India - living the working week

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Just reminder that I use this 'blog' to remember things for myself and to share what I'm doing with my family and friends… it reads best if you know me (and that I talk a lot about random stuff) but anyone who’s interested enough to read is welcome.



Monday 18 to Friday 22 April



Monday was my first day at the office… I was up early and feeling like the new girl… Noor was very punctual anticipating a 2-hour drive to the office (allowing for getting lost first time, which we didn’t which was great… Google maps can be very handy as a back-up to give reassurance you’re on the right track). There’s not much to say about the journey other than traffic… (most of my photos so far are of the traffic and cows for a reason… !)

I will be travelling to various offices in Bangalore and across the country but immediately felt at home at this first one. I really enjoyed my day, found it fascinating, and loved talking to the people. They have been so good to me, making sure I’m comfortable and giving me handy tips of everything Bangalore related and how to take care of myself. There are also some very nice and interesting views of Bangalore from the building.

Noor has been waiting for me at the end of every day. The journey home is about an hour and a half and I mix it up with some work, study and just watching the world go by’ the city is fascinating and as we drive home the sun is starting to set… it’s my favourite time of the day to travel. I love the little side streets that look like a city in themselves!

The cows continue to fascinate me… Noor has realised how much as when he sees them he gives me a heads up… (I will Skype you from the car one of these days Gem, Katie and Joanne… for the children!). They are everywhere in the road and cause such havoc! I thought they must be at risk of getting hit but apparently it’s more the people around them who hit each other to avoid hitting the cows. I’ve also learned that the cows have owners who milk them and sell the milk. They’re often eating from the rubbish though… not really sure how that works.

I have come home to a home cooked meal 3 days this week… all Indian food made from scratch from Brian (can take 3-5 hours). We’ve had Butter Chicken, a type of Dahl and Sweet & Spicy Balti Chicken. They’re all incredible… as good as I’ve had in a restaurant and I’m so grateful to him for helping me out. The leftovers also make a handy lunch for the next day… J Brian has also been out walking whilst I’m at work, checking out the local area… I gave him a recommendation for breakfast -- which turned out to be terrible… at least I won’t have to go to try it out now haha 😉 - and he found a really really nice cake shop so I had two nice desserts… the chocolate mousse was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Only thing is it’s not good for me… he’s been feeding me so well and I’ve not found a gym yet… It’s not easy to cook here, with the different ingredients and need to be careful preparing the vegetables (Lisa kindly transported some of the vegetable antibacterial wash needed when she visited Delhi… handing it over to Noor… to handover to me… I was so happy to see it because I desperately wanted to eat some fruit!).

One day we went out to dinner… Noor recommend the Monkey Bar which was another mash up of foods but again amazing… the prices of the dishes here often suggest they are small… when they are definitely not… we ordered 5 and after the 3^rd had come I was thinking… this is really quite enough… but 2 more came. One of the leftovers made a good addition to breakfast.

On Friday at the end of the week I came home and successfully managed to arrive back in Koramangala (my local area)… stop at the shops… go into the Spar to buy some wine… and cross the road to get take away from Taco Bell and I did it ALL ON MY OWN. As I was crossing the road (not easy… the lights weren’t working and a motorcycle came pretty close to me…!) I thought I’m actually doing normal life stuff in India. It still took longer than I thought it would though… nothing is quick here so it’s best to just go with it.

I’m also getting used to having people helping me… (other than my parents… Mum and Dad I can hear what you’re saying now…!) Noor and I are getting there with how we both work… and my lovely maid is great, so helpful and Brian has been giving her instructions… not necessarily all the ones needed though as there are some interesting occurrences in the house … First I bought a Guernsey calendar from home and because I haven’t got anywhere to hang it yet… I leave it on the dining table open on April… every day I come home it’s closed again… I wondered how long it would go on for and Friday I came home and it was still open! Woo. Second… Brian tried to sort out the bed one day (something wasn’t quite right)… to find that the mattress was inside the duvet cover… (yes really, must have been hard work). I don’t blame her… not many people would still use a duvet in this heat. And Lastly she asked me to buy a doormat… I was bit tired on the day and went into the first store suggested… it was a fancy rug store (not a doormat store!) and I didn’t have many options. Due to the price… I spent £10 on the smallest rug I could find… which I thought would be acceptable as a doormat. Brian laughed at me but I put it down outside the door in the hope that it’d be ok… now every day I get home to find it somewhere different on the floor in the kitchen… again I’m not surprised… it does not look like a doormat. I found a very nice actual doormat in the Spar for £2.50. She did show me how to open the coconut that Brian liberated (it was still sat there on Thursday) and the coconut water was very nice! Mum… you also have competition with your laundry standards 😊

It’s Friday night now and it’s a quiet one… sorting out the house and watching Slumdog Millionaire. There should be some more exciting pictures from tomorrow… as we’re getting out of the city for the day! I really have to go and sort out my nails as cannot bear them any longer :/

Missing you all.



Rach Xx

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