best for him!

Worse than a visit to the doctor!

Fabi was born with a lot of hair. His Daddy have him his first trim when he was two weeks old. Later I used to trim his hair and managed to keep it presentable up until his first birthday.

It was too hot and humid in Vashi, so we decided to help Fabi feel more comfortable and get a nice hair cut at the local Sector 6 hair cutting salon. That experience was not a smooth one at all. Fabi was horrified of the sound of the cutting machine, so the best thing that could be done was to cut all of his hair.

Now Fabi's hair started to grow again. Eventhough it still looked short overall, the sides and especially the back of his head was starting to look messy. I took him to a children's hair saloon where they have special chairs and decoration to make the hair cutting experience a lot of fun for the kids.

It seemed like a really nice idea and it started out really good, as you can tell by the picture on the bottom left. Fabi was actually smiling (and so was the girl who was going to do the job). But then all hell broke loose when she took out the hair cutting machine and it was impossible to even try and cut Fabi's hair. Look at the picture on the bottom right and you will notice how Fabi's expression had already changed...even when the machine was not on yet!

To my surprise, the girl didn't seem to have a lot of patience and even told me that this was my fault for not taking Fabi to get his hair cut more often!...Unbelievable!...So...I did the next best thing and walked out of the place with a screaming and squirming baby. "Thanks a lot! NOT!"

Fortunately, there are many other options around here. And I took Fabi to a Beauty Saloon where they only have chairs for grown ups. I sat down on the chair and sat Fabi on my lap. The lady covered me with an apron and did the same for Fabi. She gave him a snack and was extremely friendly. Fabi did cry, but he also allowed his 2nd formal haircut to take place. Here's a picture of the outcome. I paid ¢1000 Costa Rican colones (which is about US$2 or 90 Indian Rupees).

25th July, a Costa Rican National Holiday

July 25: Anexión de Guanacaste. Commemorates Guanacaste's 1824 entrance into the Costa Rican union.

Before the countries of today actually existed in Central America, there used to be territories that were colonized by the Spaniards. When these territories gained their independence and the countries were being formed, the people of Guanacaste decided to join Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua. This happened 182 years ago. Costa Rica has seven provinces and it's map looks like this today:


To celebrate this day, children wear the Costa Rican traditional outfit (worn by our farmers, 'campesinos'). I found an old picture of three of my cousins dressed in the traditional Costa Rican outfit. From left: Gabriela, Erick and Carmen. Notice the hibiscus flowers in the picture. Girls wear those flowers on their hair that day as part of their costume. That also happens to be the same flower that hindus offer their god Ganesh...who knew?

This holiday will actually be observed on Monday of the following week. Lots of people looking forward to the long weekend ahead.

It was *ABOUT* time!!!!!! --UPDATED--

I never wrote the gory details of what it's like to go through the process of requesting an entry visa for an Indian citizen who wants to visit Costa Rica.

Let me tell you the (very) short version:

• Indian passport holders need a so-called 'restricted visa' to go to Costa Rica.
• This means having to write an application letter, filling out a form, submitting proof of economic viability and giving all these papers to the Honorary Costa Rican Consul in Delhi.
• Then you patiently wait for the Consulate's office to send the application to the Immigration offices in Costa Rica (after they are done with their 'internal proceedings', whatever that means).
• Then you will most likely receive a rejection from the Immigration offices in Costa Rica.
• So the next step is to have someone in Costa Rica submit another application.
• Second time around, if the application is accepted, with luck, the applicant would not have to pay a significant amount of money as a deposit (which would be returned after the visitor went back to India).
• The concerned authorities between Costa Rica and India communicate through fax. They take a LONG time to reply to each other's messages (which have to be translated).
• The visas that are granted by the Immigration offices in Costa Rica always come back with restrictions, such as: 'Must get passport stamped withing 30 days after the visa was granted', 'May only visit Costa Rica for one month'.

Remember...this is the SHORT version. I will spare you with the agonizing details, but I will tell you that I went through this hell twice: for MasalaDad when he came to Costa Rica in 2003 (for our wedding) and for Fabi who also has an Indian passport.

