Happy New Year

So it's 10:30am on New Years day here... and we just got off the phone with some friends in time to watch a live video stream of the ball dropping in in Times Square, NYC.

As some of you know, we have a groundskeeper/caretaker and his family who live in the servants quarters on the property. The family has 3 kids, two young ones and one teenage/university age. Anyway, this morning, Morigesh was anxious to show me something when I took the dog out for her morning biological necessity.

They had made a New Years greeting at our front gate with colored chalk (and another at our front door). Here is a photo of the one at the gate (including the caretaker, and the three children) for your New Years pleasure.

Travel Planning

As most of you know, one of the reasons to go on this crazy adventure was to be able to do some world travelling. So Mel, the kids, and I have sat down and given some thought to our 2010 travel ideas. Should be a year chock full of travel goodness.

I was so taken with Singapore that we've decided to go there first with the whole family in January. We can celebrate January birthdays (Mel, Mackenzie, and I), and get a super booster shot of western convienences and sights/sounds. There is supposed to be a decent zoo, something called a night safari, and shopping to you drop (or until you are broke -- Singapore is not cheap!)

Here is what we are tentatively planning for the rest of 2010.

• March (Easter break) - Hong Kong and Beijing. A few days at Hong Kong Disney, and then to Beijing to see China, the Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc...
• June - A stop in Europe on the way home, start in Frankfurt, and try to catch Paris, London, and/or maybe one other spot. Sort of depends on the train schedules and the distances, but maybe a day or two in Italy, Spain or Austria.
• October - (Diwali) - Egypt to see the pyramids and a short trip to the Holy Land.
• November - weekend trip to Dubai.
• December - Singapore for a few days around Christmas, hopefully Mel's parents will be here and we can all go together.

Other places we'd like to go are Australia/New Zealand, Thailand (Bangkok/Phuket), South Africa, and the Maldives. Looks like we'll have a hard time fitting it all in before returning home in 2011. What I am really shooting for is to accumulate enough frequent flyer miles and hotel points to subsidize a family trip to Hawaii in 2012 after we return from the assignment.

Happy New years. Talk to you in 2010!

Merry Christmas!

Well, hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. On Christmas eve, for something to do, we made a little trip a couple hours south to Pondicherry. Pondicherry is an old French town on the southeast coast of India. The buildings etc... all have a very mainland Europe feeling. It's a popular spot for eating at French restaurants, etc... On the way, we stopped by Mahabalipuram. It has lots of Hindu temples that date to 900 A.D.

For the visually curious... here are some photo's.

Unfortunately, on the car ride back home, Elle got sick. We knew it couldn't be food, since her and Noah, and Mackenzie all ate the same, so we just assumed it was a little card sickness. Driving in India (even on the fairly open road), is not for those with weak stomachs.

On Christmas day, we discovered that Santa Claus was able to find us in India, as we all had a wonderful time opening our gifts. I remarked to Melanie that this was really only one of two Christmases we would get this year, as I am sure that when our stuff shows up, it will certainly feel like Christmas all over again.

Unfortunately, Elle's illness carried over to Christmas day, so the fancy lunch/dinner we had planned in Chennai did not work out. We actually made it all the way there and inside before it was announced that she was going to be sick again. After a short trip to the bathroom, we called Wahid and he came back around to get us. We hastily made a plan B which consisted of a quick trip to the grocery and a stop by Domino's pizza for a couple of pizzas and breadsticks. Maybe a new holiday tradition? Hard to say, but we all got back home to play with our toys, and Elle seems to be feeling much better now.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

P.S. Mackenzie has started her own blog, for those interested, you can find it here.

The (Hartland) Eagle(s) has Landed

Well, believe it or not, my wife actually got on a plane with our three kids and flew half-way around the world to live in a third world country for two years...

I imagine that you are just as surprised as I was, but you couldn't possibly be more excited :-)

So for your viewing pleasure, here they are, watching some Christmas shows, just like home...

Welcome to Singapore

Update-- a few photos of Singapore... Lots of pictures of Christmas decorations, they were really impressive, plus lots of Western stuff (24 hour Starbucks, etc... I think Singapore was more "western", than most places in the US.
---
I am in Singapore today, and just let me say this... Singapore is sweet! It's almost like that little community in Florida that Disney developed turned into a big city. The city is pretty good sized, but there are virtually no traffic issues, it is so clean that I swear you could eat off the streets. The people are friendly and the whole thing is just so orderly, neat, and well planned that I cant get over it. Sorry that I don't have any pictures to post, but by the time I got out of work it was dark and a little rainy. Maybe I can get some tomorrow before I go. Mel and the kids will definitely enjoy this place as a little break from India, some weekend over the next year or so!

