Sick :-(

I have just eaten my first food in 36 hours. For the second time since arriving in India, I am sick. I will spare you the details but it is miserable. Saturday I spent most of the day in bed. It’s amazing how tired and weak I felt. I opened a can of diet coke and could only manage a mouthful – for those you know me, you know how sick I must have been.

Even now as I write this I feel far from 100%. I called my sister who asked if at least I was losing weight. Amazingly I’m not. I don’t really like the food so I’m not eating much; on average I would say I don’t eat dinner 3 days a week. Also I live on the second floor (that’s the 3rd floor for any Americans reading) and the office is also on the second floor so there’s a lot of stairs. Of course there’s less general movement as it’s hard to walk anywhere on your own. I plan to join a gym but this is an expensive proposition costing about $1000 (that’s US dollars not rupees) a year. My gym in Chicago costs me less than that.

I also called my parents looking for sympathy. My mother is great at sympathy but she was out so it was my father I spoke too. He said I needed to be more careful about what I ate. I said I was being careful (which I am) to which he replied not careful enough! I know he meant well but it made me cross.

Still no internet at home so I am writing this on Sunday and will post it on Monday when I get into the office. My application to get internet has not even been submitted as there needed to be some communication between the relocation company and my office. After many emails and phone calls this happened. I called my office contact on Friday to ask the status – he said all was ready (I wonder if he ever planned to tell me or would have waited until I called whenever that was).

I need to leave India to get a different type of visa. I was supposed to be in Ireland this week but I again underestimated the amount of time it takes things done. But by stage the thought was already in my head that I may be away for Easter. What with no internet and nothing to do on the weekends I decided leaving was a good option so I’m off to Brussels to visit my sister. The flight was dead cheap $460 and even though it’s a long way to go for a weekend I’m glad I decided to go.

Sorry this entry is a bit mundane but every entry can’t have cows wandering the streets and other strange happenings!

BTW it’s very hot here – and last night (Sunday) the air conditioning in my room broke. Here is why having 3 bedrooms is an advantage as I just moved into one of the bedrooms with functioning air conditioner. Should that fail, I have another back-up and if the third fails I’ll take it as a sign from the gods that India is not part of Helen’s destiny!