Vannakkam from South India!!!
We trust that this finds all of our
family and friends enjoying a wonderful holiday season. Mariko and I wish we
were closer to home so that it would be easier to get together. We hope all of
you have a fantastic 2003 and hope to see some of you here in Madras!
Well, it doesnt really seem like Christmas
here in South India, and not just because this is a predominantly Hindu country. Its
80 degrees during the day and goes down to about 70 at night. Balmy for us, freezing
for the locals (believe it or not, a balaclava, gloves and heavy jacket are de rigueur at this time of year if youre
from here). When I ask our guard at night if he is cold, the only response I
get is Its winter, sir. Bloody warm winter if you ask me, but I guess if you
are used to 100 degrees much of the time, this is cold. All of this said, for
us it is a very welcome respite from the oppressive weather of the summer (blistering hot and steamy humid) so we are quite
happy.
Mariko and I are doing well (not just
because of the weather) and I think we are finally getting used to living in India.
Its about time, given that we are coming up on a year (our halfway point) of being here! We have really started to take advantage of all the benefits of living here and focusing less on the problems
associated with it. It has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful adventure
for us.
To say the least, our 2002 has been
very eventful. A big move (with all of our belongings and four cats) from DC
in early February kicked off a busy year for us. While work does take up most
of my time, we have still found time this year to travel quite a bit around the south of India and do hope to do more. In addition, we had a great opportunity to go to Thailand in September and Mariko
learned to scuba dive. A relaxing and beautiful ten days really refreshed us
after a tough first seven months or so here in Madras. Mariko and I were back
in the States in October and on the return trip to India also had the chance to spend some time in Japan with family and friends.
Work has been an interesting adjustment. The government is exactly what everyone says it is: big, slow moving, inefficient,
etc. That said, being in the Foreign Service has provided us with opportunities
to see and experience things that we likely never would have otherwise. In addition,
it has been a tremendous honor for me to represent my country in a difficult time and in a place that is increasingly on the
administrations radar screen. My job itself is very different from what I was
doing at HP but it is a great and exciting challenge. Currently, I lead a team
of 12 Indians and 4 Americans that runs the Non-Immigrant Visa unit here in Chennai (Madras).
Non-Immigrant Visas are the visas for short term work, business and study. We
are one of the 10 busiest posts in the world and are THE busiest for certain kinds of visas.
Were constantly looking for better, faster, more efficient ways to process our 200,000 annual visa applicants. Its not a long term job for me (Ill likely move into an economic and commercial specialization
next tour) but it has been an enjoyable and educational experience nonetheless.
Outside of work, Mariko and I keep fairly
busy. Mariko in particular has a pretty active life in the expat and diplomatic
communities here in Madras. She is very active with the Japanese Association
(as am I, but only when it comes to golf..), plays quite a bit of tennis, does flower arrangement once a week and has just
started a leather-working class. I try to play as much golf as I can despite
the fact that the courses here arent all that great. At least there is room to
get out and hit the ball. In addition, I am just starting to learn to play cricket. I sort of understand the rules, but am just beginning to actually get out and swing
the bat. At the very least, in this cricket mad country, it provides a good way
to meet people and is a great conversation starter (big, tall Americans playing cricket are, as you might imagine, few and
far between). In addition to sports, I have also joined Rotary and that has provided
a good opportunity to meet folks in the community that I might no otherwise.
Besides playing golf and tennis, Mariko
and I are blessed with the opportunity to spend much more time together than when I was at HP.
We have a pretty active official and unofficial social schedule (its actually very easy to have some event pretty much
every night, especially in the cool season). In addition to this, we spend quite
a bit of time out exploring the multitude of shopping opportunities here in Chennai and the environs. And in addition to the private travel Ive already mentioned, were hoping to have the opportunity for a
couple of official trips in the coming year (hopefully Hyderabad, Delhi and Bombay).
What does 2003 have in store? Well, in January, we will be taking a trip to Sri Lanka for a few days and in mid-February we will be heading
up north to Delhi and Rajasthan for a week or so. Also in January, we will begin
the process of bidding for our next assignment. No idea where that will be yet,
but we hope to have the opportunity to learn a new language. If we do get assigned
somewhere where language training is required, we will spend about 9-10 months in DC beginning in early 2004. Either way, by early March 2003, we will know where we will be heading next. When we do, we will send a message out to all of you so you can begin to plan your vacations!
We wish you all a safe and happy 2003
and look forward to seeing you again someday soon!
Best regards,
John and Mariko Nylin
PS:
We have FINALLY out together a website that will hopefully be a better (and more efficient) way for us to keep in touch
with friends and family around the world. Its not the greatest site in the world,
but its got some pictures and Ill do my best to change them out on a regular basis so that you can see what were up to. The URL is: www.johnandmariko.com . Hope you enjoy it.
