#92 Back in Arizona

Hi Everyone
I am in the USA.  I'm staying with my Ex (Bud) at his condo in Mesa AZ and acclimating to my new/OLD environment.  I'm kind of in "culture-shock" and my ex tells me I'm still on Indian Time. Yes, I move a little slower, but heck, I'm retired!

I still need to buy a car and am using Bud's when he's not using it.  I looked into buying one but I am leaving on June 12th for CO to attend a wedding and may not be back until the end of August so I've been advised to just wait until I come back to buy one.  In the meantime, Bud may be going away and when he does I will just rent a car for the time he is away. 

My house is still rented and my tenants have given notice that they are vacating in June.  I met with my real estate agent and we decided I still need to rent that the housing market is too low in price for me. If you know anyone interested in renting tell them I have a 3 bedroom home in Tempe available.

When the old tenants leave I've got to get into the garage and look at my things. I'm thinking of moving my stuff into a storage unit so I can have access to it without disturbing the renters.

I will be sending an email out to everyone when I decide where/when I settle down. It probably won't be until October.  Two weddings and lots of people to see plus I'm retired and I can do whatever I want to!

Enjoy your life.  I am.
Blessings to you all.
Love,
Marie

#91 Kaohsiung Taiwan

Ni Hau Everyone (That means Hello in Chinese)
I have access to a computer at my friend's office while she is working. My friend is Jill, the classmate that helped me get my Masters.  I found out that she is now Dr. Jill, she even defended her dissertation. I am so proud of her, I didn't know she had completed it.

Anyway I am here until April 24th and then I go to Hawaii and visit another dear friend. I will stay there until May 8th and then I am home in Phoenix. It will have been two years and one week since I left Phoenix.

It's been a fantastic journey but I am happy to see it coming to a close. Since I came to Taiwan I have eaten foods I cannot even explain, but all vegetarian and delicious. I went to a Chinese Wedding and yes, I have lots of photos. Last night I went to a Chiropractor, and this morning accompanied Jill to the hospital for her regular maternity visit. The hospital in Taiwan was unbelievable compared to the hospitals in India, or even the U.S. for that matter. I am surprised there aren't boat loads of people trying to come to this country like they are to Australia. This Saturday I am going to go to the Temple with them for some kind of event and today they took me to a historic fort that the Dutch built back in 1660.

It is amazing living with Jill and her family: her father (retired military and now President of his own company, he's presently in Indonesia on a business trip until Friday), her grandmother and grandfather on her mother's side which means her son's great-grandmother and great-grandfather.  The great-grandmother is unbelievable with the 2 year old boy. She carries him around on her back all the time. She does the laundry for the family (first by hand and then puts it into the washing machine), and cooks dinner everyday. The great-grandfather has dementia and can act more like the child than an adult.

I can't wait to see everyone and share my stories and photos. In fact it is going to be too much so I think I will have to go through my photos and put them into some kind of order.  Then if you want to know about India, I will have that to show. Or if you want to know about my African Safari I will have that. Side trips to Australia, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Taiwan?  Where it is!

The last leg in the Philippines was awesome, meeting my sponsored child and her family.  I didn't know what a connection we have with the country. After a museum visit I was ashamed of the US for what we did to them back in history but then I went to the American Cemetery and know that we more than made up for it by the sacrifices we gave in World War II. And if you saw Manila now you could almost believe it should be the 51st State!

I don't know when I will have access to another computer until I come home but I jumped on this opportunity so you know Where Wally is?

When I touch ground in the USA I will let you all know.
Love you and hope you are enjoying Life.  I certainly am.
Marie

#90 At My brother's home in Australia

Hi Everyone
I'm singing "I'm so blessed" that I am doing very well right now, but then again, I sing I'm so blessed even when I'm not doing so well. Attitude is all important and I want to keep my positive attitude.

