We’re in our new home!

The big news for the week is that we are now in our home.  Our air shipment was delivered on Saturday and we spent the night last night.  Of course, the air shipment is pretty limited, so we are running with only a few things.  We are sleeping on air mattresses, we have a card table and a few folding camp chairs for our dining set, we have a few pans, plates, forks, etc. in the kitchen.  However, all the essentials are here, including a sofa and two chairs that we purchased here while we are waiting for our sea shipment to arrive.  There are no drapes yet, the place echoes terribly (all the marble floors, no furniture, no drapes, etc.), we are still figuring out how to turn the lights on, but it is home and we are happy to be here.  It is strange that we are so ready to leave a 5 star hotel for the almost empty flat, but we are really glad to be here.  Now Becca has the right sized spoon to use.  Here’s the only utensil we had before our air shipment got here.

Today I’ve been thinking about how miscommunications make for funny experiences.  At the hotel they have a big buffet for breakfast.  In addition to all the food set out, they have a couple of chefs behind the counter that will fix eggs, omelets, etc.  There are also a couple of other stations, one of which will fix you pancakes or french toast.   One morning Michelle decided she wanted french toast using the bread they had at the toaster station rather than the bread at the pancake cart.  She told the guy that she wanted two slices of french toast, but wanted the bread over by the toaster.  He said ok and told her the toast was over across the room.  So Michelle went and picked up bread and brought it over to him.  Bottom line, he fixed four slices of french toast with his bread and four slices with the bread that Michelle brought.  Of course, she really only wanted two, so I had french toast that morning.  We have had some other experiences like that where you think you are communicating, you think you understand what the other person is saying, but at the end of the day, it turns out you weren’t even on the same planet let alone having the same conversation.

We are still trying to get our car ordered.  At this point, I don’t think it will come before we loose our temporary driver.  I’ll have to call and try to get an extension.  Otherwise, we may get to try out the mass transportation here in Delhi!

We have had a lot of rain from the monsoons.  One day, Michelle and I want to a market to pick up some things and have lunch.  While we were in lunch, it *really* started pouring.  After we finished eating, we waited a while to see if the rain would let up.  The rain started slowing, so we headed out the door.  Not ten steps down the lane and it really opens up again.  We ran to a store and took cover under the awning.  We couldn’t see where our driver was parked, so we tried to call.  Of course, with all the people trying to get out of the market and call drivers, etc. we couldn’t get through.  I ended up wading in water up to my knees to find the car and our driver.  By the time we found the car and picked up Michelle, I was as wet as I’ve ever been.  Think standing in the shower with your clothes on.  You would almost be as wet I was. 

 

We also went looking for some furniture.  We need a cabinet for our DVDs and sooner or later I want a few things made here.  They have these really cool coffee tables that are made out of really old carved doors or window shutters.  Anyway, we went to this place that has a warehouse in a ‘farm house’ out in the country.  It was a pretty cool place and they have lots of things.

 

 

Cool painted cabinets

 

 

 

 

 

Some stuff that is carved

 

 

 

 

 

We really liked this one, but the drawers are too shallow to hold DVDs

 

 

 

 

When we were there, I noticed the woodworking tools that the craftsman use.  Some of the pieces they sell are really old and they have craftsmen that fix them and make them look new again.  They do pretty good work with their tools.  Wonder what they would think of my stuff back home.  I am really spoiled by my tools back home and probably couldn’t produce anything worth having if I used the tools these craftsmen did.

 

Their table saw

 

 

 

 

My table saw

 

They do most of their work by hand and these are the tools they use.  These really aren’t much different than the hand tools that we tend to use in the states – except for the fact that we tend to use hand tools that are much better made and cost an awful lot more!

Testing . . . testing

So a week or so back, I tried to post a boring video tour of our flat to our blog. It was more a test of whether I could actually post video than anything else. I am a terrible videographer and frankly have no idea how to edit or utilize video (slide shows, on the other hand, they are my thing). The prior test didn’t work out. I’ve reworked the video and will try to post it again just to see if it works. Watch at your own risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

On another note – does anybody actually read this thing? No comments on my entries either means that the post was too boring, or that no one is reading. So let me know if you are out there, ok?

