Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Goodbye!

It is with great sadness that I end my blog of this Indian adventure. My husband and I are slowly transitioning our lives back to the US. Thus, I am ending my blog due to lack of time as we prepare to return to the states.

No more witty posts from me. I hope you have enjoyed them.

I can only say in reflection that I learned a lot! Loved a lot! Cried a lot! Laughed a lot during this adventure. I will never forget my time spent in India.

Best wishes to you and yours in 2013!!! Goodbye! 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Faded but Fabulous

Today while waiting at an intersection here in Gurgaon I noticed that they were selling new, bright orange plastic Hanuman statues to hang from your rear view mirror. I commented on the statues to Sushil (our driver) and he nodded at them in acknowledgement.

So I ask him, "do you think we need to get a new Hanuman for our car, Sushil?"

He looks up into the rear view mirror at me with confusion on his face. "Why, mam?"

"Because ours looks faded from the sun," I state while staring at our pale orange and white colored statue of the monkey god that was once a glorious bright sunny orange.

Sushil is silent.

"Well what do you think?"

"No mam, I don't think we need one?"

"Why, Sushil?"

"Because mam a new one will just fade out."

Yup. He was right. What good sound logic. Only a silly American would think we needed the new pretty one when the one we had was good enough. Lesson learned!

 

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"Proof of Life"

Ok, I have a confession to make.

In 2000 a movie came out called "Proof of Life" which is basically the story about a married couple who move around the world as expats before the husband in the story is kidnapped while living in South America.

Time for the confession. I watched this movie when it came out which happened to be about a year before Lance and I got married. I remembered thinking that it was not a particularly great movie, BUT it was the first time I saw a movie portraying a different lifestyle which was that of an expat. I distinctly remember thinking, 'well aside from the whole kidnapping and violence part, that sounds like an intense lifestyle choice.' Unusual and interesting to live in a strange place and a emerse yourself in a new culture. I remember wondering if I would ever live in a foreign country. I remember thinking that probably will never happen, but I was excited, as a woman in my early 20s, that it could happen because anything was possible.

And now I am living as an expat while my husband toils away at work. Yes it is interesting and trying at the same time. I am truly glad for the experience. And obviously I am glad that my experience as an expat has NOT included kidnapping! Lord knows that would not be a good experience. I have thought about that movie and its portrail of life as an expat many, many times during my time in India. I have thought about Meg's chic, ethnic clothes. (I wanted her clothes but obviously I would wear bras! Geez what was up with that!) Housekeepers and drivers. (How nice would that be to have help.) Cool houses. (I wanted that cool glass and brightly colored house with the large pool.) Outdoor markets. (Strange, delicious foods).  Exotic landscapes. (Green trees, flowers, and misty mountains).

Truly, every day is my own "proof of life." Proof I am doing it and living life in a foreign land. Challenging myself every day to live outside of my comfort zone. You just never know where your life is going to take you! Amazing! 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The "Guilt" Theater

Our friends invited us over to dinner and to watch a movie....an old but good one starring Harrison Ford called Blade Runner. After enjoying a wonderful Asian dinner of mixed cultural origins we were ready to relax, prop our feet up, and enjoy the movie. As my husband and I settled down into the living room of our friends' well appointed and extremely large home (about 8,000 square feet), our hosts inform us we are not staying in but going to the clubhouse to watch this early 1980s movie on a bigger screen.

As we headed out the front door and proceeded towards the neighborhood's exclusive clubhouse I made polite conversation with our hosts. I was struck by the reality that I had never been to see a movie in a private theater. My hostess remarked that they reserved the theater often at the clubhouse because the amenities were so nice so this was just a perk of living in this Gurgaon neighborhood.

The four of us arrived at the clubhouse and were personally escorted up a private, marble staircase and into a very large personal theater that easily sat 100 people in individual leather recliners. I stood in the doorway with my mouth hanging open. Our friends had spent the last 20 years traveling as expats around Asia and thus were accustomed to such excess and services but this was new to me. Wow!!! That was all I could think. Our server approached us with beverages and popcorn and we each took a different chair on a different row so we could really stretch out.

The walls were covered in red velvet and one whole wall was covered with an extremely large screen. Even the sound system was impressively loud. It was incredible to watch a movie this way.

It is hard to know how to feel about this sort of wealth. I love my friends dearly and they give back a lot wherever they live. I am not sure I would feel comfortable living in a neighborhood like this......guilt and all.....but I will admit I enjoyed the movie that night. Another experience being an expat here has afforded me and one for which I will not soon forget. 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Outdoor Market...energetically fantastic

I have a favorite outdoor market in New Delhi. I first had the pleasure of going there about 10 months ago with a friend of mine, another expat, from Mexico. She said she had discovered it one day while surfing around on the Internet and the reviews of it were quite good.

My driver took us that day so long ago on a bright, early spring afternoon. As he pulled up outside the entrance to the local favorite marketplace he commented to me that this place was not very safe and that a few weeks before they had actually had a bomb there. Yikes!!!!

I turned to my friend with shock on my face, "Where are you taking me!"

She just shrugged and said, "Well online they said it was great." She paused before continuing, "Oh come on, we will be fine. It is the middle of the day."

We headed out together two foreign girls on a mission to find some great deals at the local shopping hole. I will say I was not prepared for the overwhelming experiences of shopping in a local Indian market. The smells. The sights. The people. The haggling. It IS an experience like no other. Fast paced and anxious at the same time.

The overall market is a small community of uneven streets and crumbling store fronts crammed with shoppers and sales people alike all yelling and haggling and talking all at once. Clothing hangs from every stall and open space. Vibrantly fresh fruits and vegetables overflow from table tops. Women clad in beautiful brightly colored saris stash beloved treasures in cloth and poly bags. Every sales person wants us to look at their goods and to purchase something from them but every stall holds a different trinket or interesting article of clothing. We waved away and dismissed more than one irritating, demanding salesman that day as we generated way too much attention standing out as anything but locals. But we did score some amazing finds including caftans, kurtas, scarves, and lovely cheap wooden bangles (one of which I am currently wearing) for some incredibly cheap prices.

I had the pleasure of taking my sister there a few months ago. She seemed amazed as I navigated the cobblestone streets of this market that I have come to know so well with ease and brushed away frustrating sales people. I haggled for a good deal for each item she loved and exposed her to new smells, foods, and experiences through some deep immersion in the local flavors of Delhi. I think she ended up with about 20 scarves that day and a huge smile. She loved the experience. Sure there was trash laying around and the same sad street dogs but seeing the Indian people doing their normal thing at the market is lovely to see and experience.

The outdoor marketplace is so important to the whole experience of India. This is the place the locals come to catch up on gossip, purchase their groceries for family meals, and to add some more style to their look. It is expected that going to the market will not be relaxing or easy. It is exactly what it is suppose to be....dusty, noisy, and energetically fantastic!