April 3
It is Sunday morning and still no Internet. Yesterday, we
used Ron’s phone to access our email but that isn’t working today. We have an
appointment to see an apartment at 11:00. I found it on line in December but
seeing it in reality is a requirement as far as we are concerned.
Yesterday we mostly hung around the hotel. In the morning we
looked at the second place the university staff had picked out for us. It was a
large three story house. It was a little dated looking. The hot water heater
used wood to heat the water for the washing machine, not electricity or gas.
That was a first for us. It had one bedroom on the ground floor, two bedrooms
on the second floor and one on the third floor. It turns out that it is a
shared house. So we would rent the ground floor with kitchen and laundry
privileges and others would rent the second and third floor. There was one
entrance to the house so the other renters would be walking through our part of
the house to get to their part. Not for us. I told Ron I would hire an agent to
help me find us a place since the university’s choices were far off our idea of
a suitable place. Later in the day I got some tips from our friends here on
good neighborhoods, promise of sending some agents my way and tips on some
useful websites. We finally found an ATM that took Ron’s debit card and got
some cash. My card which is identical to Ron’s on the same bank didn’t work so
we will have to call Monday night to see what is up.
We went out to dinner with Scott, Ron’s two former
colleagues, Manvita and Megdha, her husband and Manvita’s adult son. It was a
great restaurant with a varied menu with dishes from around the world. They had
chicken on the menu so I had a chicken risotto which was great. It is another
good place to return to at later date. The vast majority of restaurants here
are ‘pure veg’ as this is Hindu country and no alcohol is served anywhere in
the state of Gujarat.
A Man in a Hat
Ron wears hats year round. In the winter it is to keep his
head warm and in the hot weather to protect his head from the sun. So here in
India he wears a Panama hat and he looks like an older Indiana Jones. To my eye
he is more handsome than Harrison Ford. When we are out walking the Indian men
on the street notice his hat then notice Ron. They call out to him with a
friendly ‘hello’ or ‘hello sir’ and with a charming grin. I think they all
would like a hat like his. Ron thinks
they are laughing at him. We’ll probably
never know.
We are definitely in the ‘adjusting phase’ of being in a new
culture and location. We are adjusting to the very hot days, a new currency, a
very different diet, limited access with no car and no decent pubic
transportation. (riding in an bus with no AC in this climate would cause me
nausea) adjusting to having no Internet since arrival although has been the
worst of the challenges.
Did I mention that our neighborhood is quite dirty. Dirt is
on the sidewalks, leaf litter abounds as dies some trash. I wash my feet
frequently because they get dirty wearing sandals here. We have so much to be
grateful for in the US.
I asked on three separate days to have someone unlock the
locked safe in our room. Each time I was told, ‘okay I will send someone
up.’ After the third request someone
called from the front desk and admitted they didn’t know how to unlock the
safe. So they brought another one up and put it on the bottom shelf of the
closet. You have to stand on your head to read the instructions and set your
code. However it doesn’t work either. It is unlocked but beeps loudly when I
try to set the code. So for now my safe is our locked suitcase.
Fortunately we have lucked out with every restaurant. The
food has been excellent. The food is very oily as much is fried here or the
dishes with sauces are heavy with oil, but all of it has been well prepared and
tasty. We are amazed at the low cost. Last night at a nice restaurant with
cloth napkins and tablecloths and a large wait staff, we ordered drinks (this
is a dry state so drinks have no alcohol), a fabulous roasted cauliflower dish
that had been marinated and grilled with onions and peppers, two kinds of bread
and another veggie dish that was wonderful. All of that was a bit over $10 for
the two of us. Saturday the restaurant served some meat dishes (chicken, lamb
and seafood but never beef in India). McDonalds was only allowed into India by
agreeing to not serve beef. We have been struck by how many dishes are possible
here with only veggies; things I never imagined..
Today we looked at a place I had found on line before
leaving the US. It had three bedrooms, three baths (Asia style), living room
walled off in a glass cube so it could be air conditioned. That left the
kitchen and dining room without AC, the two hottest rooms in the house since
they were next to each other. It was the best we have seen but not good enough
shall we say. I am afraid the house hunting will take longer than I had hoped
but that is all part of the package. Ron got a call at lunch from a person who
works with Manvita who offered to help me on Monday. I have my fingers crossed
since I really don’t know how house hunting goes here. It is helpful to look as
it helps me to refine what we need and communicate what we need. One major
difference between the US and India is maintenance of buildings, homes,
structures and infrastructure. Relatively new buildings look quite worn from
lack of maintenance. After seeing three places I think we definitely will have
to spend some money adding furnishings like mattresses, a desk, and more and
equipping the kitchen at the very least. Mattresses here are thin foam pads.
Beds are low to the ground. The kitchens have either had no tableware and
cookware or it was inadequate. None of
this concerns me. It takes be back to our experience in Sri Lanka where we
rented a brand new house completely unfurnished. Those furnishing now reside in
our Thai house.
The neighborhood we are in now doesn’t have much in the way
of shopping. I have not seen a pharmacy since arriving. The shops nearby are
small clothing stores or really tiny stores with dry goods. There are some
street produce vendors. But I have not seen a grocery store yet. Since I don’t
have internet I don’t know what the temperature has been other than damn hot.
Last night we walked to a restaurant for dinner and walked home at 8:30 and it
was still damn hot with the heat radiating off the street or sidewalk.
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