Animals... there are animals everywhere in India. Come on, there are cows and dogs on the road sometimes sprinkled in the mix of traffic. We are experiencing all the different animals, there was a monkey hanging out in the park across our house. There are lizards and cockroaches that come into the house. I have not seen any in our house but according to Mira and Vim, they have spotted both!! We have had our house treated with 'pest control' so hopefully the visits from the creepy crawling things inside our house is no longer going to happen!! So far no encounters with any truly dangerous animals... like a cobra or tiger! If we do, we will let ya know! Hey, its India, anything is possible.
Ovens... I took it for granted that ovens are a standard item in houses. I even packed cake and brownie mixes in our sea shipment. It was a bit of a disappointment that there was not an oven in our house!! No Oven!! Really? No big deal, we will buy one (and expense iy, of course). Not so easy... full size ovens are not readily available!! Went to several stores, nothing... they have an oven that is about 30% bigger than a toaster oven that they tried to tell me was a full size oven!! We will keep looking. Otherwise, one of our neighbors has one, it won't be hard to cut a deal... let us use your oven, and we will give you some brownies or a cupcake!! Not a bad trade, right?
Late Dinners.... Here dinner is after 8 and sometimes 9! After 9 for dinner.... really? Back at home, there were some nights that I was fast asleep after 9!! We would eat dinner by 6 back at home. Here we are stretching it to 7. The funny thing is if we are going out to dinner, they don't serve dinner until after 7pm. We have been to several places where we are the first to get there (right at 7) and when we are done with our meal, and ready to pay, the crowds start filling in. I guess we can be sure our food is fresh, right??
That is all I have to share today.
We are off to Mysore tomorrow. Our first road trip. I will post when we come back. Enjoy your weekend!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
No Alarm Clock
No, there is no alarm clock in our house. Seems odd, right. But actually we don't need it!! We have the beauty of the 'mother natures' alarm clock! Yes, I am awaken each morning with the sounds of the birds. No, not pretty song birds humming a nice melody. No, it is large crows, squawking away!! Yes, it is loud, and it is starts at the same time everyday - 6am!! The crows here are kind of like roosters, right. What is up with the birds and their early morning racket? The big question - do they adjust to daylight savings time? Actually does India adjust to daylight savings time? Hmmmm!
I will post tomorrow about more animal stories - this will be about animals inside the house!!
Take care!
I will post tomorrow about more animal stories - this will be about animals inside the house!!
Take care!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Stuff....
Just some general things...
Manjula the maid is AWESOME!! She cooked dinner 2 days in a row and it was great!! It was traditional south Indian type food, but it was really good!! She cleans really good too! I think that she will work out good! The bummer, I don't get to see her. She comes at 9am and leaves at 5. And well, lets just say, my hours are a wee bit longer than that... I will get to that in a minute. So anyways, back to Manjula, I wish that we would cross paths! We will manage.
Back to my work hours.... Most of you know my hours back at home... early in and early out! There were some days I was in by 5am, and home by 3:30. Well, here it is not quite working out so nicely. I get to work by 8 or 8:30, and try to leave by 6. However yesterday, it was 7pm before I left!!
Today we did a web-cam-skype session with my brother and parents. It was really nice to be able to see each other.... gotta love technology. Vim took them on a tour of the house and the surroundings. Again.... technology at work!! With wireless, a lap top, and a web-cam we were all over the house. It was nice to be able to show them our 'home'!! They were even able to say hi to our driver over the skype session. Devaraj came in to say hi!! It was nice.
Speaking of Devaraj, he has an interesting set up. His wife and son live in Mysore and he comes to work in Bangalore. He lives at his sisters house during the week. He is only able to go home on the weekends if we don't have him driving for us. So now on Sundays, I feel guilty if we keep him here working and away from his family. Anyways, to make up for it, this weekend we are taking a road trip to Mysore. He will be able to spend time with his family and we will be able to see Mysore! Win-Win!!!
OK, that is all for now!!
