You, Castes, Gandhi (again), Coffee & a little big of Bling

My last post was a rambling mess, but a handful of you commented that you enjoyed the cultural aspect of it, so after some thought I have decided I have a few groups of followers for this blog:

- Culture geeks.  Forget about Nikki & Savannah, you want to hear about the people and traditions and environment.

- Family who feels obligated to read this thing and keep updated with Savannah and Nikki. 

- NAM coworkers interested in some "GSC recon" and wonder what's really going on over here and why it isn't all "fixed" yet.

- OTCS coworkers interested in what the heck this crazy American is doing over here and what and why I really think about everything.

- Close friends who are annoyed that I don't e mail or text enough to keep in touch.

- Someone who can't sleep and needs something unintelligent enough to offer a slight bit of entertainment but not enough action to keep your eyes open for long.

- Others laughing about the complaining Americans whose traffic is impeded by cows and goats, that struggle with lack of AC and power on a regular basis, whose accents are so thick they get crazy looks half the time they are speaking, and who thought it was wise to bring a dog with them to live in India... 

Where do YOU fall on this list?  Whichever you are, I can assure there is much more interesting stuff out there to read, but I am flattered that you would pick our crazy adventure to follow.

So I'll try to cover a little bit of everything for everyone.

Let's start with another little something for my culture-buffs. Castes. Quite the topic nobody discusses... I was in a class a few years back and the text indicated that there is no more caste system in India. A girl in the class was from north India and still had family there. She disputed the text and told us that although it is quite the taboo subject, the caste system is alive & well in India. I was interested to see this for myself. Will I get in trouble for writing about it? I hope not. Here are my thoughts: Yep. She was right. The lady that stays with Savannah overnight, Lakshmi, is wonderful. Very sweet and kind and even helps with meals sometimes now, too. If I were to tell my local friends or colleagues the lady that stays with Savannah they would not know who I meant. She's commonly referred to as our maid. She's even been called our servant girl by a couple people.  I was told that I need to watch my valuables (ie: cell phones, Nook, etc) closely and keep my bedroom door locked when I am not home by more than one person. That makes my heart sad. I am very thankful to have someone I can trust to stay with Sav while I work nam hours. And I am thankful to have someone who can help with cooking & cleaning, too. I might even get a little spoiled with that aspect. But I just don't have it in me, nor do I want the mentality, that she deserves less or is treated differently than us because she was born in a "lower caste" than me. She is very underpaid, in my opinion.  I tried to pay her more than the agreed monthly fee, but she would not take it.  Savannah said her friend told her we have "the most spoiled maid in India" because we don't have her doing a lot of typical maid-like duties.  I make Savannah do the dishes, I cook most nights, we do our own laundry, etc... I understand it is ingrained in this culture, but we hope we show her the same respect, appreciation, and love we do everyone else.

Savannah & Lakshmi

Cost of living win: My daily prescription for thyroid in the US was about $7 a month/generic, $20 for name brand with insurance. I picked up 100 pills - over 3 months' worth - Saturday for about $2.

Savannah is out of school all week.  She had some final exams last week and only went to school half days.  About a month ago I was hounding her to get with the front office at her school and bring home a holiday schedule so we could plan for visitors and trips.  As you know, I am pretttttty excited about my folks coming later this month, for which we were able to plan as a direct result of her finally walking up there and hand-writing the schedule.  Hand-written because we are in India, after all, and we cannot have something published on a website or printed out.  That hand-written schedule did NOT include this week.  I am told her school is very unorganized and often plans are made or changed last minute... I wonder to myself if this is a school issue or an Indian issue??  Anyway, she better still be out the week my parents are in.  She will find out next Monday.  Oh, India. Sigh.  

Today is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday and it is a national holiday.  Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian independence movement and used non-violent protests and influence working with the country's poorest classes (he even oversaw the first inter-caste marriage).  His face is on the Indian Rupees we spend.  Savannah learned about him last year in World History after she told her teacher we were moving here and impressed her current teacher with the extent of her knowledge on this country's historical figure.  Gandhi had great influences on many civil rights leaders world wide, including America's own Martin Luther King, Jr. for his non-violent and loving approach to his opposition.

