3 months!

October 10, 2012. 

3 Months since the day Savannah and I left Spring, Texas, and started our new life in India.  It hasn't been easy.  My need-to-control-everything-around-me-personality did not mesh well with the moving to India experience that God had in store for us.  That hurry-up-and-get-it-done persona of mine has faced more than a few challenges here in this land of cattle in the road but not on our plate. Missing our family & friends was excruciating at first. It has lessened enough that I don't randomly burst into tears, but it is still real & present enough that if I think about it (y'all) too much, I'll get teary-eyed. And it doesn’t matter if I am at work or not.  I imagine my neighbors think I am a pretty big cry-baby.  I still get choked up when I end a phone call & try to get "love you & miss you" out. It's rough. But it’s manageable. Probably more manageable these days because there are a lot of distractions. 

Here are some adjustments to date:

·         Dynamo had to become accustomed to walking on a leash and not having free-reign of a yard to run around, while Savannah and I had to grow accustomed to walking him several times a day instead of just shooing him out the back door. 

Dy in the lift, itching to get out

·         We thought we were ready to leave the hotel after nearly a month, but then reality set in when we made it to the flat and had to handle things on our own.  ie: bed linens (landlord handled furniture, sheets were on the ocean in a container...), groceries (hotel offered room service or breakfast), communication with our driver (hotel drivers spoke pretty good American-English), wine (hotel had some and a glass every few nights helped with our transition), coffee (hotel made this and our coffee machine was in a container...), adjusting to full night shift (worked only 5 ish hours/night when we were at the hotel), and so much more that I can't think of right now.

Savannah with her hotel-made lunch

·         We had some interesting, sometimes humorous, sometimes frustrating, conversations and shopping trips to purchase our basic necessities while we waited on our ocean freight.  I counted the days until it arrived.  First countdown was for Aug. 24.  Then Sept. 4.  Then Oct. 1.  We had it delivered Oct. 9.  One day before our 3 month mark here. 

Some of the food we unloaded from our ocean freight

·         We learned to live minimally. The kitchen had only 4 plates, 3 bowls, 6 forks & spoons, 2 pots and 2 skillets.  We had one sheet per bed and one blanket that we brought on the planes with us.  After a couple weeks, we bought Savannah another blanket and I took both of the carry-ons in my room.

·         Although I still complain about it - and I probably always will - we've pretty much adjusted to the power being out for hours at a time and using generator-only things (this means no AC, clothes washer, microwave, or geyser, AKA: water heater). 

·         Savannah is now an official dishwasher (much to her chagrin), as the flat did not include an automatic dishwasher and they are quite expensive. 

·         Our clothes air dry, as dryers are very uncommon here. About once a week our dining room looks like a US-ladies' store exploded as we dry more than one load at a time.

·         We have a convection-microwave oven but no "real" oven.  None of my baking sheets will fit... still unexplored territory there.  We will figure out how to use it before we leave.  I hope.

·         Beef is available at limited locations here.  It's not like "our beef" from the USA, though, so we pretty much stick with chicken. No pork. No turkey. We've eaten mutton (depending on who you ask, it might be sheep, it might be goat.  I sometimes wonder if it's just whatever was wandering down the closest street and convenient at the time they needed it), but we don't love it.  We've eaten some pretty yummy prawns (shrimp).  We've eaten fish a couple times but don’t enjoy it enough to make it a staple.  We eat chicken just about daily.  And fresh cucumbers and tomatoes.  And rice.  Sometimes pasta.  Savannah likes when Lakshmi puts masala sauce on the chicken and is pretty tired of my salt, pepper, garlic powder, diced onion, skillet chicken.  We can have some variety now that our container is here, though.  We have some gravy mixes, cream of mushroom soups, various spices, and more to make that chicken not quite so boring.  We really enjoyed our Zatarain's red beans and rice, a-la container, tonight for dinner along with the staple tomato and cucumber salad.  Who knew we'd miss dried beans so much? 

·         Savannah has done very well adjusting to her new school.  She went from 900+ kids in her 9th grade at ORHS to less than a dozen in 9-12... Quite a change, but she never ceases to amaze me.  She has made friends with just about everyone and has her India-BFF, Ila.  She has made friends with the "Padur girls," some younger girls who live in an orphanage and attend her school, painting their nails on occasion. 

·         Overall, she doesn't complain that we do not get to just up and go like we did in Texas.  On the other hand, I am still getting adjusted to not being able to drive anywhere I want, anytime I want. 

