Arrived and Settled (sorta)

I’m now in my new city and feeling very excited. The P’s have a Christmas tree with lights and other decorations and I’ve added some of my own to the room I’m using. Not so sure about the mattress, it reminds me of the one I had when I lived here before. Very, very firm! I need to pick up some pillows and that will help. ☺ It’s probably not the type I will have, but it’s better than sleeping on the floor.

I’ve seen, from afar, my potential new home. You can see it from their rooftop and it really is stylish looking. Hopefully, this week, there will be some negotiations and all will be finalized. Here’s a picture of the outside. I can’t wait to see the inside.

We arrived early yesterday (Friday) afternoon, and got all sorted and unpacked. Then Dan picked up some dinner for us from a local cook – very yummy. Today I’m going to try an old favorite, something my friend Pushpa used to cook, a sweet tomato chutney. I found a recipe just before I left. But my Vegas family doesn’t really like tomatoes, so it didn’t make much sense to try it on them. But when in India…

This morning I went up on the terrace (roof top) with the kids and we took some pictures of the water buffalo and all the poop piles that are out there drying. It’s an interesting scene. You have the Gange River in the background, a small boat carrying people back and forth, water buffalo in the water and a concrete area with a guy washing clothes and lying them out to dry in the grass. Then, there are a ton of the buffalo hanging out on the ground and ladies carrying baskets of manure that will then be made into patties and sold for fuel. On one side of the house, Lily and I were looking down and saw something…after closer observation we realized it had to be a mongoose (Rick Ticky Tovy). Darla confirmed that the neighbors had said they were there, taking care of the snakes.

This afternoon we will go shopping and get a few things that I need (some ingredients for the chutney as well as personal items). It’s fun exploring things and discovering all that the area is about.