When I got to Australia my back acted up. For 3 weeks I was constantly on ibuprofen (still on it) but don't have the pain or need hot packs to help get through it. What a relief.  I also noticed that after I left India I used to giggle all the time.  Laugh away!!  The Canadians I met in Bali saw me laugh at everything.  The laughing ended when the back pain began. So when I heard myself laugh again, I knew I was better. Yes, now I giggle at everything, again.

I want to share some photos if I can and give you my itinerary so you know where I am.  I don't know if I will be able to do this again when I leave here on Tuesday, April 1st.

April 1st - Australia to Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia
April 5th - Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines on Air Asia
April 7th - Manila to Legaspi on Philippines Airline
April 9th - Legaspi to Manila and return ditto
April 11th - Manila to Kaohsiung, Taiwan On China Airlines
On April 24th - Taipei to Honolulu by way of Fukuoka, Japan on China Airlines and then Hawaiian Airlines.

I haven't booked from Honolulu yet so I don't know the date for that.

My brother and I also haven't figured out how to get the photos from my disk to this Blog so I can't attach any photos right now. 

Take care. Be happy and Enjoy life.  I am.
Love,
Marie

#88 Day Two in Bali

I had a wonderful day.

This is so funny!  I opened this posting to see what I said and all I said was that first line!!!  

I really did have an incredible time in Bali. I ended up going on two cruises, a Sunset Dinner Cruise with a show that had female impersonators, and an adventure cruise that included a walk-around trip to a village, snorkeling, banana boat rides,and a glass bottom boat ride.

I hired a car to take me to see a Balinese dancing show, and to Ubud, a town well known for art, yoga and tourism.  And then with the Canadian we took the same driver and car to see all kinds of temples.

I had a massage and that is where I met the Canadian who was staying at the same hotel I was. But after three days I switch hotels and she started coming to my hotel (across the street) to hang out at the pool and have breakfast with me.

The week flew by and I do have lots of photos from the visit.

I'll try to post a few.

Then it was on to Australia.

Love you all.

Marie

#89 Staying at a friend's house in Australia

Hello Everyone
I am taking advantage of my friend's computer that I have access to the internet on my Google Nexus 7 Tablet that I bought to take with me on this last leg of my journey but it seems I cannot do my blog on it.  Something about needing a certain Adobe Flash thing and it says my Tablet is not compatible with the software. Don't ask me, I know nothing about it.

I was hoping I could put a photo or two on this but I will try again before I leave here on March 14th.

I left India with no problem, got to Bali and it was fantastic. The week flew by with many happy memories. I met a Canadian and we hung around together that we are hoping to see each other this summer when I go to New York for a wedding. She lives just on the other side of Niagra Falls so I should be able to make that trip without difficulty. That will be August 23rd.

Meanwhile I have been firming up my travel plans. I was in Bali from February 20 to 27. I arrived here on Feb 27 and stayed with my brother until March 3rd. Then he is having a major renovation of his bathroom done so you can't have someone visit when there is no bathroom!  He asked a friend and his wife if I could take up an offer they had made the last time I was here to stay with them. They are just outside Perth, around 45 minutes from my brother's house. That is where I am now.  I'll be here until March 14th when my brother will be picking me up to take me to Bunbury. I have also managed to meet up with my Hula friend and fellow Camino walker from Phoenix in Perth. We had Lunch last Wednesday. She is Australian and is here visiting her Mom. She took two buses and I took one bus and we met downtown. We hope to meet again after I return from Bunbury and her brother who lives in Hong Kong returns home.

So since I don't know if I will have access to this blog again for a while. I have the following travel plans:
April 1st - go to Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
April 5th - go to Manila, Philippines
April 7th - to Legazi City, Philippines
April 11th - to Kaohsiung, Taiwan
April 24th - to Honolulu, Hawaii

All I have to do is see how long I will be staying in Hawaii and book my next flight. I also have to see if my tenants are going to stay in my house. If they decide they are leaving, I will probably have to go home to re-rent my place.

