Traffic for 2010 December 31 (entry 0)

Fri Dec 31 2010 05:04 the good and the bad: Here's my list of ten things to love and to hate about India. First, the hate:

1. Everyone is always late. Our driver is always late, my coworkers are always late, church functions start hours late, even something simple like booking a hotel takes time because the response time for them to call you back about how much an extra bed costs can literally take DAYS. I guess that explains the visa delay.

2. If you are nice to people, they will take advantage of it.

3. There are no tubs to be found; just a shower spigot and a shower curtain to accompany it. And the hot water is difficult to get in the zone.

4. The stray dogs. The one in our village should be dead any day now; he's losing hair in clumps all over his body and his nose looks pink and rotted.

5. The no-picture policy at a lot of stores, etc. Who cares? Some stores won't even let you take a camera inside. Like I'm really gonna check my camera at the door.

6. The traffic, which is a cultural interest at first, loses all cache when your kids are constantly motion sick.

7. The elevators in our complex are slow and usually don't work. We're talking 5-minute wait to go up four flights of stairs. And at work I'm not allowed to push the button because they pay someone else to do that for you.

8. The food. It's just hard on my American stomach and honestly doesn't taste great.

9. The floors. I don't miss carpet but some hardwood or linoleum would be a nice change to very hard tile and marble that Dalton constnatly bangs his head on.

10. The power outages.

Now the good list =):

1. Travel is cheap. We are going to Mysore tomorrow, Hampi in three weeks, Pondicherry 3 weeks after that, and Goa in May! We are staying at all-inclusive places and have tour guides, etc and each trip is like US$500 for several days. The transportation or the hotel alone is often more than that back home.

2. My coworkers are very good people, albeit habitually 30 minutes delayed to everything. I enjoy working with them.

3. We are close to Hong Kong! We booked a 9-day excursion there (with a day stopover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia beginning April 16)!

4. It's been fun to experience a new way of life, even if it is sometimes frustrating. It makes life fun to try new things.

5. The weather here is great!

6. Though our driver is late and communicates his days off with zero notice, it's nice to have a driver. I get to stop and enjoy travelling more and don't get upset on traffic delays.

7. I live 10 minutes from work, which means more time with the family here. They join me for lunch every day.

8. It's fun to be the minority, at least for me. UT is so blah in that respect and I only live there because of family. I enjoy being in more diverse places, and Bangalore (at least within EY) draws people from all over India. And my kids are the hit of every party!

9. People are much kinder here than anywhere else I've ever lived.

10. There is no concept of keeping up with the Joneses here. I feel blessed every day for what I have here, because there are many reminders of those blessings. I like that.