Manjula the maid is AWESOME!! She cooked dinner 2 days in a row and it was great!! It was traditional south Indian type food, but it was really good!! She cleans really good too! I think that she will work out good! The bummer, I don't get to see her. She comes at 9am and leaves at 5. And well, lets just say, my hours are a wee bit longer than that... I will get to that in a minute. So anyways, back to Manjula, I wish that we would cross paths! We will manage.
Back to my work hours.... Most of you know my hours back at home... early in and early out! There were some days I was in by 5am, and home by 3:30. Well, here it is not quite working out so nicely. I get to work by 8 or 8:30, and try to leave by 6. However yesterday, it was 7pm before I left!!
Today we did a web-cam-skype session with my brother and parents. It was really nice to be able to see each other.... gotta love technology. Vim took them on a tour of the house and the surroundings. Again.... technology at work!! With wireless, a lap top, and a web-cam we were all over the house. It was nice to be able to show them our 'home'!! They were even able to say hi to our driver over the skype session. Devaraj came in to say hi!! It was nice.
Speaking of Devaraj, he has an interesting set up. His wife and son live in Mysore and he comes to work in Bangalore. He lives at his sisters house during the week. He is only able to go home on the weekends if we don't have him driving for us. So now on Sundays, I feel guilty if we keep him here working and away from his family. Anyways, to make up for it, this weekend we are taking a road trip to Mysore. He will be able to spend time with his family and we will be able to see Mysore! Win-Win!!!
OK, that is all for now!!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
General Update....
Well, today is 1 week since we have moved into the house. It is coming together!!
The kids are getting used to things. Each of the bedrooms have their own bathroom with shower, but right now we are all using one bathroom to shower in - Milan's. One thing that we are learning to deal with is the Geysers. It is basically mini-hot water tanks that service the showers/bathrooms. You have to turn them on before the shower (at least 20 minutes before so the water get nice and hot), and the hot water does not last long (it is only a 3-4 gallon tank). So basically, my shower time is cut in half.... no more 15-20 soaking showers!! To conserve power, you basically turn the geysers off when you don't need the hot water.
That brings me to the next thing.... power. The power goes out A LOT here!! Sometimes it is out for just a few minutes. Sometimes it is out for a half hour or more. This is typical for India. As a result, they sell 'power-back up' units. These things basically store power so when the power goes out, there is a secondary source. So, we have 2 of these units. We had to figure out what to hook up to these units. first we started with the TV and the Fridge. Seems practical, right. Then we went to hook up the wireless, which also requires a power backup. OK, now the toss up. TV, Fridge, Internet..... which 2 get the power-back up?? You probably guessed it, the fridge lost that battle. So now, we are set up with internet-wireless, and the vonage is working. The wireless is a little temperamental, so we are still working out of our set-up in the hallway sitting on a stool! I really have to take a picture of this!
The power situation is interesting. We have a washer and dryer for the clothes, but you can't run them both at the same time... if you do, you trip the fuse. Does not seem to efficient!! Basically it is one load at a time!! I am sure that I will write more about the power issues.... It will be something that we will just have to learn to deal with!
Today we have our first maid starting with us!! It is a huge adjustment!! Most of you know that we have never had a cleaning lady or anything, so 'training' her is going to be a bit of a struggle. She is mopping the floors right now, looks good to me. We will see if she passes the Vim test!! Her name is Manjula. She is really nice, but she can only speak Hindi!! I am struggling to communicate, but we are managing! She can cook too, so tomorrow, we will have her make some dinner. I am not sure what... I think I will let her decide. I will keep you posted on how she works out.
One other thing I wanted to write about... Milan. He is totally fitting in here. The other day we were at dinner and we were just talking about things that are different in India. He says in his very confident manner 'yes, I know things are different, this is India'. It was funny... I think you had to be there to get the full effect!! He is really adjusting well. Oh, another funny story... the other day, I was getting ready for work. The driver was already here and he was cleaning the car. Milan looks out the upstairs window and yells to the driver whose name is Devaraj - 'Devraj, madam is coming in 5 minutes'!! Milan is referring to me as madam!! What happened to 'mommy'???