We both still face communication challenges and I haven't made time to learn the language, but Savannah got a 98% on her Tamil exam last week!  At least I can count on her to read me something or write her name in Tamil should we have a reading and writing emergency. LOL I am a firm believer that a smile goes farther than words, anyway, and most people understand "Thank you," so what else does this Texan really need to know? 

Now that my phone is equipped with 3G (although much slower connection than in the US, it does the job), we can use some apps to find things and venture out more confidently.  We are talking about travel around the county.  Delhi to see the Taj Mahal.  “God’s Own Country,” Kerala.  And mountainous, Ladakh.  Around Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and more, but I don't know where else just yet. I would like to plan some travel for the upcoming US Thanksgiving 4-day weekend but we will see how that goes.  And then shortly after that, we will head home for our 2 weeks of the holidays!  Yay!!!!  Next weekend my parents come in for 10 days, so I will take a few days off from work and Savannah is (hopefully... probably should check on this) out from school one of the weeks.  We are really excited to have them come.  Can't wait to give them both big hugs!  And we probably won't want to let them go, but it might be a little easier knowing our trip home will be less than 2 months away.  And then, by that time, as my mom reminded me, we will be about a quarter of the way through our stint here.

You’ve probably already read most of this if you’ve been keeping up with our blog throughout this adventure.  But it helps me realize how far we’ve come in just a little amount of time, so I shared my thoughts. And we still appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.  Each day does bring something new and we never know exactly what to expect.  Here’s to a less stressful next three months, with family visits and travel interspersed I am sure it will fly by.  Love and hugs!

Do You Need a Laugh??

