My apartment

My parents have recently purchased a new computer. I somewhat bullied them into it as there was no way I could work from home with dial-up and changing to broadband seemed to mean getting a new computer. To be fair, the old computer was from 1995 so it wasn’t before time. My mother is now a pretty regular blog reader but she keeps asking – "why have you no pictures of your apartment?" So now, to satisfy Mum are some pictures of where I live. Here is the view from my bedroom







Here is the very scary looking washing machine set-up. Yes, that is an electric cable attached to a hanging extension socket under a shower. I know it doesn't look safe so I spend as little time as possible when the washing machine is on










Here is my living room – very big with not that much furniture










Here is the complex water purification device which allegedly makes water safe to drink. I still boil it afterwards. I still boil it afterwards.










India seems unable to standardize on plug configuration – note the multiple options available. Of course I rarely have the right ratio of devices to corresponding sockets
and finally here is my bedroom – unusually tidy!!!

One of my faithful readers

As you know (if you can keep up with my travels) I traveled to London for the weekend to attend a wedding. I stayed in London Friday traveled down for the wedding Saturday back up on Sunday. The wedding was great fun – it was pretty small about 80 people and as I’ve known both bride and groom for over 8 years, I knew a lot of the guests either really or by reference so it was good fun. I shared a room with the bride’s niece who I never met but had once searched Michigan Avenue in a vain quest to find some discontinued perfume. It’s always good to put a face to a name. The wedding was in Exeter and I took the train down – ‘twas strange to be on that train again as I was a frequent traveler when I lived in Plymouth 1998-2000 (Exeter being on the rail line between Plymouth and London). The weather was exceptionally good and the countryside looked spectacular. The bride looked great and the groom wore a kilt; he’s a brave man to wear a kilt in the company of some of the guests!

On Sunday, my friend C met me from the train, we went for lunch and then we went to meet N. N is my brother’s-in-law sister – she said that made us sisters-in-law but I’m not really sure. I really like N even though my niece M has declared N her favourite aunt and I am only trotting behind in popularity. It was nice to meet up – we went to the cinema which was great as I haven’t been to the cinema in India. I know India has the world’s largest film industry but as I explained to N, there are difficulties (pardon my shameless recycling of earlier material but it’s gone midnight and if I were sensible I would be in bed and there would be no blogging but where’s the fun in that)

My first email
It was great to see you on Sunday. The company and film were great. The memory will sustain for the long period of my current stay in India (20 days!!!)
Finally if you want to come to India, I have loads of space and would love to see you (and I reckon it’s much nicer to visit India than to live here).

Her reply
Hi. Was great to see you as well - what a pity you can't go to the cinema more often - why exactly? I guess I will find out on the blog!
Hope the flight wasn't too dull. Will look up India fares - sounds tempting!
Take care and I'll check in on the blog,

My reply
On the cinema, a few problems
* very little personal freedom as I depend on my driver to bring me places and feel guilty to have him waiting outside while I’m watching a film
* guidebooks say women should not go to cinema alone (further reducing opportunities as I have to persuade somebody to come – actually not that hard to do)
* did try to go twice – first time was sold out, second time only showing Indian movies and something that was released in US in 2005!!!!

Must update blog – it’s great to have loyal readers

Her reply
Oh, well, in response to the first I'd say he's delighted to put his feet up for an hour or two while you are off his hands. Only problem is probably making him come back at the right time! Not sure I can solve the second two ...!


See N has inspired me to write (2 long posts today – a miracle). Thank-you N. Now though ‘tis really time for bed, but I want especially to thank C for letting me stay at her recently purchased apartment over the weekend; getting tickets to the Constable exhibition at the Tate; taking me to Hampton court palace on Sunday – ‘tis fab, highly recommended for London visitors and residents but it’s definitely a whole day affair rather than a 2 hour event but needs must when the devil drives.

Transcontinental gossip

Some of my readers are managing to keep up with my travels while others are completely confused. Sometimes I fall more into the latter category. To briefly recap – since mid May I have flown the following routes Delhi – Bangkok – Sydney – Christchurch – Auckland – Sydney – Bangkok – Delhi – Bangalore – Delhi – Amsterdam – Cork – London – Munich – London – Cork – Amsterdam – Delhi – London – Delhi. To be fair both Bangkoks, both Amsterdams and two Londons I only stayed in the airport but it’s still a lot of travel. I suppose I should also mention there were two longish train journeys in there too (Cork-Dublin and London-Exeter). In any case it’s a lot of travel (and there’s a bit more to come as I’m off to Chicago in early August)

So it should come as no surprise to you that my gossip should be of an intercontinental nature. Every morning at 8.30 (or thereabouts, punctuality is not valued in India) my driver comes, I give him the key and ask him to collect my germane colleague who lives some distance away, he returns about 8.50 with my colleague and we proceed off to work (which takes about 20-25 minutes even though it’s probably 3 miles away). This gives us ample opportunity to chat. Often we chat in German so the driver cannot understand. I never thought my German would improve while I was in India but improving it seems to be. A few days ago I was commenting on how I didn’t understand why some people have several romantic relationships while others had relatively few. The conversation went like this:

Me: Take for example Juliette (not her real name), she has many boyfriends but she isn’t really approachable, not very pretty nor bubbly. I would say that given the choice between her and me, no, let’s take me out of the equation, let’s compare Mary (again not her real name). If I were a guy I would much rather date Mary.
Him: But Mary has a boyfriend
Me: no, she doesn’t (and if she has and hasn’t told me there will be trouble)
Him: yes, she’s dating N
Me: Gasp!!!
N’s married and for sure Mary isn’t dating him
Him: But D told me they were at the Christmas party together – they came together and left together
Me: maybe they did but they’re not together

I know people are often surprised when work colleagues get together but believe me, this particular relationship is unlikely as N is married, a decent guy (ie would not cheat on wife), has kids and really doesn’t have any time for a relationship. Mary also is dead against dating work colleagues (not a bad rule and given where we work not a major sacrifice) and I’m pretty sure N is not her type even if he were single and available but Mary is way too sane and sensible to date a married guy. So today I called Mary (in US):

Me: hi, you answered your phone (she’s known for call-screening)
Her: this is so weird - I was just sending you a mail
Me: freaky
Her: I know
Me: I heard some gossip about you
Her: really
I recount the gossip; she is shocked and goes on to say
Her: who says I am dating N
Me: D
Her: Who’s D
After some discussion, it emerges Mary has no clue who D is
Her: I wasn’t at the Christmas party
Me: that’s your excuse
Further discussion interspersed with giggles; Mary is shocked but can see the funny side
Me: think you need to get a boyfriend to stop the rumors
We both agree this is the best course of action but easier said than done.

Mary has asked me to inform the German colleague the truth of the matter. I said I would but I plan to wait until the return journey home tomorrow as it could put a downer on the day – I feel even if the gossip is transcontinental, it is not ideal to inform the principle participant. Still I rarely laughed so much so I think it’s worth it.

Off again

Well, It's been almost 2 weeks so of course I'm off again. I'm going to England to the wedding of my former boss. Looking forward to it but I certainly didn't plan a relaxing weekend.

Friday
Arrive 7.05 jetlagged on econmony flight from Delhi
get taxi to friend's house
sleep (I hope)
meet friend for lunch
wander around London (shops, temperatures below 30C - can't wait)
go to exhibit in the tate
stay at friend's house

Saturday
get train to Exeter
persuade taxi to take me to a hotel in the middle of nowhere
check into hotel
iron clothes
shower
go to wedding
wedding fun, fun, fun :-)

Sunday
train back up to London
meet friend
meet brother-in-law's siser to go to pictures
head back to friend's house

Monday
wander around London with friend
have lunch
leave for heathrow
17.10 fly back to Delhi

Tuesday
arrive in Delhi 6.15 local time
go home
shower
go into work and face the mountain of work which will doubtless have grown in my absense.

But I'm Catholic, not Hindu so believe I only have one life of which to make the most!!

I'm fine

Just a quick post today. A number of people have asked me if I'm OK after the bomb attacks in Mumbai. I've never been to Mumbai and I suppose this makes me less likely to go. But anyway i just wanted to post to say I'm fine. Will post later in the week but better go and do some work now.

Wow it's hot

Wow, it’s hot

So it’s my first weekend in India for quite some time, since May 12th-13th to be exact. During the week, I am at work most of the day, where the air-conditioning is highly effective (perhaps too effective as I need additional clothing). Yesterday was Saturday, I woke early (before 7) in a lather of sweat despite my air-conditioning being on all night. I showered in cold water, but the “cold water” must have been about 50C. However it did the trick, as the water evapourated from my skin, I felt cold for the first time in hours. Alas the effect was temporary so I repeated the process approximately every 30 minutes. But the gods were not smiling on me because about 11.00, the power went out for about an hour. I still showered but worried that I may use up all the water in the water tank – and with no electricity, I have no means to replenish the supply. (Like so many things in India, I don’t fully understand why, but every day or so, I must turn on the water pump for about 20 minutes to fill my tank on the roof. It’s very important not to leave the pump on for too long or the motor may wear out. However once I left it on all day and luckily there was no adverse effect).

At 15.00 my driver arrived and a German colleague and I went shopping. Food shopping is a pretty major affair here, the supermarket being some distance away it usually takes 20 minutes to get there but it has taken me more than an hour when traffic is bad. But there is a supermarket there which is the best I have come across in India and they accept credit cards. After shopping we went for dinner in an Italian restaurant. Later than evening, I spent hours on the telephone catching up with friends, many of whom are now utterly confused by my fluid schedule. I think it’s the best Saturday I ever spent in Delhi, despite being a little bit sick and very very very hot

Today is Sunday and my driver has the day off. This means that really I cannot leave my apartment because
• There’s nothing interesting within walking distance apart from a hotel which involves crossing a very busy road (very adrenalin-inducing and not in a good way)
• People look at me strangely and I really don’t feel safe as I’m usually the only non-Indian and often the only woman
• It’s really hot – I sweat in air-conditioning even when I don’t move!!