Raksha Bandhan

Today is Raksha Bandhan (see here) which I think is a pretty cool festival.  Apparently it isn’t a day that is taken by everyone as a holiday (the busses still run, shops are open, etc.) but some businesses and our driver took the day off.  It is worth reading at least the first paragraph or two of the wiki entry I linked to above, but the festival is designed to draw brothers and sisters closer together.  The name of the festival means “the bond of protection” in Hindi and a few other languages.  On the festival, the brother will go to his sister’s house and she will tie a rakhi or holy thread on her brother’s wrist.  The brother, in turn, offers a gift to his sister and promises to look after her.  The sister presents sweets to her brother, or the brother and sister exchange sweets, I didn’t really understand that part when our driver was explaining it to us.  In any event, I think it is a pretty cool festival.

How often as parents do we hope our children ‘get along’ and take care of one another.  When our children were smaller, I was happy if there wasn’t any blood when I came home from work.  Today, with all of our children leaving home, getting married, and starting families of their own, I appreciate more the sentiment of the festival where a brother makes that ‘bond of protection’ to his sister.  Of course, I’m reading all kinds of western values into what is happening and the reality here within the culture is very different.  Still, it is great to think that your children will take care of one another. 

Sorry, no pictures to go along with this post.  go read the wiki entry or search for rakhi on the internet.  You’ll get the idea!

Happy Independence Day

Today is India's independence day. On 15 August, 1947 the British handed over rule to the people that live in India There is a pretty good description in Wikipedia of the various festivities that happen. Of course, since it was Sunday, we missed out on everything. Our driver had the day off so we had to take taxis to church today. Attendance was down since it was difficult or impossible for some folks. Apparently a lot of the buses weren't running today, which made it difficult for people to get to church.

I've thought a lot about our own country's independence and how it brings out patriotic feelings and a deep gratitude for those that have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. It was really great to see that the people here have the exact same feelings of patriotism and gratitude.

Michelle gave a talk today on the parables of Christ. She focused on the parable of the talents. She did a really great job. One thing that we have noticed, is that many people who convert to the church here in India make great sacrifices to join the church. A lot of them go against the wishes of their families or give up position or station in life. Our Branch President is quite young (in the 25-30 range) and comes from one of the top casts here in India. He is a very humble and spiritual man, but as you can imagine, his family was less than pleased that he decided to join the church. Many of the Saints here are so very faithful and work so hard to be good examples and to share their faith with others.

Weekly Update

We have been here a whole week now and things are moving along, if slowly. I think you learn patience here in Delhi. It took almost a whole week to get signed up for mobile phone service and get them activated. I'll probably head into work sometime this week. I am getting ready for a bit more structure in my life. Maybe mid week or there abouts. We'll see depending on how the errands we need to get done go.

Rebecca went to Seminary last week. One day, on the way to the church, she saw an elephant. The driver stopped so she could take a picture. She was really excited.

One day we went to look at furniture and saw an ox cart pulling a bunch of logs. I think they were headed to the shops to be cut up and made into furniture. The "old" vs. "new" is pretty much anywhere you look in Delhi. Lots of opportunities to see the juxtaposition.

I've talked about the traffic in Delhi before. Here's a good shot of a two lane intersection. It is simply amazing how traffic can be going all over the place like this and it all works out with no accidents or anything.

We were out to the flat today and officially took possession. Of course, our stuff is somewhere between Sammamish and Delhi and so we aren't ready to move in yet. The hotel is nice, but I think we are ready to move into the flat - and we've only been in the hotel a week. I made a video of the flat, but I can't seem to get it uploaded. I've worked on it for a week (I wrote this post last Sunday), so I'm just going to post this without the video and maybe I can figure it out later.

Safe Arrival

Well, we made it safely to Delhi and this is our first post from that fair city. Our company authorized us to fly business class, so I can't complain about the flight. For long flights like this one, there is a HUGE difference between flying coach and flying business class. Plus, on the last leg (Frankfurt to Delhi) the airline upgraded us to first class and we flew on the upper deck of a 747. It was really cool and we all loved it.


