I want to go to there

Holi Cow Music Festival March 1st

Girl in Copenhagen

I am in Copenhagen, Denmark for the next three weeks sans Matt :-( ....  I am working from our Denmark office and trying my best to stay warm!  It is about as cold here as it is hot in Mumbai.  It has been snowing for days and it looks like a veritable winter wonderland.  I couldn't resist taking a few pictures it looks so festive...

Cleaning House

Our maid started Monday and much hilarity has ensued since she first arrived.  Apparently, when the maid said she could understand "some" English...that meant 5 words of English....interesting.  Monday we went to the store to buy groceries, just me and the maid.  When we arrived I realized that I had no idea what ingredients are needed to cook Indian food.  So, we just stared at each other for a little while until a kindly security guard offered to translate.  He told her that she could just get whatever ingredients she needed to cook meals for the week.  This also posed a problem as she wasn't entirely sure what we American's ate. :-)  She spent a couple minutes roaming the aisles pointing at various foodstuffs and asking, "yes?", until the guard caught up to us and explained to her that we Americans wanted to eat Indian food (a shocking revelation)!  Then we were off to buy all of the lovely ingredients to make a nice curry.  All in all it is quite nice coming home to a clean house with dinner in the fridge...but communication is a bit of a problem.  Generally,  she understands the exact opposite of what I am trying to tell her.  Thank goodness for my Indian colleagues and friends who offer to translate when I pass the phone!

Maid in Heaven

Monday morning our new maid starts.  She will come seven days a week to cook, clean, and do laundry.  She speaks only a few words of English.  As a westerner, this is strange to say the least.  Monday morning we (the maid and I) go to the grocery to go shopping for spices and the like.  This should be interesting...stay tuned for more updates.

The Dream Team

Belated Navratri pics of the team from work.  What a nice looking crew!  :-)

Diwali Lights

Happy Diwali!

Last weekend we had the pleasure of experiencing the festival of Diwali.  This holiday is known as the festival of lights and celebrates the triumph of good over evil.  In the Hindu religion this festival celebrates the return of the Lord Rama to his kingdom after his 14 year exile in the jungle.  Upon his return Lord Rama was able to defeat the evil demon Ravana.  The people of the kingdom lit lamps to celebrate the return of their lord and today this tradition is continued as people across India light small oil lamps to celebrate the holiday.  Diwali is a national holiday in India and a time when families and friends gather together to celebrate.  This festival also marks the start of the new year in the Hindu calendar.  To an American this festival is a bit like a mix between Christmas and the 4th of July on steroids.  There were literally fireworks going off all day every day for four days.  And not bottle rockets my friends, these were huge, massively dangerous fireworks.  The kind you should be at least 200 ft away from but for some reason in India it is OK to stand 10 feet away from because, "hey, everyone else is doing it!"  Yet, despite the lack of sleep and omnipresent threat of third degree burns it was an amazing festival and one that we will always remember as our first DIWALI IN INDIA! Pictures to follow (of course :-D)...

Monkey Hill

India is full of monkeys.  Monkeys are the sacred representation of the Hindu god Hanuman.  Due to their status as a sacred animal they are free to roam throughout cities and towns across India in relative safety.  We were lucky enough to see some of these carefree primates on the side of the road on the way to Pune last weekend.  The monkeys were quite fearless and were so close I could have touched them!  They gather at this roadside spot, called "Monkey Hill", in the mornings and the evening hoping to be offered food by curious tourists.

Spice Market

Last week I was in Pune, a nearby city, for work.  Pune is about a three hour drive from Mumbai and on the way my colleague and I decided to stop at a local spice market and stock up.  It was a bustling market and the spices were quite cheap....about 37 rupee for a kilogram of sugar...i.e. less than a dollar for 2.2 pounds.  There were also a few shopkeepers selling festival decorations.  The colors were amazing....check out the below :-)

Secret Garden

Last weekend Matt and I discovered a lovely little garden behind our building.  Completely random and wonderful in a city where space is at a premium.  I have included some pics below.

Moving Up...Literally

Sorry blog...I have neglected you. But I am back with a vengance. I will start off with last week. On Tuesday, November 2nd, Matt and I sucessfully moved into our new place! We are now residents of Hiranandani Gardens Powai, Mumbai. I have included a couple pictures of our bed and our living room. It took me about an hour to figure out how to use the washing machine, two days to figure out how to get hot water in the shower, and I have yet to figure out the counter-top range attached to an ominous red gas cylinder under counter. We are on the 20th floor and with one elevator are forced to spend a considerable amount of time riding in a crampled space with about 15 people. A maximum suggested number of people in the elevator (or any space for that matter) does not exist here. We have been accosted by several maids in the building trying to offer us their services in Hindi but have yet to actually pick one. However, the house is getting dirtier and we are getting busier! So, we might have to break down and get a maid that we will be completely unable to communicate with :-)...aside from the word "clean."