After Fabi's visa got rejected...it took 6 months (!) for the application to go through. Since the visa was valid for only one month, it already got expired and I had to go to the Immigration offices again and get it renewed.

Dealing with all these bureaucratic procedures wears me out and I have come to hate them in a way I have never hated anything in my life!

That's why you might understand the reason of my excitement this morning when I read today's newspaper:

The front page of the newspaper announces that, as of July 14th, 2006, indian citizens DO NOT REQUIRE a visa to come to Costa Rica (and may stay for up to 30 days)! Let me repeat that: Indian citizens DO NOT REQUIRE a visa to come to Costa Rica!

The last time I felt THIS excited was when I learned that I had been accepted as a student at the Technische Fakultät. It's the same type of excitement that makes me wildly jump up and down with joy!

So....now you know....if you're an indian citizen you now fit in the category of "Have passport, will travel"....as long as your destination is Nepal or Costa Rica...you don't need any other formal document.

When are you coming to Costa Rica?!?!

UPDATE: (Aug. 2008)

I visited Costa Rica one year later and learned that SADLY, it was all temporary. Apparently Indians need a visa to go visit Costa Rica again. I don't know if a 'restricted visa' still applies. If so...well...I will have to be prepared for the next time MasalaDad wants to visit CR. It's a good thing that Fabi now owns a Costa Rican passport.

Happy '16th month', Fabi!

Sixteen Months!... Not quite a baby anymore...the expert toddler walking/running/exploring around!

Loves to play with balls...any size! He understands so much of Spanish...and probably English...and maybe he hasn't forgotten the Marathi expressions he used to hear when he was in India.

He recognizes his maternal family members by name: Oma Olga, Opa Jose, Alonso, Fernando. He points to the light, and his shoes...and he knows where his nose is.

Chilling at the Country Club

One of the things I love about my childhood are the memories of going to the family club, 'El Castillo' Country Club. It's only 10 kms away from our home, but it's a space surrounded by pine trees in a mountain area. The weather is quite different from where my parents live: it rains more and it's quite windy and chilly. I have memories of many family picnics, trips with friends, swimming lessons and wonderful weekends.

I wish I could have gone there more often when MasalaDad visited Costa Rica in 2003. Now I was able to take Fabi there and it's a wonderful feeling to show him around and see his expression of delight when he enjoys something I also loved in my childhood.

I have several pictures of me at the Club, but I only found these two:

• Check out my outfit, which is blue - my favorite color of all times....and! this is proof that I've always loved sunglasses - eventhough I had them in my hand when this pic. was taken:

• This other picture was taken when I was about 10 years old. I was roller skating in the go-kart track.

If you haven't seen them already, go here to see the pictures of Fabi's first visit to the Club.

"Welcome Back!"

Welcome Back, Indian readers and bloggers!

It looks like the Government has almost completely lifted the ban of the blogsites.

Anyway, it looks like it's over. This was indeed very upsetting. I hope it never happens again.

"What is your problem?"

"Somebody must have asked for some sites to be blocked. What is your problem?" That's what Dr Gulshan Rai, director of CERT-IN, the only body authorised to issue directives to ISPs asked when confronted with the fact that Indian government had blocked Blogspot, Typepad, Geocities blogs.

"What is my *PROBLEM*?!"

My problem is that very important people can't access what I - and many other bloggers-write...!

I was shocked when I first read about this on July 17th: LINK.
I was impatient when I read an update on July 18th: LINK.
I wish I could do something, too!

Chances are...if you're in a major city in India...you can't read this!

"Amitabh Singhal, a spokesperson of the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) said last Wednesday that "Blog blockade will be lifted in 48 hours". He acknowledged that some ISPs -- he insisted it wasn't all -- mistook the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notice and blocked entire blog domains, adding that it was technically feasible to block a sub-domain and leave others still accessible." LINK.

There's a nice update here to follow up on this blockage.

UPDATE:

Here's the Indian Department of Telecom's official press release of today (July 20th)) which clarifies the blocking. The specific websites that were suppossed to be block is here.

What remains / Was bleibt...

Since I'm now visiting Costa Rica, I've been enjoying access to several international tv channels, including the german DW.