Becca says the first thing she saw was two men holding hands. It is a common site over here to see two friends (men or women) holding hands. However, it is very rare to see a man and woman holding hands. Since that is the way Michelle and I usually walk, it is hard for us to remember that it isn't really done in India.


We knew we weren't in Kansas (or at lest Seattle) anymore when we got to the hotel. We had to take two cars from the airport. A small one for the people and a larger one for all the luggage. When we got to the hotel, we had about 6 people who greeted us. I've never seen so many people opening doors, grabbing luggage, welcoming us, etc. Of course we had to go through security screening (think a lite version of what you get at the airport, minus taking off the shoes). Then we were met at the door and a person holding a bowl surrounded by flowers met us, dipped her finger into the bowel and placed a red dot on our forehead. Then, instead of standing in a line at the check-in desk, we were escorted to our rooms by two people (one of which was the manager of the hotel), and shown the rooms. One of our escorts had the paperwork all ready for the room and all I needed to do was sign. Others brought our luggage in and after about a thousand good byes and thank yous, we were safely in our room getting ready for bed. I note that all this took place at about 2:30 AM.


On Saturday morning we ate breakfast, were met by our temporary driver, and went over to our flat. While we were eating breakfast, it started to rain. And I mean RAIN. It was a real gully-washer. Apparently this is only about the third time during the monsoon season that they have had this hard of rain. The streets were flooded and all the walkers, bicyclers and motorcycle riders were huddled under the flyovers to get out of the rain. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't work. Think of about 50 or 60 motorcycles, tuk-tuks, bicycles, etc. with all their riders standing around and you have a pretty good idea.


We showed Becca around the flat and she picked out her room. She also said she really loved the flat and the terrace. Here are a few pictures from our terrace of all the water still in the streets.




We then went down to one of the local markets to get pictures taken. You need passport photos for just about everything, from signing up for cell phone service, to turning on your electricity, to registering with the government. Not sure what they do with the photos, but there will soon be lots of pictures of us sitting in various filing cabinets around the city.

Catching Up

Well, it has been a long while since I've posted here. In fact, this is the first 'new' post on our 'new' blog. We decided to move our blog from Wordpress to Blogger mainly because Blogger lets you post video clips and that is a $65 option on Wordpress. I actually like the Wordpress tools for designing, layout, editing, etc. a lot better. I find myself editing the raw HTML code a lot in blogger and I never had to do that in the Wordpress tools.

It has been a hectic few months getting ready to leave the US. As I write this, I am in the Marriott hotel in Redmond Town Center. Our home is mostly packed and will be completely packed and on a truck by tomorrow. It is both sad and exciting to see us at this stage. Sad because we know we will be leaving the US. Exciting because we are looking forward to our new adventure.

We sold both our cars and our boat as well as a few other things. This is the first time in Michelle's and my married life that we have not owned a car. In some ways it seems weird. In others, strangely liberating. We have a rental car that the company got for us until we leave the US. After considering all the options, I decided I wanted to keep my motorcycle, so we still own one motorized vehicle. We also have a utility trailer. One big problem: The rental car is no where big enough to get the three of us and our luggage to the airport. We are still working on that one, but there are definitely options available.

Sorting our house so that some of it stays, some of it goes to storage, some of it goes by sea and some by air was tough! Most of the time when you move, almost everything moves from one place to another. This time, we feel like we have stuff going every which way. It will be interesting when we get to Delhi as stuff arrives to see what actually made it where it was supposed to go and what we really needed that ended up somewhere else. Look at the adventures that await!

By now most folks should have received the cards we sent out with our new contact info (and the new blog address). Keep in touch!

Home Again, Home Again

Originall published May 7, 2010 on our other blog.

So we are back in the US and it is good to be home. The flight back was loooonnnnnnggggg. So when you come visit us, be prepared for quite a trip. My tail bone had never been so sore in my life. I was really wishing for a business class seat!

