The Wixsons in Seattle

Greetings from Mumbai!

We have just returned from a very short trip around the world to celebrate the wedding of Pete and Katie Streit -- congrats you two, you looked so happy! We were so happy to have been a part of the wedding weekend and also very thankful that it gave us an opportunity to see a number of friends and family in a condensed time period.

We flew straight from Mumbai to Amsterdam to Seattle without any delays and made it to the hotel in time to showered and get off to the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. By the time we finished dinner and socializing, we started to nod off and quickly got to bed. Amazingly, we both slept almost through the night which really minimized any jet lag. Saturday was spent getting ready for the wedding ceremony with the ceremony and reception that evening. Needless to say, we slept VERY well that night.

The wedding ceremony was really touching and special and it was so wonderful to see a couple so happy and in love. The reception was a great time to see friends and share stories. I even reminded the gathering (during my brief toast) of India's victory over Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup Final also played that day.

Sunday featured a great day of walking and exploring the city with my parents capped off with an excellent seafood dinner on the Sound overlooking the mountains. Monday we walked a bit more in the morning, had a pleasant lunch and headed to the airport. A quick weekend, but jam-packed with activities, catching up with family and friends, and most importantly, celebrating a great wedding.

Aside from the wedding, our time in Seattle and Minneapolis this past week served as our one week back in the U.S. of A. during our two-year contract here in Mumbai, giving us a great opportunity to reflect on our lives here in India. Here are three observations:

1) We have become accustomed to the craziness of Mumbai: By far the most common phrase to come out of our conversations related to how quiet the city of Seattle was and how few people there were out on the streets. While I really enjoyed the peacefulness, especially in the evening when we were trying to get some sleep, I found myself missing the energetic nature of the streets here.

2) Friends and Family are important: Whether it is back at home in the States or here at home in Mumbai, we thrive on the enriching relationships that we have developed. It was so great to share our experiences here in India with people back home and equally wonderful to hear about there stories, lives, and challenges.

3) Time is valuable, but time zones can really help: We left our apartment here in Mumbai at 9pm on Thursday evening March 31 and arrived at Sea-Tac Int'l at 12noon on Friday April 1. That's incredible. In 25 hours of real time, we are able to get to the other side of the planet -- a very amazing feat of engineering.

As I try to stay awake, our goal is to get to bed and fall asleep between 8:30 and 9pm tonight, I am filled with the happiness of our journey back the U.S. Our lives here in India are wonderful, filled with adventure, and professionally (as in our school here) amazing. But, it is great to get the chance to be back at home. Rachel will write more on our time in Minneapolis, so that's it for now!

Take care,
RW