Finally settling in

Friends and Family-

It has been a crazy few weeks settling in and please forgive me for not being in touch as well as I have been.  Welcome to my blog.  I am still ironing out some rough spots, but want to get it up and running.

The first few weeks can be described as a combination of shock, excitement, annoyance, and fun.  The emotional roller coaster has been quite a ride.  The first few days I kept thinking "wow I am here, this is so cool!" The rain however, helped me get over that pretty fast and settle in to reality, where I was like "oh, I am really here.  Now what!?"

Week one I basically got comfortable with the neighborhood.  No store opens before like 11:30 which I thought was kind of strange.  I went to the mall near us to buy some stuff and was shocked that the stores were closed.  I knew Latin America was like this, but was surprised to find India like this.  I also got caught in a monsoon.  Was walking around checking out the neighborhood and the skies totally opened up on me. The rain is so strong here the drainage can't keep up so a few roads were like little creeks.   I was dripping and had to wring out my clothes when I got home.  It was actually hilarious.  My shoes shrank about a 1/2 size.  Totally fun.  In homage to mom I was singing "Singin' in the Rain" the rest of the day.  That is the highlight of week one.  it was shock, getting over jet lag, finding the little shops and getting to know my way around our little neighborhood.

You all know I am a very social person and week two I was eager to get out and meet people (I am an ENFP after all!) About that same time I came down with a cold, and found the A/C made me cough uncontrollable.  So I got to be inside not wanting to cough on people.  Additionally, the monsoons were still going in full force which really made it that much more difficult to go out.  So I basically slept and vegged.  I think I needed it after the whirlwind of the last month in DC packing up.  Luckily I got the rest I needed and nipped the cough and my tiredness in the bud.  Highlight of week two though was my first dinner party!  It was embassy people, two of whom are in sandip's direct office.  We had hummus, salad, couscous and lots of great company.  I was still a bit coughing person, but it turned out ok.  I also started going to the embassy gym.  They have decent equipment and are right next to the pool/restaurant/bar.  Lots and lots of people go in and out of there during the day, so I started a pattern I still keep which is go work out, take Hindi and study while eating some breakfast.  i don't know most of the people there during the day, but it is just nice to have them around.  totally cooky I know, but it is me.

Many of the people I meet during the day are like me-tag alongs to embassy workers.  We are called EFMs (extended family members).  Total social network.  Many of them have kids and are tied into a very active school.  I have met a few without kids-one woman just left a job at GAO to move here with her new (as of one month ago) husband.  So I am meeting some kindred spirits-tag alongs without kids but also have a professional career.    There is a huge formal social network here too: one aimed at Americans, one for all ex-pats in Delhi, and some that focus on particular hobbies.  Still searching for my niche, not many are focused on cycling.  I want to take dance and of course return to running, but still waiting for the injuries to heal...

We are starting to see parts of the city, and once I figure out how to post pictures that aren't tiny I will do so.  Apparently it is hard to see the one I have posted.

I'll be posting hopefully often, so they won't be this long, but more of a series of interesting little tidbits as they happen.  But this hopefully gives a small picture of how things were my first few weeks here.

Love and kisses to all!
Ang