Holy Moly, what a night!  I know you are wondering why in the world I would post again in one week, and I sure don't want you to get used to it because it probably won't happen that often, but I have quite the story to share and I figure I better do it now, while it's on my brain and I can remember most of it pretty clearly.  It's long. I know you've already learned I cannot tell a short story.  Sorry!
Today I woke up around 5 PM, as usual, hit snooze a couple times, read my e mails and got ready for work.  I told Savannah she and Lakshmi can come with me to work, pick up "take out" on the way in and swing by the grocery store, Nilgiri's, on the way home because our complex store has been closed much of this week and we went to the mall this weekend and did not hit the grocery store.  In Spring, Texas, this would be uneventful. Even if it were a holiday, the store would be open. Some store.  Nearby.  And we wouldn't require pre-planning and a driver to pick up our groceries.  However, as Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz with a Grant-girl spin: Dynamo, I don't think we are in Texas anymore.  Lakshmi is usually at our place between 6-6:30.  Every now and then she is a few minutes after that, but she is very dependable and I never worry about her not showing up.  Well, tonight it was 6:45... 6:50... almost 7, when I usually leave for work and she had not called or anything.  Of course, we were hungry and ready to go and 7 is my normal leaving time, so I started to get a bit worried. Savannah, my still very impatient child, had been asking me where she was for 45 minutes already - like I had a clue!  Sitting on the couch, flipping between America's Got Talent and the X-Factor (these shows play ALL the time here, and I never watched them at home, but they are American and make us feel connected, probably, so we watch them here) and my phone rings.  Gideon (our saint of an Admin guy I am so thankful for) is calling to tell me Lakshmi called him and was at the doctor and she will be here in about half an hour.  Well, that's not going to work for her ride along.  So I explain our plan and he tells me to pick her up on the way back. OK no problem, let's roll.  And we do.  On the way out, Savannah asks me to give her my debit card for the grocery store, but I tell her to hold on because we are eating first and I'll need it there.  We stop at the new Chick Punch near us and order our food for "take away."  They never understand when I say "to go" or "carry out" and Savannah has to remind me every time, "Mom, it's take away," in a very annoyed oh-my-gosh-I-cannot-believe-my-mother-still-does-not-know-this voice. I'll learn.  After I say it wrong a few times and I get the blank stare or "Maam, I can't get you," we figure each other out. LOL.  So we leave with our food and begin to eat on the way.  OK, but hold on.  Let me digress for a minute and tell you the funny thing about take away food here.  Everything has tape.  They pack it up like it's going on a ten-year, cross-country journey, not just out to the car or home to be eaten.  It is so funny.  They even put a piece of tape in the lid of the cup Savannah's soda came in.  She was cracking up and mentioned "let me untape my drink so I can have a sip" about a dozen times between there and my office.  She's quite the comedian.  OK, sorry. Back to my story. I eat a little bit then check my e mails (it's so nice to have 3G, have I mentioned that?) and have a note from our clearing agent for our container freight that arrived Monday night.  And I need to go to the customs office.  Tomorrow.  At 10:30 AM.  Right when I need to be sleeping.  So a little bit of panic sets in because I realize this is not going to work out well for me and the presentation I have planned with a colleague tomorrow and tonight with the normal work I need to be doing.  Sigh.  So I have to call Gideon.  Poor Gideon, I tell ya.  Maersk doesn't pay him enough to put up with us.  Whatever his salary is, I can assure you, it's not enough.  He says to go ahead and confirm and we will figure it out.  He will call me back in half an hour.  So we drive and go through not too much traffic and get to my office around ten minutes til 8.  I explain to the driver that I need him to take Savannah to the grocery store (it's the one we always go to and he thinks it's very funny, I guess, because we are such creatures of habit and chuckles every time I say it - "Oh yeah, Nilgiri's on ECR, Nilgiri's."  I should mention that our favorite western restaurant is next door, so this is our typical Saturday night - living the crazy life in Chennai!). And then I tell him also, after the store to please pick up Lakshmi on the way back to Padur to drop them off.  He is visibly annoyed, checking his watch and mumbles something about "after nine o'clock" and who knows what else.  But he's been off during the day all week, so then I am annoyed because I don't ask a lot during the week - Savannah to school and me to work.  I only use him one day on the weekend, usually only a half a day at that, and always make sure he has a full day off.  I am not a terrible American dictator making him work 24/7, and HE has not answered his phone a couple times when we needed him, even after discussion of, "I will call you on such and such day around this time," but I don't make a big deal about it.  Well, to him.  I probably do on FB and to you all.  LOL  Anyway, he doesn't know all that.  I always smile and tell him, "Thank you," so I AM nice to him! Moving right along.  Savannah texted me and said he was very annoyed and driving really fast and crazy (really, there's no other way to drive around here, so I am not sure how much craziER it could get, this doesn't worry me anymore) and asked me to have Gideon call him.  Poor Gideon.  I am pretty sure I called him at least 10 times tonight.  So I talked to Gideon, explained the driver was a little annoyed and Savannah was worried and we talked about me leaving work early to get some sleep before tomorrow and he made arrangements for a midnight pick up instead of 5 AM. All set for the meeting with customs. A few minutes goes by and I am set up at my desk, going through e mails and Savannah calls.  In a very hushed, but panicked voice, she whisper-yells: "MOM!  YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME YOUR CARD!!!  And we are almost to Nilgiri's!"  OH MY GOSH!  Yeah... this is typical Nikki-ness for Spring.  But I can't be this forgetful in India, where EVERYTHING takes planning.  So I literally laugh out loud, because of course I forgot to give her my card after she asked me for it.  And of course the driver is already annoyed.  