Letter to anyone we may have missed......

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

Hoping all is well back in the US and elsewhere, we are doing well!

We have crossed the threshold of the first year's completion and are continuing to enjoy ourselves. Since our lengthy journey around North America, we have returned to India and not driven a single mile, personally. It's nice to be out of that journey of 5,000 miles that we did. We saw so many people, and miss some others this summer - it was great, but seemingly impossible to see everyone we know and love. We have moved into a new neighborhood. House is much smaller, it has tree-lined streets and a wall and gate, thus there are no wild dogs running to and fro, and the like. It was a great experience being "right in there" with India (albeit an affluent little corner of India) during the first year, but we will admit it is nice to have the order and security that comes from a gate and guards and a neighborhood association that actually has a regimen of picking up trash. These two years will look and feel different from one another because of our different locations - that was good, and this is good. All is good.

One of the main reasons that we moved was to be with some families with whom we are close friends (most of whom are copied on this e.mail, actually). We have wonderful friends all over Hyderabad, as well. We can attest to the fact that one meets the most amazing people out in this type of life, and those who leave places like America, Denmark, South Africa or the UK to live in *India* of all places - this is a very adventurous and interesting crowd. We enjoy life here in ways we never could have conceived of that fateful night we landed here last August - when we were, in point of fact, five extremely nervous people keeping the upper lip stiff.

I am personally doing well. Work is exciting, if not tumultuous, in the current environment. My value to the company has undergone various permutations over the last year, and I am now primarily managing the integration (we are asked to use the word "harmonizing") of Countrywide's and Bank of America's IT divisions here in India. Then there is Merrill Lynch..... so, we'll see where that is all going. they have a huge presence here, as well. I trust my presence here has helped mature and color the Bank's subsidiary, and I think my boss and peers feel the same way.

If I do say so myself, I speak Hindi pretty well. I take lessons with a great guy named Abdul, as do several other expats. I can carry on a conversation with reasonable accuracy, although I still make plenty of mistakes. I would think that after the second year is complete, I would be equally conversant in French and Hindi. Spanish is the next logical thing.

Tara is great. She has a full day now, as opposed to a year ago when she was in a different place in terms of life. She is enjoying yoga and has increased her involvement with charity work here. This is a land of profound need, as you know, and it's gratifying to see that we are adding more to the relief of India other than the economic development I am helping make happen. Tara has been a huge inspiration to me, as she always has..... but this engagement with the ill and poor has really touched her, and therefore the rest of us, in a powerful way.

Liam is well, or at least as well as one would expect a 14 year old coming of age in circumstances that are trying even to the most developed psyche. He can honestly be a huge challenge, but if we remember correctly...... it was kind of like that before, too. He is absolutely huge now, even having grown since this summer. When you look at the pictures of when we got here versus now, this is a dramatic change. He is very smart, and has shown an extraordinary ability to cook and learn different alphabets. I think Tara and I are both evident in these tendencies?

Aidan is well, he is having a great time in the neighborhood with his friends, and is excited to start playing cricket again. He has also got a taste for doing online games, where he assumes a character and an identity, and plays online with people who are also in the same game. As he walks around in this Middle-Earth type setting, his character actually is trading, communicating, fighting, etc. with other people's characters. They could be in America or Australia or, in our case, at the Webb's house across the way in Whisper Valley. Pretty cool. Even for a reasonably technically savvy person like me, this is a bit odd. Perhaps a generational divide.

Jonah is well. He is, perhaps next to Tara, the most adaptable member of the family. He is having a great time and routinely expresses that he likes living in India, largely because of the friends that he has. He is gaga about High School Musical and also is out and about playing in the neighborhood after school.

We now have a puppy named Ashoka. He is a great little guy and brings us joy all of the time. He is still a work in progress, and we're getting a trainer to come by soon to make sure he goes beyond "sit" and "paw", which he has almost mastered at this point.

I always ask the same thing - if you prayer, please include us, and if you don't - keep us in your hearts and minds and.......... keep in touch, either way! And if anyone at all wants to visit us - please do! When will you ever have all of your expenses covered fully in *India*, once you are on the ground. The offer stands to those adventurous (or foolish) enough to join us in this enchanting land. ;-)

FYI - we will be back in Connecticut for Christmas due to Tara's sister Heather's wedding as well as the Cameron and Viglione family Christmas festivities, so we hope to see some of you there.

Byl, Tara, Liam, Aidan, Jonah
- Camerons in India -
http://cameronsinindia.blogspot.com