Interesting Things from Bangalore!

OK, I think that this will be one of my most detailed posts. I have to throw a lot of detail in there b/c it all comes together in the end.

At the end of my last post, I left off with me heading to get a pedicure. Well, on my way out I called the spa, and they did not have any openings to fit my availability. I was bummed... OH well, I figured I still had Sunday, so I booked an appointment for Sunday. Then I was off to find ingredients for pasta salad. That was what I had to make for my work potluck.

Shopping was good (by Bangalore standards, of course... it was no trip to Meijers). Got my things, came home and started to make the pasta salad. Came to the realization that I did not have a serving bowl big enough for the pasta salad (keep in mind our sea shipment has not arrived yet so we are still working with the limited things we had in our air shipment). Anyways, I figure I would ask my neighbor, Ritu, if I could borrow a bowl from her. I went over there, and she was telling me that she just got finished with her massage. I was a little curious... she proceeds to tell me that she has a lady come to her house that does full body massages and head massages for her entire family. I was really interested now. Ritu said she would send her over if I was interested.... I said 'SURE'. An half hour or so an old Indian lady that was missing a few teeth comes to the door. I was a little taken back my her looks (OK, maybe frightened may be the better word), it turns out she was the 'massage lady'. I talked to her, I was a little reluctant, but arranged for her to come on Sunday to do a massage for me.

Now, we speed up the details a bit.... Pasta salad was good, party was fun. I met all the GM people that are here from abroad. One family from Australia, 2 from Germany and about 10 from Michigan. It was nice to meet the spouses, and kids. Funny thing, 2 of the families from Michigan know my parents. I know, small world!!

OK, now moving to Sunday. I had my pedicure. I decided to get my haircut while I was there. This is a big step for me. Some of you know that I have been loyal to Roman (my hairdresser from home) for probably 13 or 14 years!! Really, no one else has cut my hair for all those years!! It was a big thing to have my haircut by someone else. Overall, the haircut is fair... it definitely is not like my usual cut. I just need to accept it... Pedicure was great! And of course, Mira was with me!!

After that we had brunch at Palm Meadows. They have a great buffet every Sunday. Very yummy food!!

Then we headed out shopping. At the party Saturday night the conversation was about how the tax on wine was going up 40% on Monday. So there was a mad dash of people stocking up on wine. We decided to do the same. The wine here is more expensive than what we would get back at home. It is at least $10 for a basic wine. It can go up to $20 for anything that is decent. These are the prices before the 40% tax hit....

After shopping, it was time to hustle home for the 'massage'. We got home and she was already over. Now, I had talked to Ritu before she came to get the 'details'. What is the protocol, etc... I turns out you have to provide your own oils. Ritu said that she prefers olive oil for the body, and hair oil for your head massage. OK, if you rememeber, the olive oil cost me $10 for a small bottle!! So, we get all set up and she went to town. It was one of the best full body massages I have ever had. And then she went to do a full scalp massage.... ahhh heaven!! It went on for over an hour and a half. It was great!!! Now, here is the best part.... she charged 300 rupees for the whole thing... body and head!! Quick conversion for you.... that is whole whopping $7.50! Yes, that is all!! That is less than the a bottle of wine that we bought!!

Guess who is getting a massage right now... yep, Vim!! Best part, she is coming back next Sunday. I think that this will be a weekly thing!! Rough life, eh!!

Sunday has been a day of pampering... Hair, nails, massage, nice lunch, wine shopping, etc... Now it is 7pm and I suppose that my day of luxury needs to end... I need to plan something for dinner!!

Pirate Party

The party yesterday was GREAT!! They did a great job with the theme and people went all out with the costumes!! I felt a bit under dressed.... or under 'costumed'! There were probably 50-60 people there... it was hard to meet everyone. The funny thing... I can't tell you how many times I got... 'Oh, your Vim's wife'. All the ladies knew Vim. Again, do I remember their names?? Nope..... OK, maybe some of them... but I am telling you.... it is a struggle!!

We got to the party around 8 and they had a really nice rum punch.... it was yummy, maybe too yummy! I had to leave by 10 b/c Manjula had to go home. Vim proceeded to stay. This morning he is feeling a little rough around the edges.... I think it was the rum punch. He thinks it was the food.... What do you think??

Today we have a gathering for all of the GM People that are from outside of India. The gathering is a few houses down and in the open areas. It will be nice to socialize with everyone. Hopefully Vim can 'sleep' off his bug and have the energy for the evening.

