Greetings to all!
Many apologies for taking a couple of weeks to write, but I wanted to drop
a quick note to say that Mariko and I (as well as our four cats) have arrived safe and sound in Chennai (formerly Madras),
India. It has been a whirlwind first 10 days or so.
After being whisked through customs and immigration upon arrival at the airport
and emerging into an outdoors completely different from home (think carbon monoxide,
cow dung, sweat and general developing country odors), we were swept away to the confines of the local Sheraton. Nice place, aside from the mild mildewy smell. Something which weve discovered is quite common here.
And understandably so given the weather: hot and muggy, not unlike Miami. It's
just like that 365 days a year!
We didn't have much in the way of first impressions as it was 2 a.m. when we got to the hotel. That is until the following
morning when we both woke up and realized: omigod we're in India!!!!!! How did this happen? This is still
the feeling as I write this. Not in a
bad sense, just in the I really never thought I would get here sense. Not
much to say in particular detail, just that ones senses are constantly overwhelmed.
People, smells, food, motor vehicles and their horns, animals, bugs, you name it.
All multiples of what one would see back home.
Spent the first few days at the consulate meeting and greeting, getting a tour
of the place and finding out that we would be moving to another building in about a month.
Which is just fine with me as the current facilities are pretty ancient and dumpy.
Will be nice to move into a place with new furniture, updated systems, etc.
The first week and a half have been a bit overwhelming. The first night we were here, in fact, there was a concert and party at the Consul Generals residence (bigger
than most city parks!). The USNs Seventh Fleet flagship was in town and the 7ths
band played for about an hour and a half. Really impressive, actually. The food was great, proper gin and tonics were served and it was a great chance to meet many of the locals,
both Indian and otherwise. In addition to this, there have been several other
major social events, including a Valentine Ball at the British High Commission (consulate) last night. As there isn't a whole lot to do in town other than socialize, that's pretty much what people do.
The people that I work with at the consulate are great, American's and locals
alike. Our day to day visa load is pretty high, but most (70%?) of our applications
come through a courier drop box. Makes things go much easier. Also, we only do visa interviews in the mornings, so that isn't horribly overwhelming either.
Hard to say definitely about the housing here as we are still in a hotel. What I've seen, though, is quite good and things are pretty well set up. What we understand is the house we will be moving into is quite
nice; three bedrooms, three baths, very nice neighborhood. Also, the local
market has plenty of stores that cater to the expatriate community so pretty much everything you need is available. The cost of living is also quite low here. One can eat pretty
well here for a few bucks (or less) for a full meal. Even the five star places
are reasonably price. And the food is fantastic.
South Indian cuisine, like south India itself, is an assault on everything you
might consider normal in the States. Hot.
Sweet. Sour. Salty. And more varieties of dishes than you can imagine that vary dramatically from one
state here in the south to the next. Coconut and fish to the southwest, chilies
and more chilies to the north.
While we have not had a chance to do
any traveling yet, there are plenty of places that are within an hour or two (the Maldives, Sri Lanka, most sites in India)
and plenty more just a few hours away (Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong). We have
already discovered that our two years here seems very short!
I shall stop here with my rambling. Our house is always open to visitors (once we move in, that is) and we do hope to
have many. This really is a vibrant place and worth the long trip.
Best regards from both of us.
John & Mariko
