shifting

Moving houses is called “shifting” here. Which makes sense, because really it entails transferring, or shifting, everything you have to a new location. A few weeks ago, I noticed a sign leading out to the roof of our apartment saying that the radiation was “too high for human exposure” – our landlord had added some cell phone and other miscellaneous towers recently to our roof, without asking our permission of course, and we decided that, being as our aparment was the top floor, this radiation could in no way be good for us (we also spent a significant amount of time on the roof). And the fact that some company actually spent the time and resources to put up a “Danger” sign was scary, because people aren’t so into signage or warnings about life-threatening things here. So we made a plan to move – pronto. Fortunately for us, a friend at work knew of an open flat in an area a bit further from the office, but much more residential and homey (or as Indians/English say, “homely” – try explaining the different connotations of those similar words). We looked at it, loved it, and moved out from the radiating “villa” (which sent us happily scurrying away with a gas leak our last day) in the span of 3 days.

So our lives were a little crazy arguing with the old landlord and living with friends until the new place was ready, but we are now officially living in the flat we have deemed “the Penthouse” (mostly because we just like it so much and have full access to a radiation-free roof). Our new neighborhood is a treasure trove of restaurants and stores and we’ve barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Such a difference from the business-centered neighborhood we used to live in. We even have a park a few minutes’ walk away – with real grass and fountains and benches and an algae-covered pond! To inhale and breathe in tree-produced oxygen – am I in heaven?

The move was impulsive, exciting and insanity-inducing. I have learned how to install a washing machine in a kitchen (and secure a too-short drain pipe), wandered a furniture neighborhood and took 4 plastic chairs in an auto, tinkered with a gas tank regulator, and learned to use a few forms of public transportation. I’m becoming (and failing at being) a real handyman. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve thought, “Brady would be so good at this! What would my family do without him at home?!” Oh right. We’d call someone to fix whatever was broken. But it’s really okay – I’m learning all kinds of new life skills.

Any change in India comes with more than its share of challenges, but those just teach me how to look at the bright side, laugh, and keep laughing, because if I don’t laugh, I’m afraid I’ll cry. The only problem with laughing at every insane event or sequence of events is that pretty soon, the sanity you arrive with disappears. Seriously, any common sense or understanding of the world as I used to know it left me the minute I realized I loved eating with my hands (the other day, I found myself accidentally eating a bean burrito and salsa the way I would eat a chapatti and dahl fry – one-hanededly tearing off a bite-sized piece of tortilla and scooping up the salsa to pop into my mouth – whoops). For example: setting up internet involved no less than fifteen phone calls with different agents showing up at our house at unexpected times and rarely speaking English. Trying to communicate in my completely broken I-only-know-what-I-need-to-talk-to-an-auto-driver Tamil was absolutely ridiculous. Hand gestures just aren’t sufficient for choosing plans, deciding installation times and explaining scheduling conflicts! But miraculously we now have internet (after thinking that after a month without, we could just get by without it forever – false. We are not ready for that big of a lifestyle change yet). And getting locked out of the apartment because we only had one set of keys and happened to realize this in the middle of the night when a monsoon rain decided to randomly downpour for the first time in three months does not have to be the worst thing ever – it just shows you how good your friends are! We’re still in a period of transition, but settling. In fact, we had a housewarming party this weekend to celebrate. And it was nice to have a place we were really proud of. We were even able to provide our guests with drinking water. It’s the little things.

p.s. I have attained my life goal of enjoying all the perks of a dog – loyal, home to greet me after work, fierce watchdog – without the pains of responsibility, training and expenses by living in the same house as a dog (cleverly named “Puppy” haha) but in a different flat. Check.

