Three Weeks In...We Got This

We are adjusting extremely well to life in India.  There are many times throughout a typical day where I stop and stare at someone or something, trying to figure out if I'm actually seeing what I think I'm seeing, but for the most part life is fun.  This morning while I was taking Bambi for his usual walk, I saw a lady heading up a dirt path, leaving a partially constructed building.  She looked to be some type of hired help, like a nanny or housekeeper, and, a child, who I assume to be her son, came running out after her.  He was screaming through sobs and gasps that he wanted his mama to stay at home with him and play all day long.  (I don't actually have a clue what he was saying.  He was maybe 2 years old and was probably trying to speak Hindi or Telugu.)  Since we're sort of going through a similar phase with Thumper, I was curious to see what she would do to calm her little half pint and how she would send him back into their dilapidated house a happy little camper.  Much to my amazement, she picked up the closest stick she could find and threw it as hard as she could at the little boy.  The Hindi rolled off her tongue with fire, and that little boy wasn't quite sure if he should dodge the stick, or let it hit him for having the audacity to ask his mother to stay home.  Luckily the stick missed him anyway, he hurried away crying, and scampered into their shell of a house.  She, on the other hand, nodded and strolled by me as if this were a perfectly normal occurrence.

On a much more serious note, the city suffered quite a tragedy last week.  We were perfectly safe throughout the event; however, it was quite scary having something like this happen so close to 'home'.  It was touching to see many people offering aid, comfort, and whatever resources they could to help victims of the bomb blasts.  I've heard many stories about people lining up to donate blood at hospitals, including outreach on Facebook for specific types of blood in short supply.  It is important to remind ourselves that this is not a normal occurrence here, and the local population was likely just as frightened as we were.  During terrorist attacks like this one, cell service is often cut off to prevent further communication between terrorists and also prevent further explosive detonations via cell phone triggers.  As a result, it may be difficult for us to contact everyone immediately to let people know that we are okay, however, the internet proved very useful for notification purposes last week.  If you weren't part of the email list or on our Facebook page, and want to be, please let us know.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

5k in Hyderabad

Well we managed to get out of bed bright and early this morning for some much needed exercise!  We joined some colleagues and a group of expats working for Deloitte and did our first 5k in Hyderabad!  The sun was still rising and it was already hot out...I understand why the race started at 7AM.  Unfortunately our jogger stroller is on a boat somewhere between the US and India so we put Thumper in the backpack and tried to jog for the first mile.  Thumper wasn't having much fun bouncing around and pretty quickly started tapping Pancho's back saying "all done Dada, all done!"  So we walked the rest of the way but it was just as fun.  

The race was along the Hussain Sagar Lake which is one of Hyderabad's 'places to see' and it was beautiful.  The smell was a little over powering at times and once you get to the shore you quickly realize that this lake is not for swimming but from afar it is wonderful.  In the middle of the lake there is a large statue of Buddha and I believe there are boats you can hire to take you out to the center....we aren't quite up for that yet.

Before the race started a few Indians tried taking pictures of Thumper with their cell phones and I politely said, "no photos, please."  It wasn't working very well and I was just getting frustrated.  We had been warned that this happens and had decided that we'd rather people not photograph him without our consent.  Then the race started.  I wouldn't be surprised if our pictures are on Facebook pages throughout the country.  People were taking pictures of us left and right.  People who looked like they were the race organizers, people in plain clothes, there were video cameras from news stations that jogged with us a while as we nervously smiled and kept going.  We have now decided that we will go crazy trying to keep Thumper out of photos...and have succumbed to India's curiosity.  Look for us on TV24 :-)  I did discover that my Telugu is much better when I'm angry and I got my point across with one photographer who just wouldn't stop even after we gave him a few polite smiles.

All in all, the race was fun and it was great to get out and see more of the city.  Below are some photos from the morning.

Backing up a little, we have finally adjusted to India time and have pretty much settled into our apartment.  We won't get our stuff from Seattle for about a month or so but we are slowly acquiring things that make this place more like home...a mango tree, a guava tree...you know.  We also found a great cheap framing store and just got a bunch of photos framed so hopefully we'll get them on the walls soon.

