Visa!

Today we finished up at the Embassy! We had our visa interview this morning - ending with the official 'raise your right hand' pledges, and congratulations from the Embassy workers. It doesn't sound like much, but it did feel very special. After spending hours upon hours waiting in an extremely crowded room with so many other Indians (who, btw, were dressed to impress at their visa appointments) who were hoping/praying to get a visa to enter the U.S., it was a happy moment and we were thankful.
We returned to the Embassy late this afternoon to pick up the coveted 'package' which will allow us to take Maya home with us. Yay!! I think Maya might miss those security guards who gave her so much attention... the little diva!

Last night, there were no 'sad crying' outbursts.. thankfully. Maya has also awoken this morning and from her naps today with a big smile on her face! This was a very good day for her. We are finding that she only seriously becomes upset when she is hungry. And good lord - don't stand in the way of the food!! For such a teeny little thing, she can somehow throw herself at the bottle or the cereal bowl with the force of a WWF wrestler!
Her appetite increases by the hour I believe. She now needs a bottle of formula and a bowl of cereal 3x/day. I know that is normal - but that sure wasn't what she was getting or asking for a few days ago. Plus she gets several snacks in b/t meals.. I don't think she goes 15 minutes without ingesting some type of food when she is awake!
But that is a great thing - the girl needs to bulk up a bit! We are trying to gradually up her food intake, as we have to deal with the tummy issues that come later. Those also seem to be improving quite a bit.
The orphanage gave us Nestogen 2 formula for Maya. We had the driver take us to many places today, looking for more formula. Unfortunately, we cannot find it anywhere. We brought some Nestle Good Start with us, and we are now easing her onto that formula. We don't have much Nestogen left, so I hope she adjusts quickly. We had hoped to wait until we returned home and could ease her into a different formula such as Enfamil. We will probably do that anyhow, as I have heard that Enfamil is far superior to the Nestle products. Maya's pediatrician also recommended Enfamil.

A few items to mention to families who might be traveling soon to pick up their child, and have lots of questions:
* In Delhi, you can wear whatever you are comfortable wearing. I would suggest not wearing clothing that shows much skin (long pants and shirts that do not have low necklines would be fine).. but even the Indian women here wear pants and shorter skirts. This also held true at our Kolkata hotel - and on the main streets of Kolkata.
I actually wore a salwar kameez in the Hyatt/Delhi and almost felt uncomfortable b/c it was filled with western people - none who were wearing Indian clothing. That was odd.
The Marriott in Delhi, however, seemed to have more of an Indian clientelle, and there were few westerners. At the Marriott, I felt odd wearing western clothing.
The Sheraton in Kolkata - I was fine either way. And WOW - if you get a chance to stay at that hotel, do it!! The entire experience was 5-star.
* If you journey outside Delhi to site-see, etc - you should wear more traditional clothing (at least long skirts). Not that it would be much of a problem if you did not - as i did see a few women who were dressed in western clothing (including shorts) - but you will SERIOUSLY stand out. You want to blend in as much as possible as you will be a target to beggars. If I didn't mention it before - we visited one touristy area in Agra and I was MOBBED by beggars. The women and children swarmed around me - grabbing my arms and clothing. The men followed closely behind us in groups - staring and staring. That was the only experience I have had in India that made me feel VERY uncomfortable. I was, however, the only white person that I saw among hundreds and hundreds of Indians that day.
Plus, it just seems wrong to blatantly disregard the culture of the people you are visiting.
* Sandals are the norm... flip-flops are fine if you aren't going someplace that is dressy (such as the Embassy, out to dinner, etc).

Well, we are off to the club room for free drinx and appetizers. :) Yay for Aj's hotel points! The club rooms at all of these hotels are wonderful. The Hyatt in Delhi has a particularly nice pool area, and the club room overlooks this. Maya just awoke from another nap and is ready to go flirt with everyone she meets!
Much as I'm loving the Indian food I'm eating here... I have not eaten any meat since we arrived (somehow seeing men riding bicycles with ~100 dead chickens hanging off the back end of them in 110-degree weather ended my need for meat in this country). I am dying to get home and have a big grilled steak!!!! Red-meat withdrawal. Where is Tony's Market when you need them...