And of course she wants ME to tell the driver "never mind, take her home"!  Well, guess what happened?  Yep, I called Gideon. (See?  He needs a raise!) So Gideon tells me I probably need to go sleep anyway since we have to do the customs thing in the morning, so I should take the night off and go meet her at the store.  He will get me a Maersk driver to meet her at the store and take us home and to send our regular driver away when I get there.  Gideon's a genius, I tell ya. OK, I tell my co-manager that our Lakshmi isn't feeling well anyway, since she was at the doctor and we haven't heard back from her, Savannah is stranded at the store without a way to pay, and I have to meet the Indian Customs guys in the morning, so I am going to take the night off, if he is OK with it.  He's a pretty cool guy, so we laughed about it for a minute while I waited on the car and then packed up to head out.  My neighbors looked at me a bit confused.  One guy asked if I was leaving for the night.  "Yep, nothing like a full 10 minutes of work to wear an American out! See ya tomorrow!" I know they all think I am nuts, anyway.  May as well play to it.  LOL  Soooooooo I walk downstairs and a driver I have never ridden with is there.  I tell him "Nilgiri's on ECR near Neelankari and Pallavakum" and he gives me the blank stare.  He asks, "House?" "Nope, Nilgiri's first. Then house."  "Padur? house?"  "No, not yet.  Padur after Nilgiri's in Neelankari."  "House."  No more questions. This is a statement this time.  Aw, hell, I don't have time for this!  But I have to laugh, I mean what else can I do!? My daughter is roaming around a store with no way to pay, probably already has almost everything loaded up, and is being followed (as we usually are) by the store personnel.  I am trying to tell the driver who speaks little to no English where I need to go, but my thick Texas drawl is getting in our way of effective communication.  For once I KNOW where I want to be and even have the dang small-area names right!!!!!!  There are times when I have no clue, and I am sure that's got to be frustrating for the driver.  But this time I KNOW IT and I can't make him understand, so it's frustrating to me.  But still funny, because I can totally picture Savannah wandering around this pretty small store, up and down every aisle with the mini-buggy (yes, I just said buggy, for all your cart-folks).  And at the same time, I feel bad because I know our driver was already trying to hurry, and here I am holding him up even more.  OK, regroup.  After a couple more times of repetition and hand gestures pointing to where I think the ECR is, he goes to get a guy who is beside the building, talking on his cell and smoking.  I hear a few words I don't know and then, "English?" A reply of "yes," and then a guy I don't know comes over to see if he can help.  And he can't.  Because he speaks almost as much English as the driver.  So I laugh more because this is just fricking hysterical at this point.  I am sure that Savannah is surely being escorted to the back room at this point, with it being probably half an hour after she called to tell me I forgot to give her the card, and we haven't even made it out of the parking lot yet.  And it's another 20 minutes or so to the store.  Poor little guy walks away after he can't figure out what this dang Texan is trying to say, and I decide it is time.  I will call Gideon.  Again.  And Gideon kindly tells the driver what needs to happen and we take off.  I realize a few kilo meters down the road that the driver is going the wrong direction.  Of course he is going the wrong direction.  We are heading into the city, but the store is the other way, heading toward Padur.  Sigh. "Hi, I think you need to turn around" - pointing behind me - "Neelankari and Padur is back there."  We are at a light.  He is turning right and looks at me like I am nuts.  I am pretty much accustomed to this look now.  I don't blink and say, again, "We need to go that way - toward Padur," and I know as soon as it gets out of my mouth that those were the wrong words. "Oh, house? Padur?"  Double sigh.  "No, OK, take me wherever you are going."  I wonder if I should text Savannah at this point or see how this plays out.  I think I am going to give it another five minutes.  Maybe this is a short cut.  Another route.  A side street.  But I recognize the billboards and flyover street and know we are heading towards Adyar and NOT where I need to be... I could use a big margarita right about this point. 
I text Savannah: Lots of traffic.  You might try to find an employee and explain I'm coming.  And then you can go drink a smoothie next door. Just a suggestion. You can tell driver to go and I'm coming if you think you can communicate with him.  And I'll need him at 8:30 in the AM.
Sav: I'm not leaving the store. Absolutely nobody speaks English.
Me:  LOL OK
Sav:  Don't laugh.
Me: Oh it's just all so funny.
Sav: Maybe for you because you're sitting in the car.  Not for me, awkwardly doing circles around the tiny store.
Me: That made me LOL more.  Sorry, trying to get there.  (Especially since I had already visualized this!!)
And then, out of nowhere, the driver says, "Nilgiri's center on ECR - down here," and points ahead.  Hmm OK, buddy, if you say so.  We go a couple minutes and curve to the right again and, by golly!, if we weren't on the ECR!  Whoo hoo!  So I text Savannah a couple shops I see to let her know I am close. 
Sav: Thank God.  People are getting suspicious.
Then, immediately following: Suspicious like, why is this crazy white girl reading the prices on all these cheeses and not getting any!
And then I was there.  We paid for the stuff, explained to our driver he could go (he was super nice and cordial... I think Gideon has some super calming powers...) and asked him to pick me up at 8:30 AM.  Morning.  He asks "AM or PM?"  Because when I said AM and MORNING first, it wasn't clear enough, apparently.  Soooooooo after all that we went next door and our restaurant was open.  We had tiramisu and got chocolate muffins for breakfast.  It's been a stressful night, we deserved dessert. Twice. LOL
Fortunately, all is well.  Lakshmi was here when we got home.  She was not sick, I don't think, but just had a check up or something.  I apologized, explained crazy plans as best I could, and she went to sleep.  It's almost 1 AM and I have to be up early so we can HOPEFULLY get our belongings!  Yippee!  So I better sign off for the night. Hope you had a good laugh at our story.  Sure appreciate your prayers and thoughts - cannot tell you enough how much it means to us when we get a virtual hug or a sweet note of encouragement.  We love and miss you all very much.  Later! 