We have hired a driver as well as a housekeeper who helps watch Thumper and cooks South Indian food twice per week.  They are both awesome so far and life is so much easier with their help.  Hiring people to help us has been a challenge for us personally but it really is culturally how it works.  Not to mention, I am terrified of driving here and there are no street signs or addresses so without help we would be in trouble. 

Pancho, Thumper, and I have crossed the street on foot FOUR times by ourselves!  I will get a picture on here soon that shows why that's such a big deal.  Here is an example of what the roads in our area look like.  Imagine crossing I-90 one lane at a time by simply putting your hand out and hoping the buses stop.  Okay, they're only going about 40mph but it's crazy nonetheless.  

I love my job and am slowly getting up to speed with my interviews.  I'm doing about half of what my colleagues are currently doing but you have to start somewhere!  I've done one full day of Telugu interviews and am starting to get back into the language groove.  Our driver laughed a little when I told him I would be doing interviews in Telugu :-)

We are doing great and are really enjoying all that India has to offer!  It has definitely been the biggest cultural shock I've experienced and I'm sure there will be both good and bad days to come but for now we can't believe we get paid to do this!

Legs

Hussain Sagar Lake

Buddha Statue

Let the race begin!

Along the route...

Public Urination...totally common

Trail next to the lake.  We were running on the road.

Also along the route...don't worry, it's non ionizing radiation.

Around 2009 we made a 'visulization' list of where we wanted to be in the next couple of years.  It included having a baby, moving somewhere hot, moving somewhere with palm trees, living abroad, and having a motorcycle (that one was Pancho's and he's pretty close to convincing me that it's safe???).   Look where we are now...Thumper came, India is hot and there are palm trees.  Pancho almost has a motorcycle.

Note the thick black bunch of cables entering the top floor bedroom in the green building.

Before Landing We Will Be Fumigating The Plane

We have arrived in Hyderabad, and may well have stepped right off of planet Earth and landed somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn.  As our plane prepared for landing, an announcement was made over the intercom  "As per India country regulations we will be fumigating the plane prior to landing.  If you are concerned with any health risks related to pesticides, please use your shirt or a cloth to cover your mouth."  Legs and I looked at each other puzzled, wondering if we heard that correctly, and then sure enough a flight attendant came walking down the aisle with two bug bombs filling the cabin with pesticide.  Legs and I frantically reached for things to cover Thumper's face, smothering the poor kid with with a napkin and sweatshirt as he squirmed around, probably thinking that mom and dad had finally lost it.  Since we were confined to our airplane seats we just sat and inhaled the pesticides and had our first realization that we are definitely not in the U.S. anymore.

India is an absolute mishmash of stunning beauty and, well, trash.  There are 'landfills' all over the place and people, generally hired help dressed in immaculate and vibrant saris, in the area carry trash to the landfill and throw it in.  It seems like everywhere you are confronted with every type of extreme.  Only in India can you find a massive mansion overlooking a giant pile of burning trash while children play around the garbage-fire, occasionally picking something up and doing what all kids do...put it in their mouth!

For the most part, people have been extremely friendly here, and not in the 'traveling to Mexico where everyone just wants a few pesos from you' kind of friendly.  Most people seem genuinely interested in us crazy white people that have come to visit their wild little piece of land.  The consulate community, both Americans and locally hired staff, has been absolutely amazing in welcoming us, and providing resources to get us adjusted as quickly as possible.  This will certainly be a learning experience for Legs, Thumper, Bambi, and I, which is exactly what we wanted.  To be out of our element, nervous or scared at times, yet still wholeheartedly accept this new way of life and embrace the human connections we make along the way.

There aren't many, but here a few pictures of the area...

Some of the urban sprawl of Hyderabad 

A nice little park

Thumper and I walking down the street

An infamous Tuk Tuk, which Thumper says every time he sees one

Happy Travels!

Pancho

The Movers Are Here

My oh my!  One month since my last post.  I'm sorry I haven't written more but we're starting our journey in a few days and I've been busy!!!  I'll try to recap the last month in a relatively short and sweet summary.  This will be my last post until we are reunited with our things in India in a few weeks.

