Ruben– 2008 Year in Review (& Morocco pics)

Happy new year everyone. 2008 was a wonderful year for us. Ruben experienced five new countries among his many travels (Egypt, the US, Luxumbourg, Portugal and Morocco), learned to walk, sing, and, ahem, read, and generally found a way to amuse and amaze us each day.

Ruben’s getting a little brother in May, so 2009 promises to be equally exciting for the boy…though perhaps in a what-have-you-jerks-done–I-was-king-of-the-pond sort of way. Good times ahead regardless. We can’t wait.

—–
We capped off 2008 with another installment of Krishna family adventures. Previous installments include Alaska, France and Spain, and Greece. This time, after a rendezvous in Heidelberg, we made our way to Morocco.

Morocco is correctly described as a convergence of African, Arabic and European culture. Picture cities with roads and buildings that easily could be taken from anytown, Western Europe. Then, drop in a medina (walled section) right in the center, in which teeming masses are often clustered together in super-narrow alleyways, living the hyper-urban life and selling all manner of interesting goods. Then, add the beauty of Islamic art and architecture, from the intricate mosaics on the floors and walls of Mosques to the small hands of Fatima on most apartment doors warding off bad luck. It’s a really interesting place, and though I didn’t quite get to do all I wanted (e.g., tasting one of the delicacies, pigeon stew), I left pretty satisfied at what all we’d seen and done.

Now, it wasn’t all wine mint tea and roses cacti mind you. We’ve done plenty of traveling, especially in areas where customer service is not necessarily priority one. Somehow though, with toddler in tow, things we could laugh off in the DINK days were harder to stomach. Sample conversation at hotel restaurant as I sought out milk for our overtired lad:

AK: Can I have some milk for my son?
Staff: No. Call room service, 6.
AK: But I’m here now, and my son’s asleep. I’ll pay. Can I have some milk here?
Staff: No. Not possible.
AK: If I call room service, won’t they bring the milk from here?
Staff: Yes, but not possible, Please call 6.

Obnoxious entitled attitudes aside, we did experience about the worst hotel I’ve ever encountered. The list of grievances was both long and serious enough to warrant writing to their parent company. Luckily, the remainder of the trip was wonderful, and our family (thankfully) manages to amuse ourselves endlessly, even when the source of our amusement is our own discomfort. It’s a great way to travel.

As usual, DPK has proven master of the pics+commentary photo album. Although Kodak Gallery (nee Ofoto) has done an egregious disservice by making it even harder to read the witty commentary (and thus probably reduced the percentage who actually read the commentary to lowfat milk territory…two percent), we Krishnas remain steadfast in our loquacious musings.

Plus, keep in mind that DPK commentary includes actual informative research on said locations, as opposed to the corny puns and Shyaam jokes that largely define my own. Hers is indeed uncommontary, so please check it out.

Morocco Pics

And I’ll finish with some videos from the trip:

Hassan II Mosque was built in Casablanca 15 years ago, and is the third largest Mosque in the world. It’s a very impressive structure:

Jamaa al Fna is a square in Marrakesh that needs to be seen to be believed. The overwhelming din of humanity– street performers, henna painters, snake charmers, other musical and live acts, food, drink, touts, tourists, locals, police, animals– it’s really an amazing place. Here’s a brief video:

Making dosas (lentil pancakes) are a piece of cake

My uncle’s South Indian grocery business continues to do well. You might recall the good pub here and here. He’s done a series of instructional videos on how to make some of the more traditional South Indian dishes. He sells readymade batter, so if you’re on the West Coast, please check him out. South Indian food is super-yummy, and surprisingly easy to make.

My uncle also kindly requests that you watch the instructions and not the instructor…

How to make Idli

How to make adai

How to make uttapam

Should have named him Moorcah

Boys generally start speaking more slowly than girls, and with the multiple languages, we haven’t worried about Ruben’s slow start to speech.

One of the landmarks for kids this age is putting two words together, which Ruben started this week, not surprisingly, with “More Car”. We’re excited, but also chagrined, as he is still unable to say his own name.

Now he runs around like he’s John Malkovich in his eponymous movie*, repeating MoreCar MoreCar MoreCar ad nauseum. When we ask him his name, he stops and grins goofily, and then resumes his MoreCar rantings.

On the bright side, he’s able to reliably identify the letters B, A, O and P. All other letters are “B” followed by a goofy smile. Or “MoreCar”.

*Yes, I’m proud to have used that word outside of referencing REM.

Rest in peace Henry Molaison

Anyone who has taken an Intro Psych class has heard of him, though–ironically– you might not remember. Henry Molaison, known to us as HM, passed away this week. HM had severe epilepsy and in 1953 received the first and last bilateral temporal lobectomy. Though reducing the frequency of seizures, the surgery had profound effects on his long-term memory.