The kids are at the pool, Vim is on the sofa sleeping, and I am going shopping and to get a pedicure!! Priorities!!

Night Out with out the Kids!!

Today is the first night since we have been here (almost 2 months) that we are able to go out without the kids!! This is a not the norm for us. Back at home we had a luxury of my parents near by to babysit whenever we needed so we were able to go out quite often.

Today Manjula is coming over at 7pm so Vim and I can go to a neighbors house. They are having a combined b-day party. The party theme is pirates. Unfortunately, we don't have the full garb to totally dress up. And there isn't a Target right around the corner that you could run to pick up some things... so we will make do!!

Anyways... I will post tomorrow about the party...


Oh... another thing about today (friday - aug 29). The kids had a 'School Fair' for the Primary Block. This is for both Mira and Milan's grades. It was a family thing. I took off of work early for this big day! It was a good time. The best part was to see all these other kids and to see Mira and Milan socializing with them all. It was nice to see that they had made friends in such a short time. Funny thing.... we were walking back to the class rooms to pick up the kids back packs. As we walk by a group of older girls that were sitting in the play area - they all say 'hi milan'. I look, hmmm.... they are all older... how do they know Milan? I figured thru Mira. Then we were sitting outside waiting for the driver and another few girls walk by and say 'hi milan'.... hmmm... now I am noticing a trend.... Little Mr. Milan is quite the social butterfly among the girls!

I guess.... that is the same with Vim these days. While being home during the days he is socializing with all the ladies in the neighborhood. Every so often I will get some lady come up to me and say 'Oh your Vim's wife'!!

The Water

I thought that I would post about the water here in India. Now, if any of you have been to Mexico, or anywhere like that, you know about the warnings 'don't drink the water'. Well the same goes for India.

On Sunday when we had our friends over for dinner, we were chatting during dinner. Our guests were Nick and Jen from Australia, and Scott from Michigan (all are 'white', or should I say non-Indian). All of them had stories of when and where they have gotten really sick. The topic of 'the water' came up. Now, since they all have had experiences of getting really sick, they are very cautious (or maybe too cautious) when it come to the water. Anyways, Scott proceeds to tell us they he does not drink anything but bottled water. He brushes his teeth with bottled water, and washes his fruits and vegs with bottled water too! Then, Jen says that she does the same. Then they both say, yes, we only cook with bottled water too!! Even when boiling pasta. OK, now if you were paying attention, you would know that I had served pasta for dinner (see previous post). Did I cook my pasta with boiled water? Nope!! I used straight up, tap water!!! So far none of them have told me that they got sick from my dinner.... it is probably better that they don't know about the little secret!!

So, the question is.... do Indians have a more resilient digestive track that can handle the water? Maybe it is the spicy food that helps?? Who knows...

Knock on wood, none of us have gotten really sick.... I had my little issues within the first few weeks but it quickly passed. So far the rest of the family is doing fine.... Lets hope it stays that way!!

Making Dinner!

Well, now that we are in the house you would think that I would be making dinner more often, right? Nope, not so much!! Thanks to Manjula, on most days dinner is ready and waiting when I get home. When Manjula is not cooking, we either have plans to eat out or meet up with friends!! So what happens when you don't cook for a long time? You forget what and how to cook.... ok maybe not, but it definitely does not come as easy!! So today (Sunday) we invited some work friends over for dinner (Another family from Australia). Initially I told them that we would either order in, or I would cook something. I contemplated.... order, cook, order, cook. It was a tough decision, but I decided I needed to cook. The next dilemma came on 'what to cook'!! I decided to cook non-Indian b/c I think that Nick and his family probably get too much Indian at home (they have an Indian cook too).

Now, my struggle became more difficult. I don't have an oven. I don't have all my cookware and serving ware. We are still surviving on the limited things that we brought in our air shipment. So, what to cook??? I decided to make pasta (this was always a favorite standby by back at home). Off I went to buy the things I needed. Much to my surprise, I was able to find fresh basil (a large bunch for $.50, not bad eh..). I thought, this is a good start. Then I was off getting the rest of the veggies. I got most everything except for mushrooms. But that was OK. Then the last thing I needed was cheese. I know good cheese is hard to come by here. I found come cheddar and Parmesan. I was golden!!! Last thing I need was olive oil (my stash is coming in the sea shipment). I went to pay.... I was a little shocked at my total (usually this is shock b/c the total is so low). In this case, I was wondering what I bought that cost so much. As soon as I paid, I looked at the bill. Guess how much my olive oil was? $10 for a small bottle!! Guess how much the Parmesan cheese was, yep, $10. And the cheddar cheese, again... $10!! Yikes!! The good thing is that the veggies and bread were really cheap so that off-set the hit!!