We finished up a wonderful month-long visit from Grandma Mir Mir around the beginning of the month, and Thumper was so sad to see her go.  She soaked up the valuable time she had with Thumper, and I think they developed a truly deep bond.  It's difficult for us, as we leave on this amazing adventure abroad, to accept the fact that Thumper will miss out on many family interactions he would otherwise get if we were content with settling down and living the American Suburban Dream right now.  Don't get me wrong, living in a cute little 3 bedroom house with a garden and garage along with 2.5 kids, driving distance from the weekend family barbecues or other family gatherings sounds absolutely incredible sometimes.  I remind myself that, when growing up, the relatives with which I felt closest were not always the ones I saw everyday, or even every year.  They were the ones that valued their time with me, and respected me, even as a little kid.  Thumper will know and love his family whether he is in India, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, or any other country around the world.

During the last week of Grandma Mir Mir's visit, I took my first NERC Reliability Coordinator Exam and, unfortunately, failed.  I scored a 94 out of 125, and 96 out of 125 is passing.  At that point I decided that I'd make Legs', Thumper's, and my life a nightmare for the next two weeks while I studied for a similar test, the NERC Balancing, Interchange, and Transmission Operator Exam, which I'd take less than two weeks before our departure date because I wasn't ready to give up on what I had worked toward for over a year while staying at home with Thumper.  I had to take a different NERC test because there is a 42 day waiting period after failing an exam, and since it is a North American specific exam there would be no way to test in India.  I crammed like crazy for those two weeks during the day when Thumper napped, in the evenings when Legs took Thumper, and also at night after Thumper went to bed.  Exactly one week ago today I took the NERC exam and passed with a score of 105 out of 125!  It was such a relief to pass that exam before we leave for India!

I'd love to finish this recap, but the movers are here!!!  We'll be out of touch for a couple weeks, and the next time you hear from us we'll be on the other side of the world!  I'll just have to get you all caught up next time.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

India the Scary...India the Exotic

Once again the days have seemed to fly by.  I can hardly believe that our lives will turn upside down and splash us into an entirely different way of life in mere weeks.  Legs, Grandma Mir Mir, and I are all reading different books about India and people's travels through India.  It's almost comical how one story will frighten me into thinking we've made a huge mistake in our choice to bid India so high, and the next will make  me feel so passionately about exploring this new and exotic place.

Ultimately, I am ready for this adventure.  I am excited to once again board a plane not knowing what to expect when I step back outside.  To this day, I vividly remember stepping off the plane in Kuwait around 4 or 5 in the morning, and seeing the sun peek over the horizon as a blast of humid and musty 90 degree air welcomed me.  The smells, the sounds, the feel of the air on my skin; everything about it felt different from anything I'd ever experienced, but beneath it all was a moment of exhilaration.  I couldn't wait to see what else was different.  What lay to the north?  What kind of animals live here?  What are the people like?  What will the language really sound like, when it's not spoken by an American?  Perhaps every story I'd heard about the Middle East just wouldn't do it justice; like someone describing the Mona Lisa.  When you see it in person you realize that all of your expectations were completely and utterly wrong.  I felt like an explorer with a deep yearning to see things for no other reason than I had never seen them before.  I am feeding that same desire by traveling to India, and embracing the culture of the people there.  For two years we will do as they do, and see what we learn about ourselves in the process.

We have been working extensively to arrange our trip to India, mostly working on Bambi's trip, and frequently contacting the handful of people whom we already know serving at the consulate.  We were very pleased to find out that we've already met our soon-to-be neighbors.  In fact, we were neighbors here in DC.  They have a little girl who is close in age to Thumper, and we were fortunate enough to have play-date while they were still in the US.  Her and Thumper got along swimmingly!   They are wonderful people and we are very glad we will be living near them.