It's sad to see once again the world go through all these bad times. Eventhough it's been days since the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 came to an end, I was glad to see the german channel address what remains after such an important international sports event is over.

I think the world needs more opportunities to 'make friends', just like the germans did by playing hosts to so many people who went to visit their country during the past few weeks.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I would like to remember...

Canna celebrating:

Two people we won't see on the next Fifa World Cup in 2010:
German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn shares a light moment with Portuguese forward Luis Figo at the end of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ third place play-off match between Germany and Portugual, 08 July 2006 in Stuttgart. This is the final time the two will play for their national teams in a FIFA World Cup™. Germany won 3 to 1. Copyright: AFP

Related artwork from a place that had soccer fever from just watching:
Indian sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik adds the finishing touches to his sand sculptures of Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro (R) and French captain, Zinedine Zidane at the Golden beach in Puri, east of the Indian city of Orissa, July 8, 2006. Copyright: Reuters

A letter from the city of Mumbai to the Terrorist

Re: Series of bombs in India's financial center, Mumbai, on July 11.

Dear Terrorist,

Even if you are not reading this we don't care.
Time and again you tried to disturb us and disrupt our life - killing innocent civilians by planting bombs in trains, buses and cars. You have tried hard to bring death and destruction, cause panic and fear and create communal disharmony but everytime you were disgustingly unsuccessful.

Do you know how we pass our life in Mumbai?
How much it takes for us to earn that single rupee?
If you wanted to give us a shock then we are sorry to say that you failed miserably in your ulterior motives. Better look elsewere, not here.

We are not Hindus and Muslims or Gujaratis and Marathis or Punjabis and Bengaliies. Nor do we distinguish ourselves as owners or workers, govt. employees or private employees. WE ARE MUMBAIKERS (Bombay-ites, if you like). We will not allow you to disrupt our life like this.
On the last few occassions when you struck (including the 7 deadly blasts in a single day killing over 250 people and injuring 500+ in 1993), we went to work next day in full strength. This time we cleared everything within a few hours and were back to normal - the vendors placing their next order, businessmen finalizing the next deals and the office workers rushing to catch the next train (Yes!, the same train you targetted.) Fathom this: Within 3 hours of the blasts, long queues of blood donating volunteers were seen outside various hospitals, where most of the injured were admitted. By 12 midnight, the hospital had to issue a notification that blood banks were full and they didn't require any more blood.

The next day, attendance at schools and offices was close to 100%, trains & buses were packed to the brim, the crowds were back. The city has simply dusted itself off and moved on - perhaps with greater vigour. We are Mumbaikers and we live like brothers in times like these.

So, do not dare to threaten us with your crackers. The spirit of Mumbai is very strong and can not be harmed.

With Love,
From the people of Mumbai (Bombay)

----
Thanks to my friend Shiv S. for forwarding this.
----

A shoe story

This post is dedicated to Sopan and Priya, who have patiently waited for the World Cup to be over so that they could hear more news about their nephew Fabi, whom they like to call 'Golu'.

Fabi came to Costa Rica with these shoes:

Unfortunately, one shoe fell off and it got lost in a taxi cab. Unlike in Mumbai, here in Heredia it's a good idea to wear shoes all the time (because the floor can get really chilly). So Fabi got these 'house shoes', which he wore all the time.

To replace the pair of shoes to be worn outdoors, we went shopping again. We went to a shopping center which is located relatively close to our house, called Real Cariari and found the cutest pair of shoes I could possibly want for Fabi. They're a classic design, in my favorite color (blue) and they're easy to put on and off (the laces are just for show, each shoe opens with a small zipper on the side). And! The shoes have a football motif. They're definitely not soccer shoes, but knowing how much Fabi likes to play with balls and that the soccer fever is still lingering in the air...I think these shoes are a perfect fit!



Oh!...and in a completely unrelated note....Fabi's new favorite vegetable is the tomato!

L'Italia! Campioni del mondo!...

Il quarto titolo! It's their fourth title!

This is the picture I wanted to see! I had to wait 120 minutes of suspense and penalty shoot outs!

