Aunts and Uncles

Josiah is quite the celebrity here. South Asians love babies, and seeing a Western baby is unusual so they get really excited. Here are some pictures of Josiah with his good friends that spoil him.

There is also a tradition here that the first time you see a new baby, you're supposed to give him or her a gift - and it has to go in their hand. In the picture above Josiah received money from a few of his new friends.

Silly boy

So it looks like Josiah might end up with his Dad's sense of humor. He's quite a little ham when we get the camera out.

"Oh yeah! Time to eat!"

Josiah as the flying nun.

Laughing at Mommy

"Oops! You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"You think you can take me? Put'em up!"

Okay, so maybe Mom & Dad are really the silly ones. Oh well, we think it's funny!!

Update

We've really been enjoying having Dad & Mom here the last few weeks. They've been able to see firsthand what life is like in South Asia. Dad's even been riding with Aaron on his motorcycle (that's a pretty big deal, especially in this traffic)! And, of course, Josiah has been enjoying his grandparents. Here are some pictures to catch you up on how much our little guy is growing.

Pawpaw can make Josiah smile quicker than anybody.

Josiah and Pawpaw "reading."

Josiah smiling at Nani.

Thanks to Uncle Richard, Aunt Elaine and big cousins Stephen, Amelia and Catherine for Josiah's new crib bedding.

Josiah has to wear hats every time we go out because the sun is so bright and hot. It's a good thing he looks so cute in them! We have to fight off the girls every time he goes out!

Sorry....

We're sorry that it has been so long since we have posted anything. My (Mel) parents arrived last Wednesday evening and it's been busy since. We haven't seen them in a year so it's great to have them here with us! We've been showing them what everyday life is like here in South Asia. I'm really proud of how well they're doing with the cultural differences and everyday adventures. There will be pictures coming soon.

Until then, here are some more pictures of my sweet little man.

Josiah has his Daddy's sense of humor!


Playing in his new play pen from Grammy and Grandpa Goccia.


Aaron bought some camel bells and attached them to this ribbon. We then attach the ribbon to Josiah's foot and he rings the bells. It's one of his favorite toys!


What a sweet face!

Half a day with a mechanic

This past Saturday, I (Aaron) went to pick up my motorcycle from my landlord's house. I keep it there when we are out of town to make sure that it is safe. The bike had been sitting since the end of June and it had not been started since it was parked.

I went with Naeem and figured that I would kick start it a few times and ride home...this is South Asia and this never seems to be the case. I took the cover off and felt as though I were an archaeologist. The bike had so much dirt and mud (it sat there through the rainy season) that I could not tell what color the bike was anymore! I tried to kick it over a few times and it would not start.

We figured that the battery was old and that it needed charging. We took the battery to one of the Royal Enfield service centers near my home who said that it was dead and that I would need a new one. He gave me a shop where I could purchase a replacement. We soon had a new battery from the shop and had it installed.

I kicked the bike over and of course it still would not start...this is South Asia- nothing is ever as easy as it should be. We checked the battery wires and discovered that the heat, rain and battery acid had degraded the wires, we bent then and they promptly broke.

We went to Saleem's shop, he is the best Royal Enfield mechanic in our city and his shop is just a few blocks from our landlord's home. He returned to look at the bike with Naeem and I and told us that he could fix it in 30 minutes at his shop. We returned to his shop where we picked up Saleem's son, Javed. Javed returned to the home on his Enfield while Naeem and I returned in his auto rickshaw. I hopped on my dead bike and steered through the crazy traffic in one of the busiest areas in town while Javed pushed me with his foot while he drove his bike. When we would come to an area where he could not push from my left side, Naeem would stick his foot out of his rickshaw and push me from my right. How come I never have a camera crew with me when this sort of thing happens?

Once we returned to Saleem's shop, the wires were replaced and we tried to start the bike once more. Nothing...more tests were soon being done and it was discovered that the failing ignition switch had finally died. This is relatively easy to replace but it presented a new problem; the new ignition would have a new key. This in itself is no big deal but it would mean that the other five key locks on the bike would take the old key. I opted for all new locks (two toolbox, one steering column, one gas cap and one battery cover lock) at a whopping sum of approximately US $10 for the complete set. Naeem, Javed and I all hopped into Naeem's rickshaw and headed for the market area to pick up the lock set and wires.

When we returned to Saleem's shop, they took about ten minutes to change all of the locks and start the bike. It started on the first kick and ran as though it had never sat. I paid Saleem for his many hours of work a total of US $2.50 and rode off in the dark for home.

