That's Just The Way It Is Baby!

The more days that pass the more we are realizing that this is just how things are done in Bangalore.   “What do you mean?” you might ask?  Well, for starters, we have  moved into our villa that will be our home for the next three years but it might take the next three years to get settled and by then we’ll be packing up to move back to the US.  Hahaha!    Every day is spent waiting on various people to come to the house to “do or fix” something.  When I venture out into the city, I find the same.  Everything takes light years!  You have to make about 4 different stops to complete your grocery list because you shop at various locations for different types of items.  I had an Internet connection yesterday (that’s a VERY long story and I will save for another time) and today I do not so I decided to write this blog entry into a word document and then once we are on-line again I will post it for you guys!?  So much is happening and every day is filled with all sorts of craziness. 

Currently, I am looking at a list that doesn’t ever seem to get shorter (that’s not true but it feels like it). Back at home I made lists so I could cross stuff off and feel like I had accomplished something during the day.  Maybe I should stop making lists in India!?  Hahaha!  Anyhow, here is one of my current lists of odds and ends I am having a hard time finding:

1.        Bike locks – all of the children either bike or ride their scooter to the bus stop & currently we do not lock them but apparently things ‘walk away’ from time to time so locking them is the way to go.  My Zumba followers will be sad to read I haven’t been able to make it back to a class since my initial adventure but let me tell ya – I’m still getting exercise.  I feel like I’m five again as I ride a scooter to and from the bus stop.  In fact, I make sure I’m chewing bubble gum and snapping it as I go – Really makes me feel young again!  Tomorrow I think I will add whistling to my routine!?  Hahahah!  Too bad scooter riding doesn’t make me LOOK young too!  (I gotta get someone to video tape what this nearly 6’0 ft momma looks like riding a Razor Scooter?!....the odds are not stacked in my favor!)

2.        Baking Soda.  I found Baking Powder but no soda.

3.        Dill (We will be making our own pickles as you can’t get dill pickles here)

4.        Vanilla Extract (from here on out, I will be making this too.  I have a friend here that says it is very simple!?  We shall see!)

While I am writing this one of the gardeners showed up.  We were told he was going to be putting rocks all around the outside of the house.  He came with two bags. :/  In the US they’d just show up with a big truck and dump the load in your driveway.

During my last paragraph, David’s teacher called to inform me that a first grade student got mad at David and tried to strangle him!  LITERALLY!  Mind you she is calling me and speaking relatively good but broken English and says that there was a fight and the other boy wrapped something around David’s neck and he has a rather large burn mark on his neck.  HELLO!!!!  I said, “Wait!  What!?!?!  Who wrapped what around whose neck!?”  She proceeded to tell me, “In the Indian culture we wear a ‘insert word I did not understand’ around our neck.  He put this around David’s neck.  This child has been sent to the counselor as his actions are inappropriate.   I just wanted to make you aware.”  Good grief.  Here I thought school was going so well!?!?!  HAHA!   Boys will be boys I suppose whether they are American boys or Indian boys.  Just glad David is a scrapper.  That grade 1 boy probably didn’t realize he was brawling with a FOUR year old GIANT and I’m glad to hear David came out on top and is still BREATHING!  (Can’t wait to hear his version of the story when he gets off the school bus tonight.)

Sorry!  That was a long diversion.  Back to my list!

5.        Bleach – evidently this is not well known and certainly not really ‘sold’ yet in India.  My driver, Cladius, brought several packets of bleach in powder form!?  Didn’t know there was such a thing?  I put the packets in the garage and figured that is “Matt’s department” and he can figure it out.

6.       Shower curtain rods.  It’s the weirdest thing.  You can purchase everything from bath mats to toilet brushes but you can’t find curtain rods to save your life.  Rings either for that matter unless they come along with a shower curtain you are purchasing.

7.       Broom Handles.   We purchased mops and brooms but they didn’t have a handle.  Most things have a short handle.  We’ve yet to see anyone shoveling with an American looking shovel.  The handles are about 12 inches long and so what is normally already back breaking work is even worse!  Craziness!  Typically, an Indian broom looks something like this

[IMG]http://gi83.photobucket.com/groups/j288/BV1H8MCXRF/indianbroom.jpg[/IMG]

I am also waiting on the electrician to come back to the house.  He came yesterday with nothing.  He returned with light bulbs in a plastic bag and now I think he’s trying to find a ladder?!  We were told the previous tenant was going to leave behind his ladder – He did not.  Pain in the butt.  I suppose I should add “ladder” to my list of things I need to find.

So many more things to write about that’s it for now.  I have been enjoying an Indian lunch everyday and Salomi (my cook) just brought me in some form of dahl and rice with a long green vegetable they call “lady fingers”.  Once she told me that – It was almost creepy how much they do look like fingers and now they are all chopped up and sitting on my plate.  We’ll definitely have to serve them on Halloween (not sure what kind of candy we’ll be able to find here.)   Somehow though, I  don’t think “lady fingers” will fly with our Fab Four!  Even though things can take a little while to accomplish here I think I’ve still got time to scope out ‘goodies’ for Halloween.