Another week in India

Well, here it has been another week and no blog posting all week long! I have loads of excuses... as Jim Belushi once told Carrie Fisher ...

"I ran outta gas! I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab
fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from
outta town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood!
Locusts!! It wasn't my fault"

Well, it was a busy week. Here are a few nuggets from India -- with prices, just to give you some idea about the difference in economics here.
I got the satellite television installed yesterday. It is Tata Sky+ and it's very exciting. It has at least 20 channels out of like 150 that I can actually understand. Here's the fun part, I signed up for the biggest package they have, at a whopping cost of about $10/month. I think there is a discount if you pay for the full year up front. I am looking into that...
The house was full of people yesterday all day as I had some painters here, and a plumber on-site. I am having Noah's room re-painted (it was pink and purple), and I just couldn't live without hot water in the kitchen sink. So three painters for three days (labor only) will cost you something like $50.
And the plumber? Well, he was here for about 9 hours yesterday, I had him do the hot water for the kitchen sink, and then I went and bought a new hot water tank for the upstairs showers (yes, they each have their own separate heaters), and had him install it. He was actually quite good. He got $30 for the days work, but I think a large chunk of that went to his boss.

Well, that's all for now. Next week is the the BIG WEEK! Mel and the kids arrive late Friday night! I will also be in Singapore for a couple of days (Tuesday and Wednesday). Seems like our sea shipment is set to arrive on January 6th, so I need to run out today and pick up a few things that we will need once everybody gets here.

Christmas Presents!

So what an exciting week! First the dog, now, ACTUAL STUFF from home. The air shipment arrived today. See?

There was the unloading...

And the stacking in the house. How appropriate, right next to the Christmas tree that I just put up last night (the tree is borrowed).

In no time it was full on mutimedia extravaganza. :-)

I was so happy I put on a little Harry Connick Jr. Christmas music and decorated the tree! No kidding, see!!

The Eagle has Landed...

Er, well more precisely the dog. Believe it or not, and the dog has managed to arrive in Chennai after two days of travel touching 3 continents. Here is the picture to prove it.She doesn't look to be any worse for the wear.

Bachelor life...

So I have given up the (sort of) rough bachelor life for the much easier bachelor life... :)
This is due to the maid tandem that is now showing up here to clean, do laundry, and cook dinner... as Ferris Bueller once famously quipped...

"It's so choice... I highly recommend it if you have the means."

I was skeptical of them at first, but so far they have done well, especially in the dinner department. It seems like any hope I had of losing weight has now gone completely out the window. Last night was fried chicken and mashed potatoes, tonight -- some sort of vegetable pasta, I know that sort of sounds healthy, but from the taste of it, it was certainly not... I recognize that taste of butter and cheese... mmmm

The real problem now is that the house is pretty much clean, and my laundry pretty much done and I only spend about 4-5 (waking) hours a day here, and I'm the only one, so starting tomorrow I am not super sure what they will do here, but I sure hope that dinner will be good.

The installation and repair work around the house continues, even without me as Wahid (driver) will be my manager tomorrow, to make sure the plumber shows, as well as the pest control folks... we have these little lizards around the house, which are supposed to be good to control insects. I was OK with them at first, but they seem to be getting more commonplace, so I've done the American thing and opted for chemicals to control both the insects and the lizards...

Blogging is hard...

So, you may have noticed that it's been a week since my last blog entry. I promise to do better. Maybe it's because life is settling down a bit here and not everything seems so strange. Funny how that can happen in just three weeks. Here are some highlights of last week:

