Did you think we fell off the face of the earth?

well . . . we just fell off the grid - the power grid. Welcome to India.

Wednesday morning we lost power for a few hours and that knocked off my internet. Then @ 4 PM that afternoon we lost power again. Unusual for the second time in a day I thought but since it was my third day - I could go with the flow. And I kept waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting. Power eventually came back on Thursday night. I was over 24 hours without it! Now the explanation is typical - even for the US. They were putting in sewer lines for a new apartment building next door and they don't have a call before you dig program.

I do have a battery backup that will run a fan in every bedroom and the living room, the lights, certain outlets including the TV.

The high on Thursday was 91.


I went grocery shopping Thursday morning and was at least trying to buy the essentials so I can cook. I couldn't buy many perishables with the power outage, so I still can't cook - but at least I have staples such as flour (which isn't called flour) and sugar and spaghetti (Joanna's favorite) I even found Parmesan cheese! I went to the "western" store - so I will post again when I go to a real indian store.

Wednesday also brought a new indian thing in my life. A maid. I quickly learned that the floors (tile & laminate hardwood) get dusty and gritty very quickly. The kids' feet were black from just walking in our own apartment. There was no way with unpacking and trying to adjust that I was going to be able to do it. The maid for another ex-pat (ex-patriot, i.e. foreigner) couple was looking for more hours - so we hired her on a temporary basis. She gets paid 4000 rupees a month for working 4 hours 5 days a week. Translation: @ 40 rupees to the $ it's $100 a month. Right now the rupee is 50 to the $.

I still have yet to cook a meal (unless ramen noodles count). When they came to show us the stove - we have to turn the gas on from the container on every time we cook. They told us to open the window next to the stove and DON'T turn on the light. Needless to say I'm still working on the courage to use the stove. We had Papa John's delivery the first 2 nights and an oriental place the third. Thursday night we ventured out with the kids. There was a home store next to McDonalds - what more could you ask for (Joanna could). We were buying a dryer. Well . . . drying rack really. It even fit in our car. Then our first experience at an Indian McDonalds. No chicken nuggets, no hamburgers (of course). I was smart enough to get a McChicken with no sauce. Scott didn't have the foresight to do the same with the kids happy meals. Joanna and Maddie both just balked and refused to touch it. Joanna did pick at the top of the bun and Maddie took one bite. At this point jet lag was starting to catch up with me and I didn't care because personally it wouldn't have been hugely appealing either. Scott did his best to get them to eat and Joanna eventually at about 1/3 of her chicken after he scraped off all of the sauce. The french fries were good.

That's pretty much the latest. I have power. I have internet. I had 3 kids that slept til 6 AM. Life is good in India - right now. Today is adventures in laundry now that I have a drying rack. I do have a relatively new Neptune washing machine - even more high tech than my one at home.

I'll keep you posted.

Love and prayers - I miss you all.

Dawn