So, you might be wondering... what is for dinner??? Right? Penne pasta with grilled veggies, bow-tie pasta with white sauce, and most importantly - bread with pesto! Yes, I made pesto! Mira was really excited b/c she would love to make pesto with me back at home.

Next time I am faced with the dilemma.... cook or order.... I am going to opt for the latter!!

Our House....

The Front of the house

 

The handsome little pair!

Back view of the house

Gate to the back of the house

Heading to the back yard

Jonquil Close (our street)

Indian Lawn Mower

The gardener cutting the grass

The Amphitheatre

Kids enjoying a rickshaw ride

Main Fountains!!

Open Play area

Clubhouse

The swimming pool

Ahhh...  the spa!!

The clubhouse

Play areas

Main Street

Corner of the play area

Main entrance for residents

Street towards clubhouse

The pool.....

The infinity edge of the pool.... :)

Enjoying a cold refreshing Coffee Day Drink

 Our house in a gated community called Prestige Ozone. Prestige is a large builder here in Bangalore. They have built several housing complexes in the area. Ozone has about 180 houses. All the houses are essentially the same. They have 5 different models. Starting with A Type moving down E Type. A type house is a 4 br, the largest model. The next one is the B type, again a 4 br, but a different layout. We have a B type. The other 3 styles are 3 BR houses. Looking at the houses from the front, you can tell what type it is. All the houses have balconies upstairs and they all have an outside patio area. The overall construction is fair, I think that it depends on how closely the home owner monitored the construction. Same as back home...., right! About 90% of the houses are rented. In these cases the landlords bought the houses for an investment (and it totally has paid off!). Some of the landlords live in Bangalore, while others are abroad (Singapore, States, Europe, etc...). There are very few people that live here that own the house.

In the complex there is a clubhouse. In the clubhouse there is a Thai restaurant, Gym, badminton, and table tennis. Within the next few weeks there will be a bar also. Connected to the clubhouse is a pool and spa. The pool is really nice. The spa is one of the more expensive places in town but I have heard that it is really good. Maybe one day I will check it out!

The biggest perk for Prestige Ozone compared to all the other 'gated communities' in town is the open play areas. There are 3 large play areas that the kids hang out it. In the pictures below, the areas look bare but on most afternoons and weekends, the area is bustling with kids and parents. On Sundays afternoon there is a group of dads that put of a volleyball net and have a pick up game. The boys play cricket and soccer. Girls are off riding their bike. It is a nice flurry of activity.

Living at Ozone, with all of its amenities, is what has made the transition to Bangalore a lot easier.

Maybe you will come visit us at Ozone!! We are off to the pool!!

Capacity Overload!

Being here in India for almost 2 months... one thing is for sure.... I think that I have met more people in the time being here than I have met over the last 5 years!! Really!! There are new people I am meeting everyday at work! It took me a month to remember the names of all the people in my team. There are only 14 people, so it should not be so hard!! Then meeting all the people from other teams... Then you meet people in the halls and they say hi to you by name, and you just wave and say hi. As they pass.... you think.... 'who was that'!! So remembering everyone at work is a challenge.

Now, when I come home, there are people that I meet in our neighborhood. Now I have to remember the husbands name, the wives name, the kids names.... Many times, these are families that the kids play with and I don't always know them by name. Sad, I know! There are mom's and kids that I meet at the bus stop... again... trying to remember the names. Along with the names comes remember where they are from. Everyone here has a 'story'. Most people are from somewhere else. Most from the US, some from England, Australia... and so on. Then you have to remember what company brought them here. This is all part of the 'small talk' conversation. Oh, and lastly, you have to remember the house numbers for all of these people!!

Do you know what happens with all of this information overload? Serious lapses in memory!! Keep the 'you're getting old' jokes to yourself!! Really! I am not able to keep all of this information straight!! Today, I met this lady (she lives 2 door down) she told me her name, I repeated to her (hoping that it would help me remember), ask me now if I remember... nope!!

I am definitely in need of a memory upgrade.... added ram would be good too!

Tomorrow will be post about the house with pictures. Stay tuned!!