• Made my first trip to McDonalds. It's actually quite close to the office, so I stopped on my way home one evening. No hamburgers served of course, but the chicken nuggets and french fries should be enough to satisfy the kids when they get here. Just for your amusement, here is the menu.
• Had a Thanksgiving meal at the Park Hotel. The turkey and the pecan pie were pretty close. The rest of it... not so much. I will likely try to book us in there for Christmas Day as well. Met a guy there with his family. He was from the Detroit area, and recently moved to Chennai. He used to be in automotive, but moved to Chennai to work in textiles.
• Had a lasagne dinner with an eclectic bunch... Five Brits, two Germans, a Scot, a Chinese and two Americans (including me). I know, it sounds like the beginning of a "...walks into a bar..." joke, but it was really fun and I hope to do it again soon.
• I bought some appliances. An "American sized" refrigerator, a cooktop (4-burner - gas range with no oven), washing machine (with built in dryer), a "bubbler" -- basically a water cooler, a satellite TV box, a "geyser" -- basically a miniature electric water heater... I'm having it installed so that we have hot water in our kitchen sink. The combination microwave, toaster oven, convection oven should be in next week. I ordered the biggest I could find, and since it's new the place didn't have any yet. In true Indian fashion, they were delivered at midnight on Saturday... approximately 28 hours after their original delivery time promise. The installations are supposed to finish tomorrow.
• I made the mistake of watching the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving (in India or the US, some habits die hard...)
• "Interviewed" some domestic help... well they showed up here and I sent them to the store for supplies and boy did they oblige, just like you might expect when you are spending someone elses money. To be honest they probably really did need all that stuff just to make a dent in this "bachelor pad." They are supposed to start cooking and cleaning tomorrow. My goal is to have it cleaned up nicely for when my family arrives.

That's all folks.

A walk and a swim.

Yesterday, another expat from the office came down to the house and we went and had some lunch at Fisherman's Cove, about 10 minutes south of our house here in India. We had also intended to see a movie. There is a movie theater less than a mile from me also called the Mayajaal. They show English as well as Tamil and Hindi language movies. "2012" is playing and we thought that we would pop in to see it. Well, that didn't happen, as the shows were all sold out. Apparently, this is a pretty popular movie... Also interesting about the movies here is that you have assigned seating... when you get your ticket, the seating is also assigned. You can buy them online also (and get a ticket and a seat). Oh well, maybe I'll try for a movie again next weekend.

So not much to blog about today (Sunday). My driver hasn't had a day off since I arrived, so I told him not to bother coming today. I went for a swim in the pool, the weather has been so nice. Today about 86 degrees, but being near the ocean, I am not getting quite the humidity I expected. Or maybe it's just the season. It is winter after all, so maybe the humidity is a summertime thing.

Also, I decided to take a walk down to the Ocean. It was interesting, and not very far (maybe a 10 minute walk) -- the road we are on dead ends into the beach. Here are a couple of pics of the beach and the Bay of Bengal that you might like.

PSA for Workplace Safety

OK kids, this is a picture out of my 7th floor office window. First of all, I was a little surprised to see scaffolding up this afternoon when I returned to my office. No big deal I guess, nor am I really sure what they are doing, but whatever... Then I notice something uniquely Indian about this situation...

Notice how there is no safety equipment (like a harness) to be seen? Not only can you not see any, there isn't any. Also, do you notice anything about the guy up top? That's right, he's not even wearing any shoes.

And there were at least 6 guys like this (no shoes/equipment) climbing all over this scaffolding. They were setting it up, as they were passing the poles back and forth, up and down.

So I'm guessing that there is no I-OSHA, and if there is they really have their work cut out for them.

Don't. Judge. Me.

Ok, so I am brimming with bloggy goodness tonight. Probably because I actually ate some food today. I had to go back to the immigration office and get my final approval (for one year). So while I was in town, I went to Sparky's. I'll let you read the web-site for yourself, but Sparky's is like a run-down family restaurant in the USA, transplanted to Chennai and it's the closest thing (really close actually) to American food you can get. So I actually had a meal...

On the way back we went right past Amma Naana, and Wahid asked me if I wanted to stop. At first I said no, then at the last minute yes... Let me just say that I was really weak... I NEEEDED some food that I could eat. So, $60 later... here is a photo of what I got.

11 items... what, you may ask really broke the bank? Two things... see that maple syrup there? Imported straight from our friends in Canadia, $16. Likewise the package of 6 rolls of paper towels... $16. Now I know this is exhorbitant, but I really needed these things... Don't judge me.

Anyway, by the time I got home tonight I was still high from lunch, so I decided to go for a swim. Now, I haven't done this so far, because it's either been raining or I haven't had the energy. But for all the flaws here, it is really beautiful at our house. The house is really neatly landscaped and at night it lights up and looks just amazing. Wahid has asked Morigesh to turn on the lights in the evening so it is all lit up when I get home.

If you can see it, the fountain in front of the house is on.

I asked to have the pool lights turned on and here is a picture... I went for a swim, it was a clear night and I would say about 82 degrees or so, but not too humid. At night there is actually a breeze from the ocean, and in the pool, I could hear the ocean surf (Bay of Bengal) just to the east. It was pretty cool.

Monday Quick Hits

Kenny G is playing in the elevators, in the office building here... I am on the 7th floor, so I get to hear it quite alot. Now it's not like the whole Kenny G catalog, quite the opposite, actually, it's about 20 seconds of a refrain from "Breathless" over and over and over.

I went to the ATM today. It was quite a thrill, on the ATM receipt, my US account balance was shown in Rupees.

Lastly (although it doesn't have anything to do with India), what did I tell you a couple days ago. John Gruden is the man!

That's it. Time to get back to watching pre-recorded games from this weekend on nfl.com.

Sunday, Rainy Sunday...

The rain over the last 36 hours could best be described as "biblical", how appropriate, since today is Sunday! Last night was not so good. Hard bed, thunderstorms, no bedding, no food... nothing a little money can't fix, so today I went shopping (again). Today's choice was the "City Centre" mall. This is the largest, most modern, cleanest shopping center in Chennai. got some new pillows, blankets, dishes, snacks...

Now shopping here is rather interesting. Even in a big store, such as the ones I was in today, you always get some "help". This consists of store personnel following you around with a basket or bag, and if you pace back and forth when you shop, like I do, then they are continuously trying to get out of your way.

Unlike in the US, where you can't get anyone to help, you practically trip over these folks, only problem is that they don't speak English -- so you can't hardly ask them anything... I don't think I'll ever get used to it... I wonder what they are thinking about me?

Oops, power just went out... literally, as I am typing this. The only light in the house now is the glow from the laptop screen and blinky light on the USB Wireless ethernet card (gotta love technology). So now I am typing to you in the dark. Oh, there is the faint sound of the generator. And there it is blink... blink... lights are back on.

Ding dong... it's the caretaker. Boy, he REALLY doesn't speak any English. Near as I can tell, his name is "Morigesh", and he wants me to buy him a flashlight, which I would be happy to do, if only I knew where to get one. He has to switch the generator on manually everytime the power goes out (which has been pretty often in the last couple of days), and quite often after dark. The generator is way up in the front of the property, near the wall, which is nice, so you don't really hear it when it's running, but I'm sure having a flashlight would really help him.

Huh, power out again. I don't hear the generator any more... I know it isn't fuel, since I just filled it. Maybe he is switching it back? It has only been a few minutes. Blink come the lights again, and I still don't hear the generator, so that's good we'll save the diesel.

Ding Dong... Morigesh again. He seems to want to give me a report each time he does something, except that I don't understand him and he doesn't understand me... so I am not really sure what he is reporting. Oh well...

Well, I made it through one weekend. Hopefully Mel will at least be able to send the dog next week. I could use a little company here in this house.

Moving into the Mango Palace (Part I)

So, I have missed blogging for a few days, time flies when you are having fun. I should learn to make smaller posts. Here is the current deal, I am in our new house tonight. Here is a photo to prove it... I am typing on that computer right there on that little glass table, you can't see me because, well, I am the only one here, and someone had to take the photo. I am coming to you courtesy of a broadband cellular card and India's ever developing infrastructure.

I made it to the house today and made it to a local grocery to pick up a few provisions. Tomorrow, I will head out and look for some more provisions and a few household goods that I didn't really plan for, such as a kitchen trash can and some bath towels.

It rained today. And for real, it rained, and there was thunder and lightening. At one point, it sounded like one struck right outside the house, and I got to learn two fantastic facts about this house 1)The generator works! Seriously, that is not the electrical company's fault. If lightening had struck that close to our house in Michigan, I would expect the power to go out even there. After a couple hours it was back, but no worries, there is plenty of diesel in the generator. Wahid and the caretaker even went out to get some more. 2) the house seems to be watertight. I got a text message from a colleague of mine here in India who said simply, "If your house leaks, you'll know it now". Good news... no leaks.

So there is no concept of drainage in India. When it rains, even just a little bit, everything floods. I thought we would need a powerboat to get out of the road in front of the grocery. But that little Ford Fiesta did us proud.