It is a gross oversimplification to say HM completely lost his long-term memory. Simply put, HM lost his ability to form new, explicit long-term memories. He retained memory from before the surgery, as well as the ability to learn new skills, what we call implicit memories.

That he lost so much with an innocent swipe of the knife, and then that he hadn’t lost nearly as much as we thought, has made him arguably the most important patient in Psychology. Certainly that can be said for Cognitive Psychologists.

My initial interest in Psychology, and memory specifically, was due to HM, Phinneas Gage, and other patients whose misfortune told us there was something knowable in that black box in our heads. I’m not particularly sentimental, but I do feel a real sense of loss with HM’s passing.

Here’s his NYT obit

Ruben Day 670– Portugal

We had a fun Thanksgiving in Portugal (country #14 for Ruben, but who’s dad’s counting). Lisbon is a beautiful city, hilly and filled with small, windy roads. Sort of a cross between San Francisco and Venice, though that doesn’t do it justice. Its cosmopolitan vibe, stemming from the genuinely friendly locals and copious numbers of appreciative ex-pats make it a really charming venue. We enjoyed our time in the city, as well as time along the coast and up north at some world heritage sites. Big thanks to our friend Mary who set things up and took good care of us.

The monestary at Alcobaca had some really impressive architecture. Even more impressive was the macabre tale of King Pedro, who while still a prince suffered through his wife being murdered (due to her Spanish ties). Legend has it, upon ascending to the throne, he had her body exhumed, dressed and placed next to him, and required his subjects to kiss her decomposing hand! Their coffins now sit in the monestary, across from one another. You’ve got to hand it to him. When the going got tough, he didn’t knuckle under.

Obidos is an walled city that, while touristy, still managed to exude a fair bit of charm. It’s smaller and more tightly packed than Rotenburg Rothenburg, and I liked that aspect– it really seemed anachronistic, or as a friend of ours put it, like you’re on a movie set. You’ll get a sense of it in the pictures.

Pics from the Portugal Trip

And, though K insists no one watches these, you’re getting a non-Ruben vista video anyway. I have officially become my father:

As far as the boy, here’s one of him enjoying his favorite object/word:

And, my only defense here is I have been watching the Itouch commercials and forgot you can’t rotate videos as you are taking them. Yes, I am an idiot:

Ruben Day 661– the crooner

I just spent a few days in Italy for work–next time I complain about my job please remind me of this–and came back to a Ruben of increasing competence. He’s not as verbal as some others I’ve seen at his age, but he’s babbling/speaking a whole lot. At first we thought it was pretty meaningless, but realized his babble is filled with various German commands (e.g., da, nihm). With the handful of Tamil he understands (baneeyan being the latest), he’s a multi-lingual covert sponge.

Ruben had a check up this week. He is 35.8 inches and 28.6 pounds. 50-75th percentile in weight and > 95th percentile in height. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or banana, as it were.

—–
Politics aside, Obama’s election makes me excited for Ruben’s future prospects. Unlike my arrogant current self, I was plenty insecure growing up. Most of my angst came from being a confused minority child of immigrants, trying to find my place between two very different worlds. I clearly remember feeling certain opportunities were not open to me because of my ethnicity. Looking back, most of it was unfounded…just the rationalizations of a young lad afraid to stick his neck out. Nevertheless, a mutt in the White House means the American Dream is indeed more than a slogan. Corny, I know, but it matters.

—–
In addition to the purposeful speech, Ruben is taking an interest in the arts, having taken up singing and dancing. Enjoy the beginning of Ruben’s a capella career:

I shall call him…number two

Sorry for the long hiatus. This German class has been really good, but boy if it isn’t humbling. I can’t just read over things once and remember it like times past. I don’t know if it’s age, the complexity of German grammar, or some of both. Whatever it is, my evenings the last month have often been spent wondering how I can be this far along and still need the dictionary for 75% of the words I see. This doesn’t bode well for this week’s closed book final exam.

Glutton for punishment that I am, I’ve enrolled in the 4th semester class, which begins the following week.

Anyway, Ruben is doing well. His word count continues to increase, and includes German words as well. His comprehension is off the charts. Last week I dropped him off at his German day care, and his caregiver remarked (in German) “mdwemewmw Gummistiefel msdfeljfewj”. I translated in my head, remembered Gummistiefel means rainboots, and looked down to see Ruben already grabbing and acknowledging the object of her comment.

Of course he still soils himself several times daily. I retain the high ground…for now.

—–
Last week was the Heidelberg Halloween 5K run. I ran it last year, and finished third (19:20). This year, recovering from a terrible month long cold, I knew I had no hope of approaching that time. So, I decided to use Ruben as my excuse. We dressed him up in his adorable pumpkin outfit and we went out with the jogging stroller and ran a respectable 21:39. Of course, any potential ego boost was burst by some young whipper-snapper relegating me to second in the jogging stroller division. So much for fleeting glory.

