Tabbies finally in Karnataka!

After 35 days of us missing them, the Tabbies, Jac and Ti, have joined us in Bangalore, Karnataka. Today ranks right up there with the day we were married and the day Jessi was born in terms of happiness, excitement, planning, and cost.

Shortly before we left Minneapolis, rules about importing cats into Bangalore changed because of the new international airport. Pets could no longer be imported directly. They had to go to Mumbai, Chennai, or Dehli first; then airline vaccination rules changed; then airlines able to carry pets changed. Finally, it was the holiday season here and offices were closed.

Jac and Ti began their journey about 8am Tuesday morning, Minneapolis time. They finally got to our house about 5:30 pm Thursday evening, India time (nearly 48 hours later). The boys have spent the evening drinking lots of water and checking out the new place. We wondered how well they would still remember us, but they are already purring and coming to their names when called.

An Indian Summer Day's Rambling

It’s Nov 1 already! The Thornes have been in India for over a month. I had originally intended to update KarnatakaTabbies more frequently, but as I have discovered, not working does not equate to not busy and time slips by. (BTW: Karnataka is not pronounced Karn-a-taka, it is more like Kaar-naaugh-tikkaa, where the a’s are kind of a double a nasally sound). The really good news of this date is that the tabbies are here, our sea shipment is here, and the local bank finally chose to grant us a bank account. So, Allison’s passport is in Delhi as Delhi is the port of entry for the tabbies. As-soon-as-is-possible, the passport needs to come back to Bengaluru for the customs process for the sea shipment and the bank. It seems that when ever someone says they want a copy of the passport, they really mean they need the passport itself.

Our first week was spent getting residency established. If you live here more than 180 days in a year, you must establish residency at the FRO (foreign residency office; the Indians seem to be profuse TLA users). This is a formal process, and all of us (Allison, Jessica, and Larrie) had to appear with passports and a pile of other paper to prove who we were, why we were here, and who was paying the bills. Luckily, our process was facilitated by some very capable young men, and we mostly stood around waiting for when we actually had to match face to passport. The FRO is an old British style colonial building on Infantry Road. Lit by sometimes working florescent lights, and cooled by even less than sometimes working fans, one gets the feeling that upon entry you are transported back in time at least a century and to anywhere in the British equatorial empire., which is a rather interesting awareness to get lost in. There is quite a cross section of the worlds population at the FRO as India, and especially Bengaluru, is a very happening place, and everyone wants to be here. Outside in a marvelous old tree of unknown species was a fruit bat colony, which added to the sensory drama of the place.

FRO papers are very important as no other aspect of a normal life can proceed without them. Once obtained, we were able to partake of a similar process to get our air shipment released for delivery. The process required Allison and myself to go to the new airport (a 90 minute drive one way) for a 5 minute face showing / match to passport. Once that was accomplished, we returned to Palm Meadows (another 90 minutes), and the facilitator spent five hours with the customs folks getting our shipment released for delivery. Once released, it was repacked, loaded onto a lorry for delivery, which arrived at Palm Meadows after the hour that the guards allow lorries on property. So, we reloaded all the stuff into the van and brought it to the house in 2-3 trips. Adaptability is the major skill required to exist here. You cannot allow yourself to get frustrated by what is – you adapt and move on. We save frustration for when we have to deal with events in the US.

A day after we left US, the final payment check from our insurance company was delivered to New Hope. Our friend Crystal retrieved it for us, and I spent the next two weeks trying to get our bank in US to allow it to be deposited into our bank account. It required real signatures; so, at a cost of $120, we had the check shipped to India, where we signed it, and returned it to the US. As of today, the bank is still not accepting the deposit of the check without a bunch more documentation, and I have attempted to escalate our situation to the level where someone at the bank will stop the madness. If I were Charlie Brown, I would look at the sky and shake my fist and shout, “Damn you Homeland Security” as I suspect this is all a result of the tightening of laws post 9/11, and it is a real problem to work through. By the time we get that check deposited, the value of it will have decreased so much due to the economic collapse that it’ll barely cover the cost of getting it deposited. And then there is the sale of the house, for which I am going to save for another days story.

All and all, life here is good. India is a surprising place. I am still searching for the right combination of words to describe what I see and experience. The people we deal with directly are very friendly and accepting of us, and we are adapting to an Indian way of living so as to not intrude into their reality too deeply; although, I do think we amuse them greatly with our strange behaviors.

Diwali

I've avoided better/worse comparisons between India and the U.S. until now. They really aren't that helpful and we are here because we wanted to experience the differences, not judge them. However, I have to say fireworks are way more fun here! Crackers are going off for hours for at least 4 nights running. I suspect they will continue tomorrow night.

Rather than have a central location to go watch the fireworks, you are surrounded with brilliant bursts of light all over. You can buy fireworks for very little to shoot off yourself. They would only be available to professionals and surrounded by firemen in the U.S. Just now sparks coming off my roof caught my eye. It's a good thing all the roofs are tile and the walls are cement.

The fireworks are so dangerous that Larrie spilled his beer trying to jump out of the way of an errant fountain turned rocket. Allison took to hiding behind palm trees to have a safety shield after a bottle rocket came her way. And Jessi was in her element as you can see from the picture.

For more about Diwali check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali

Another Jessi update

They don't have halloween in India.  But there are enough people from countries that do in our village.  So, we are dressing up and going to a couple of parties.  My bedroom color is light blue, and it has two sets of windows and a ceiling fan.  I use the fan at night to keep cool.  I only have a sheet on my bed.  Today is Saturday, and India is getting ready to celebrate Diwali.  That's a five day festival, and it's kind of like Christmas and July 4th all in one.  The Hindu people celebrate it.  There are lots of lights like Christmas lights everywhere.  And I hear that there will be lots of fireworks.  You can get some really awesome fireworks here since we're next to China.  India does not have the laws that Minnesota has limiting the types of fireworks.  My dad got some that will shoot way high in the sky.
 
School is going ok.  I have a Spanish class, and we're starting multiplication.  After school on Wed and Fri I have soccer. This week we didn't have soccer because of the rains.  The monsoon season is starting.  I've almost got all of school uniform stuff. 
 
Our house has these geckos living around it, and they come out at night.  Every night we go out to count how many we have.  We usually see four or five.  I tried to catch one the other day, and it's tail came off.  The tail kept wiggling, and the gecko escaped.  We named him Stubby.  We check for him everyday now to see how quickly the tail grows back on.
 
The banannas are still green.

Jessi experience

Jessi discovered what happens when you try to catch a gecko by the back end.  It simply leaves its tail behind.  And the tail twitches and moves all by itself to distract the predator (Jessi).  We now have a gecko named Stubby living on the front of the house.  We are waiting to see how long it takes for a tail to grow back.  He's been back on the wall both nights following the incident.

Indian Giant Squirrels and Minnesota Golden Gophers

This weekend we went to Bannerghatta National Park http://www.bangalorebest.com/discoverbangalore/sightseeing/bannerghatta.asp. We learned there is a squirrel that is already the right colors to be the mascot for the University of Minnesota. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Giant_Squirrel  It truly is maroon and gold!  They should ditch the gopher.  The squirrel and Jessi seemed to have more in common than just their attire.

Jessi day one of new school in uniform

 

Jessi's school and Mysore

 

Jessie News

I started school this week.  I have been very busy adjusting to all the new people and stuff.  I get on the bus at 7:30 in the morning.  The bus drops me off at 4:00 in the afternoon.  I'm sending some pictures of my school.  The teachers are called ma'am, and the speak English with an Indian accent.  I don't always understand them.  So, I have to ask several times to understand what they are telling me.  I am starting soccer too.  I am excited about that.  I have math class and I start Spanish class.  My room number is 2-B.  2 for 2^nd grade, and B for the second room of second grade.  There are three teachers in the room.  When I go to Spanish class, I go to a different room.  There are only windows in the classrooms.  The hallways are open to the outside.  The school does not have outer doors, either.  We have a lot of guards around the school. [Note: the school is about 15 km from where we live.  It is "out in the country" on about 20 acres of ground.  They have a big soccer field and a playground.  There are three interconnected buildings one for each grade grouping: primary, middle, high school.  The kindergarten is in a separate building.  There are about 350 students at the moment. The whole property is surrounded by a 6 foot high wall, and there is a gate on the inbound road with guards.  It is not an easy place to get into.  I think the wall is more to keep things out, than to keep things in.  Things that are not necessarily healthy for kids, like big snakes or wild dogs.]