"Italy's team captain Fabio Cannavaro holds the World Cup trophy after the final of the soccer World Cup between Italy and France in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Sunday, July 9, 2006. Italy defeated France 5-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw." (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen)

I feel sorry for the french goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, who took 5 shots.

And what about France's captain, Zinedine Zidane, who played the last game of his career? He scored the first goal of the match...but then he was very rude and got a red card which he totally deserved. What a sad way to go!... Ciao Zizou!

On a side note, Germany's M. Klose took the adidas Golden Shoe, for being the player who scored the most (5) goals. I'm happy for him!...He's young and he deserved it!

This past month was really exciting, but it went by really fast!...It's time to relive the memories! Thirty-two billion people in 207 different countries have watched Germany 2006! Right now, I can only imagine the celebrations going on in Berlin...and in Rome! I think I will celebrate by eating italian food for the next four years...until the next World Cup in South Africa, 2010!

Today's Soccer Heroes

Check this picture out:

"Germany's Lukas Podolski ('Prince Poldi'), left, and Bastian Schweinsteiger jubilate after the medal ceremony following the World Cup 3rd place soccer match between Germany and Portugal. Germany won the match 3-1; Schweinsteiger scored two of the goals". (AP Photo/F. Augstein)

As I watched the match, one of the funny things was to hear the CostaRican soccer commentator, Pilo Obando, trying to pronounce 'Schweinsteiger'.

As the World Cup is coming to an end, I was glad to know that Prince Poldi is the winner of Best Young Player award!

My Word Cloud

Here's a 'Word Cloud' of this blog...isn't it neat?

You can have one too.

Forza azzurri!

When this Football World Cup started, I was intially cheering for Costa Rica, then Switzerland, then Argentina, then Germany, then Portugal. Every time I've chosen a new favorite team it looses. So...now that Italy will play the final game against France, I will cheer for France...so that it looses against Italy because I want to see the forza azzuri win this cup! Why? Because I want to see Italy's team captain, Fabio Cannavaro smile. Isn't he cute?

Some historic stats for you:

Since the Football World Cup Championship began in 1930, only seven countries have won the tournament:

Brazil: 5
Italy: 3
West Germany: 3
Argentina: 2
Uruguay: 2
England: 1
France: 1

Schock in Fußball-Deutschland!!

A few weeks ago, I had posted a picture I thought was very moving. It showed German player L.Podolski consoling the Polish team's goalkeeper after Germany beat Poland.

Today, it was the Army of the Roman Empire that crushed the German hosts to pieces in the dying minutes of the encounter.

Here's another picture of my friend Podolski after the outcome of today's semi-final game against Italy.

Richtig traurig.... :( --> "That's just the way football is."



We are still yet to find out if Germany will end up in 3rd or 4th place in this year's version of the World Cup.

To answer a common question:

"What do you eat in Costa Rica?"

Here's a picture of my lunch:

The main dish is usually some kind of meat; in this case it's smoked ham, but it can also be beef steak, chicken or fish. There are different types of salads and other side dishes include several kinds of vegetables. The fried banana ('plantain'), the black beans and the rice is practically a 'must' in a Costa Rican meal.

This picture doesn't show a 'Costa Rican Tortilla', which can be compared to the 'Indian Chapati', but made of corn flour. Meals usually include a 'fresco', which is a drink made of fruits, sugar and water. (I also like iced-tea.)

Food can have such a cultural influence! During my recent flight from Bombay to Milan I was asked if I wanted a 'vegetarian or a strictly-vegetarian meal'. But I knew I was closer to home when in a later flight I was asked: 'chicken or fish'!...

World Soccer Madness coming to an end!

Semi-finals look like this:

4 July 2006
GERMANY:ITALY

5 July 2006
PORTUGAL:FRANCE

The Cup will remain in Europe. Who will win?!?

You know you're getting old when...

...the conversation with your hair stylist goes like this:

Him: I see you like to read. I don't like it. I only read some novels when I was in high school.

Me: I didn't like some of the novels I had to read in high school, but that was a few years ago.

Him: Really? How long ago?

Me: Well... I graduated in 1988.

Him: I was born in 1988!