It looks like we are nearing the end of our jet lag...although Catherine refuses to wake up from what I intended to be a 30-minute nap...we are now nearing 1.5 hours, which means she'll be up at 4 am (or earlier) again tomorrow....ugh. Makes for a LONG day!
We went over to our permanent apartment today (now that the previous tenants have moved out), and determined which areas need to be replastered/repainted....which is basically the entire apartment. Looks like we'll be here in this little place for a while....I shouldn't be surprised; after all, it IS India....I'll leave it at that. I'll need to start looking for a significant amount of furniture- and furnish the entire kitchen as well. Sounds fun, but to be honest, it's so much work to just GET anywhere, it's bound to take a while. We did hit one electronics store yesterday called Croma and got a toaster oven, a blow dryer and a hot water kettle. The blow dryer was $60!! Quite the luxury here apparently....
I'll attend a ladies' coffee tomorrow, so hopefully I should start meeting some other people- I think Mike is getting sick of me by now- I'm up his *ss and not letting him out of my sight! I'm still a little nervous to be alone here, although there's no basis to that whatsoever...just getting adjusted. We went for a walk yesterday, and by the end of the 1-hour ordeal, I was about to cry- I just wanted to be back home in TX again! It's so dirty and loud and crowded here, there is no such thing as a leisurely walk down the street. We walked in the door and washed hands, faces and feet. Isn't that sad- after only 1 hour?? Thus the housekeepers- it's so filthy here, I'll need all the help I can get to keep the house "clean".
Catherine sorely misses playing outside- and the fact that she could run out the back door and swing....city living is just not the same, and it's really really sad. It will take some major adjusting on our part- there ARE playgrounds and parks, but strangely, they are open only during certain times (to keep the vagrants out), so they are teeming with filthy dirty Indian kids during the time that they are open- and you know how Catherine is around crowds- she will NOT participate. Playgroups meet at members' homes here- now I know why!
Our first day, we had lunch at Papa John's Pizza (funny, huh? It was actually REALLY good!), but otherwise, I've been cooking all our meals here at the apartment- it's amazing how one can get by with only 4 forks! It's bare bones here, which is fine, but I'm sure that soon enough, I'll be ready to get outta here! The lack of meat is already becoming an issue- I'm already craving steak! There is tons of chicken (and emu, mutton, goat, amongst other things), but that can get old after a while. I'll need to make the 45-minute drive this week to stock up on some beef and pork. I did manage to find peanut butter and the fresh produce here is AMAZING! I cannot get enough of their tomatoes! We might order in tonight to get a break...but tomorrow night, guess what we're having? Chicken! Hahah! There are some other challenges- we must drink, rinse produce/dishes/toothbrushes and cook with only bottled water. Can you imagine how long that takes? I cannot believe how much work it is- for all of you over there in the States, don't take your tap water for granted!!
We have a playgroup to attend on Tuesday- looks like a lot of the members are foreigners from around the world! The head of the playgroup is Dutch and there are Brits and Germans and Singaporians (is this even right?) amongst the Americans. I'm excited about this- it will open our eyes to many parts of the world all at once.
Now that the U.S. has "sprung forward", the time difference is now 11 hours ahead of Houston. Dang- just when I got it down! Unfortunately, our phone number is not working for the time being- we have been having sporatic internet connection and hope to get it fixed this week, or the next, or the next.....seems to be the theme around here! I'll let you know when we've got it up and running.
Love to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment