Catching up on photos

So here are a bunch of pictures that I keep meaning to post:
(Can someone tell me how to rotate pictures? You'll see what I mean...)

The dash of a typical car here. What do you notice is missing? Heat on the temp control knob! Definitely no need for heat in cars here. However, the temps are dipping into the 70s and I have seen a few locals with scarves, hats and sweaters!


The mouse we caught in our room after we injured it and then sprayed it with febreeze and window cleaner.


Pics from William Cary Baptist Church. Our old church back home participates in Operation Christmas Child. It was neat to see where all those gift boxes go! It would be way cool if this box had the boxes we made in the college class!


From Jerry's first outdoor haircut. It cost only 50 cents!! The guy has been cutting hair since 1979.


It is incredible the kinds and sizes of stuff people carry on their heads.


Communal bathing - a very common sight.


For my friend Jenn.


Everyone had a day off during the strike.


One of the Hindu gods.


One of Jerry's fav pics.


From a shopping mall in Chennai.


Celebrating Jerry's birthday.


Hawaiian shaved ice!! Can you believe it? I got mango. And it was pretty good! It made me really miss getting lilikoi (passion fruit) shaved ice from John's grocery up the road from my grandmother's house in Hawaii.

Thanksgiving

Today is Jerry's birthday and he got a wonderful, wonderful birthday surprise from the US Consulate. We were invited to the US Consulate Thanksgiving Dinner! He had been hoping hoping hoping to be invited, but when email invitations were sent out last week, none were for us. (We knew they had been sent because some friends received their invite last Tuesday.) I guess enough people declined that they could start inviting from the 2nd tier list. I was just lamenting this afternoon that this would be my first Thanksgiving without turkey, but Hooray! there will be turkey after all.

Of course, Thanksgiving is an American holiday but some of the churches here recognize it by celebrating on a chosen Sunday in November. For one of my friends, it was this past Sunday at her church.

Today another American and I were explaining day-after-Thanksgiving sales and Doorbusters to one of our local friends. As I was talking about it, I realized how crazy Americans are as a consumer society. That conversation led to the topic of credit card debt and the mortgage nightmare that is going on right now. It all reminded me of Priscilla's friend from Romania who was applying to be a U.S. Citizen. She studied her American history and government like crazy only for the judge to ask her something like, "So, what make you an American?" She was of course baffled, but finally answered timidly, "I have credit card debt?" She passed.

ANOTHER Strike

We find ourselves with loads of time on our hands today because of a strike. Strikes everywhere. The Writers Guild is on strike and I read this morning that the stage hands on Broadway just went on strike. Anyhow, this is the 4th strike I have been affected by in the last 6 weeks, one being in Madrid of all places.

Madrid - the morning Dena and I left for Turkey, we walked out to the street to catch a cab around 5am. We saw hardly any taxis and a bunch of people on the street (ready to go home after hours of late-night partying). The cabs we did see did not have their Cab light on. Dena did flag one cab down and the ensuing conversation:
Dena: Can you take us to the airport?
Cabbie: How much will you pay me?
Dena: Whatever the meter says.
Cabbie: (Silence)
Then Dena walks back.

We see a cab drop off a girl and Dena asks him for a ride and he says all the cabbies are on strike because a cabbie was murdered the night before. But he will take us to the airport as a favor and we have to pay 30 euros. We thought it would cost between 25-30 euros, so that was not too bad. Plus, there was NO other way to get to the airport because the Metro does not start running until 6 or 7am.

So, the GOOD thing about strikes (bandhs) here is that we are given advance notice! We always know when there is going to be a strike. It gives everyone a chance to load up on food. The 1st strike while I was here lasted 12 hours, the next one (on Oct 31st) lasted 24 hours. This one is supposed to last anywhere from 12hrs to indefinitely. It is being called by several political parties to protest violence in a part of our state where a cadre of the current political party allegedly fired shots into a peaceful demonstration where 2 were killed and several others injured.

So, if you support the parties calling the strike, you stay at home. And even if you do not support the parties, you stay at home because the strikers will block main thoroughfares and if you do venture out, people might stone you for doing so. If you take the bus, you may find that your bus will be torched. I think that has happened to at least 3 buses so far today. Yikes!