Various Pics from our Time Here

Here is a VERY random collection of photos from my phone during our time here.  Enjoy!  - Um, yeah, I have spent half an hour trying to get these in order.  Sorry, no order for you, read the captions.  LOL

View down the street to our left as you exit the apartment complex.

Cows Dynamo wants to play with. They live across our street.

View to the right out of our complex.

Typical "shopping center" down the OMR in Chennai

Dy hates the lift.  Always wants out, stands with nose to the door, all the time.

"Shopping Center" in Kamchipuram where we registered for FRRO.

View of generator area from my balcony.  Oh, and the pool LOL

Mahabalipuram beach ride

Mahabalipuram beach "rides"

Mahabalipuram beach

Some goats eating the flowers off the bus at Mahabalipuram

Sav showing off her buys at the beach

Beautiful sunset over our complex

View directly in front of our balcony

View from balcony at Dy's level LOL

Grounds at our complex

Sav at the "photography studio" for our FRRO pics

Official Indian school schedule

Cop outside the Kanchipuram police station

Savannah and Ila outside our fave western restaurant

Sav & de-alcoholized beer (WHY!!!??) at the beach

More beach

Temples at Mahabalipuram beach behind the kiddo

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

Random Observations & Thoughts

As we near the three-month mark, I realize that I have not shared some of the observations or thoughts/topics of discussion that Savannah and I have contemplated.  For instance, one of the first things Savannah noticed was that men wear "skirts." And they frequently put their arm around each other as they are walking or standing around.  And they might even be holding hands.  I understood from a few conversations and some online reading prior to our arrival that the Indian culture is not accepting of gay lifestyles and there is very little tolerance of openly gay people.  I do not remember talking to Savannah about it before we left, but when she mentioned the men wearing skirts I knew it was a conversation we needed to have.  Since society looks at being gay as taboo, she was very confused as to why men wear skirts, hold hands and drape their arms around each other if they aren't gay.  So the explanation was, "It's just different here... I guess men aren't intimidated to show affection, as they might be in the US for fear of being teased for being gay, because nobody here talks about being gay." The more I see it - as a group of men walks down the street, a couple of guys working over a computer at work, standing in line for fresh juice - the more I think of the American word bromance.  And it makes me laugh a little every time.
Speaking of topics not openly discussed, (yep, leave it to the American to bring these things up...) another observation is some of the censorship that we have seen on TV.  We have some US channels - CBS, FX, WB, HBO - and they include shows like Sex & the City, Sons of Anarchy, Mike & Molly, all the X-factor, America's Got Talent, The Voice reality shows and more.  These are typical American shows, with references to sex, drugs, profanity.  Many words and scenes are censored. Even anatomically correct body parts and the word "sex" are censored.  I have to say that all the censorship isn't hindering the reproduction of the second-most populous country in the world, although I do not think I have seen more than two or three pregnant women since we've been here.  Interesting... just realized that.
Savannah still does not understand why I don't let her wear shorts and tank tops, as we do see some ex-pats wearing them periodically.  It's just not the norm and we are already stared at enough.  Most of the ladies here wear sarees or kurtas with leggings all the time. It's hot here, low 90's, and crazy humid.  Shorts and a tank would be nice, but I figure it's not worth it.  We do our best to blend in, even if we are a few shades lighter than our neighbors.  Speaking of lighter skin - one of the funniest thing we see for sale are skin lightening products and lotions.  It strikes us as amusing since we love to be tan and buy skin darkening products in the US. It just goes to show that no matter what you look like, someone else in the world wants what you have...

Cost of living. in some ways it is very cheap to live here. In other ways, not so much.  Our housing here is not much less than what it would be in Houston (I do realize Houston is a very low cost of living location in the US, but we are in India).  A liter of petrol (gasoline) is about 73 rupees right now.  73 rupees is about $1.35.  There are about 3.75 liters in a gallon, so a gallon of gas is about $5. It's no wonder there are so many motorcycles everywhere around here! 

