Oliver however wasn’t a big fan of sleepaway camp Last year he picked a construction-themed camp in Brooklyn near Dad’s apartment He’d built a skateboard and a shelf to keep his toy soldier collection on Anara hoped to go back to drama camp in the Adirondacks Last year she’d had a blast playing Tweedledum in the camp’s production of Alice in Wonderland Samal wanted to try an art and architecture program called ArtVentures Art Camp Anara rolled her eyes at Samal You’re such a nerd Sam You are seriously like the only ten-year-old with a subscription to Architectural Digest Samal looked offended Anara patted her sister on the back Just kidding It sounds right up your alley Just then Mom came out of her office Actually it was really just a desk and a file cabinet in the corner of her bedroom The girls thought she looked kind of flushed but neither of them said anything Over their breakfast-for-dinner meal Mom told the kids that she had some interesting news My boss Dr Williamson called last night He’s got another assignment for me I have to go to India for a couple of weeks in August Mom regularly traveled for work She worked for a branch of the UN called UNESCO the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization She often led teams of people to ensure that various natural and cultural sites around the world were being taken care of properly But she really enjoyed trying to establish new sites Are we going to stay with Dad Ollie asked That was normally how it worked when Mom had a travel assignment But this year had been really unusual They’d gone with Mom to
Egypt in October and Italy in February Well there are a few possibilities Dad says we could switch our usual summer arrangement so you could stay with me in July and go to him and or camp in August Or she kept quiet for dramatic effect Vovó says she could meet us in India and hang out with you while I’m at work All three kids started squealing with delight Vovó was Dad’s mother She lived outside of Helsinki Finland’s capital city A couple of summers ago Vovó took Anara Samal and Ollie hiking and biking in Acadia National Park They’d had a great time Mom’s eyes were crinkling up at the corners which meant she was happy I take it your squeals mean you’d rather skip camp and go to India eh It will probably cost less money to travel in India than go to camp crazily enough The girls had noticed that Mom definitely worried more about money since she and Dad split up They worried some too By the way did I hear some complaining about the rain I should warn you that the timing of this India trip was not my choice It’s going to be monsoon season in August Are you sure you’re still up for it Mom teased The kids confirmed that crummy weather was not going to stop them from meeting up with Vovó They’d absolutely brave the elements they said though fashion-forward Samal was quick to suggest that they now had the perfect excuse to get new rain boots and jackets Over April break the twins began helping with some of the trip planning They had fun reading about cool things like unusual flavors of ice cream and buildings like the Taj Mahal They discovered that they’d be in India for Independence Day But Anara and Samal were horrified when they looked at the
Center for Disease Control website They were going to need medicine or shots for Hepatitis A Typhoid Japanese encephalitis and Malaria Bummer
Gearing Up and Future Contacts The time flew by between April vacation and the August India trip Oliver passed his yellow belt test in karate the girls had their end-of-the-year dance recital and all three kids advanced another level in their swim lessons While Mom traveled to Morocco and Papua New Guinea Anara Samal and Ollie stayed with Dad The week before the trip the Nylunds apartment looked like a tornado had blown through Piles of stuff lay everywhere Anara commented that Mom’s backpack looked like a traveling pharmacy Besides oodles of hand sanitizer and Ollie’s EpiPen they’d bought bed nets to prevent mosquito bites water purification tablets insect bite treatment and altitude sickness medicine Ollie’s favorite purchase was the anti-diarrhea medicine because it gave him the excuse to say diarrhea and talk about poop even more than usual Not counting boring stuff like toiletries here’s what made the India packing list