The top 10 great things about being back in the US, in no particular order:

1. You can drink the water out of the tap


2. You actually understand the rules of the road while driving


3. It isn't 113 degrees (although since I've been back, I just can't get warm!)


4. Everything is green in Seattle


5. You recognize the food you eat


6. You get to sleep in your own bed (when you can get over the jet lag that is - I've been up at about 3 a.m. most days this week)


7. You understand the programs on TV


8. Your cell phone works so it is easy to get in touch with folks


9. We are back with Rebecca


10. You can get a hamburger if you want

We haven't actually settled on a house yet, however. Out of all the places we looked at, we liked the home that Marty and Donna were living in the best. It looks like the landlord simply wants too much in rent, however, so I am not optimistic that Marty and Donna's place will work out. So we are considering our other options. The current second choice is more in the flight path of the airport so there is a lot of airplane noise. I'm not excited about that, but it has a lot of things that we need, and that we didn't find in other places. So we'll see how things work out.

To Find a Home

Originally published May 1, 2010 on our other blog.

We’ve been in Delhi this last week looking for a home for when we move.  It has been an interesting experience.  We communicated with Radil, our consultant, prior to coming to Delhi and let her know what we were looking for.  A flat with at least 3 bedrooms and an office (or 4 bedrooms where one could be used as an office), servants quarters, in the area around Vasant Vihar, where Marty currently lives.  We wanted to stay in roughly the same area since Jaya, who will be our cook/housekeeper, has a roommate who owns a nearby restaurant and they need to stay in the area.

The day started with Radil meeting us in the hotel lobby and presenting us with an agenda for the day.  It read something like, leave the hotel, spend all day running up and downs stairs looking at one flat after another in heat so hot that you could bake pottery in it until you cry uncle.  Or at least that was the way it turned out. 

Radil had compiled a list of some 35 flats that she wanted us to see.  We needed to climb the stairs to look at most of them since the lift was out in most of the apartments.  I can tell you that climbing a million stairs in 113 degree temperature is a way to get a workout!  Even though we did take time out for lunch, by about 4:30 we were pretty wilted and were ready to head back to the hotel.

We saw some pretty nice flats, some absolutely horrible flats, and a lot in between.  Michelle’s favorite was a ground floor flat with a basement.  In the basement was a full ‘disco’ dance floor, complete with flashing lights.  Sorry, but we won’t be living there.  It had a bedroom in the basement, which ‘is not strictly legal’ here in Delhi.  So it was back to work, climbing stairs and looking at flats and hoping that in the next flat, the power would be on so someone could turn on the ceiling fans.

The biggest problem was that virtually all the flats only had one servants quarters.  We really need two.  One for Jaya and one for Joginder (our driver).  At the end of day 1, we had found only one place that had two servants quarters.  It was a home, with an upstairs and downstairs.  It was older and had been renovated.  However, the landlord was pretty proud of the fact that he had turned over 15 people down from renting the flat.  I had a unsettling feeling about the landlord, so we crossed that one off the list.

At the end of two days of looking, and returning to a couple of flats, we had two possibilities.  One was Marty and Donna’s current flat.  The other was another flat that had two servants quarters, but was closer to the airplane flight path (planes flying over made it impossible to talk).  We’ve asked the agency to start negotiations for Donna and Marty’s flat.  If things work out, it will be nice because 1) Jaya and Joginder can just stay where they are; 2) we can leave all the appliances we are buying from Donna and Marty in place and don’t have to store and move them.  The flat has some drawbacks, but it the best that we’ve seen and we’re excited to get the process under way.

I don’t have a picture of the outside of the flat, but I did take this picture of a huge moth we saw while looking at all the flats.  Becca, this is for you!

Old Delhi

Originally posted April 18, 2010 on our other blog.

Yesterday, I went with Donna and the girls down to their favorite jewelry shop in Old Delhi. The Wikipedia entry sure doesn’t do this part of the city justice. Old Delhi used to be the capital, until New Delhi was built. We took the subway down to Chandi Chowk, and walked a short distance to the shop. I didn’t take many pictures, but the Wiki entries all show these broad streets with few people. The reality is you can almost touch the shops on each side of the little lanes if you stretch your arms out. This is a more accurate representation (although there weren’t many people yet).

