February 4th, 2010
Super Simple Babaganoush Recipe
This was a really, really simple Babaganoush recipe that was a major hit at P’s school reunion/drunken night party.
February 2nd, 2010
3 Months Later
So the cross-country road trip is long over.
And if there have been no updates since, it’s because life been a long series of habitual nothingness.
In the time since the road trip, mid-Nov through mid-Jan, P and I were in India… chilling our butts off, if there is such an expression.
It was sort of sad leaving the States, leaving the life we had established for ourselves – a life that was just the two of us. It had nothing to do with leaving ‘the States’, which to most Indians at least, is like committing monetary suicide.
It was about leaving the home we had pieced together with curtains and cushions and vases and Ikea goodies. It was about the $60 bed we loved so much and were so proud of. It was about the $4k car that we pinched pennies to pay off. It was about the experience of driving away for weekends, driving to SF after a boring two weeks in San Jose, it was craving Indian kebab and heading to Zafran every few days. It was about having Smithwicks on tap at O’Flaherty and requesting pecans in every salad. It was about dropping Pratik to work and meeting him for lunch and then picking him up in the evening. Well, it was a weeny bit of a heartbreak leaving our lives and knowing that we will probably not return to it.
And, there were the butterflies, Vietnamese butterflies, in my tummy. We realized when we moved to the States that moving to a new country was not as easy as it sounds. There’s a ton of stuff that one must unlearn and a ton more to relearn.
October 29th, 2009
Setting off: Cross Country Road Trip – Southern States
We leave for our cross country road trip tomorrow. It’s pretty much the Great American road trip, going through almost 15 states. Why are we not doing the usual Route 66, driving across the middle of the country, because it’s so cold right now. It’s barely November, and a lot of places in the North have seen snow already. The winterphobic I am, I put my foot down from the very start. Heading to Florida, I am, siree. I’ve been dreaming of the gorgeous waters of Key West for a month now.
Ever since I saw this picture of 
the Overseas Highway, I haven’t been able to shake off the feeling that my life depends on driving this route. Those magical blue waters have been calling out my name for heaven-knows-how-long. And I can’t wait to be there.
I know the pleasure of a road trip is in the journey itself. But for once, I just want to get t omy destination. Can’t wait to go snorkeling and maybe even diving. I’m not sure whether my back is up to it yet, but heck, I’m quite enthused to give it a shot.
October 23rd, 2009
When I have a doggie..
I will name him Jinx. Isn’t that a really pretty name for a doggie? One day, when I have a home, I will have a doggie. Something sweet looking.. maybe like this..
October 21st, 2009
This is my dream home
This is the home I want to live in, all my life, beginning asap.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20091021-tows-stine-home-tour
Oprah toured this totally-enviable home in Copenhagen. I think this woman must be rich to afford such a wonderful home. And I love how clutter-free it is. I’m sure all those anti-clutter and home-organizing bloggers and flockr groups will inundate this woman with requests to feature her home in their virtual space.
For starters, I’m going to get that green into Pratik’s bedroom in Ahmedabad. He has these pale green walls all around right now. And truth to tell, I find it very tame. This time, we’re throwing some color on those walls!! Haha.. here’s a look at his room right now..
Do you see what I mean? I don’t know why I look so scared in this pic, I don’t ususally do. I love the best in Pratik’s home. It’s low, and classy. We need more space in that room too. Gonna spend some time working at it, this time around. Dang, wish we had Ikea in India 
October 13th, 2009
The Android that may not be
After reading this super-scary post on a blog about robbery in Ho Chi Minh, I advised Pratik to leave his $500 Android in India when we go to Vietnam. Remember the $500 Android he bought because he was so excited about creating applications! (Well, he never did that)
Here’s some excerpts from the post. Sqcary…
So I was standing on the street corner checking my email with my iPod touch because I still don’t have the internet at my new house…someone must have circled around and seen me standing there. So he was waiting behind me and drove by me on the sidewalk, grabbed it out of my hand and I ran after him to try and catch up, but he managed to speed away with it in his hand. I was screaming at the top of my lungs down my street. Gone.
…after 3 months in this country I’ve already fallen victim to robbery from my hand, a taxi driver who tried to rip off my lap top (and charge me extra for the ride), and someone stealing my wallet at a market.
September 23rd, 2009
ESL Contracts: To Go or Not to Go
So what do you do once you’ve finished your TESOL or TEFL course?
Hell man, I’m gonna get a job in China/France/Haiti/Brazil and I’m gonna be gone while you guys clean up the mess around here!!
Uhmm.. wait. Did you sign your contract yet? Did you get the figures right? Are you sure you’re going to have the weekend off? Just some of the questions that your daddy might ask when you’re trampolining and telling him all about your new job.
So what are the loopholes you should look out for in ESL contracts? What are the benefits you must insist on? Find out.. Read More…
September 21st, 2009
Cost of Living and Life in Africa
So I know I’m not going to Africa anymore but I did plan to, just about a few months ago. Google wasn’t very helpful, for once, because there simply isn’t enough information for job seekers wanting to relocate to Africa, or people who want to live there, for longer than two weeks in a safari resort!
So we did a hell lot of research about which countries are worth heading to for a good life without effectively striking a match to my wallet. And believe you me, you can do that in Africa, the Africa of rib-stickin’ out infants and giraffes.
Being sort of a safe person, I was also somewhat concerned about the safety of my booty (as Miss United States just said on Miss Congeniality 2) (yea, I multi-task sometimes). As a journalist, if a newspaper wanted me to stake out for a few days in the middle of a war in Sierra Leone, I’d be there – grit, gumption, and notepad. But considering I was also gonna take my bubblegum with me on this trip, I didn’t want to be somewhere I’d be lying flat on the ground half the time.
September 19th, 2009
Definite and Indefinite Articles
There are two main articles in the English language – a and the. A variant to the first article is an, which is used before words that begin with vowels.
Articles are used before nouns, and just like adjectives (also used before nouns), articles also modify nouns.
Know what modify means? It means ‘to change’ in some way or another.
Let’s look at an example,
I saw a cat. I saw an otter.
I saw the cat.
In the first sentence, I’m referring to a cat that I saw. It may have been any cat. I’m not being specific.
In the second sentence, I’m referring to a particular cat that I saw. I’m being specific.
That’s why a and an are called indefinite articles. And the is called a definite article.
There is a corresponding ESL lesson plan on articles on the blog. Check it out, if you’re an ESL teacher and looking for a nudge of inspiration 
September 17th, 2009
The Simple Rule to Rocking Writing
It’s no secret formula to great writing. In fact, it’s been around for exactly 2009 years. Which means, back in 1 B.C., someone came up with this wonderful simple rule. And how do I know of it? Why, Wikipedia of course!
This quintessential simple rule to rocking writing has been drilled into every journalist living or dead, me included. It’s what makes for great news stories, shocking yellow journalism, and even the racy Shobhaa De columns. But, why would this rule so journalistic be applicable in the ESL world?
Because it works! Every friggin’ time.. Try it teaching letter writing, or paragraph writing, or essay writing, or note writing, or email writing (for all those fancy, big-buck business ESL teachers).
Recently, someone said