India in September
(from Chris)
...is still hot. We are hearing about beautiful fall days in New England and we miss them. We hope you're enjoying them for us!
I landed in Chennai Friday afternoon after several days of visiting our sales offices in Baroda, Delhi and Kolkata. When I got off the plane, I turned to my colleague and told him the temperature seemed nice. He smiled and said I must be adjusting (it was after 6pm and still more than 90 deg F).
Since our last update, we have visited the zoo, had a bit of a city tour and spent a weekend at school from 7am - 6pm with the volleyball (Matthew) and swim (Will) teams. The boys did not win much, but we enjoyed watching the interactions with other kids and meeting more of the parents. It's a good environment.
Some of the things we've learned:
1) exercise is most comfortable (that's a relative comfortable - say compared to jumping jacks in a sauna) in the early morning. Susan and I have started walking at 5:30am most days. There are some other regulars and we sometimes nod. It's not like home where I say "hello" to people I pass in the street. We've found tiny neighborhood temples, small parks and a dizzying array of smells ... there are lots of smells!
2) Indians don't use voicemail on their phones or at the office. I've asked and been told that it costs extra. If you did find a way to leave a message, folks say that no one would answer it. As a result, people answer their phones in the middle of meetings ... all the time. If I am discussing an issue in my office, people often stop in and interrupt. I've started asking if they can come back later, and I get funny looks.
3) There are about 8 different kinds of bananas and they're available on most every street corner. Depending on the size, they cost 3-5 rupees each (6 - 11 cents). We're having fun trying them all.
(Yes, these are coconuts, but I don't have a banana picture yet. There's a bit of corn on another cart in the lower, left corner. This is sold by vegetable vendor, and also off of snack carts - hot. Some of the ears have bright orange kernels - I don't know if this is their natural color or a spice. - Susan)
4) A couple weeks ago, we invited some other expats over for dinner. We served spaghetti and several Indian dishes. I wanted to offer the guys a beer, so I went on a quest Saturday afternoon. Our driver doesn't speak much English, so I always take my blackberry with me in the car. I searched Google for how to buy beer in Chennai, and finally figured out you go to a "wine store". These places are dumps - dark, crowded holes in the wall, with broken dirt floors. Behind a barred grate, there are cases of liquor and beer piled floor to ceiling. Normal beer is sold in 650ml bottles (about 22 oz) and there is not much variety. I wanted Kingfisher, but we arrived during a delivery, and was told we'd wait for an hour, until the KF was unloaded. Two Korean guys came in after me, and also wanted beer. We ended up sharing a case of Budweiser (my share was 2 bottles)! I went back yesterday, as we were having more folks over for dinner, and finally found Kingfisher. I also saw many brands of "strong" beer in smaller bottles. I got the impression that the wine store is where people go to get drunk. Alcohol seems very serious here, and not very social.
5) Boys will go to many lengths for a cool drink. The neighbor's lime tree hangs over our wall. The boys have figured out how to make limeade, but have picked most of the limes reachable by leaning from our balcony. One afternoon, they wanted more limes, so Matthew climbed over the balcony. That still wasn't enough, so he and I found a ladder and held it vertically, while Will climbed straight up to pick the limes. The limeade was delicious!
(from Chris)
...is still hot. We are hearing about beautiful fall days in New England and we miss them. We hope you're enjoying them for us!
I landed in Chennai Friday afternoon after several days of visiting our sales offices in Baroda, Delhi and Kolkata. When I got off the plane, I turned to my colleague and told him the temperature seemed nice. He smiled and said I must be adjusting (it was after 6pm and still more than 90 deg F).
Since our last update, we have visited the zoo, had a bit of a city tour and spent a weekend at school from 7am - 6pm with the volleyball (Matthew) and swim (Will) teams. The boys did not win much, but we enjoyed watching the interactions with other kids and meeting more of the parents. It's a good environment.
Some of the things we've learned:
1) exercise is most comfortable (that's a relative comfortable - say compared to jumping jacks in a sauna) in the early morning. Susan and I have started walking at 5:30am most days. There are some other regulars and we sometimes nod. It's not like home where I say "hello" to people I pass in the street. We've found tiny neighborhood temples, small parks and a dizzying array of smells ... there are lots of smells!
2) Indians don't use voicemail on their phones or at the office. I've asked and been told that it costs extra. If you did find a way to leave a message, folks say that no one would answer it. As a result, people answer their phones in the middle of meetings ... all the time. If I am discussing an issue in my office, people often stop in and interrupt. I've started asking if they can come back later, and I get funny looks.
3) There are about 8 different kinds of bananas and they're available on most every street corner. Depending on the size, they cost 3-5 rupees each (6 - 11 cents). We're having fun trying them all.(Yes, these are coconuts, but I don't have a banana picture yet. There's a bit of corn on another cart in the lower, left corner. This is sold by vegetable vendor, and also off of snack carts - hot. Some of the ears have bright orange kernels - I don't know if this is their natural color or a spice. - Susan)
4) A couple weeks ago, we invited some other expats over for dinner. We served spaghetti and several Indian dishes. I wanted to offer the guys a beer, so I went on a quest Saturday afternoon. Our driver doesn't speak much English, so I always take my blackberry with me in the car. I searched Google for how to buy beer in Chennai, and finally figured out you go to a "wine store". These places are dumps - dark, crowded holes in the wall, with broken dirt floors. Behind a barred grate, there are cases of liquor and beer piled floor to ceiling. Normal beer is sold in 650ml bottles (about 22 oz) and there is not much variety. I wanted Kingfisher, but we arrived during a delivery, and was told we'd wait for an hour, until the KF was unloaded. Two Korean guys came in after me, and also wanted beer. We ended up sharing a case of Budweiser (my share was 2 bottles)! I went back yesterday, as we were having more folks over for dinner, and finally found Kingfisher. I also saw many brands of "strong" beer in smaller bottles. I got the impression that the wine store is where people go to get drunk. Alcohol seems very serious here, and not very social.
5) Boys will go to many lengths for a cool drink. The neighbor's lime tree hangs over our wall. The boys have figured out how to make limeade, but have picked most of the limes reachable by leaning from our balcony. One afternoon, they wanted more limes, so Matthew climbed over the balcony. That still wasn't enough, so he and I found a ladder and held it vertically, while Will climbed straight up to pick the limes. The limeade was delicious!
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