There is more to share.... but I will save it for another time.
Tell me what is going on back at home??? How is everyone doing? Send emails....
Take care!
The kids are getting used to things. Each of the bedrooms have their own bathroom with shower, but right now we are all using one bathroom to shower in - Milan's. One thing that we are learning to deal with is the Geysers. It is basically mini-hot water tanks that service the showers/bathrooms. You have to turn them on before the shower (at least 20 minutes before so the water get nice and hot), and the hot water does not last long (it is only a 3-4 gallon tank). So basically, my shower time is cut in half.... no more 15-20 soaking showers!! To conserve power, you basically turn the geysers off when you don't need the hot water.
That brings me to the next thing.... power. The power goes out A LOT here!! Sometimes it is out for just a few minutes. Sometimes it is out for a half hour or more. This is typical for India. As a result, they sell 'power-back up' units. These things basically store power so when the power goes out, there is a secondary source. So, we have 2 of these units. We had to figure out what to hook up to these units. first we started with the TV and the Fridge. Seems practical, right. Then we went to hook up the wireless, which also requires a power backup. OK, now the toss up. TV, Fridge, Internet..... which 2 get the power-back up?? You probably guessed it, the fridge lost that battle. So now, we are set up with internet-wireless, and the vonage is working. The wireless is a little temperamental, so we are still working out of our set-up in the hallway sitting on a stool! I really have to take a picture of this!
The power situation is interesting. We have a washer and dryer for the clothes, but you can't run them both at the same time... if you do, you trip the fuse. Does not seem to efficient!! Basically it is one load at a time!! I am sure that I will write more about the power issues.... It will be something that we will just have to learn to deal with!
Today we have our first maid starting with us!! It is a huge adjustment!! Most of you know that we have never had a cleaning lady or anything, so 'training' her is going to be a bit of a struggle. She is mopping the floors right now, looks good to me. We will see if she passes the Vim test!! Her name is Manjula. She is really nice, but she can only speak Hindi!! I am struggling to communicate, but we are managing! She can cook too, so tomorrow, we will have her make some dinner. I am not sure what... I think I will let her decide. I will keep you posted on how she works out.
One other thing I wanted to write about... Milan. He is totally fitting in here. The other day we were at dinner and we were just talking about things that are different in India. He says in his very confident manner 'yes, I know things are different, this is India'. It was funny... I think you had to be there to get the full effect!! He is really adjusting well. Oh, another funny story... the other day, I was getting ready for work. The driver was already here and he was cleaning the car. Milan looks out the upstairs window and yells to the driver whose name is Devaraj - 'Devraj, madam is coming in 5 minutes'!! Milan is referring to me as madam!! What happened to 'mommy'???
There is more to share.... but I will save it for another time.
Tell me what is going on back at home??? How is everyone doing? Send emails....
Take care!
Friday, July 25, 2008
WE ARE OK!!
In case you are reading the news about the Bomb blasts in Bangalore and were concerned. Please rest assured knowing that we all are OK. As the news states, they were centered in the city area, and we are in the out-skirts. There was nothing in the area where we are in. They did close some areas of the city off, but nothing is impacted where we live.
At work, they kept things going. There was no panic or threat to us here. We are still working away.
We will post more later!
Take care!!
At work, they kept things going. There was no panic or threat to us here. We are still working away.
We will post more later!
Take care!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
An Interview with Milan and Mira
Milan:
What do you like most about India?
I love going swimming everyday in the pool everyday at the hotel and going on the slide. I like our new beautiful house. It is beautiful. And I get my own bathroom.
What do you miss from home?
I miss my friend Arthus. I miss him so much. Arthus I hope you are having a good day in France.
My dad fixed the TV so I am happy. I miss all my friends in my class.
These are Milan's words - verbatim!
We see if we can get more another time.
Mira:
What do you like about India?
My room with the pink curtains.
What do you miss the most about home?
My cousins and nana and bapa.
