Yes, amazingly the luggage made it. I think because
 I did get my camera out and got a picture. But it is just so strange and yet so amazing. Language a small problem, for me anyway, Bob not so much, he always manages to hand signal everything with pointing at what he wants :) LOL. We American's make things toooo good. Everything automated. Here it is kind of going back in time and slowing the pace down ALOT. Just one for instance, when you go into the bathroom, they take off their shoes and leave them on the outside of the door. You don't have to knock or wonder if anybody is inside the toilet. I will have plenty of stories, like no stove in the kitchen. NO WAY TO COOK! I love it! We did our shopping at the carts that was on the street. You don't go to the grocery store and get everything you need "One Stop Shopping" like at Wal Mart. You can see about our way of shopping here  eye candy. it's like being a little kids in a candy store, there is just so much to look at, you get a headache from moving your head around trying to looking at all the stuff.
I could go on and on. I know that some of this you probably have actually seen. But it just makes life more precious to me. I respect these people just trying to make a living. America doesn't know poverty. We didn't get internet connection at home yet. It is 9:17 AM Friday the 4th. We went home last night about 6:00 pm. I think I was asleep before we got home. I went in and layed down on the bed with all my clothes on and woke up about 10:30 pm realizing that I hadn't eaten or taken my pills. Bob was asleep, so I quietly ate some peanut butter and nuts and went back to sleep. We both woke up about 1:00 am and watched a little HBO (that the only American speaking TV channel we get). Then I went back to bed and read a little and then slept till about 5:30 am. We are not sure if we will ever get rested and our days turned around.
The women in their beautiful saree's. Children so dirty and poor. Dogs with 3 legs and puppies nursing. Carts of the best looking vegetables you can imagine. Men dying strings with really bright colors to weave something (we haven't figured that out yet). Kids playing ball with sticks in a open dirt lot. Cows just walking the streets. I could go on and on, but it just makes life more precious to me. I respect these people just trying to survive. America does not know poverty. I forgot my cable to hook up my camera to the computer, but I am hoping that I can get them loaded somehow. Chirag is pretty good about those kind of things. He really does take good care of us. His apartment is about 1/2 block from our apartment. We could ride to work with him, but we like to walk to Ring Road (3 blocks to nearest busy street) and get a rickshaw and ride to work. We have been doing a lot of walking already. We walk up the flight of stairs to our apartment, (wait till you see the lifts, we do take them at night when we are reallly tired) You can't lift a finger here. I could get so used to this. The people here get the whole idea of customer service. It's just if they don't do a good job, there is 10 people wanting their job. Dilput, our office boy, comes and wipes off the desk, cleans the windows, puts the chairs straight, turns off lights, every time you get up and leave the room. He is so funny. Another for instance: Yesterday at lunch, we went to "Tomatoes". They brought us our food. The server spoons out your entree onto your plate from a pan that has a candle under it to keep it hot on your table.
I told Bob, if I could just get him trained to wait on me like this.
January 5thI can't believe that we have been here a week. Today is Saturday and we are going to have dinner with Sunny tonight. I am going to try to get a picture. He is GOOD looking. Very handsome. He has lived in UK, so he talks VERY GOOD English. He works in this building. Do you remember the story of Jessica and her purse on the stairs? This was her friend and they worked in the same office. That is how Bob got to know him.I did some laundry this morning and hung in out on the balcony on the clothes lines. We have 2 balconies. One off our bedroom and the other off the kitchen. It just feels so different, like you are in another world. OH YA, I am. The apartment is very old, but it has marble floors, arch doors and ornate molding all around the room, (I will get pictures). There are built in closets and cabinets in every room. I haven't seen very many mosquitoes, I have seen a couple. We bought some plugins that are supposed to keep the room from mosquitoes. I bought one for every plug we have. At night it is pretty cold for them, but we have only went out after dark once. Again, we are going to Dubai tonight. We leave at 4 AM Sunday morning, which will be your 4:30 Sat. night. Bob is not sure if he is going to take his computer. I am not, but he has the webcam, so he has a better computer. I am seriously thinking about a new LIGHTER computer myself these days.
Jan. 6 to the 10th
January 11thI slept alot yesterday. Our plane left Dubai at 11:00 pm and arrived in Ahmedabad at 3:00 am, so by the time we got thru customs and home it was 4:30 am. So not alot of sleep. We didn't work long yesterday. Went home and slept about 30 minutes, then went to marts for milk and bread. I did sleep from 9 pm til 7 am this morning. Now I have to do some work, alot to catch up on.
I put up some pictures of Dubai,
Dubai has this mall "the mall of the Emirates" it has an amusement park, movie theaters, ski and snowboarding slopes, 75 restaurants, every designer store that you can think of, and over 500 stores to shop from. Then there is another, can't remember the name, that is like Las Vegas. It has different countries featured. Then the Dragon Mart. OH MY GOSH! It must go for 2 miles. All of the shops 1000's of them are all asian "MADE IN CHINA". It was exhausting. It took us 3 hours to walk and shop from one end to the other end, and it had side A and side B. We only made it one way on side A. You name it and you could find it in this mall. ALOT of shopping in this city. Dubai also has every American restaurant that you can think of. They may be Egypt, but they want to be American's.
