How am I? Great. The bed is soft, there’s a kitchen, washing machine and refrigerator here. It’s walking distance to a mall with a cinema. On weekends I’m living in luxury while he’s in the UK for a month.
I was back in India on Friday, 23rd August I've been kept busy since I returned from Sri Lanka so I've got to get caught up on my blog. Basically everything is good.
One of my American friends & co-worker and an Indian friend bought a house together. It's lovely; if they offered to let me rent their extra bedroom I would have grabbed it but there already is an ex-roommate of the American who wants to take it. So I'll to be staying here at the Guesthouse. But there was the house blessing that took place at 5:00 a.m. one morning. Everything is done according to astrology here. And the "puja" (blessing) they did was a small raging fire in the kitchen on a brick altar the priest constructed the day ahead of time. Here’s a photo of us at the blessing. The smoke was so thick in the house that I had to escape outside for fresh air. These are the things that they get used to from a young age and reconfirms that I am NOT a Hindu.
The photo at the beginning is from the House Puja. There's me, third from the right, with the two flat owners, Eileen who is second from the left, and Reshma who is in the very colorful saree next to her. The couple to my right in the photo are Reshma's parents and the other two people were friends. I am hiding my hand because I was holding a big bag about to leave when they said WAIT! We want a photo. So here it is.
Another Indian co-worker is going to the UK for a month and has offered me the use of his flat while he's away. SEE HOW FAR BEHIND I AM WITH THIS BLOG. He has a kitchen with a refrigerator and a washing machine and lives close to the shopping center so I'll be going there on weekends for the next 4 weeks. Cold drinks while I'm having my clothes washed for me, how much luxury can I stand?! I’m also checking the cinema that I can walk to movies while I’m there. It’s in the shopping center.
UPDATE: The only English movie showing yesterday was Grownups 2 so that’s what I went to see. It was typical juvenile humor but at least I got to eat popcorn and had a laugh or two.
It's holiday season here, kind of like Thanksgiving called Onam. I have to look it up for myself. According to Wikipedia "Onam is an ancient festival which still survives in modern times. Kerala's rice harvest festival and the Festival of Rain Flowers, which fall on the Malayalam month of Chingam, celebrates the Asura King Mahabali's annual visit from Patala (the underworld). Onam is unique since Mahabali has been revered by the people of Kerala since prehistory. The King is so much attached to his kingdom that it is believed that he comes annually from the nether world to see his people living happily. It is in honor of King Mahabali, affectionately called Onathappan, that Onam is celebrated." So while they holiday, everything is at a standstill work-wise. This will go on for the rest of September.
I’m going to end and post this now so you know I’m still alive.
Love,
Marie
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