It has been an amazing two years for me. I am so happy I did it.

I'll be in touch and will keep you posted whenever I can.
Enjoy life. I am.
Love,
Marie

#87 Here in Bali

I arrived in Bali around 4 p.m. exhausted.  I left my girlfriend's house at 9 p.m. yesterday.  The ride from the airport to the hotel was annoying that I got a taxi from the Prepaid taxi desk and they told me it would be 70,000 Indonesian Rupiah. The money is inflated. I got 2 Million Rupiah out of the ATM and only 100,000 bills came out of the machine. They are as bad here as in India, no one has small bills! So the prepaid taxi people told me to pay the driver and he starts that he doesn't have change. He also comes out with he doesn't know where my hotel is when that was the first thing I asked him and he said he did. So I said to stop at a bank and I was about to get out of the cab. I told him get me to the hotel. When I got there, they didn't have change for me. They suggested a mini-store and I was able to break the big bill. By this time the taxi driver is saying I want a tip & I was so ticked at him I decided I was not giving him one. If looks could kill I'd be dead when I give him the 70,000. I even said to him, don't look at me like that. So he left in a huff and I registered at the hotel where the key they gave me didn't work. Maintenance fixed that but then the room safe didn't work. I definitely wanted my valuables locked. So they came with a new safe and put it in my room. I laughed because that meant someone could just pick up the whole safe and walk away with it.

So now I am having a beer and eating at a very nice place called The Deck. I will definitely be coming back. First I had a plate of veggies perfectly cooked. Then I had a lovely fresh salad. Now I am eating potato wedgies. It started raining and I forgot to bring my umbrella and I have to walk back. So I just ordered a small beer to buy time. I feel like I'm in paradise.

Oh and they have WiFi. I think Bali is like Australia's FL or maybe Mexico. They are all over the place. I could tell this one woman knew her way around and I asked her where I could get a good cup of coffee tomorrow morning. It's the restaurant right next door. So I am going to close for tonight and I will keep you posted, I can't wait to see what this place looks like in the day time. And get a massage!

I am so blessed.
Love,
Marje

#86 Three Days to Go

Where am?  Still at my friend’s home

How am I?  Mixed emotions. Happy, and sad.

First I have to apologize for not posting for two weeks but my computer went off again. The power cord didn’t work, the third time since I arrived in India. Even the Toshiba people gave me a new power cord for free because it was less than 3 months since I bought the last one. It was still under warranty. 

And I was delayed in getting to the Toshiba Service office because there was an Auto Rickshaw strike for a few days. I couldn’t get there without one. So that finally ended and all is well.  I don’t think anything was resolved by the strike. But that’s India. 

The nurses at my hospital went on strike, too, and it finally ended after around 35 days. Was anything resolved?  I have no idea. They have no concept of collective bargaining and thinking what it is they want and will be happy with as a result. They just STRIKE!

If I had to use one word to describe India it would be Noisy. I’m sitting here at 4:45 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon and it’s so noisy I have earplugs in. I have no idea if it is a band practicing or what but it’s loud drumming.  And when it’s not loud drumming, it’s the Slap-Slap of washing laundry by hand, or the power saw of cutting down trees. It’s as if they can’t live without making noise. I suppose that if there were this many people living in America, we would be addicted to noise too. But, I’m happy to say I really appreciate ….q u i e t. 

So only three days left. Tomorrow I have to go to the post office with three different boxes I found and see what the clerk thinks would be the best box to send my computer back to the US.  I have already spoken to her and she explained that the boxes go into a bag. I saw how they do it. She typed the address of where the package is going into the computer and an address label comes out. Then a lower clerk takes the box, puts it into a cloth bag, she attaches the label and it is then ready to be picked up by the truck that comes later. So the trick is to make sure the box will fit into the bag they will be using.  I also want to see how much it is going to cost. If it is too expensive, I may rethink sending it back.   