thailand

It’s been a while, I confess. So I’ll be playing catch-up for a few posts here. Allow me to begin with a trip. A few weeks ago, my roommate Karen and her friend visiting from back home were preparing to take a trip to Thailand. Impulsively, I decided to join them, and four days later I was on a flight to Bangkok. I spent some time on my own there as well, both before they came and after they left, and decided that I quite like traveling alone in short spurts. Time to reflect and read is great, as is meeting more people – I learned that a backpacker alone is a) more approachable and b) more interested in making friends (and I love meeting other backpackers – they’re so interesting!). So the afternoon I arrived, I took an overnight train north to Chiang Mai and felt like I experienced the real Thailand – because I insisted on buying the cheapest ticket, this train looked like it was built in 1942, with a light wood interior and faded, crackling navy leather upholstery shining under the harsh fluorescent lights. The windows were huge, and let the open air whoosh in as we chugged along through the countryside. Every sound of the train on the tracks was amplified by my proximity to the outside, and even at night, the sounds were loud. These noises, however, held nothing to the food sellers constantly marching down the aisle, touting all varieties of meat on skewers and screaming in Thai as they bumped their way through. They reminded me of the beer and peanut men at baseball games – except these didn’t pause at each pitch. I loved it. Time to think and read and look out the window and attempt to sleep. When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I failed in an attempt to take a bus to the Burma border and instead walked along the river at sunrise:

Then I ventured into the square confines of the Old City and after finding a few wats (temples), ordered tea at a café. “Cha,” I asked, trying to be culturally relevant by using my Thai phrase cheat sheet. Waitress responded, “Big or small?” Me: “Uh, big?” Five minutes later, the waitress appears with a liter beer – Chang. Me: “Uh, no, not Chang – cha. Tea. It’s 7am!” The waitress giggled and brought me tea instead. It all made much more sense though when I turned around and found none other than the Superbowl be playing on the flat-screen TV. Couldn’t feel more at home. Except that I couldn’t bring myself to care which team won. Later that day I took a tuk-tuk to a waterfall a bit outside the city, only to learn that “there is very little water, Madam” when I got there. So my driver convinced me to go to “Tiger Kingdom” nearby. Yes, I was skeptical. Yes, it was a tourist trap. Yes, it was great. I paid to have 10 minutes petting a tiger, aka having a photo shoot. When I walked into the cage area, I asked the tiger trainer, “Has he ever bitten anyone?” and he responded, “Not you, Madam!” “Has he ever bitten you?” “Oh yes of course!” Greaaat.

Back in town, I experienced my first Starbucks in five months, and my first taste of Burmese food with a friend-of-a-friend in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Iced latte and tea leaf salad – so different, yet both so delicious. That night I caught a train back to Bangkok, where I met up with my friends, and we toured the city on bicycles. If you ever want an adventure, I’d recommend riding a bike in Bangkok. The bicycle program is clearly either very new or never used, because people kept looking at us like we were crazy, and most sidewalks would last about 12 meters before we had to walk the bikes again. Word to the wise: don’t use temples as landmarks when there’s hundreds of them and they all look very similar.

That night we caught a bus headed south to go to the island Ko Chang, near the Cambodian border (note that by this point it’s been a very long time since I’ve slept in a bed). The beach was beautiful, and rather undiscovered, but with plenty of backpackers and a laidback vibe. Highly recommend for a few days of bliss. It was also home to some exceptional Thai green curry (we may have been a little addicted). Back in Bangkok, we once again fed our thirst for Starbucks, were wowed by a supermarket full of imported deliciousness (Cheese! Grapes! M&Ms!), and stumbled upon a mall that put the US to shame (Lamborghini dealerships, bowling alley, movie theater, Ocean World…). But overall,  the level of development and the friendliness of the Thai people intrigued me most during my visit. In comparison to my life here, everything seemed clean, high-tech, and really rather touristy and made me feel like I was closer to the US (girls showed their knees in skirts and shorts!). And the constantly smiling, helpful people, even when they didn’t speak English, mixed with the relative order of life made me really fall in love with Thailand. It seemed to fully embrace its own culture and unique history along with development, and the people were open and inviting, but it was not quite as crazy as the place I was coming from – let’s just say that when I left, I swore I would move there one day. Hills, beaches, the big city – what more could you want? Certainly Thailand had its downsides, and the obvious sex trafficking and tourism was incredibly difficult to witness. But I think I’ll be back – and I’m certainly eager to explore more of Southeast Asia.