Then our surprise was, Chirag picked us up and took us to a rovolving restaurant "Patang" on 12th Floor with great International & Punjabi Food, which is the tallest building in Gujirat. GREAT Vegeterian food. Service was great. Great view. We had soup, appetizers, pasta, main course of the best vegeterian food I have ever ate, breads and of course dessert. There is no alcohol alowed in the whole state of Gujirat so they serve mocktails. We stayed for the full revolution which took 90 minutes. The meal was paid for by Chirag, Jyoti and Amish. It cost 850 ruppies ($21.25 USD) The food cost here is really ridiclous, except that there is no meat available in most restaurants. Then in a non-veg restaurant there is just chicken and very rarely fish. But you don't really miss it. We will be ready for a steak when we get home.
I had my beauty appointment yesterday. Deepa wouldn't let me pay for anything, she said it was my birthday present. Have you seen on TV where they take this wax string put one end in their mouth and then make a triangle with their hands and somehow it pulls the hairs off your eyebrows or body. Well she was doing that on a woman when I first walked in, I was watching her use the THREAD method to remove the hair. It was amazing. The Indian women take the hair off of their whole bodies. (Indian women have alot of body hair.) So I had my eyebrows done, I had to try it. It did NOT hurt! Tweezers and waxing their both hurt, this didn't! It was like the vibration of a pair of scissors next to your skin. I was so glad that I got to experience it. I see alot of things on TV and this is one that I am so glad I tried it.
Then I got a facial, that was really relaxing and I enjoyed that tremedously. Then I got a head massage while they gave me a pedicure and a manicure. There were 3 grils (darling girls) working on my hands, feet and head. It was something. That was all really nice. Then they shampooed my hair and tried to dry it. This was not a hair salon. This was a massage salon. I enjoyed every minute of it.
I went to the Optical Care shop this morning. I ordered me some reading glasses, (Mom - like those little silver 1/2 glasses that you used to have.). Frames and prescription lenses = Rps 600 ( $15USD). Bob thought it was kind of silly, but for that price. I have always wanted reading glasses.
On the way back to Ahmedabad we stopped along the road where they were making clay pots. Just along the road. They had the spinning wheels and a big round fire pit that fired the pots. (I have pictures). We wanted to buy and bring home, but we just could figure out how to get it home. I am sure that it would break, putting it in anything and putting it on the plane. We thought about shipping.
We had a very nice evening. I fixed cauliflower and some pork steak from the only store that sells frozen meat. It looked terrible before I cooked it and was tough and ugly after I cooked it. I didn't eat any just the cauliflower, and some Indian bread. I am getting plenty to eat, but I sure miss American food. THERE is none here.
To be Continued.......... |
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The women in their beautiful saree's. Children so dirty and poor. Dogs with 3 legs and puppies sucking her tits. People staring at us. Carts of the best looking vegetables you can imagine. Men dying strings with really bright colors to weave something (we haven't figured that out yet). Kids playing ball with sticks in a open dirt lot. 
We are off to Dubai on Sunday, we are hoping that we can stay awake to enjoy it. We will be going from 6th to the 9th. I don't think that we will be taking our computers, this is just a pure pleasure trip. We are going to met Adil, Alyia, Ambur and Arose. Adil's mom and dad are also going to be there. We are really looking forward to seeing how much the girls have grown. (We went to Edinburg, Scotland when Ambur was born premature and was still in the hospital.) 
There is just so much to look at, you get a headache from moving your head around trying to looking at all the stuff. I have put up 
I was eating and had just put the last bite of food that was on my plate, and the waiter was right there putting more food on my plate. You are never without water (bottled), coffee, naan (bread). They clean plates before you have put the last bite in your mouth. 
We went shopping this morning. The weather is supposed to record breaking lows here. I was hoping that I wouldn't have a winter this year. The lowest it will get is in the 50's. I know that your weather is alot colder, but you have a heater. We don't even have a shower with hot water. We will survive, it's not that cold in the apartment. Just have to complain about something. 
Then we went to this restaurant. (Don't ask me the name of it.) The menu was all in Hindu. Amish and Jelpa ordered. We had plates, glasses, forks & spoons, teapot and serving dishes that were all gold. I am not sure what the metal really was, but Amish said it was authentic table wear, I thought that stainless steel was what everybody used, and he said that was everyday wear, but for special occassions they used this gold table wear. Very nice presentation of the excellent food. I was vegetarian, but besides the rice, cauliflower and garbonzo beans I am not sure what I was eating. The food was spicy but it tasted SOOO GOOD! Everybody east with their hands. There was forks and spoons for us, but I tried to eat with my hands. Then when you are finished they bring this gold pitcher and a pan by your table and you can wash your hands while they pour the water over your hands. It was a very good day, except Shou made me homesick for my grandkids. 