After we determined that it was pretty calm outside, Jerry and I decided to take a walk around our area. It was quite pleasant! Since there are hardly any cars on the road, it is very peaceful right now. Plus, the temps are slowly going down. Instead of high 90s, we now have temps in the 80s. So we walked for about an hour and a half, exploring our "neighborhood." We were able to walk slowly, not fearing getting in anyone's way. I even had some street food today - a plain dosa and some sugarcane juice. The dosa was 15 cents and yummy and the cane juice was 12.5 cents. Of course, no businesses are open so the few street vendors were the only way to eat out. Well, we are about to eat leftovers from last night. If the strike lasts a long time, we will have to break into our ramen stash.

Here is a pic of my dosa chef:

Back in K

I am back from a wonderful 2 week visit with my sister in Madrid. We also did a side trip to Turkey. I will blog about Spain and Turkey next time.

I knew I had arrived back in K when I stepped off the plane and went down the stairs into some humidity and then boarded a loud, rickety old bus that took us to the terminal. I then went to get a luggage cart and the first one I pulled was missing a wheel and the second one was missing one of the slats where the luggage rests. I got a third one that pulled to the right, but oh well....

I went through culture shock again upon my arrival this second time to K. I should have been more prepared after a short chat with a gentleman from K on the plane ride over. He remarked that we had only 45 minutes until we would be able to get off the plane. I replied that I could not wait until we landed. He looked at me funny and then asked if I had been to K before! I was mostly anxious to land so I could see Jerry again. Two weeks is a long time to be apart. We had a lovely reunion at the airport and later we both admitted that we almost started tearing up!

I had forgotten just how dirty and dark the streets are here. I think I was just getting used to everything when I left for Europe. I was quickly re-acclimated during a car trip today when we were literally stopped in traffic for about 40 minutes with people, bicycles, autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, cars, carts, trucks, dogs and of course cows all trying to share the road. I distinctly remember being in Madrid the first day and looking around and being in awe of all of the new looking cars that had no dents! Anyhow, the 40 minute traffic jam was on the way back. On the way, we were stopped at some railroad tracks. I was told that sometimes we have to wait only 10-15 minutes for the train to pass and sometimes it take HOURS! And they said it so matter of factly as they started taking their shoes off to relax while we waited. Fortunately, we had to wait only 15 minutes.

I am looking forward to getting reacquainted with the city and see past the uncomfortable to the beauty that lies beneath.

Now in Turkey

So now my sister and I are in Turkey. We flew into Istanbul this evening and will stay until Wednesday. We are hanging out in a friend's VERY nice and spacious apartment waiting for the Turkish food to be delivered that we ordered ONLINE!! What a far cry from K!

We left this morning at 5:30am to catch a cab. However, there was an impromptu taxi strike because a taxi driver got killed the night before. Fortunately, a taxi driver took pity on us and took us to the airport (for a higher fare, of course). We flew into Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and had 45 minutes to get our connecting flight. It was impossible, because of the airport structure and the lunacy of Air France. Suffice it to say that we were on 3-4 different airport buses during the entire experience, one of which had a delay because the door stopped functioning for a while. So of course we missed the connection and it seems like it happens all the time with the ease it took to get the next flight. The next flight was delayed and then delayed again and then delayed again. My goodness. No more Charles de Gaulle and no more Air France.

Turkey, like Spain, is quieter and cleaner than K. The cars are new and not many have dents. And there are only cars on the streets, no autorickshaws, no bicycles and no animals! I feel like I am experiencing a sort of reverse culture shock, except not in the US. It is weird to be so in awe of everything. In Madrid I went to someone's house and one of the guests brought roast chicken. I kept staring at it because the pieces were so big and had so much meat on them!!!

Istanbul is surprisingly very western. There is even an Arby's in a nearby mall. I have seen so many western restaurants and shops. English is widely spoken here and many of the signs are in English. However, we also heard the Muslim call to prayer by the muezzin not too long ago.

Well, the doorbell just rang. Our food is here. YUM.

