Indian Princesses: Fixer Upper

I am a fixer. I know this about myself. Here are some examples of “Nikki fixings” from the US:

In the office, I was always the one to tell the admin team when things needed fixing (AC temp, tissue replacement in ladies’ room, issues in the locker room/gym).
If an item rings up wrong at the store, I make sure they know and ask them to fix it.
When someone in the family is sick I make chicken soup and get Gatorade to help them feel better.
If someone’s brake light is out or tire is low and I can, I tell them when we’re on the road.
When someone has an issue – personal, work, home repairs, whatever – I want to offer advice or the name and number of someone who can help. I have to be careful with this…

While in India, I have become more observant of my need to fix things. There are so many things I would like to sit down and go over with the office admin team. Most of them are small, but they are numerous. At least once a night I notice something and think how someone needs to fix it. But nobody wants to hear the crazy American “complaining” so, for the most part, I leave it alone. Most recent examples - We have clocks here with eastern, central and pacific US times zones. They haven’t been changed, and the US changed forward an hour this past weekend. This drives me nuts. And the ladies’ room tissue paper dispenser is about to fall off the wall. Again. It should be repaired. And the cabinet handle behind my co-manager’s desk’s is falling off. Someone should fix all these things. Or maybe I'll make an anonymous list, send, and feel better. Of course, I'll be annoyed when things aren't fixed, but then I can just make another list. LOL

Outside of the office, I am still chasing my landlord for a few things… a TV stand as promised when we moved in back in AUGUST. Finally he has told us to order one and he'll pay for it. I handled that in a span of three days and one trip out. A water filter change for a couple weeks now. A leaky faucet for a month now. A doorbell since November. I have a list of a few other things, but he is obviously not the fixing personality, much like most of the other Indians I have met while here. It’s hard to make chicken soup from here for Michael when he’s sick. So I have to enlist Mom to throw him a can of Campbell’s Dora the Explorer Chicken Noodle Soup and some Zyrtek and tell him with love from India. Brake lights are optional here, so helping out a fellow traveler is just unheard of; however, my driver did stop someone yesterday and tell them their trunk was open. It made me feel a little happy. India is a challenging place to be a fixer.

I think I am probably really good at customer service because I am a fixer, though, which is good for me. And my customers. And my team members. I expect that things will be corrected and handled by my team, and I correct and handle things that are brought to me. Sometimes my co-manager asks why I am involved in so much that isn’t directly related to my role. It’s the fixer in me. I can’t say no when someone needs help and I follow an issue until it’s resolved. That’s got its plusses and minuses.

OK enough about that. What else? We went to the Home of Hope Orphanage that is sponsored by our church this past Saturday. It was pretty awesome. Proud Momma moment, for sure. Savannah was outgoing and friendly and kept the boys entertained and learning for over an hour. She was able to gauge their level of knowledge in English usage, verbal and written, in the short time we were there and is working on some “lesson plans,” as she says. She is looking forward to going at least once a month, but I am guessing it will be more frequent than that. This month she is busy with finals. It’s a different learning environment here than in the US and she’s challenged. She never had to study in the US. For anything. And she did pretty well, A’s and B’s. Here she needs to study a lot. And she has a hard time accepting that and focusing long enough to study. It’s a challenge for both of us… prayers appreciated.

Still working on firming up plans for our May trip. We are 99% planned, just need to pay the travel agent and book the airfare. Waiting on him to confirm and then it’s a done deal. Malaysia for 4 nights and Singapore for 2. Yippee! And the family and Michael coming for days before and after. Even bigger YIPPEE!! for all that! I can't wait to see everyone. It's been about three and a half months since we left, and while time has flown and it doesn't seem that long, we miss them terribly and May seems forever away. Crazy how that works, huh?

After the orphanage last weekend we went to Pondicherry (Pondy), the local French territory, and spent the night. We went on a boat ride through some backwaters and had a nice afternoon. We walked down the beach and did some shopping at the local stores. There was lots to choose from and my daughter talked me into spending too much money but she got a couple new salwars, some earrings and bangles for the both of us, and we ate some pretty yummy food. Overall nice time. We are going to start planning more travel. I have a list of places within India and out of India that we must visit while we are here. If anyone wants to sponsor our trips, feel free send me a check. I promise to send pics to anyone who sponsors! haha

My sweet niece, Kate, turned a year on Thursday. I miss this punkin!


Happy Birthday, sweet Kate!

I guess that's probably a good overview of what's been going on here. Below are some pics from our weekends out. Sending big hugs and love from Chenna!