Morning Walks in Bangalore

Hi everybody - thanks for all the nice notes~ We are having a good time, in a lot of ways it is incredibly western here, so we don't have too many problems with missing things, so thanks for all the offers of care packages - but if we can't find it here, we probably don't need it (I will load up on a couple of things when I come home in June, but that's for my vanity, not necessity!)

Here are a couple of observations about life here from my morning walks

Walking on the sidewalks is for wimps. You are meant to walk in the street, next to the side walk. It's only moderately more dangerous, since the sidewalks are often missing blocks and the sidewalks are just stone blocks covering ditches for drainage. (and I won't mention the other uses for sidewalks, like sleeping and ablutions)

The dogs are the most peaceful things in all of Bangalore. They are flopped on the sidewalks, street. Or they are walking around, like lords of the street. I actually feel calmer when I see one (or a couple). There have been some issues with dog bites and I hear a bunch barking occasionally in the evening, but they are the best stray dogs.

Saris and Salwar Kameeze are the outfits that the women wear and they are as varied as the world itself. I cannot get over how different each on is, with the different fabrics and styles. The style difference on the Salwar Kameeze is in the neckline and length, but mostly the fabric. And I have never seen an Indian woman's bare leg. Seriously. The legs are completely covered at all times. Even my below the knee shorts seem odd. And I won't dare wear real shorts - I think I would start a riot! But the men can where the dhotis or lungis (like this picture, but they tuck the fabric up, so that the garment is short) and show a lot of leg - but not the women!

Nothing opens before 10:30 - not for food or newspapers or anything! I take the boys to their bus stop by autorick at 7am, then walk back to the flat. A direct walk would take about 10 minutes, but I use this time to explore Bangalore. It's nice not to have the traffic and it's cooler, but I can't find a coffeeshop or a newspaper stand or anything. There is a corner with 2 guys who have a bag of buns and thermos of coffee that they bring on their bicycle. Not for me, but someone can use it. ** Tuesday May 1 was a holiday here (Labor Day for all the non-communists reading this) I did my same walk, but with the shops open. It was a blast! I had my first paan, which is a bunch of stuff, just stuff, wrapped in a betel leaf and chewed . I ate with a couple upper class indians who had stopped at this one which is apparently very well know, by Koshy's (old Indian diner, behind St. Mark's Cathedral). The got me one and then you chew and chew and chew. And this helps your digestion. Not bad, but I think it tastes a little like soap. I'd do it again. But Thomas and I walked the route and saw how different it was when the businesses were open. Nice.

Got to go. Today is Friday, which usually is a long day. So much happens in the US and UK, as everyone there is trying to meet their end of week commitments, so I wind up working kind of late. I will compensate this weekend, because we are going to a coffee plantation, about 5 hours drive, and won't come back until Monday morning. I'll let you know how that goes.

love love love to you all and please use the comments section, it's fun to let everyone read what everyone else has to say!

After the first month

Sunday night, beginning of week 5 in Bangalore. I have a hard time remembering Houston - except missing my friends. The time here has gone fast and has been very productive, which I've learned is a very rare experience. It will be hard to catch up on everything tonight, but I really want you all to know that I miss you, but have really liked the trip so far. I have tons of little details, that may be kind of boring, but help put things in context. Even if you get bored of reading this, I'll look back as a journal of the trivial and routine and hopefully stupendeous and amazing. If you are reading this and want to know more, ask me a question - ok?

For the basics here is what we've done . . . . .

week one was in a nice hotel. Not super fancy, but there was a doorman and chocolate on the pillow. It was were I stayed last November and the staff remembered me (hopefully for my personality and not the tip I left last time!), but felt welcoming and they were good to the boys.
We found the school and started househunting, but without a lot of focus. But Saturday morning, there was a guy and 2 kids eating breakfast in the hotel. These were the 1st kids I've seen in the hotel, turns out Mike Krupa lived around the corner and they went to the same school - Canadian International School. We went to rugby practice with them that afternoon and Beth gave me a great rundown on getting settled - they've been here 3 months and gave me her relo person - Roopa Salhendra.
Well, Roopa was great and after a week of looking, found us this apartment in the center of town - more on this later. So the boys are in school, which is way outside of Bangalore - yuck, down a bumpy dirt road, past a farm and a couple of temples, but the campus is brand new and open buildings and it's okay.
My office was also in the process of moving, so I kept a low profile and started working through all the stuff it takes to relocate to Bangalore - Foreign Resident Registration - 3 trips to the main police station (old colonial building, lots of bats hanging from the trees).
It was going to be a week until the apt (flat) was ready, so we moved to a service apt. This had a kitchen and people that would order pizza for us. I started grocery shopping - eeerrrkkk! I was told that western products were available, but not the price! $5 for a jar of Skippy. One day I spent $35 on poptarts, cereal, and those jars of instant bisquick pancakes! But they are good to have in the panty, just in case. Oreos - forget about it, I'll wait for 2 more months . . .
Our staples are Ragu spagetti sauce and penne pasta - at least once a week. But more on food later too - be patient, there is a lot to catch up on!
So last Saturday (Apr 21) we moved to the flat in Richmondtown (Richmond Villa, No. 6 Leonard Lane, Ground Floor, Richmondtown, Bangalore, 560025). It's a 3 bedroom, ~3000 sq. ft (I think it's in feet and not meters - I need to check that!), but it's big enough, furnished with a combo of family cast offs, but good ones and new apartment quality furniture. The fact that the UPS (backup power), internet, water and appliance all work it considered a miracle apparently, so I'm not too worried about the furniture.
The boxes I shipped from Houston arrived on Sunday, after a trip to customs on Saturday and attempted bribe. (they showed me a handwritten paper with a list of items and an estimated duty, which I would have to come back and pay. OR, I could just give them 1/2 that now, and it would all be taken care of (about $60). I asked if I got a receipt for that (ha ha) and said I'd come back on Monday. Guess what - on the official slip - no duty! I guess they have to try . . .)

So now we have a place to live, a steady driver, a wonderful cook and cleaner. Our stuff. All we need is company! Come and see us - one room is a guest room. The area is great and not too hot, for India. And the dirty, stinky, yucky, fascinating (oh my!) part of life here is around the corner, nearer to the camel lot I saw the other day. But the flat is quiet and there are places you can go and forget you're in India.

I'm going to post some earlier emails I sent to Beth and my mom, my brother and some other friends. They've also got lots of details. I hope this isn't boring to you!