In Spain

I am in Madrid, Spain visiting my sister. I will be here for two weeks, with a 5 day trip to Istanbul in the middle. Pictures to come later. The flight over here was fine, except I am missing a piece of luggage. However, it was filled with dirty clothes to wash over here, so no big deal. Hopefully it will get delivered before I go back to K. I know, bringing laundry all the way to Spain. Well, I will blog about the laundry situation in K another time.

I mentioned in my email update that I had been sick. I am MUCH better now. I think it was dehydration. I realize that I do not drink much water in K for several reasons. We cannot drink tap water. In the restaurants, we have to pay for water. And most importantly, I never know where I will be when I have to use the bathroom, so I have found myself not drinking enough water. I have got to come up with a better system to get my fluids. I could drink alot at night, but then I'd be constantly getting up from bed to use the toilet. I'll have to think about it...

Spain is GREAT!! The weather is nice and cool, but still sunny. The skies are a gorgeous blue. I had a fantastic pear last night and a wonderful apple today. We were outside alot today and it was just great walking around, not being hot and not worrying what you might step into. We had calamari sandwiches for lunch. YUM.

This time a city adventure

Saturday we decided to explore the Metro system, an underground subway that was the first in this region. There is just one line; so it is good that you do not have to worry about transferring, but bad because you will most likely have to take another form of transportation after your stop.

I really liked the Metro. It was air-conditioned in the terminal and had fans on the cars themselves. Plus, it was REALLY CHEAP! It cost only 10 cents to get to our destination. I think the farthest stop would have been 30 cents. We saw this sign

I did not take offense to the lumping of females with the aged and disabled because it meant a higher likelihood that I would get a seat. (I will take my small comforts wherever I can!) However, when we got on, all the seats were taken by able-bodied men.

It was really really packed, especially on the way home. The people here are gearing up for a festival of sorts and it means LOTS of shopping. The last time I was that crowded was not in Hong Kong, but in Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day. In D.C., the people waiting to get on the Metro wait for those who are exiting. Here, there is a big crush as people are simultaneously trying to get on AND off.

We arrived at our stop and explored for a while and then went to a bookstore to find a guidebook to look up a good place to eat. We went to a place called B-B-Q, but it was nothing like BBQ in Texas. In fact, they did not even serve BBQ. But, it had great A/C and good food including the best fried chicken wings we have found so far. It also had green Chinese veggies, another best.

We explored some more and then I had to use the bathroom! I am not averse to going on the side of the road, but we were in the city. The next day I read an article in the paper about the lack of restroom facilities in the city. I could certainly attest to the dearth. I walked into a cemetery and they directed me to a church. Hooray for the church! I used the bathroom there. See, the church can meets all kinds of needs!

Back to the “female amenities” article… It also said that some women have to resort to going “anywhere” and using their umbrellas to shield them. I later read an article about a movie star who basically said he was too handsome to be in politics. When asked what he would do if he were president for a day, he said that he’d build lots and lots of female amenities so women could have some privacy. Hooray for him!

We explored some more and went to a dessert placed called Flurry’s. I ordered a chocolate milkshake. Have you ever had a watery, kinda lukewarm milkshake? That is what they have here. I have seen Americans portrayed as spoiled brats when traveling abroad and complaining that their drinks are not served chilled. I am fine with unchilled water, juice, soda, etc. But a milkshake? I long for the ones at Chick-fil-A.

The best part of the day was exploring a market. Because of the festivities coming up, leis of flowers can be seen in the markets. The leis are meant to adorn the idols. I bought a couple of ginger leis (at 30 cents each!) and was tempted to put in on like in Hawaii, but decided that I better not portray myself as an idol. I am using my leis as an air-freshener in the hotel. Smells good!


We literally stumbled into this building that was kinda far off the street, but the 3 lit-up doorways leading into the building tempted us. Other than the doorways, everything was completely dark. It turned out to be a huge indoor market and in the very back was a seafood, live chicken and meat market. It was quite the mosaic of sights and smells. We left with 2 crabs, that look like Dungeness but smaller and paid $1.30 for each one. Then we paid 25 cents for them to cut them for us. I had a great dinner that night. We boiled the crabs in ramen broth and then I ate to my heart’s content. Delicious! That day was a good day of transition.