Took this pic when I was here in February

Milk is 62 rupees for a liter... doing the math on that one, milk runs around $6 a gallon.  On the flip side, veggies are cheap (and fresh!).  Chicken is pretty cheap, too, at under $2 for a pound of boneless, skinless (again, fresh!) breast.  A loaf of bread is about 50 cents.  Cable TV is cheap... super cheap, like $5 a month.  Cell phone service, also cheap.  Not as cheap as cable, but cheap enough.  Music downloads are cheap. Books are relatively inexpensive.  Indian-ethnic clothing is pretty cheap, but tennies and jeans are crazy expensive.  We paid over $100 for a pair of basic Nike shoes for Savannah a few weeks ago.  Electronics are much higher here than in the US, also.  Samsung has a factory here, so you would think they might have a local discount.  Not quite.  
Something else I have realized is that no matter where I am in the world, people want to share personal  information with me.  I am not sure why, and Dennis used to tease me about being a gossip because I always knew stuff, but REALLY I don't ask!!  Everyone just volunteers information that I don't need (and sometimes want!) to know.  It is probably because they need to share with someone and realize that since I have the worst memory ever, I am safe.  LOL  There have been many occasions when someone told me something, then a few months later it came up again and I thought, "Oh yeah! I knew that already and forgot all about it!"  
That might be the end of my thoughts... I am getting pretty sleepy and these are really all over the place.  I am sitting here waiting on Savannah to go to school (half days this week for testing) so I can go to bed.  Nothing new or exciting to update you on.  Still counting down for the arrival of our container - hopefully in early October.  Also counting the days until Mom and Dad arrive!!  And I haven't even told Savannah yet, but I just planned a weekend get-away for us with a group from work for the first weekend in November.  I think my colleagues are tired of me not getting out and doing anything on the weekends so they are taking matters into their own hands.  I am not complaining at all and know it will be a good time.
Hope everyone is having a great week and I'll write more later.  Love and hugs from India!

Funny stories

I have probably been a little too whiny on here for my own good, or anyone else's, for that matter, so I will share a couple funny stories.  Short ones.  Well, I'll try to make them short - how about that?

Funny Story #1 - I wonder how many of you noticed how geographically challenged I am when, several blogs ago, I wrote about my view of the Baltic Sea from the balconies at our flat?  Actually, we have a view of the Bay of Bengal.  Yep, I work for a global ocean freight company and don't know which sea is where.  I bet the girls on my team back in Houston are laughing right now about my other geographically-challenged moment a while back regarding a certain India-Asia-Africa connection... but I'll save that story for another time.  Or not at all.  haha  But many thanks to my IT buddy for pointing that out a while back; I just never addressed it until now.

 Funny Story #2 - Yesterday was Vinayaka Chaturthi, an Indian national and Hindu holiday that celebrates Lord Ganesha.  At work there was a lot of present wrapping and hustle and bustle of the team I sit near and work with on occasion (sitting in Exports now, but working more with Imports, as we are all shuffling desks soon) and I just assumed it was all about this holiday.  I was pretty busy, still catching up from being out last week, and meant to ask my colleagues a few times, but got distracted or never thought about it at a good time.  Anyway, lotssssss of present wrapping, all the men on the team (which is quite funny because Indian men wrap presents about as quickly as American men... and probably with about as much skill) took turns wrapping a few gifts at a time and then they piled them up on a manager's desk.  Then they were all compiled into a big box and a couple plastic bags, bound tightly with packing tape and ready for - well, I didn't know what they were ready for.  I figured it was something like what we would do for Christmas, Secret Santa, donations to a local home or a White Elephant-type thing.  But time ticked away, the night escaped me and it was time to leave. So I went home without seeing the big ending.  When I came in tonight, I remembered to ask my co-manager what all the presents were for.  And he said they were for our boss, Selvam, to take with him to his trip to visit our colleagues in NAM.  What?!  I thought this was related to an Indian thing and I had been intrigued all night.  HAHAHA!  Well, that will teach me to wait until the day after to ask a question.  What a dork I am!

Funny Story #3 - Savannah has to go to school on Saturday.  That in itself is funny, since I did it for almost 5 years, I kind of like the idea. She was out yesterday for the completely unrelated present-wrapping festival (LOL) and had a half day today, half day tomorrow, and half day Saturday.  Really, she is still getting a half a day off, but it's the principle of the Saturday attendance for her.  And I get it.  I just don't have much sympathy. By the way, we often see kids in their common school uniforms if we make it out and about on Saturdays, so it's a regular occurrence around here.
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Funny Story #4 - Isn't really a story, just a few little snippets of the adventures of Dynamo:

