Trip Number Two - The Rainy Season

The world has turned to mud and puddles. It is raining every day, sometimes very hard. One night we had a lightning and thunder show that was like the end of the world;I was told it was a very unusual for here.

My time at home, even though it was a little over three weeks went by so quickly. I prepared for this trip, packing additional creature comforts. Since I had so much trouble with the food on the last trip I brought a lot of food, 20 lbs. of food, I weighed it! I also brought a pad that is used under sleeping bags for sleeping on the ground. I have installed it on the bed here in the hotel and it has improved the bed a whole lot.

This has been a long trip, four weeks, and has been all work and no play. I have not had the opportunity to visit any interesting places on the weekend. It really has been raining so much that getting out and about on the weekend would not really be very much fun.

Everyone at work and at the hotel has been taking very good care of me, each day getting steamed vegetables brought in for my lunch and taking extra care in the hotel to make my stay pleasant. My colleague says that taking care of visitors comes naturally, that people here believe in "Atithi Devo Bhava", which is from the Sanskrit meaning, the guest is your Deity. It certainly has made this long stay more better, and I very much appreciated the kindness.

View out my window - its raining again

View out my window when it is MONSOON raining

Every day a new bottle of water - I am falling behind

Bed made softer - brought Sleeping bag air mattress

Comforts of Home- I brought my own food

A little kettle of lentils for the infirm

So how has it been going, you ask...
Work has been great, I have enjoyed it very much. Each day I bounce to work in the car and each day I return to the hotel. I really cannot venture out of the hotel, so I am either in the car, at work, or in the hotel. But I staying very busy and that is good.
The unfortunate thing that has happened is that my digestive system has totally given up. At first I thought it was the spicy food, but now I think that my western body has met an organism that it can not handle. The cipro tablets have been started. Meanwhile, it is difficult to decide what to eat that will actually stay with me. Tonight's dinner was a little kettle of lentil soup, called Dal Bukhara, described in the menu as a "traditional all time favorite black lentils cooked overnight on tandoor and finished with a butter cream swirl". This came by way of a room service tray, along with nam bread. You dish the lentils out of the kettle in to a ridiculously little bowl with a large spoon, then dip the nam bread in like a scoop and eat. Also arriving on the tray were two canned cokes. Yea!

So far, what are the most treasured things that I packed for the trip, you ask...
I would have to say the bar of hand-made soap given to me by a friend, the silk sleep sack, the deet insect repellent cream, my kindle and this blog which was lovingly created by my daughter for me to use, to write, and to stay in touch. Thank you sweet daughter.

So how is the weather... (you are tired of asking, i know)
The monsoon is upon us and serious puddling has started. Some times it drizzles, some times it is a torrent. The roadside grasses are green and the flowers and trees at work are beautiful. I saw several egrets on the lawn at work, they were beige and orange tan in color. Also, there is some bird, or I think it is a bird, that comes to the fire escape near my room each night at dusk and makes the strangest sound. My husband said it is a monkey, but he is just teasing me, I know it must be a tropical bird of some sort, and a large one because it is quite load.
Today is Saturday, and normally I would go in to work, but I am staying in the hotel today, still feeling a little green. I will also be here Sunday, go to work on Monday, then off to the airport on Tuesday.

Sunday outing to Baroda

Hot, dusty and windblown ...

Spidy Lilly

MONKEY

I spotted my first Monkey on the way back to the hotel from work last evening. He was hanging out under a parked truck, a rhesus monkey. He just stared at me, bouncing along in the mini van.
Life at the hotel is different from the guest house, more formal, but also a little more comfortable/western and probably better suited for me. I had dinner last night in the restaurant, with a colleague from the plant and I was able to get some local dish that was not so spicy. It was actually quite good, green peas and some minty greens in a cream sauce, and buttered Nam bread for scooping. As we started dinner I noticed out the window, in the throng of pedestrians and traffic, Muslim men in white tunics all hurrying in one direction. Then we began to hear the prayer songs from the mosque that must be right next door to the hotel, it was very clear and strong. It was sunset.

The grounds at the plant where I am working have some beautiful and exotic vegetation. I will try to see if I will be allowed to take some pictures. There are men clipping, tending and sweeping the grounds all day long. Sweeping, both outside for leaves and clippings, and inside for office floors is done using a 1 foot long bundle of wispy vegetation, tied together, with the sweeper person bent over at the waist, one hand on the small of the back, and one hand to the ground with the "broom". It is very graceful, but looks like it must be very tiring.
While walking from one building at work to another, I noticed an unusual set-up on an overhand over a door, it was a good size rock with a rope tied to it and the rope hanging over the side of the overhang. As I got closer I saw that the rope was tied around a flower pot on the ground, and the rope itself was being used as a trellis for a climbing plant. Ingenious.
At work, it has become clear now, that I cannot manage the spicy food for lunch. So each day they send to the hotel for boiled mixed vegetables and rice for me to eat. I really appreciate the effort and the kindness to my digestion. I eat an American or maybe it is called a British breakfast of eggs and toast, the special lunch, and then I can eat regular local cuisine for dinner.

So in a few minutes I will hop in the mini van, music blaring, and bounce through dusty but interesting streets to work. Some streets are not paved and in all cases we drive on either side of the road, whichever works for rapid forward motion.

Dinner of Peanut M&M ‘s

Yesterday was my first day at work and I truly enjoyed every person that I met. They are smart, articulate and will be excellent to work with for this project. When I started working with them I began to relax and feel more comfortable. Business is business everywhere around the world. But that is enough talking about work.

The ride to work was something on the order of “Crazy Taxi” as we hurled through the streets, potholes and traffic. No people died, no cows died, but I don’t know why.
In front of one store front was a long row of parked scooters and small motorbikes -- all parked in a neat row – except right in the middle of the row was a cow, laying down on the ground, pretending to be another scooter. I laughed out loud.
Children in their uniforms carrying rectangular satchels, larger than the upper part of their body were all moving in the same direction towards school. The school color must be red, they all have on red their pants and jumpers. Teenage school girls are wearing mint green long jumpers slit up the side over pants. They are smiling and laughing on the way home from school, they have back packs.

Tonight I say good-bye to the Guest House and move to the Hotel. The Hotel has Internet service and hopefully a softer bed. I am not sleeping because the bed is extremely hard.
I cannot eat any more spicy, turmeric, yellow food tonight, so I will dine on peanut M&M’s.

After Dinner Mint- take seeds from each and chew!

Geezer for hot water