We were there before most of the shops were opened (only about 10:30 or so). Note the wiring. Somehow I don’t think that it meets whatever safety standard there is in the US. Down these little alleys you have people, motorcycles, scooters, and peddle rickshaws all squeezing by each other. The sights and sounds can be overwhelming.



Then, off the busy alley, there is a quiet little dead-end lane. You step through a door, and it gets really quiet. The lane is lined with these small little apartments (I can’t remember the real name). There is a Jain temple (the one in the Wiki is not the one in the lane) all carved in marble down at the end of the lane. Apparently, when the capital moved to new Delhi (sometime around 1945 I think), many people locked their apartments and moved south. Inside many of these little places, it is still 1945.

Biking In Delhi

Originally posted on April 18, 2010 on our other blog.

I went on my first bike ride in Delhi last week. We left early one morning, and headed out to the “bush”. From Marty’s house, it is amazing how quickly you get from city to no-city. Here’s an example of a little green valley we rode by.



On the way we saw a lot of people walking to work or just out for a morning walk. Everyone greeted the two westerners with a hearty “Good Morning”. We also saw a lot of peacocks, which I gather are pretty common in the area where we were riding. Everyone was carrying a two-liter bottle of water, which Marty said was their ‘bathroom’ (in other words, no toilet paper, use your left hand and wash when you are done). That is why you don’t handle food or anything with your left hand here.



We also met a bunch of workers, who were apparently hauling sand for construction of some sort. You can’t really see it in the picture, but they are bringing their donkeys up the trail. They had a shovel attached to each one and they would (apparently) load the donkey and use them to haul the sand.



You don’t ride over any branches in the trail and this is why. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such large thorns. Tire liners and tubes with sealant inside are a definite must! I wonder if any tire/bike/liner manufactures would like to use us as testers for their products?



Out in the middle of nowhere is Sultan Ghari's tomb. Apparently this is one of the first Islamic tombs and was built in 1231 AD. Marty said that there is usually a guard sleeping on the top of the tomb inside (the real tomb is down underground). He said that if you want to go in, they will charge you. Sometimes it is Rs 100, sometimes only Rs 30, you never know what they will ask for. We didn’t go in, but maybe I’ll go back someday.



Just so you know that I was really there. By this time, it was probably around 7:00 a.m. and I was starting to feel the building heat. It is hard going from very cool Seattle weather to the hottest April on record. While I’ve been here we’ve hit around 43 or 44 degrees C (109-111 F). By the time we got back to the flat, I was really struggling



And for Rebecca, who loves cows, we saw this one out back of the tomb.

The Beginning of a Long Month

Originally posted on April 11, 2010 on our other blog.

So the month of April will be a long month for me. As I write this, it is Sunday afternoon (April 11) and I’m sitting in my hotel room at the Hyatt Hotel in Delhi. I’ve been in Delhi for about a week (I left Seattle last Monday) and will be here through next week. After that, I’ll head to Japan for a week, then home for a couple of days, and then back to Delhi with Michelle for a house hunting trip. Whew! It will be a busy month and I’m tired just writing about it.

It is HOT in Delhi and it is only April. I left Seattle to the normal rainy weather with a temperature of about 45 F (7 C). It has been about 100 F (38 C) while I’ve been here. I can’t wait to see what it is like when we move in July!

I was chatting with Marty, the person I’m replacing, and he said that his family took every chance they could to get out of the city and into the hills. The British used to move the capital from Delhi to Shimla in the summer. Based on what I’ve seen of Delhi in the summer so far, sounds great to me!

Since my last trip to India, the traffic hasn’t improved, so I guess that I have this to look forward to for the next several years. When I took this picture, the traffic was in neat, orderly rows, a very unusual occurrence! Usually, it is cars and motorcycles and buses and people and everything else all over the road. It seems that the marked lanes are only vague suggestions. There are usually at least three cars and several motorcycles across in a two lane road. I just ignore what is going on and leave everything to the driver. It all seems to work out.