Today marks three weeks in Chennai and the Consulate in all its wisdom decided I needed a day off to celebrate and contemplate. Later today I think I'm going to San Thome Cathedral but for now I'm going to take advantage of my internettedness and catch up a bit on this blog thing.
My first weekend in Chennai was really just about catching up on sleep. My sponsor picked me up at the airport late at night and dropped me at my new apartment, having left me some awesome food she had prepared. I made a great impression my first day when I got so hungry that I freaked out a bit on the RSO and then fell asleep multiple times during the meeting of section heads. OOOOps.
My apartment is HUGE. There is a lot of furniture and it is pretty nice, just not at all my style. Luckily though I will be able to have covers made pretty cheap and I will get the walls painted so hopefully by the time Natalie arrives (September 28...46 days, not that I'm counting or anything) my pad will be pretty finely pimped. Okay, I must admit that right now I am watching a show about cheese, really boring but man the cheese is pretty.
Saturday after I arrived I pretty much only had energy to walk with my sponsor to Amma Nana's, the expat grocery store. The walk was not long but frankly a bit scary, one must REALLY pay attention while walking the streets given the amount of vehicles, potholes, animals, people, whatever on the street. Seeing everything that is available at the grocery store(albeit at more American prices) I feel a little silly about how much food I packed in my household effects (HHE). Most important, there is a whole fridge of imported cheeses!!!! YIPPPEEEE!!!
That Saturday when I woke up there was a little trash fire happening across the street. Since it kind of went with the stray dogs, I took it in stride. However, later that night there was a bigger fire with an acrid chemical smell...I was very worried that it was a normal occurence but it has not happened since. Oh, and Friday evening I had a gas leak (downside, there was a gas leak, upside I totally have a gas stove/range...sweet!) which was "fixed" once and then fixed again Saturday when it leaked again....here's hoping it really is fixed this time!
Oh, my least favorite part of my apartment...the toilet seat in the master bedroom. The design of the seat different and leaves me feeling as though I may fall in at any moment. Now that I could deal with but there is also a crack so my bum keeps getting pinched...ouch. Once I figured out how to turn on the hot water, electric outlets, fans and other stuff, the rest of the apartment is pretty sweet. I keep debating about which room I want...so far have stayed in the one room because when I arrived sheets were already on the bed and I was dead tired and the bathroom shower has a full tub. However, the other room has a lacking of trees by balcony so it gets gorgeous light.
Armed with a weekend of sleep, I was ready for my first full week of work. A lot of filling out forms, meetings, training. Monday night, I went out and learned/played bridge at a colleague's home. Apparently it is a weekly thing. The bridge was fun but I was excited by my first wine in Chennai!
By Tuesday, I had my household staff in place, a housekeeper/cook named Anu and a driver named Ranjan. Both had worked for the person who lived in my apartment before me and came highly recommended. Tuesday, I was taken to work by my driver and introduced to my new car. It was a strange experience buying a car without ever driving it...truth be told I still haven't driven my car...but it is working out.
Wednesday night was a going away party; there is a lot of turnover at the moment among entry-level officers here...a lot of us coming, a lot of them going...music, food, alcohol, the usual revelry...good times...got to see some more apartments, bridget realized she had an apartment within her apartment that she didn't know about (on one of the balconies there is a door leading to a small room and a bathroom, servant's quarters if you choose to have a live-in maid)...how nutty eh?
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