I thought Wahid would not like driving all the way out here, but I don't think he minds it so much. At one point I actually thought he was enjoying sitting and the peaceful view from our front yard. The fountain in front of the house even works! I'll try to post some more photos of that tomorrow.

For the still curious, here is a shot of the kitchen... You can still see some of the things that I procured today on the counter... some "special" bread -- it says that on the packaging. Not real sure what makes it special, but maybe I don't want to know.

Power to the um.. people

So I am sure there will be many little India moments in the coming months/years... Here's a little one for today, before I forget it. I noticed that the lights in my office will just turn off once in a while. The only reason that my brain can rationalize that is that there must be a motion sensor somewhere that is not being kept engaged. I had operated on that assumption until today when it happened with someone else in my office. I must have had a funny look, because that person said to me "oh don't worry, that is just the power going out... they are either switching to the generator or back from the generator". Today's lesson: don't assume. :-)

Oh, just another little observation for today, from my desk I can hear a rooster crowing somewhere... often. No kidding, and I am on the 7th floor (top of the building), maybe it's on the roof, or someones cell phone (reference above regarding assumptions). That's a mystery that I'll have to solve another time.

Good Morning... Are you ready for some football?

A Monday night, er um... Tuesday morning party.

It's about 8am, I've already had my breakfast, and I have a little time (about an hour -- Indian time of course, more on that later) until my driver comes. So what else, a little Monday night football (streaming live from NFL.com). The quality is surprisingly good. Not only are my Steelers are playing, but I need Big Ben to score some points so that I can beat Noah in Fantasy Football. BTW, I leave the country for a few days and all of a sudden, Ty Law is back in football? For the Bronco's no less?

One last thing, I would like to give my public endorsement for John Gruden in the MNF booth. He seems to like Denver a little much tonight, but for my money, he is probably the best new analyst to come in a long time, and certainly the best among the converted coaches... those mush brained idiots that gave Matt Millen a job being an analyst should take note.

The Time Travellers Wife

So Mel bought a book on Friday called The Time Travellers Wife... I have no idea what the book is about, but right now, as I stare at the ceiling, I am thinking it should be called the Time Zone Travellers Wife. The trouble with time zones, is that mother nature is quite clear on the point of time zones, what with the earth spinning and all, causing the sun go up and down in different places all the time, and she is not too happy when you try to break the rules.

So here's how this goes on the trip to India. You start off with this big virtual 40 hour travel day (about 30 hours actual time), first chasing the sun east to Germany, and then running away from it on the rest of the way to Chennai. You have a strategy, you try to sleep at certain times, be awake others, etc... in the end, its a bit like being unpopular in Salem, MA in about 1692 as you will be punished no matter what you do.

So in order to get back on track, you reason, I'll stay up as late as I can on the first night, so I will sleep, and you do until you can't stand it any more, I mean you feel physically ill from exhaustion. This happens by about 8pm, then you force yourself to stay up until 9pm.

So now its 1am and my body is thanking me for the 2.5 hour nap I just gave it, and it would very much like to have some lunch now.

That nature is a real mother.

Welcome to India (again)

Well, I successfully travelled from Detroit to Chennai once again. Have I mentioned to you all how far away India really is? So you are going like 500-600 MPH and it still takes 18 hours... ugh. I am in my temporary living hotel room - a place called the Lemontree. Not quite as nice as the one we stayed in on the pre-assignment trip, but it will do just fine as it has a good shower, good bed and good A/C. I brought a camera so I could post pictures, but I don't have the right cable/card reader with me, so I'll have to try to pick one up, maybe today if I can. The hotel people failed to pick me up at the airport last night, so I had to negotiate my own taxi... it was interesting as there are guys who just hang aroung outside the airport, trying to "help" you, and they are super aggressive etc... Well, I ended up letting this guy help, but he was expecting a "US sized" tip (like maybe $5), and he got more of an "Indian sized" tip (more like 50 cents), so he was not especially happy. I think as an American, you should get some kind of tatoo or something that says "I live here -- please don't try to rip me off". :-)

Ready or Not...

So this is my last blog posting on this side of the Atlantic. In about 20 minutes, I'll be headed to the airport to go east! Our house has been rented on a 2-year lease to a (hopefully) nice woman and her children. The house will get packed up on 11/18 and the family will be coming in December. The play was a great success and the football team ended 9-0. More updates in a couple days.