I realized that this may be the first Sunday in my apartment when I’ve been well or at least not horribly sick. I cooked for only the 3rd time in India. It’s strange because I love cooking but India does not make it easy to cook. Let me talk you through washing a courgette (zucchini for the Americans)
• Fill bowl with filtered water and baby bottle wash
• Leave vegetable in water for at least 2 minutes but no more than 5 minutes
• Rinse at least twice in filtered water to remove all traces of bottle wash
• Dry with kitchen paper
Fortunately the results were worth the effort. But slaving over a hot stove doesn’t even being to describe the event; as mentioned previously it’s hot, my kitchen lacks air conditioning and I had the gas on.
Now it’s late (past midnight) and it’s still hot, so hot in fact I wonder whether sleep is possible. Also the second half of the world cup final is on and since I’ve watched no game this tournament, and it’s once every 4 years, perhaps I stay up a little bit longer

Back in India. again

So there was a serious campaign to understand my visa status involving a very kind official in the department of foreign affairs (a family friend), the US legal department of my company, Indian HR and the office of Michael Martin – my local TD. Various calls were made but on Thursday there was still no news. Even though my very indulgent parents installed broadband at home just so I could work from Cork, I struggled to be effective while working from Cork. So I decided to move forward my trip to Munich (originally scheduled for mid-July). Strangely enough the Indians would probably say prepone in this context but as far as I know prepone is not a word even though postpone certainly is (they do speak a strange form of English here – when was the last time you heard the word thrice?!!!). So I had my ticket to Munich booked and on Friday morning a very helpful girl from Micahel martin’s office called me and asked me to call somebody in the Indian embassy. I did so, to be told they were “having difficulty laying their hands on my application” and requested I resubmit. I couldn’t believe it – they were so rude and nasty and then they had managed to loose my application – at least I hadn’t left my passport with them. Outraged I called my sister

Me: can you believe it
Her: it happens
Me: I can’t believe you are so calm
Her: well you know the prosecutor lost the Brendan Smith file (High profile case of pedophile priest). Your application is less important. Stop complaining and resubmit
Me: Is there a special test so government officials can think like this
Her: I like to think it’s an acquired skill!!!
Me: I can’t believe we‘re related!!

This prompted a conversation comparing government agencies in different countries.

Most efficient
Illinois secretary of State – got state ID card in less than 10 minutes, driver license (including road and written test) in less than 3 hours.

Most quirky
British social welfare interviewed me before giving me a PRSI card. Strange thing was I first had to go in and make the interview in person and then a week alter the interview took place. They really had nothing to ask me but offered me tea. I reckon it could be there don’t get many outsiders in Plymouth!

Runner-up most efficient
You can get an Australian visa online – very cool

Most “this is my job”
In Munich, work permits are given out only in the mornings between 10 and 12 (God knows what the office does in the afternoon). Each office handles a different section of the alphabet. I went to O which was easily as about half of the applicants they get are from Ireland and they are familiar with the paper work. I was in and out in 30 minutes. However my colleague was in the P queue (logically right beside the O queue). However despite the fact the O queue was non-existent and the government official had no other work; nobody could leave the P queue to go to the O lady. It wasn’t just the O lady; I noticed the same thing with F.

China was remarkably unbureaucratic. I suppose it has to do with expectations but after having to get an official invitation letter for my 3 month multiple entry visa and filling up a special form (each visa has a different form – all very similar); I did not expect the visa processing lady to say – “you’re traveling to China a lot – do you want a 6-month multiple entry visa?” “Of course I do, thanks!”. A Chinese government official bending the rules in Germany – no bribes either – very unexpected

Going back to India, after all this blog is called a “year in India” and I don’t want to be in court fighting the trade descriptions act. The legal department in the US requested that I do not re-apply for the visa but to apply for a change of status in India. So I traveled back on the same visa I left with – now I will have to deal with Indian bureaucracy in India! Cn it be worse than in Ireland, I doubt it but as they ads say it is incredible India!!

Munich was very nice. Speaking with some colleagues that had also visited India, we came to the conclusion that the main problems for Helen are:
Helen is in Delhi
Helen is a woman on her own
I do think that if I were somewhere else other than Delhi, it would be better and if I didn’t have to work among a sea of Indian men, that I may be more positive about it. However I doubt anywhere in India will make me believe the hype that India is the “country of the future”. It reminds me of what my Brazilian friend says about Brazil – “brazil is and always will be the country of the future!”

Anyhow I’m only back for 2 weeks, and then I’m off to England for the weekend for a wedding. I know it seems like I’m never in India but I had already committed to the wedding, I want to go, the flight is reasonably cheap and I refuse to bend to Indian inefficiency!!

Before I sign off, I just to want to say that despite being a member of Fianna Fail, Michael Martin has my vote the next time I vote in Ireland (which may be a while away). Also the foreign affairs family friend was fab – it’s nice to have friends in high places