My school has uniforms.  Our colors are orange and blue.  I am in the nurturers house, and it's color is green.  The houses are just like in Harry Potter – we get points for being good, and lose points for not being so good. On Monday I wear a blue polo shirt with a skort ('cause of being a girl), and on Tuesday, I wear a tee shirt with my house color.  Wed – Fri I wear an orange shirt with blue shorts because we spend a lot of time outside.  We have special socks and shoes, too!

Last weekend we went to Mysore http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore to see some old palaces and stuff.  We went to this place that had monkeys roaming around.  They were fun to watch.  It was a really long day (18 hours).  I was glad to get home, and I was very tired.  The crowds were very big – lots and lots of people.  I am still getting used to that.  Some people tried to touch my skin.  Maybe to see if it felt the same as theirs.  I didn't like that.

The bananas on our tree are still green.  It must take awhile to ripen.  The name of my school is Inventure Academy (http://www.inventureacademy.com)  I have made many new friends at school.  The first couple of days I was the new kid, and everybody wanted to be with me.  I didn't like that too much as I needed some space for me.  But now I'm just one of the kids.  India only feels like home because this is where mom and dad are.  When we get back to Minnesota, that'll feel like home for the same reason.  There are a couple of kids that I know from my neighborhood that go to my school.  It's nice to have some familiar faces.  It's still pretty warm here.  And we're getting ready for the fall monsoon.  Dad says that is when the clouds come back from the Himalayas to the ocean.

Pictures

 

Humbling experience

After living in the same place for more than a decade it is a humbling experience to move to a new place and a really good reminder to help new people whether at work or in the neighborhood feel comfortable and welcome.  We've been so lucky to have neighbors and co-workers reach out over and over again to see if we have questions or need anything.  We are very grateful to all the people who have done so and we plan to "pay it forward". 

 

We also appreciate all the people back in Minneapolis who helped us make this transition.  I'd like to say a special thank you to Crystal Gillis for being our "family" in Minnesota.  Without Crystal continuing to help us we would have so many more concerns and trouble.  THANK YOU, CRYSTAL!!!

 

I'm still trying to learn to walk consistently on the left side of the hall, stairs, and sidewalk.  I keep confusing people coming the other way.  Just like in London, traffic drives on the other side of the street than in the U.S. and that carries over to sidewalks.  Probably the most important thing to remember is to change the sequence of looking in both directions before crossing the steet to avoid getting smushed.  At least in the hallway people just look at you funny until you remember to move to the proper side.  I've decided the adage "Do something 17 times in 21 days and it will become a habit" is not true when trying to change something you've done your whole life.

 

Other things that have been learning experiences are:

• Phones... I've had to learn a whole new set of strategies about how to make calls.  Calling varies whether calling land line to land line, cell to cell, cell to land line, and land line to cell.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to memorize a phone number here because they are so much longer.  Thank goodness for the Contacts function of cell phones. 
• In additon, I'm having to learn to understand what different sounds mean when I call someone.  It's not the typical ring, ring.  There can be buzzes, beeps, music, dead silence, or clicks.  I haven't figured out what they all mean yet.
• Palm Trees have to be trimmed.  It is an interesting process to see a whole frond pulled off.  I'm hoping to get a picture sometime.
• Coconuts are cut open and sold like soft drinks.  Vendors are all over.  I'm anxious to try one.  We are trying to figure what happens to all the coconut husks every night.  By the end of the day there a huge piles of them next to the vendors.  They are gone by the next day.  Our theory is that perhaps they are picked up to be made into charcoal.  We seen charcoal here that is made from them. 
• Monkeys like coconuts. 
• Gecko's come out at night.  And we have lots of them on the outside of our house.  We've only seen two in our house so far.  They eat bugs so they are welcome.
• Spiders seem to be rare in Bangalore.  Allison likes that!
• Water buffalo seem to have an inate sense of time.  Every day you can see them going in one directio nat 9:20 am.  They return at 5:30.  How do they know???  It's not like any human with a watch is leading them along.  They are unaccompanied.

Ta ta for now!

Jessi's update

We moved into our house on Monday, Oct 6.    Drinking the bottled water is not a big deal.  Dad filters it twice and puts into the bottles.  The bottles get stored in the fridge to keep it cool.  Tom and Jerry is on every morning.  I watch a little of it when I eat breakfast.  I start my new school on Monday.  I have not seen it yet.  There is a small park at the end of the block from our house where the school bus will pick me up.

