Biking Video Redux & A Short Update

If you watched the prior video I posted, watch it again (you can expand it to full screen now and actually have good quality). I figured out how to post things from Vimeo and the video quality is much better.

I'm working on some slide shows from our trip to Agra, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'm headed out of the country for a week long trip to fill in for someone who couldn't go from the states. So I may not post much this week.

One day at the market

Special edition by roving reporter Michelle

Shopping in India has been a real treat!  Sometimes I miss the local Target store where I can buy anything and in a relatively short amount of time.  When you go shopping here you never know what experience you might have.  You have to watch where you walk.  Sometimes the road is so uneven that if you don’t you will trip on the uneven walkway.  Also you might end up stepping in something messy or even step on some one.  There are always lots of sales people and most of the time they are vying for your attention to buy something.  And there is a different store for everything.  If you want fruit or veggies you go to one store.  If you want bread you go to another store. If you want anything else there are several stores selling the different items.  It always takes lots of time and there is hardly ever any parking space.

I usually don’t go to the store alone.  I have a friend who is always willing to get out and go anywhere with me and today was no different.  We went to the store to look for yarn.  Kind of a tricky thing to find here because most of the time if you want yarn or thread, you get some one to sew the item for you.  But we needed yarn for an object lesson.  After we finished our shopping, we were standing by the side of the mall waiting for our driver to come pick us up to go home.  Since shopping is always a different experience we often take our cameras with us and take pictures.  My friend asked me to take a picture of her.  I was standing by a guard post with about a foot of space between me and the wooden structure.  My friend was posing and I was getting ready to snap the photo when all of a sudden I was pushed out of the way (with a little bit of force).  I looked over to see what the deal was and I saw a rather large cow walking by me.  Apparently I was in his way!  As I said, “Shopping in India is always a real treat!”

Riding in Delhi - Redux

This post has be updated - I figured out a way to link the video to Vimeo, which should give much better quality.

I was able to squeeze my bike into our air shipment, which means that I have it here in Delhi. My friend introduced me to a group of people that ride and I've been startign to ride with them. Of course, they have been doing this for years virtually year round and I've been doing this for days. I am really out of shape compared to these guys, but they are kind and ride slow and do easy rides when I ride with them. Not wanting to slow them down forever, I started riding a bit more often by myself. It is going to be a long time before I am in their league, but they are really welcoming and it is fun to have a group to ride with.

In my efforts to get into shape, I've been riding to India Gate and back. It is between 22km and 25km, depending on the exact roads I take. It has become my standard 'get in shape' ride. One morning I shot some video of the ride and I've been using some demo video editing programs to edit it into something that is more interesting than my last attempt. (See the boring video tour of our flat for an example of just how bad video I edit can be.) I think this effort is light years better than the last, but I will leave it to your judgement. Hopefully it gives you some insight into some of the things I see on an early morning ride.

Here is a shot of the rout from my flat to India Gate and back.

Here's the video. Hope you find it interesting. It was fun to try to edit this.

Ride to India Gate from The Tahi on Vimeo.

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!