shipment!

my things arrived today. i'm almost all unpacked and now feeling like i can start putting up pictures, etc. it's amazing how seeing your own pots and pans gives you such a warm feeling. the smell of the clothes too, i suppose, was awesome.

i got some new furniture made for me, and the place is coming together. i am working on getting a mural painted on my wall in the dining room. figuring that is a once in india kind of thing.

found out today that there is skiing in india, believe it or not. so the shipment of my ski boots wasn't all that unrealistic. now i am thinking the skies themselves would have come in handy.

so, i have these 'duh' moments which could also be called 'aha' moments i suppose, but i must admit to not knowing that tea in hindu is chai. chai isn't some sort of spicy indian tea. in fact it is just assam or darjeeling with milk and sugar. am i the only one in the world? please laugh at me, i have already laughed at myself. another duh moment was my realization that not all diplomats are gorgeous people. was that a hollywood myth? i keep looking for beautiful people. it's just a 'freak that i am' moment.

my recent thoughts about my experience: moving to third world india is nothing like moving to madrid was. home of the cafe con leche, the croissants, the street food that wasn't prepared by poopy hands. but there is something very distinct about actually being an adult and having to figure out how to set up your life in a new place. it makes it especially trying to have to bargain for every other thing, and also to battle the 95+ heat. oh, but the glory of seeing that ocassional monkey, or eating that samosa or smelling the lovely jasmine on the way home....it's all a very fine and delicate balance. i am currently dealing with a employee issue. i'm just not all that sure about the guy who is working for me. so i am in the process, with anju upstairs who is truly my guardian angel in delhi, of exiting him. he moves stuff around to weird places, and the whole aspect of common sense is just not there. of course, i am battling big time with letting him go....not wanting his family to go hungry, etc. i need to be much stronger than i am right now. i hope i don't come back to the states a real tough gal, or perhaps that could serve me well to.

dost shubh ratri ... good night friends