The bike runs as good as ever. This all goes to show why Royal Enfield has adopted the slogan "Royal Enfield- Makes An Ordinary Man Into A Mechanic". Even though they have hardly changed in the past 50 years, they still remain one of the most popular bikes in India among the police, military, long distance riders and those looking for a fun ride with a great sound; much the same as Harley Davidson in the US.

More Pictures of Josiah

Josiah is doing great adjusting to life here in South Asia. He's handling the heat well and the noise doesn't bother him at all! He even went for his first auto rickshaw ride this week. Enjoy the photos!

Here is a picture of Josiah at the gym (his new play gym).

Resting after a hard workout at the gym.

Josiah contemplating the meaning of life.

Josiah as he gets ready for his first auto rickshaw ride (07 October 2007). Bhai Akbar (Brother Akbar- our adopted Indian brother) is driving.

Josiah enjoying his bath.

An exciting day!

This past Monday I (Aaron) went to the Magistrate/ Collectorate office in our city to get an affidavit signed. The affidavit stated that I was residing in our city and that I was renting an apartment. It is basically a proof of address statement supported by accompanying notarized documents. This is needed in order to register a vehicle in our city and generally not a problem to obtain. This past January, I was able to get one signed without much hassle in order to register my motorcycle.

This time, unfortunately, the process was not nearly so easy to complete.This is a process which would take the average Indian 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete...

Monday was denial after denial using the first lawyer we retained. Tuesday was Gandhi Ji's birthday so all offices were closed. Wednesday was denial, appeal and more denials so we decided to retain a different lawyer. Once again after another denial, we were told to return "tomorrow". This lawyer was optimistic that perhaps he would be able to convince the head collectorate/ magistrate for the entire district (the capital city of the entire state) the following day; the collector was not in the office that day.

Thursday brought anxiety that perhaps the final request and appeal would be denied thus leaving us unable to buy a car and have it registered. The lawyer we hired went to the head collector's office and was unable to get the paper signed, he said he had one more thing to try.

He went around and spoke with a number of other advocates. After about 20 minutes, he went to the parking area between the building and the stands outside where the lawyers sit. He raised his arms and started chanting. Within minutes there were 50 - 70 (we stopped counting around 50, there were too many for an exact number) advocates raising their fists and shouting with chanting every minute. They then marched into the building, up the stairs and past the armed guards. There were so many lawyers, that the guards were unable to control the crowd. They went into the head collector/ magistrate's office and soon filled his large office, they could not all fit into the office so they waited in the halls down both directions of the corridor.

The lawyers presented my case and asked why it was repeatedly denied if it was legal and all of my papers were in order. After about ten minutes, they began cheering and exited the office triumphant. The head collector/ magistrate could find no legal or proper reason for denying the completion of my affidavit; he overturned his earlier decision as well as the multiple decisions of the five officers under his authority.

Once this was done, it was another three and a half hours until the papers were actually signed off on; after three days and 17 hours, I was able to get the paper signed!

I felt as though I was in a movie. I told my friend Naeem who had help-ed me throughout the entire process that the scene was better than cable television. It was really exciting and interesting to see how things work here; it reminded me of Gandhi Ji and the similar techniques which he used to aid in India gaining its' Independence (15 August 1947- By the way this is also the date Josiah was born- but 60 years later).

Josiah's Smile

Josiah has started smiling a lot in the last week or so. Let me tell you that it melts my heart when that sweet little face smiles back at me! I was finally able to get a picture, so here it is:

Here are some other recent pictures of our little man.

Josiah holding his head up


Just had a bath.


All dressed up!

Josiah's Birth Certificate

In Thailand, it is an interesting process in order to get a birth certificate. First you tell them in English what the child's name is. They then translate it phonetically into the Thai language. The official Thai birth certificate is then sent to Bangkok so that it can be translated into English. As you can see the child's name is translated back and forth a number of times; it makes it difficult to have the name at the end of the process be the same as at the beginning of the process.

You cannot apply for US citizenship certification (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) without the official translation of the Thai birth certificate. When we received the English birth certificate, Josiah's name was written as Josian. When I pointed this out, I was told "No problem, same, same". Apparently they have never tried to apply for official documents in the US. After my insistence that this was unacceptable, they used white out (over the lamination on the document) and corrected it with a pen!

In the end, everything worked out and Josiah (or Josian, whichever you prefer) received his paperwork stating he is a US citizen as well as his passport.

We have posted his birth certificate for you to see. It contains some very interesting information. In section 1, his name begins with Master, he was born on the 2nd waxing moon, in the 9th lunar month in calendar year of the pig. How many of you can say that you were born in the year of the pig?

(click on image to enlarge)