Christmas is getting close and boy does Thumper have a LOT of presents under the tree!  There are a couple for Legs, Grandma Mir Mir, and I, but Thumper won the 'most presents' contest hands down.  We are so happy to have Grandma Mir Mir here for Christmas and New Years, and to see the bond between her and Thumper grow by the day.  She truly enjoys caring for children, especially Thumper, and it shows in everything she does.  This has been a wonderful holiday season, and we've been very lucky to have so many visitors come to spend a little time with us before we leave for India.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Grandma Mir Mir

This week we are lucky enough to have Grandma Mir Mir here for a visit!  Thumper was so excited to see her that he ran through baggage claim to meet her when he saw her.  It warms our hearts, and I'm sure Mir Mir's as well, that Thumper recognized her after only seeing her face on a computer screen for the last 10 months.  There is some special power that a grandmother possesses, which allows a grandchild to instantly make them their favorite person in the world.  Thumper already screams in panic when Legs or I need to take him away from Grandma Mir Mir for any reason.  It's both a little sad, that we're not his only favorite people anymore, and also very moving to see the bond he has with his grandma.

I think there has been a bit of culture shock for Mir Mir coming to the big city, leaving behind a small, rural farm town in the Northwest, but she's adjusting quite well.  We've got her riding the Metro, and looking almost like a local :-)  Mir Mir isn't exactly the tourist type, so we likely won't be rushing from one monument to the next, or spending hours in the Smithsonian Museums.  She is, however, a very proud and attentive grandmother, and she has been helping care for Thumper tremendously.  This is great because it is allowing me to get so much more done in preparation for our move to India.

On top of completing the seemingly endless slew of tasks to be finished prior to our departure, I will be taking the NERC certification test in January.  This is a very difficult and technical test, which roughly 60% of test-takers pass, that will certify me to work as a system operator in the North American electrical grid.  Even if I don't begin working as a system operator immediately following the test, I will be able to maintain my certification with annual "refresher" courses, and this could prove very useful to me when I decide to return to work or if I apply to a master's program at our next post.

It seems that time is really flying by now.  For months we were here in Arlington thinking about our move to India as if it were years away, and now here we are leaving next month!  We are excited, scared, nervous, proud, and also a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  We are truly happy with the choices we've made at this particular point in our lives, but it doesn't completely remove the fear of the unknown.  No matter how many Foreign Service Officers we talk to, how much internet research we do, or how many things we bring with us from the U.S. we won't know what it is like to live in India until we are in fact living in India.  It will present many unexpected challenges, but also, if we are willing to see them, many unexpected rewards.  Overall we are most excited to simply see what life has to offer.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Yay Family!

This year, being so far from friends and family, we were fortunate enough to have one member of the clan here for Thanksgiving.  Legs' cousin Golfer, son to Ms. Ravenna, was able to make it down from New York University to stay with us for a few days, and enjoy a great Thanksgiving dinner.  Something about the holiday season, it just made it a little more enjoyable having a familiar face to share it with.  We've lucked out with several visits from Golfer, who has always been a great house-guest and an amazing cousin/uncle to Thumper!

As many of you know, we were able to Skype with most of our family gatherings spread out across the Northwest.  It certainly wasn't as nice as sitting across the table from one another, but we're truly grateful that technology gave us the opportunity to see each of your smiling, pixilated faces on Thanksgiving.  It also made me happy to see so many members of our families united for a day to enjoy each other's company.

Unfortunately holidays that we will be able to physically attend will likely be few and far between given the life that we have chosen, but keep hope!  Some day, a midst our travels from one post to the next, the stars will align and somehow home-leave will happen to fall on a chunk of days that contain some obscure holiday like Groundhog's Day or Super Bowl Sunday, and we will say, "Oh, you're having a get-together for Groundhog's Day?  Sure, we can make it.  We'll see you at 5!"  For a moment, it will be just as if we lived up the street and popped by like we would on any other special occasion, until home-leave ended and our little family whooshed away on a plane set for Reykjavik, or Ho Chi Minh City, or perhaps Wellington.  Not knowing what the future holds for us is part of the excitement.

Later this week Grandma Mir Mir will be arriving for a month-long visit!  We're very excited to have her here, and Thumper, although he doesn't quite understand it yet, is in for a treat.  Grandma Mir Mir sends Thumper videos, Jibjab cards, and they Skype often, to the point were Thumper recognizes her face on the computer screen or iPad.  His "Grandma" is just sort of an elongated "Mama" but there is a clear distinction, which probably only Legs and I can hear, when he sees a picture or video of her.  We're so happy that he, and us, will get this time to spend with her before we leave for India.

Happy Travels!

Pancho