Well folks, we arrived in India to find pretty much the same status as normal. The immigration line was long and most of the people working there had limited interest in helping. The gentlemen who stamped our passports had a wool headband on, so I figured that meant it was 'cold' outside which was a welcome finding. After collecting our bags, we ventured out of the airport to find the most glorious breeze. Temps have been low due to all the rain, so that is good news for me who never seems to catch a weather break here. Thank God headband guy knew what he was talking out.
My in-laws moved to the other side of town, which is great news when you want to shop or do almost anything BUT come from the airport. Luckily it was early morning, so traffic wasn't too bad, but the trip was upwards of an hour from the airport which was only moderately tolerable.
Shivali picked up some kind of bug in London so hadn't been feeling well our last day. Things took a turn for the worst once the plane landed and she tossed her cookies all over seat 28F. Luckily the flight attendants and most passengers were sympathetic to her, as she looks so sad and helpless. (That is until they discover her mess is made up of English sausage pieces and Orange juice)
Upon arriving at my youngest SIL and BIL's apartment, I found it to be very similar to the apartment they previously stayed at on the other side of town. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom- only one Western....(bah,bah,bah) and the good news is that the AC unit Roy bought for last year's wedding event was moved to this apartment and is located in the room we get to sleep in- score!
What I am also finding is the power and water is going out regularly, in typical Indian form. I am being informed this is unusual, but in my experience unexplained power outages are just everyday stuff that everyone works around. I am generally the only one who seems annoyed by this, but today my youngest SIL was quite irritated as she was getting ready for work with no available water. Don't blame her in the least, and I feel that much of the disfunction of India is perpetrated by the tolerant attitude of most people so I'm always a little happy to see someone putting up a stink about things I consider necessities of life. As usual, we adjust, luckily the cooler weather doesn't make the fan 100% necessary at all times which is good.
Shivali is still not feeling well as of this morning, so my BIL made plans for us to take her to a local Children's Hospital. I felt this was a little overkill until I got there and found out that doctors there take their appointments so they can make rounds, etc. which makes sense. I heard the horror stories of hospital sights while Roy's dad was sick in the hospital years ago, so I didn't quite know what to expect, but had to go with it because she definitely needed to see someone. Upon exiting the apartment building, I believe I found the source of all the power outages:
I looked for someone to alert, but construction sites (or what seems like a construction site) isn't always actively being worked and honestly the workers never seem that official, in their flip flops and dress pants so it isn't always easy to detect who is a would be worker, so I'm going to just assume they know and move on. I also spotted these 'houses' across the street from the apartment building we are staying at. My SIL said they were the construction worker's family homes that they setup when working locally. I simply cannot imagine staying there or how one would manage, but as normal I see a couple of ladies doing laundry outside and seeming to manage just fine. I'm guessing there isn't much of a bathroom situation inside or any comforts, which makes me feel quite sad.
As for the hospital, overall I was quite pleased. It was clean, modern and the children's area had a big mural of Frozen and had comfortable seating (Hint: you're going to wait) and the check in process wasn't too dreadful. It was well past 11 when we saw the doctor for our 10 am 'appointment'. He called us himself into a small room off the main waiting room- it appeared all the doctors had them which worked out fine. The room was air conditioned and comfortable. He spoke nicely and attended to Shivali is a knowledgeable and kind way, then quickly prescribed some meds for her viral infection and stomach issues. We walked down the hall to the pharmacy and before I knew it, we were off.
The transportation here is always fun, mostly we have been using a cab service you can quickly book online when you need it. Today's pickup was courtesy of Billy the Kid, who seemed to have not showered since 1997.
Luckily the trip home is fast and Shivali is feeling much better. Both my SILs and BIL are working today as a final day before the festival activities start, so we mostly slept the rest of the day and tried to get caught up from the jet lag. Hoping to get out and about this weekend and get some new material and adventure to report on!
My in-laws moved to the other side of town, which is great news when you want to shop or do almost anything BUT come from the airport. Luckily it was early morning, so traffic wasn't too bad, but the trip was upwards of an hour from the airport which was only moderately tolerable.
Shivali picked up some kind of bug in London so hadn't been feeling well our last day. Things took a turn for the worst once the plane landed and she tossed her cookies all over seat 28F. Luckily the flight attendants and most passengers were sympathetic to her, as she looks so sad and helpless. (That is until they discover her mess is made up of English sausage pieces and Orange juice)
Upon arriving at my youngest SIL and BIL's apartment, I found it to be very similar to the apartment they previously stayed at on the other side of town. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom- only one Western....(bah,bah,bah) and the good news is that the AC unit Roy bought for last year's wedding event was moved to this apartment and is located in the room we get to sleep in- score!
What I am also finding is the power and water is going out regularly, in typical Indian form. I am being informed this is unusual, but in my experience unexplained power outages are just everyday stuff that everyone works around. I am generally the only one who seems annoyed by this, but today my youngest SIL was quite irritated as she was getting ready for work with no available water. Don't blame her in the least, and I feel that much of the disfunction of India is perpetrated by the tolerant attitude of most people so I'm always a little happy to see someone putting up a stink about things I consider necessities of life. As usual, we adjust, luckily the cooler weather doesn't make the fan 100% necessary at all times which is good.
Shivali is still not feeling well as of this morning, so my BIL made plans for us to take her to a local Children's Hospital. I felt this was a little overkill until I got there and found out that doctors there take their appointments so they can make rounds, etc. which makes sense. I heard the horror stories of hospital sights while Roy's dad was sick in the hospital years ago, so I didn't quite know what to expect, but had to go with it because she definitely needed to see someone. Upon exiting the apartment building, I believe I found the source of all the power outages:
I looked for someone to alert, but construction sites (or what seems like a construction site) isn't always actively being worked and honestly the workers never seem that official, in their flip flops and dress pants so it isn't always easy to detect who is a would be worker, so I'm going to just assume they know and move on. I also spotted these 'houses' across the street from the apartment building we are staying at. My SIL said they were the construction worker's family homes that they setup when working locally. I simply cannot imagine staying there or how one would manage, but as normal I see a couple of ladies doing laundry outside and seeming to manage just fine. I'm guessing there isn't much of a bathroom situation inside or any comforts, which makes me feel quite sad.
As for the hospital, overall I was quite pleased. It was clean, modern and the children's area had a big mural of Frozen and had comfortable seating (Hint: you're going to wait) and the check in process wasn't too dreadful. It was well past 11 when we saw the doctor for our 10 am 'appointment'. He called us himself into a small room off the main waiting room- it appeared all the doctors had them which worked out fine. The room was air conditioned and comfortable. He spoke nicely and attended to Shivali is a knowledgeable and kind way, then quickly prescribed some meds for her viral infection and stomach issues. We walked down the hall to the pharmacy and before I knew it, we were off.
The transportation here is always fun, mostly we have been using a cab service you can quickly book online when you need it. Today's pickup was courtesy of Billy the Kid, who seemed to have not showered since 1997.
Luckily the trip home is fast and Shivali is feeling much better. Both my SILs and BIL are working today as a final day before the festival activities start, so we mostly slept the rest of the day and tried to get caught up from the jet lag. Hoping to get out and about this weekend and get some new material and adventure to report on!
Glad to hear Shivali is feeling better, I would hate to see that cutie sick.
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