Thursday, July 24, 2008: Today was Mommy's birthday. We went to Little Italy for dinner and the power went out at the restaurant. We had to walk up some very very steep stairs in the dark. And it was pouring rain outside and I got soaking wet!! Thank you for my interview! and Bye!
MOM:
Today's dinner was nice despite the power going out. Actually it happens so often that it does not phase us! The food was amazing!! This was a restaurant perfect for Vim! It was all vegetarian!! He could pick ANYTHING on the menu! And the food was amazing! We ordered Indian red wine.... not so amazing. It was a little like drinking vinegar! An awesome thing about the restaurant...... the owner came to talk to us and he told us he delivers to our housing complex!! That is great!!! Oh another interesting thing about this restaurant (and many others), they try to mix cuisines! Like the Thai restaurant serves Indian food. Chinese places serve Indian too.... OK, it is India so it makes sense to serve Indian, right? So what do you think that Italian restaurant had.... no, not Indian. I don't think that you will ever guess! It is Mexican! Mexican and Italian, who would think that would go together??? Well, we will be trying it out at some point so we will let you know! The Italian was great, so I am expecting that the Mex would be just as awesome!
Oh, the decor in the place was really modern... almost like a chic New York Restaurnat! Very nice!!
OK, it is 10pm, so we are off to bed. Good night!
What do you like most about India?
I love going swimming everyday in the pool everyday at the hotel and going on the slide. I like our new beautiful house. It is beautiful. And I get my own bathroom.
What do you miss from home?
I miss my friend Arthus. I miss him so much. Arthus I hope you are having a good day in France.
My dad fixed the TV so I am happy. I miss all my friends in my class.
These are Milan's words - verbatim!
We see if we can get more another time.
Mira:
What do you like about India?
My room with the pink curtains.
What do you miss the most about home?
My cousins and nana and bapa.
Thursday, July 24, 2008: Today was Mommy's birthday. We went to Little Italy for dinner and the power went out at the restaurant. We had to walk up some very very steep stairs in the dark. And it was pouring rain outside and I got soaking wet!! Thank you for my interview! and Bye!
MOM:
Today's dinner was nice despite the power going out. Actually it happens so often that it does not phase us! The food was amazing!! This was a restaurant perfect for Vim! It was all vegetarian!! He could pick ANYTHING on the menu! And the food was amazing! We ordered Indian red wine.... not so amazing. It was a little like drinking vinegar! An awesome thing about the restaurant...... the owner came to talk to us and he told us he delivers to our housing complex!! That is great!!! Oh another interesting thing about this restaurant (and many others), they try to mix cuisines! Like the Thai restaurant serves Indian food. Chinese places serve Indian too.... OK, it is India so it makes sense to serve Indian, right? So what do you think that Italian restaurant had.... no, not Indian. I don't think that you will ever guess! It is Mexican! Mexican and Italian, who would think that would go together??? Well, we will be trying it out at some point so we will let you know! The Italian was great, so I am expecting that the Mex would be just as awesome!
Oh, the decor in the place was really modern... almost like a chic New York Restaurnat! Very nice!!
OK, it is 10pm, so we are off to bed. Good night!
Feeling Old!!
Ok, being the baby of the family and part of the 'younger' end of the specturm amongst family and friends, I have never really felt 'old'. And actually I sometimes rubbed-in 'my youthful' age whenever possbile. Well, now the tables have turned!!!
In my new job in India I am one of the oldest!!! When looking at my group and the groups of my peers, I think that there are maybe 2 or 3 people at the same age or slightly older and the rest of the group is younger. The group is about 75 people!!!
The average age of the people in my group (13 people) is 27!!!!!!
It is really weird!! Me, OLD? And to top it off, the people in my group call me ma'am!!
In my new job in India I am one of the oldest!!! When looking at my group and the groups of my peers, I think that there are maybe 2 or 3 people at the same age or slightly older and the rest of the group is younger. The group is about 75 people!!!
The average age of the people in my group (13 people) is 27!!!!!!
It is really weird!! Me, OLD? And to top it off, the people in my group call me ma'am!!
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