First Weekend

We're still adjusting to time differences, and our first weekend went very well. Saturday, we were invited to lunch in the neighborhood we will be living in by some coworkers who live there. We toured the place, met the neighbors, and toured the house we will be living in. Jessie met new friends, and has declared it to be a Jessie friendly environment. A good thing. Larrie immediatly went into Mr. Fixit mode and thought he should have brought more tools. Something he will have to get over. The new neighborhood is nice - palm lined streets, sidewalks - a liveable place; quiet, too (pictures later). Thank you to Stacy and Alex for the lunch and experiences!

It was quite a drive from the hotel to the new house, about 10 KM. Distance is not the concern here, time is. The trip took about 45 minutes, and the trip back to the hotel was a bit longer. Traffic flows by the rhythm of the horn. A beep means "I am here"; the frequency and duration of the beep implies how emphatic you choose to make the declaration or your level of indignation at some usurper of the road. On the road, size does not matter. It is a one beep, one vote system, and all are equal when positioning themselves to whatever advantage they choose to claim, which is a bit alarming when you're in a car the size of a Budweiser can, and the driver is challenging a bus for right of way.
We will be living in a section of White Field, which is a bit east of Bengaluru. The road out of Bengaluru is Airport Road (as in old airport, not new airport, which is North of the city), which becomes Varther Road. As you travel these two roads, the sense of being here settles in. This is the environment necessary to obtain lifes little necessities, which means it must be braved and entered. Doable, requires courage, and at first glance daunting as all new places are - it's best not to contrast because then you judge, which is not helpful.

Sunday was spent hanging at the hotel, venturing out onto the street, visiting some shops, and having dinner with a coworker of Allison's at his house. Hanging: brunch here included all you can drink Stolie (stirred, not shakken). Venturing: We left the hotel, and went around the block to a shopping area, which was similar to an American mall. Not so interesting in and of itself, but what was interesting was the effect of the power outage. The power goes out here, and life does not miss a single beat. If the power went out at a shopping mall in Minnesota, people would be interrupted and not happy about the interruption. I doubt these folks even missed a syllable in their respective conversations. Something to ponder when thinking of the important things to self and ones life and what truely constituits an imposition.
Dinner and visiting Allison's coworkers family was a treat for all of us. New friends were discovered, relantionships started, and the food and hospitality were wonderful. Thank you, Dominic!

Observations from our perch included the discovery of the cats, and the sleeping arrangements of the locals. Saturday, we noticed the cats. We have not noticed rodentia, yet. Mostly the cats seem to the be coyotes of the area - wild aloof, but present. We did observe one fellow standing on the roof of his flat with several potted plants about and a cat at his feet doing what cats do at the feet of their person. So, there is a symbiotic nature to the feline / human existance. Also, as the dawn broke, we noticed several roof tops with people sleeping on them in what appeared to be "flop" fashion. I'm not sure if they're squatters, or this is primal hoteling. They had a mat, and a blanket - on the concrete. Two fellows used matresses as roofs rather than sleep on them - interesting as it makes you wonder what was in the matresses that they chose concrete over comfort. Harsh sleep by North American standards, but all part of the rhythm of the place.

Jessie's Report: We've made it to India very safe. The food is very hot but I like India. Most people walk in India. There's lots of motorcycles. The buses have tops so you can carry big things on the top. India is a very big place. They have a three wheel car but it is very dangerous because it could tip over. It doesn't have doors, just bars. We've already seen some dogs and cows. There is one calf. The calf is very cute it is white and black. We've seem a Golden Retriever. We've already seen four cats. They were black cats and very small. There are hawks in India.
They took down a very large tree. It's kind of sad because it was a healthy tree. Some construction work is taking place. From our window at our hotel you can actually see a temple. At night it glows. If you are still awake you can hear them praying. Some people live outside on the roof and they make shelter. They play cricket here. They throw a ball. There is a big flat stick. It is sort of like baseball. If they hit the ball they get to run.