So now the main question on everyones mind seems to be... are you excited to be leaving for India? Well, I am at the spot where I am ready to get this show on the road. I got my last vaccination today (well until the spring), I also received my electronic tether yesterday. Yup, Blackberry "World Edition". It means the company never has to wonder "where in the world is Charles?"... they can just call me.

I am also trying to soak up some flavor of the local business and social climate. I did read a fascinating (or at least I thought so, since I am a tech and business model nerd) WSJ Article on how innovation in India has focused on the poor and the interesting business models that it is driving.

The football team is now 8-0, the acting debut is still 11/6, and I am STILL headed to India on 11/7.

Moving... Moving... Moving

So moving is the word of the day kids. Can you say "moving"? Do all you boys and girls know what a pain in the tail it is to move? Of course you do! So, independent of India, moving is a pain. Had a couple of days off early in the week to help prep up the big "moving sale". Some pretty decent suff in there is I do say so myself. I decided to part with some electronics, and Mel is departing with some cool crafty items... All to just buy new for both of us I'm sure, but in the name of streamlining our stuff. Things are really starting to move along on other fronts as well. The house in India is under contract (rental). My work Visa has been approved, so I am legal to work in India. My sons football team is 6-0, and my daughters acting debut is 11/6 -- I will leave for India on 11/7.

Just a post to let you know that I haven't forgotten that I have a blog to maintain! Last couple of weeks have been filled with the mundane. An expense report, several "policy clarifications", paperwork for the employment visa, medical exams, the "official" announcement etc... Out of all this, where we ended up with a "plan" (quoted since nothing is final until it actually happens). The plan is that I will plan to go at the beginning of November and Mel and the kids will join in December, before Christmas. Next up, figuring out how to pack up a house and move it to India.

For your viewing pleasure...

Two postings in one day... must be the jetlag! Here are some photo's for your viewing pleasure.

First the house.

Here is a picture from the top of the "Mango House", so named for the abundance of mango and other trees on the property. Good pic, you can kind of see the driveway and the front gate.I chose this as the first one to show, because it most explains why we chose this particular house. We looked at some larger houses (like the massive beach house), and some houses with some cooler features (like the "nightclub" house with a 3 story chandelier and a sitting room/bar 3 stories up witha 270 degree view, overlooking the sea), but this particular one is a little more secluded, and just "tropical". See how (even from the roof) when you look out, it just looks peaceful and it is so quiet... Most of Chennai is hot, dirty and noisy. This is still hot (can't do anything about that), but feels like a real sanctuary for our family. Anyway, here are some more.

Good picture of the pool area.

Here is the front entrance of the house (that's also the front of an India spec Ford Fiesta):

View into the kitchen from the dining room.

Family room.

etc... etc... you get the idea.

Here are a couple more India pics.

Obligatory India "cow on the side of the road" picture. Yes, you really do see them quite often. Also goats, dogs, and various other little friends.

This is pretty much what it looks like everywhere in Chennai on the side of the road, just little shack-like shops selling everything from tires to food to clothes.

Proof that you can get western goods in Chennai... See that little box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? About $3.50! Hopefully we'll learn to like the local food, otherwise, I'll be broke in India.

Subway -- "Eat Fresh". :-) We did eat at this one (and some other Subways), pretty good! We also saw KFC, Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut.

That's all for now. Time for bed.

Were Baaack

Looked at my last post and haven't updated since Wednesay, we'll, time flies when you are travelling the globe... So here's the update for those of you who didn't see us at Noah's game on Saturday evening or at church this morning.

We settled on a house... we had called it the Mango house. We re-looked at many houses on Thursday, but couldn't get into that one again until Friday. Nice place, the Ocean Breeze was bigger and right on the ocean, but in the end it just wasn't quite right. The house we chose is still close to the Ocean (Bay of Bengal), but is sort of tucked into it's own little tropical paradise. :-) I will post some photo's soon of the house as well as some generic India photo's.

Travel time back to the US was about 24 hours. We left at about 2am (local time -- or 4:30 at home) and landed in the US at 4:30 in the afternoon, just in time to go straight to Noah's game.

Still feeling pretty jet lagged. Try to get some photo's up yet tonight.