——
Off topic, but man this would have been a fun project to do in school

——
And the biggest news for us, as implied by the title, is we are expecting again. Due date is the beginning of May, and we found out on Thursday it’s going to be a boy. I have to admit I’d been picturing a girl, and have had to revise my mental image of what’s in store. Anyway, there’s a long way to go, but it’s exciting to think about the possibilities.

Here are some random pics from the last few months:

Fall 2008 Pics

Ruben Day 607– let’s go, mets go…home.

Although I look forward to Ruben really learning to love sports (and no, he won’t have a choice in the matter…), I’m not looking forward to the first time his team lets him down. My Mets blew it again, and although I mentally prepared myself for the last couple of weeks, and don’t care nearly as much as when I was a kid, it still stinks. You hate to see your child in pain…but I’m actually less worried about skinned knees and broken bones than Ruben watching his team rescue defeat from the jaws of victory.

I know…the joy of winning wouldn’t be near as good if you didn’t have these occasional bouts of failure. I just wish the Mets could suck in a less dramatic and more spread-out fashion. Best analogy I read about their sad bullpen…it’s like an elite soccer team opting to play the last 15 minutes with an armless goalie…

—–
Although Ruben can say several words now (including dada!), car remains his favorite. Anything that 1. has wheels, 2. moves smoothly on pavement or 3. is not a bird, animal or parent, is so labeled. Oddly enough, the tamil word “vahndi” does generally apply to any wheeled vehicle, so he’s not as far off as first thought.

Steve and Linnea visited and we enjoyed Heidelberg’s Herbstfest (fall festival). It’s one raucous day on the Hauptstrasse with trinkets, music, food and drink, and it’s a real pleasure to be able to walk out our front door into the festival, and have the option to duck home whenever we felt like it. Last Saturday in September…start planning your visit for next year.

Anyway, video from this weekend…more smooches from Linnea.

Toddlerhood in all its glory

We had a fun trip to Luxembourg this weekend. Luxembourg’s downtown is eminently walkable, filled with nice architecture and interesting shops. Luxembourg is the only remaining Grand Duchy, and is functionally trilingual (German, French, and Luxembourgish–a branch of German with lots of French influence). Plus, most speak English as well. As it is in Europe and India, we are shamed by our uniglot existence.

However, we are seeking to remedy that, with Ruben in German day care, and his parents starting the third level German class, online, this week. As I was director of our online program for several years, it’s about time I take one of our classes. Viel gluck fuer uns (wish us luck…or I am a donut).

—–
We also learned why families with children around this age don’t travel so much…the terrible twos have begun! All of a sudden, Ruben’s life is filled with a series of things “not going his way”, and he wants to be absolutely sure his parents–and every other sentient being in a 100 meter radius–are aware of his displeasure.

You know, you can read all about it, and pay passing sympathy when encountering other parents in the midst of these public meltdowns, but nothing quite prepares you for dealing with it when it’s your own.

Anyway, hopefully I learned something in graduate school. Oversimplified– postive reinforcement good; punishment bad. The problem, of course, is you can’t always provide a toddler a reinforcable option or eliminate unwanted temptations…and candidly, sometimes punishment would be so satisfying. But, such is the challenge of parenting, and we knew what we were getting into. Again, wish us luck.

Continuing on the masochism tip, I watched my first Mets game of the year last night. Surprisingly, they won. For those who don’t know, we had an historic collapse in September of last year, and I’ve taken a decidely removed approach to following them this year, lest I get too attached and hurt again. But, it’s September, and my daily furtive glances at the box scores and highlights are fooling no one, least of all, the baseball gods…who wouldn’t do it to us two years in a row…would they?

On the word front, Ruben now reliably says “mama”. For whatever reason, it’s so adorable when he says it I can barely take it. Surprising to me, given my generally unsentimental tendencies. He doesn’t say dada yet (usually calls me mama, or looks away as he knows he can’t produce the answer), but that’s ok– all good things to those who wait.

Ruben Day 563–the obedience

As part of Ruben’s bedtime routine, we’ve pulled off something close to Tom Sawyer conning his friends into whitewashing his fence. Ruben now happily takes it upon himself to put away his books and toys before taking his bath and going to sleep. Since I can’t imagine this lasting more than a couple of weeks, we’ve quickly documented it for posterity’s sake.

Ruben’s word count is up to 5. Important to note he recognizes hundreds, and says different intonations of bah to differentiate among many, but right now if judges were scoring, he’d have “bird”, “bus”, “ball”, “no” (always said in threes and with a Russian accent, as in “nyo nyo nyeh”), and now, “car”. If his learning order is based on frequency or enjoyment, next up should be book, swing or fart…