So Begins The New Year...

Tomorrow is the big day…I’m moving into another temporary place. This time I will have my own bathroom and bedroom (though I will share a wardrobe with someone else – or at least it’ll be used for storage).

Let me back up a little…yesterday I went with a new friend and her mother to speak with this lady who had a room available in her house. It’s in a decent neighborhood, around the corner and down the street from Dan and Darla. She is a widow and has three kids living there (I know the oldest girl is 21 and I believe the other two are 19 and 18). A few minutes into our discussion the oldest daughter came home. She also speaks fairly good English, so she started asking questions and sharing their own concerns. Like do I drink whiskey and would I honor their need for halal food. I assured her I won’t be drinking whisky and am fine with their diet restrictions. The room I will use has a full size bed (not sure about the mattress, but I can endure anything for a while). The bathroom is very traditional, but it is all mine – that helps. The price is fair and will include meals – but I’ve asked that I not be treated as a guest and would like to learn some cooking. They have someone that comes in to clean – so I guess I could enjoy that too. ☺

They said that there were other interested people, and because the money was needed they couldn’t have me wait until I return from Delhi in the middle of January. So, I’d figured, what the heck, I’ll pay and then move in when I return – I wasn’t ready emotionally to move and wasn’t sure about leaving all my stuff there for curiosity seekers while I was gone. Then the daughter said, well, if you are paying and you have 11 days before you leave for 6 days, why wouldn’t you just move in now. Gulp. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said, “You are right! Okay, I’ll move in this week.” And it was decided that January 1 would be the day.

Today Darla went with me to buy some bedding and the traditional bathroom accessories (you know, a bucket, small pouring thing, trash can, plastic chair…you know what, unless you’d had either an Indian bucket bath or seen an Indian bathroom (the link is to one a little nicer than mine), this won’t make any sense). So, off to the market we went – wow, two trips in one week – possibly one more than the average person needs. I found all the bathroom stuff – there was a bathroom in a box set – nice and all matching; then we were off to pick out sheets. Indians generally don’t have bedding like I’m accustomed to. There’s a sheet (and not fitted) and pillowcase. I’m a little anal when it comes to things like this and since I still like sliding between two sheets finding matching pieces is a challenge. But we pulled it off. It’s amazing they way the guys in the shop don’t grumble about pulling down 20+ packages, quickly opening them up and pulling the items out to show you. I used to feel guilty, but it’s all part of the process. I left feeling pretty good about it all.

By the time Darla and I headed home it was dark out and we were pretty packed into our rickshaw, packages all around us (she bought items too). There were still plenty of people around (a little too crowded for my taste) and I couldn’t help but wonder how safe it was to be out. Never when I lived in the country before would I have been out this late. Besides, it is New Year’s Eve and there are always extra warnings about being cautious on holidays. Needless to say, we made it home just fine and for those who are curious, I probably wouldn’t do that on my own. ☺

Happy New Year!