Castles and Kebobs

So... how to describe yesterday and today? Well, we probably looked at 15 houses and 7 or 8 apartments. Also we had dinner with some soon to be friends (colleague of mine in my new job) and had another dinner at the "Kebob Factory"... Well, I tell you that I reccomend the meal at the house, over the kebob factory. There were things there that even I couldn't force myself to eat at the Kebob Factory, seriously, it was really, really different.

To keep all the houses straight, we had to give them all unique names -- lizard house, jolly dog house, new house, the nightclub, well, you get the idea. In the end we settled on a short list of 6 and a short-short list of 3. The 3 houses are pretty amazing. Ocean Breeze, Mango, and New house. We have kicked off negotiation on the Ocean Breeze (our first choice) since is a little out of our price range.

Also today we visited the school where the kids will be attending. OH MY goodness. What a fantastic place. It was seriously like something out of a movie. The kids are going to love that place. I immediately wished I could spend my days there! It is really going to be great for the kids, I am sure of it. So a good but exhausting 2 days.

Welcome to India

Well, technically this post is about 22 hours late, since we arrived last night (local time). Spent the day at the office filling out paperwork (yawn). Could probably do a whole blog post on filling out the application for a bank account... and signatures. The Indians are REALLY into their paperwork. One guy we met today says he blames that on their British heritage... take that for what you will. So here is the main thing that I want to get across to you all... the driving (or in our case -- riding in the back while someone else drives) is nearly indescribable. Anarchy doesn't begin to describe it... anarchy is too organized for what this is. This is more like anarchy wrapped in chaos with a heaping scoop of insane on top. Seriously, I will NEVER think of driving the same way again... Tomorrow is house hunting, maybe we can get some pictures posted.

Go.

I got word yesterday that the 30% chance officially turned in to 100%. Our visas came in and Mel and I are officially going to India on Saturday for a week. Just 193 more little details between now and then and we'll be off. Most critical item on the agenda next week will be finding a place to live. I have heard some real horror stories about the search/process (but all end happily, thankfully).

Ready. Set.

So yesterday was my first official contact from the folks who handle the "outbound" portion of the assignment. Whew! Lots and lots of information (my head is still spinning). Still trying to get to India on August 29, but that will depend entirely on the visa process. Should have a better idea in a couple of days.

Not Right Now, Right Now

So, I'm having this thought this morning, (as I'm realizing that I haven't updated this blog in over a month), that when you work for a Fortune 10 company, and they say that they want you to go to India, it's sort of like George Lopez says... they don't mean, right now, right now... maybe later, later... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wH5as6GP5w). Seriously, though the PROCESS TAKES TIME. So I have been enjoying the rest of the American summer with my family and just THINKING about India, but I have been assured that as of last Friday, things will start moving along now. Next up on the list -- "pre-assignment trip". Should be interesting as we are trying to get it scheduled for the week of August 31st. I give it about a 30% chance and I'm the optimist!

Let's Light this Candle!

Wow! It has already been a week since my last (first and only) post. Well, once I learned I was offered a position in India, I did what any rational person would do, I promptly went on vacation. Actually, the vacation was planned quite some time ago and it just so happened that this was the week. A little camping, a little sand dune driving, some Euchre with the kids (for the non-Michigan people, this is a card game). Oh yeah and breaking the news to everyone we know (well, almost everyone anyway) that we will be moving to India for two years. Once the kids knew (ref: last post) telling everyone else was just a breeze (like just let the kids lead off every conversation). My wife and I are very active in our church community and the news spread like someone lit a fuse in the building (and my wife's youth group members started texting others outside the building like mad).

So the cat is officially out and our vacation is about to officially come to an end, so back to the business of figuring out how/when to get this ball rolling next week.

Wacko

I promised myself I would create a blog to chronicle this crazy adventure my family and I are about to go on. You see, I have accepted a new job (same company, new job) that will send us all to live in India for two years.

Now that my wife and I have come to grips with it (or have we?), we let the kids in on the "plan" last night. The kids were alternately very excited and worried and happy and sad in somewhat rapid succession. Here is a good one, straight from my 11 year old son, when I asked the kids if they knew what they call people who move to a foreign country to live and work. Before I could finish, my son immediately offered "wacko?" I was going for expatriate of course. Wacko indeed... Well, three kids down, next up will be telling the two sets of parents, our friends, neighbors and co-workers... Stay Tuned.