• One of the guards at our apartment complex and I had a short conversation the other morning when I took him out to do his business: Guard - "Is that a dog or a cat?"  Me - stunned silence, then, laughing "It's a dog."  Guard -  "Are you sure?  I thought not because it is so little." Me - "Yep, I am sure.  He's a dog." Guard - "Oh, OK, madam. I thought he was little like a cat, but have a good day."
• A young girl, probably 8 or 9 years old, quite mature, walked over to me one afternoon when we were out and asked if she could pet him.  She asked lots of questions, including his name, where we were from, where we got him, and then she asked, "Is he veg or non-veg?"  Well, this might not be as funny to most of you, not living in India, but everyone is either veg or non-veg here.  Meaning they eat meat or they don't.  Food is marked with a green circle if it's veg and there are strictly veg restaurants, etc.  Some of it has religious implications, some does not.  But when she asked me if my DOG was veg or non-veg, I fell out laughing.  But I replied, as seriously as I could, "He's non-veg."  Just as quickly as the breath she took, she asked, "And what does he eat, then? Pedigree?"  It was so funny.  There are not a lot of pet food choices around here, but Pedigree is one of the few, so, "Yes, he eats Pedigree." 
• Back when we were at the Aloft Hotel, one of the staff girls asked him, "Dynamo, do you know your ABC's?"  And she waited for his reply.  Savannah and I looked at each other, stifled our laughs and said we had to go back to the room, where we then roared with laughter for the next 20 minutes.  Sometimes if I am in a cranky mood, or if she's just feeling especially silly, Savannah will ask the wind, "Dynamo, do you know your ABC's?"
• And lastly, the sweet lady that stays with Savannah at nights when I work, Lakshmi,  wants to feed him all the time.  Like, ALL THE TIME.  Keep in mind we are communication-ally challenged... Every evening when I am getting my stuff together and getting ready to go to work, she walks to the cabinet with the dog food (yes, non-veg Pedigree) and points to it.  Generally, Savannah has already fed him.  But she would like to feed him again.  She motions to the cabinet, then her mouth with her fingers all closed like she is putting food into her mouth.  Then she does the same motion toward Dynamo.  Usually I laugh and tell her he already ate, but every now and then we will let her feed him again.  They kind of love each other. It's pretty cute.

I am all out of funny stories for the moment and my mom just sent me an iMessage that they are ready to Skype (she's quite impatient, so it's now been 3 iMessages and a "how much longer"), so I will sign off for the day.  Hope everyone is having a nice week and enjoying the cool weather I keep reading about (with envy and jealous) on FB.  As always, appreciate your prayers and thoughts and sending them right back along with big hugs from Chennai.

A Day at the Beach and a Week in Bed

Savannah and I had a nice little outing last Saturday afternoon/evening.  We made it out to Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, because - you know - we can't just have one name I can't pronounce with 12 plus letters in it around here - we need to have multiple unpronounceable names!  There are a lot of places with two names, I am learning.  Examples: Chennai = Madras. Mumbai = Bombay. Nhava Sheva = Jawaharlal Nehru.  I am told the old name was English, from when the British ruled India, and that more recently the Indian government has decided to rename many places to sound more Indian than British.  I don't know about you, but these ALL sounded the same amount of Indian to me.  Silly Indians. Anyway, our visit wasn't too long, because I didn't bring a lot of cash and the stone temple things we wanted to see didn't take debit cards... but we did walk to the beach part and shopped some of the little vendor stands, drank some tea and Savannah had some fresh pineapple.  When I asked how much stuff was, the locals thought it was great fun to take advantage of us.  I know it is not really 40 rupees (appx 75 cents) for two slices of pineapple, but whatever.  And I know it's not really 75 rupees for two cups of tea (appx $1.50), because really these things are much less expensive here.  But I didn't feel like haggling (very unlike me, usually I am down for a price war) so I paid them and they laughed as we walked off like they got something over the foreigners.  Silly Indians.  When we went to the stone carving temple things to see how much it was and see if they took a debit card (most places here do, really!), we saw it was 20 rupees for Indians and 250 rupees for "all others."  Over ten times as much because we fell in that "all others" category.  Crazy country, I tell ya.  So we will go back one day with our zillions of foreign dollars they must think we have and enjoy it again.  It wasn't too far away and we might get in the water this time.  But not in bathing suits... there were people in the water there, but they all just wear their clothes.  The ladies wore their salwar suits like it was normal.  And I guess, for here, it is normal.  When I had told someone Friday night that we were going to the beach on Saturday he asked me, very seriously, "please do not wear your American swimwear." I already knew it was a no-no, because we don't even wear shorts here, so a swimsuit would just blow their minds! But it was pretty funny that they felt it necessary to have that conversation.  Silly Indians! (have I mentioned that already?) 

