Kussmauls in Asia

Our internet was down for two days but we are finally reconnected.  Our account was set up initially in the name of the company where Clif has done consulting the past 10 years or so.  Somehow it didn't transfer to our name, and after a month we owed 185 rupees ($3.84 by today's exchange rate) so they shut off our connection.  Clif phoned to straighten it out, and the internet company sent an employee to our apartment to collect the 185 rupees, and within a few hours we were connected again.  Can you imagine a US company sending anyone out to collect four dollars?
All is well here.  The kids started Monday at Christ Nagar International School, run by Carmelites, maybe half a mile away from our apartment.  They have no kindergarten so Jin Yi is in 1st grade, where they are learning cursive (she calls it "curviss") -- advanced by US standards.  She is far behind but that's OK; she's starting to make friends, and anything she happens to learn is a bonus, we figure.  Both kids learn four languages in school:  English, Hindi, Malayalam (the local language here in Kerala) and French.  In Ben's class, everyone is far ahead in everything but English, and English itself is tough because the teacher and all the other students have very different accents so it's hard to understand.  Ben is the only Caucasian student, and Jin Yi is the only one who looks Korean; everyone else to us "looks Indian."
Anywhere we go, we are stared at.  Young kids stare in disbelief.  Adults stare in a neutral way, for the most part, but some will stop dead in their tracks or even turn around to gawk.  Young teenagers, say 13-14 years old, stare and then break out in utter mirth because they cannot believe what they are seeing.  Americans!  This reaction is my favorite.  I think all Indian kids study English in school, so whenever we bump into teenagers there is a chorus of, "Hello!  How are you!  What is your name!"  And lots and lots of laughter.  Impossible not to join in the laughing, and of course it is necessary to answer, "Hello!  I am fine, thank you!  My name is Mrs. Lane; what's your name?"
The naming conventions here are strange and we haven't entirely figured them out, but Clif goes by "Dr. Clif," and I alternate between "Mrs. Lane" and "Mrs. Dr. Clif," depending on context, and this seems to work well.
This evening we will have an adventure.  The director of the Center for Bioinformatics, who has included Clif in that department (although he's technically in Computer Science), had suggested that the Center host an Iftaar party -- an evening party, post-sundown, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  The Center was looking for a sponsor for the party, and Fulbright being quite generous with its grants, Clif offered to pick up the tab.  Arrangements are being made...  catering for 50 people and live entertainment.  The kids and I will get a hired car and driver to take us the half-hour drive to campus.  If I am very lucky, one of my two new churidars (tunic top, billowy pants and gauzy scarf/wrap) will be ready this afternoon so I can wear it to the party.  Clif has figured out the buses, and has even purchased a monthly bus pass, so ordinarily a car and driver wouldn't be necessary, and if it weren't an Occasion the kids and I would probably just hop in an auto-rickshaw, but wanting to look as presentable as possible, we will splurge for a car and driver tonight.  Maybe there will be air conditioning...!
Ben had noticed one of his classmates skipping lunch earlier in the week.  "How come you aren't eating?"  "I'm fasting."  "Oh."  Ben asked us about it and found information on Ramadan on the internet.  Found it interesting.  He liked the idea of trying a one-day fast, to see what it's like, and so this morning he got up in advance of sunrise and had a big breakfast.  I sent him to school with no lunch, and his plan is not to eat again until sundown, at the Iftaar party.