 

We have a bananna tree with bannanas on it.  I can't wait to eat one.  My friend Jimmy has a papaya tree.  They don't like papayas so they're going to give them to us.  I can't wait because papaya is one of my favorite fruits.  The milk here is in boxes and when you buy it, it is warm.  Dad puts it in the fridge to cool it to drink.  Same with the fruit juice.  I really like the guava juice.

Here are pictures of our house.

Asa Lama Lego mystery solved?

Perhaps this link explains what my driver was teaching me to say as a morning greeting: 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_asa_lama_lakum_mean

  I love the power of the Internet to get answers to mysteries.

 

Allison's lessons in language

I've had to add new understanding of English words to my daily vocabulary:

• Cabin = Office (for example at work: "Where is your cabin?"  My answer is no longer "The North Shore" it is "225")
• Revert = Reply
• Do the needful = Do what's required, Make it so
• Tell me = "Hello, how may I help you?" when answering the phone
• What are your doubts? = What questions do you have?

I asked my driver to teach me how to say "Good Morning" in Hindi.  I could tell by his fondly amused expression that I wasn't pronoucing it correctly.  I asked a co-worker how to say it.  She asked me what I'd been taught.  To me it sounded phonetically like "asa lama lego" so that's what I said to her.  She replied my driver had taught me Persian.  I really don't think he did.  I think it was my pronunciation was so abysmally bad that it just sounded that way.  More lessons needed for me!

Update from Jessi

Yes, we do watch tv. Tom and Jerry is my favorite show. Most of the tv shows are Indian, and I don't understand the language. We haven't tried any Indian clothes on yet. we have been to some clothes shops, and they mostly look like in America. We have ridden in a car, and we have a driver to take us everywhere because mom and dad cannot drive here. They drive on the left side of the street here. While we were riding in the car yesterday (Friday), there was this man asking for food who banged on the window and stared at me - I was scared of him.  He was begging for food.  We have also seen lots of cows on the streets, and we even saw a man milking a cow on the sidewalk.  Indians honor the cow because if gives them milk.  Today (Saturday) we saw an ox pulling a cart on the street.  Thursday, we saw some green parrots, and there are lots of Paraiah Kites http://www.nerdybirders.com/html/birds/Black%20Kite.html (a hawk like bird) flying outside the window.  Friday, dad and I went to our new house, and I went to play at the park while dad unpacked our stuff.  I found the huge caterpiller on the sidewalk.  It was as big as my dads finger.  We also have a bananna tree at our house, but the banannas are green at the moment.  We drink mostly bottled water because the public water is unsafe for us to drink.  Dad says that over time we will be able to drink the tap water at our house, but for now we have to drink filtered water.  Also on Friday we say a couple of schools when we went to pick mom up from work.  The schools were small buildings, and the playground is just a field of bare dirt.  The kids looked about my age and size, and they wear uniforms.  I'll try to have dad get a picture to send to you.  Thursday was Gandhi's birthday.  He was the founder of India's independence from Britian, same as George Washington for America.  This week is also the end of Ramadan.  Bangalore is mostly Hindu, and dad says that about 15% of the people are muslim.  Because of these holidays, we have seen many firworks at night. We see many people dressed according to the traditions they follow.

India Pictures from our hotel room

Pictures taken from our 10th floor hotel room.

Other villa residents

We met our resident house gecko and house toad last night outside our villa.  The toad was as big as a baseball!

 

Jessi's report

The money is paper, same as in America, and about the same size.  The picture on the money has a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on one side, and a picture of the Himalayas on the other.  There is a bunch of Indian writing on it. I get about 320 Rs for my allowance. They have lots tunes (music). Our hotel is very nice. The girls have to cover there shoulders (dress custom.  We're going out to our new house today, and we went to the FRO office yesterday to get our residency permit.  There were fruit bats in the tree over our head.  For clothing, most women wear saris, and most men wear pants and shirts.  Most people wear sandals.  We have not seen any tigers as they're mostly in national parks.  We have not seen any elephants, but we haven't been out in the country yet.  We'll try to take more pictures today to send.  The pizza is good, but not the same as America.