Saturday evening Savannah, her BFF, Ila, and I went to Express Avenue mall, which is quite similar to the Woodlands Mall.  After an hour and a half drive on a Saturday evening with little to no traffic (yeah, we won't be doing this often), we found lots of international stores and chains we recognize... pretty high end stuff, for the most part.  But I was excited to hit a health and beauty store with brands like L'Oreal, Neutrogena, Oil of Olay, Nivea and a few others I can't think of now.  I was out of lots (see next paragraph, where all our belongings are not in our possession yet...) so I stocked up like it was going out of style.  I made sure to buy some "hair fall" shampoo and conditioner, as it seems my hair is still falling out.  And, by the way, growing in gray.  My roots are awful.  My next mission might be to find somewhere that does good color.  I am scared... but it is a necessary step.  Last week we bought coconut oil because everyone here uses it and I figured, "when in Rome!" and "it can't hurt - already falling out as it is..." and it was less than a dollar.  So I started that almost a week ago.  I haven't noticed a difference yet, but I have read a lot online and EVERYONE swears by it.  Lots of thick heads of long hair over here, so it's worth a shot.  After EA we were looking forward to a western meal, a restaurant called Sparky's Diner that looked really fun and American!  However, after we finally found the place - even with 3G iPhone maps, our driver is sometimes challenged finding where we are trying to go - it was CLOSED.  Before 8 PM on a Saturday.  We were really disappointed, but not defeated.  I used my handy-dandy "AroundMe" app (Thank you, MAX!) and found another restaurant that sounded pretty western.  And we couldn't find it anywhere.  Dang iPhone maps app.  So then we tried another, an Italian place, and really enjoyed it.  I will tell ya, though, I could have used a nice glass of wine with my meal, but that just doesn't happen here.  It is SO WEIRD to me!  I don't know why, but I always ask.  I guess I am hoping one place will magically say, "Yes, we do.  Would you like Riesling or moscato?"  And then I will fall over in shock and not even get to enjoy it. LOL  A girl can dream... Since I did not get to enjoy an adult beverage, we had fancy coffee.  Our baristas were quite the artists!

 Our container came into the port of Chennai Monday and discharged the vessel just after midnight... that is pretty exciting.  I met a clearing agent tonight and turned over my passport, signed several papers and gave a copy of my FRRO (Foreign Residence Registration Office - like US immigration) permit so they could start working with Indian customs and get us our goods... With tomorrow being a holiday, they will begin working on this Wednesday.  He was optimistic that we might be able to clear for delivery by the weekend.  One thing I have learned living here so far (almost three months already!!) is that NOTHING happens in the timeframe someone first provides.  So I am realistically hopeful that we might have our goods by next weekend.  Would I LOVE to have them sooner?  Sure (like a month ago when they were due!!).  But do I expect them before mid month?  Nah.

On the horizon, we have a trip planned for the weekend after my parents leave to hit that French Province I mentioned a while back, Pondicherry with some friends from the office.  It's a couple hours drive from here and we are going to stop on the way there and back to see some other sights along the way.  I am really looking forward to it.  It's been a big adjustment not being able to just get in the car and go wherever, whenever.  This will be a nice weekend away and not have to worry about planning our driver, etc.  I am concerned about my sleeping... I am pretty accustomed to sleeping until 3 PM or so Saturday afternoon and then running out with Savannah, staying up late and then sleeping almost all of Sunday.  This will be a challenge... my first sleepless weekend.  I see lots of coffee in my future and hopefully some understanding friends & coworkers when Cranky Nikki rears her ugly head.  I am pretty sure they don't know what they are in for.  Lucky India.

One last little story and I'll be done... last week a girl on our team was wearing some sparkly jewelry. Bling, if you will.  Most of you probably know I am a sucker for all things blingy, shiny, sparkly or pink.  Well, these earrings were everything but pink.  Really cute and fun.  So, of course, I had to compliment her!  This weekend after we ate, there was a shop downstairs that had some fun stuff, so I bought myself a pair of blingy bangles and earrings (seeing her all blingy let me know it was OK to wear these to the office) and I wore them to work Monday.  A little bit after I got in, she came over with a gift.  For me!  She said she had gone shopping with her aunt over the weekend at T. Nagar and saw this and thought of me.  I am SO wearing these to work Tuesday!  So thoughtful and sweet of her... she knows the way to this American's heart, for sure. 

It's October 2 here - we've been here just under 3 months, have less than 3 weeks left until we get to hug my mom and dad, and less than 3 months until we are home for the holidays. We are more familiar with our surroundings and have and understanding of realistic expectations for just about everything related to life in India these days. We still miss home, friends, family, wine & margaritas (well, I do... Savannah better not!), Mexican food and convenience shopping more than I can explain.  But every day is getting a little easier and I think we are getting more comfortable.  We have been treated with kindness by almost everyone here, which has made the transition easier.  I do wish there was a way to grab my sweet nieces and pull them through the Skype screen, but until tele-transport is invented, I guess I will settle for 2D chats on the computer and looking forward to home visits when I can hug and kiss them in person. We appreciate your kind notes through e mails, FB, texts and your continued prayers for us. We love and miss you all.  Take a minute to celebrate the life of Gandhi today, and celebrate all he lived for: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world," Mahatma Gandhi