Gandhi. Among other things.

It's been a few days and many of you have asked for an update.  Sorry, I am a little new to this "everyone wants to know what's going on" thing.  Usually a Facebook status update every few days is sufficient, but I guess when you up and move to another continent, friends and family get a little ansty for news and updates.
My last post was about racism.  I was sad, hurt, confused.  I am better today.  I had to put it back in big picture scope, which is generally something I am pretty good at but apparently failed here, and realize I had a bit of negativity thrown into our otherwise uneventful move across the globe.  Everyone else has been warm and welcoming.  Curious, without a doubt, but friendly.  So we will move right along and put that behind us.  
Apartment/Flat update - It's good news! Met with the landlord today and he had workers at the flat taking care of business already.  He's agreed to all the requests on our list for furniture and appliances/white goods and we are hopefully set for move in of next Tuesday or Wednesday!  It can't come soon enough because I started  my evening shift tonight and this schedule difference will be a challenge with Savannah and me, but throwing in that we are sharing one room at the hotel doesn't make it any easier.  As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure my clicking of the keyboard is probably not helping her rest well, so I will try not to be too long tonight.
First day of work went well... really was only a few hours in the office and all of them spent catching up on or cleaning up my e mails. I did take a few minutes to go visit the Diversions team I worked with in February long enough for them to hear me massacre the few Tamil words and phrases I have learned and laugh hysterically at me.  Good times LOL  The funnier part will be when I know LOTS of Tamil and I hear them talking about me and I call them out on it.  I can hardly wait on that day! haha
Savannah started school Tuesday and absolutely loved it.  She made a friend, Ila (Eee-luh) who is Indian, but grew up in Las Vegas up until about 2 years ago.  She was here visiting family on vacation and her father had a heart attack.  Instead of trying to go back to the US with his poor health, they decided to move and she enrolled school then.  There is another Indian-descent boy who just moved from Dallas about a month ago, so she has some American friends already who she can relate to that have gone through or are going through similar feelings about such a big move.  (This relieves Mom immensely!)  I picked her up from school on Tuesday and I am pretty sure she didn't quit talking until she fell asleep.  She talked about her teacher, Salomon, and Ila, and how they are going to make her start trying Indian food until she likes it, and how she is going to graduate early (remember that was her original plan...) and how Ila is graduating early, and how the little kids in the hallway stare at her and touch her, and how the older kids joked about how the school is now "posh" because they have a "white girl" attending.  Oh, it's funny to listen to her go on.  She was just as chatty today, which makes me really happy.  Until she doesn't stop. And then it reminds me how we need to be in that multi bedroom flat ASAP. hehe  One of the stories she was pretty proud of was that Solomon asked her if she knew who Gandhi was and she did. His face is on all Indian Rupees, the currency here.  And she explained his role in India and credited her teacher, Mr. Strickland, from World Geography last year for focusing on India when she told him she was moving. 
Last night on the way back to the hotel, she and I stopped at a cell phone store to get her a new phone to use with a local number so she can get in contact with me all the time and, of course, text her new friends. So we were looking at all the options, which are considerably more expensive here than in the States, by the way, and selected a phone for her.  Funny shopping trip: In walk Nikki & Savannah.  All 5 employees stop their chatty conversation and stare at us. I smile, tell them we are looking for a handset for my daughter and already have a postpaid sim card.  So one brave soul walks over and starts showing me the phones. Well, I am an iPhone girl.  This Android stuff confuses me and I don't know about anything other than how to download an app for whatever it is I need. But the iPhones are nearly a grand and that is SO not happening. So I tell them she needs to be able to download a texting app, basically. And make local calls and texts.  Easy enough.  We decide on the Samsung Galaxy something or other (not the new one, it's a more simple Indian version, I think) and we pay too much for it. But as we are there looking at phones, I see movement out of the corner of my eye and I look up.  One of the employees has his phone out and is taking pictures!  LOL I smiled and waved (what else would I do?) and asked if he wants one of Savannah and me together.  Well, he was mortified, embarrassed, and wanted to crawl in a hole and his buddy told me he wasn't taking pictures, of course not, no, no, no.  He was adjusting his camera.  Ummm OK.  It's just funny.  People are curious about us.  I am not sure why, but they are intrigued with the western world and our pale skin, I suppose.  It was a funny trip that ended with them telling us Savannah looked like a movie star over here - tried to catch the name but never quite got it to look her up - and doubt that's the case, but it was a cute cover up.  
Curiosity is OK with us.  We will answer any questions and talk to anyone.  It's not always comfortable, but it's OK; we will happily oblige some friendly conversation.
Well, I am sure there are more funny stories to tell, but I am tired (it's 2 AM again - 2 nights in a row for this almost third shifter!) so I will leave with a quote from Gandhi, known as the "Father of the nation" according to a conversation with our great host (Gideon) yesterday, and many online sources: Where love is, there God is also.