The Tortoise Beats the Hare!!

The first box!

Sorry, this is not your ordinary interesting post ooozing Indian culture, ethnology or folklore.  No, it's much more exciting than that!!!  Our sea shipment arrived last Thursday!  This serves as one excuse why this blog has been quiet for the past week!  

Fifteen boxes, two twin mattresses with box springs, a set of golf clubs, 1 air purifier, 18 dishes, 22 glasses, and other essentials such as a crock pot and 8 rolls of Bounty paper towels have made it to our new corner of the world!  Amazingly, there were only 3 injuries!  Our Brita water pitcher fractured its bottom, a small book shelf cracked its top shelf, and a tall standing oscillating fan broke it's only leg rendering it gimp.  Not too bad!  The packers at Charlotte Van and Storage come highly recommended.  Now we are left with a Himalayan mountain (side note regarding the word himalayan: After watching many science programs, I've officially dropped a syllable and switched from saying and thinking [him-uh- lay -uhn] to [huh- mahl -yuhn].  Sounds much more pompous, educated and interesting thanks to the Brits) of packing paper and a bunch of boxes filling our hallway.  As expressed before in a previous post, our bed is the highlight.  Nothing like your own bed! 

Now we await our AIR shipment (yes, the shipment that takes 15 hours to fly instead of 4 months to float!)!  Our sea shipment arrived in Delhi from Mumbi just last week and was delivered first thing.  Our AIR shipment continues to sit in storage in India where it has been for the past 3+ months.  Essentials like a jug of El Paso Taco seasoning mix, 2 jars of Country Time Lemonade mix, 2 bottles of Bar-B-Q sauce (forget which brand), 4 blue plastic totes of Karen's teaching supplies, and my tripod are the highlights of that shipment!  Here are some pictures of Move In Day!

***Update:  We just found our our air shipment is at the Beijing Airport!  What?!

 

Visas Issued!!!

INDIA, here we come!

13 turned out to be our lucky number today... My visa was approved yesterday and arrived in the mail today (Wed. Oct. 13th), and Tim's visa was approved TODAY (also the 13th) the same day we applied at the NYC Indian Consulate.  While waiting for Tim's visa today, we sprinted 10 blocks to the theater to put our names in a ticket lottery for the Broadway show "Wicked".  They drew 13 names for the lotto, guess which place my name was called... 13th!  Tim and I got front row seats for this show today....seats 1 & 3!

Long day.  Very excited!  Already reserved a flight leaving tomorrow afternoon for Delhi!
Long day tomorrow.  Will send an update soon after our arrival!

Advice

Despite all the people who were shocked upon hearing our announcement that we were moving to India, there were quite a few people who have been there, done that and had some advice.  Much like the reactions we got about moving to India, this advice varied greatly.  I have decided to share some of it here for those that are interested, curious, or moving to India themselves.

Advice (in no particular order)...

• Things to bring:
• toothpaste
• deodorant
• makeup/toiletries
• bed
• air purifier
• undergarments
• long pants
• 100% cotton clothing
• mosquito repellent (with plenty of Deet)
• travel adapters/converters
• plenty of shoes if you have large feet
• Don't drive.
• Look all directions before crossing streets or intersections.  There will be cows, bikers, rickshaws, motorbikes, street animals, trucks, and cars flying from every direction.
• Don't drink the water.  
• Drink carbonated bevarages, or tea /water that has been boiled and filtered.
• Don't haggle with market vendors.
• Do haggle with market vendors.
• Be careful taking a taxi from the airport, they will overcharge you because you are a foreigner.
• Pre-pay for a taxi from an airport taxi stand.
• From former Indian nationals: "My (insert family member here) lives in Delhi!  Here is his name, address, phone number.  Call him as SOON as you arrive and he will show you around the city."
• Don't give to beggars.
• Give your food to a monkey if it appears interested or it will attack.
• Travel by train in 1st class only.
• People in India don't value money as Americans do; they value emotional happiness over physical belongings.
• You will be invited to at least one wedding your first year.
• Be careful when interviewing maids, cooks, etc.  Petty theft at the hands of hired help is the most common crime you will come across.
• Eat crackers, trail mix, and other foods from the U.S. for the first week.
• You will get nauseous from the food and water eventually ("Delhi Belly").
• The people are very warm, generous, and kind.

The one comment we heard consistently from everyone: India is like no other place.  It will overwhelm all of your senses and emotions.  India will transform your life and sense of self.

We know India will be a difficult adjustment (but overall rewarding experience) so we are trying to keep our minds as open as possible towards the experiences we will have in the country we will soon call home.  Unfortunately, India is not yet opening the seemingly iron gates that protect it from foreigners like us who wish to come and work there.  Minds open, gates closed.

I am told there is a saying in India: "T.I.I."... "This is India."  The delay of my employment visa should be filed under this phrase for now.  T.I.I.!  Our experience with India so far is teaching us patience.  We shall continue to practice patience for now and look forward to the many lessons to come.

"India, India??? Really?....as in the Country India??"

Most of the conversations started out this way when the THE BIG INDIAN ANNOUNCEMENT was made.

Tim/Karen: "We are moving."
Other Person: "Oh my gosh, really? Where?"
Tim/Karen: "Well, India!"
Other Person: "India?"..."India, India?"......."As in the Country India?"

(FREEZE CONVERSATION)

This short introduction to the subject was the best part of the whole conversation. Hearing and seeing the reaction of a close family member, relative, coworker, and pretty much everyone else along the way has been entertaining since our first BIG INDIAN ANNOUNCEMENT to our parents less than 5 months ago.

The rest of the conversation varied greatly...

(UNFREEZE CONVERSATION)

Other Person: "Watch out for terrorists! Gosh! Tell them you are Canadian."
Other Person: "What an adventure!! You are going to love it. You are so lucky"
Other Person: "Why???" (or "Why India???")
Other Person: "Oooh, can you send me some fabric from over there?!!"
Other Person: "Make sure you wear masks...the medical kind...even on the plane trip over"
Other Person: "If I was your age I would do something like that! Awesome!"
Other Person: "Haha, I can see you wearing a turban." -soon to be on www.ratemyturban.com
Other Person: "Cool, but make sure you put Canadian Flag patches on all your bags!"
Other Person: "That's interesting, I would NOT move there though!"

I never took that last comment as an insult. I can definitely understand that last comment. I would probably say the same thing if that person told me they were moving to Canada.