At the beach

Showing off her souvenirs

Monday and Tuesday I woke up with a headache and figured it was because we had some rain and there was a bunch of stuff in the air, but as the night wore on Tuesday, I was feeling worse and worse - congested, sneezing, puffy eyes, pounding head, sore throat, achy back and shoulders, and dizzy when I stood up.  By the time I left and came home, I crashed out and did not wake up until my alarm went off after 5 PM.  5 PM is pretty late, considering my daughter should have been home before that, so I freaked out a little and called her cell phone immediately, which was off.  I rushed to the front door and she was standing there.  For over an hour.  Knocking.  Ringing the bell.  Waiting.  I heard nothing... I was out to the world.  Her phone was taken at school (returned the next day - which is a good thing because they were going to have one ticked off American mom up there if not) so she couldn't call me.  And she doesn't have my number memorized so she couldn't go ask anyone else to call me, either.  Lesson learned.  She now has my number on a piece of paper in her purse in case she doesn't have her phone for any reason again.  Anyway, I was feeling terrible so I texted my co-manager to let him know I was going to "take rest" and I'd be back the next day.  Our little lady that stays with Savannah came over as planned, which was good because I was right back in bed.  She made Savannah dinner and was so worried about me. She brought me "copy" (coffee) and wanted me to come eat, but that was not happening, so she and Savannah walked down to the store at the apartment complex to see if there was any medicine, but there wasn't.  Everything here is at its own store.  Groceries at one place, medicine at another, books at another, electronics at another, sweets at another, shoes at another, ladies clothes at another, dog food at another, you get the point - it's maddening.  I miss Target.  I would even go so far as to say I miss Wal-Mart - a place I NEVER thought I would miss - simply for the convenience of one-stop shopping. Back to the store - when they were in the store, another resident overheard Savannah asking for medicine and offered some info about a nearby drug store and Savannah explained her mom was sick and the driver was gone for the night, so no way to get there.  Well, turns out the lady was a doctor (so many doctors and engineers here!!) and she ordered some other stuff, had it delivered, and then walked some up to our apartment for me... after 10 at night.  Very kind!  I took the first pill and felt GREAT after about an hour... felt pretty darn good until it wore off and then nothing worked quite like that again.  I stayed pretty sick until Saturday early afternoon and I slept so much my back was sore from laying down.  I guess my body decided I had gone long enough through this big move and emotional crap I was putting it through, and it was shutting down on me, forcing me to rest and recoup.  So I did.  Until Friday morning when I attempted to go in for a day-side meeting and spiked a fever on the way, so had the driver turn around and take me home... So I went back to bed.  But I feel better today.  I was going to go out and get pampered with a mani/pedi, but the driver never answered, so I stayed home. Probably better, anyway.  However, my child had gone with her friends from school to work on a project and I had no way to get her home since the driver did not answer.  So she wound up staying the night over there and when he comes in the morning I will have to send her stuff with him and he will pick her up from her friend's and take them to school.  I tell ya, this not having a car at-will is pretty inconvenient.  Especially when the drivers do not cooperate.  Sigh.
So that is our exciting week.  Savannah's been sweet and helped take care of me while I was under the weather, but I think she was glad to head out yesterday and she probably wasn't very sad to not make it home tonight, in all honesty.  Sometimes inconvenience for Mom works out in a teenager's favor.  
We are still waiting on our household goods... 4 weeks delay - ETA to Chennai is now Oct. 4.  We'll see if that happens.  I am a little disgusted with that and would rather not talk about it quite yet.  Later, I guess I will laugh (this is what everyone keeps telling me), but there is not any laughter about it right now.  Not yet.  And we are counting down for Mom & Dad's visit.  Third week of October can't get here fast enough!  We are only about a month away - Yippee!!!  And then we will start the countdown for our trip home - tickets booked for December 20 departure and January 1 return.  Double Yippeeeeeee!  
Well, it's after 4:30 AM and I am pretty hungry (got an appetite back!) so I should probably eat something and try to get some sleep.  Please keep us in your prayers... still missing home, friends & family like crazy.  Still working to acclimate to our new country.  We are taking it one day at a time, and certainly doing better every day, but it's still a little rough sometimes.  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers very much and send them back to you all.  Here's hoping everyone has a great week and sending big love and hugs!