I spoke to the head of the IT Dept at the hospital and he thought it was smarter to send it back that for the cost of shipping it, I will have a computer when I get back. Otherwise I would have to buy a new computer and they’re just a hunk of metal until you get it all programmed etc. I really don’t like starting with a new computer.

I did buy a external hard drive and backed up my computer so if it gets lost, stolen or broken, I have all the data on this little black thing. I’ll carry that back in my suitcase.

I have been enjoying myself for these last few weeks. I went to see the movie Saving Mr. Banks and it was excellent. I highly recommend it. My personal things that I don’t need while I am traveling have made it to the US already. My girlfriend took my stuff with her when she flew back on 1/31 and sent them to my people in AZ by FEDEX.  The box was already received and is waiting for me.

I have my auto rickshaw driver lined up to take me to the airport Wednesday evening. I fly out Thursday morning, like 1:10 a.m. 

It is so difficult to explain what all has to be done but I will be busy cleaning, packing, giving stuff away…

I still haven’t been able to blog from my Tablet so if that doesn’t work, PLEASE email me if you want me to answer you. My Tablet does do email fine and I've Skyped with people. 

I’m going to end now and post this. SO to recap:

WED Feb 19^th my last day here, I go to Airport to fly out

THUR Feb 20^th I leave Kochi India at 1:10 a.m. heading to Bali (Denpasar, Indonesia)

THUR Feb 27^th I leave Bali and go to Perth, Australia

 

After that, stay tuned and I’ll let you know when I know.

Love you all. Be happy.  I am.

Marie

#84 Took another little trip

Where am?  At my friend’s home, 20 minutes walk from the hospital

How am I?  Great. Enjoying every minute.

So I decided to travel with my friend, Eileen, that she is going back to CA on January 31^st. We went to Amritapuri for one night, she owns a flat there and I stayed with her. Then we went on to the beach resort community, Varkala, and I only stayed one night. Eileen is still there. She is friends with the owner of the Guest House which was voted #1 with Trip Advisor. See for yourself:  http://www.tripadvisor.in/TravelersChoice-Hotels-cBargain

Now I have to tell you, a while back I was asked to go to Trip Advisor and rate the place as a favor to Eileen and the owner and I chose not to do it.  If you can’t say something nice about someone or something, don’t say it at all, right?  But I actually like my own room at the Guest House at the hospital better than I like the hotel. I’m more comfortable. The hotel is nice, and the owner does bend over backwards to treat you well, but it does not have hot water showers! So if I want a cold shower I can get that at home at the hospital.  So that is why I am hanging out at my friend’s home right now. While Eileen is away, her roommate doesn’t like to be alone so I stay in their guest room WITH hot water showers. Sweet deal. 

When I come back to the US I will never take anything for granted again. I consider myself so blessed to have been born in the USA with freedoms, opportunities, enough food to eat, clean water to drink, public transit you can take without feeling your life can end any minute! (I just reread this sentence and I remember riding the NY Subway sometimes thinking my life could end in a minute! But that was not because of the equipment but the passengers that rode it!)  

But I can also say I am so grateful to have lived here for this time, especially as the time is running out I am appreciating every last minute. 

I had to travel from Varkala by myself since Eileen stayed behind. The first train (Eileen recommended I take two trains and to change after an hour) was just as Eileen predicted… only more than I can express! I grew up in NY and I know packed trains during rush hour, but with the crowd trying to get on this train was WAY beyond anything I ever saw. And the train was about to leave and I had paid for it so if I didn’t get on, I wasn’t going anywhere!  I had thought I would get on the Ladies Only car but it was the very last car on the train and there were so many people there that I couldn’t see a door. I hurried back up the train platform looking for a car that was not a sleeper so there would be seats. As the train started moving I jumped on the train and settled in for the one hour ride standing in the entryway by the door. I found a little space behind the door where my backpack fit and I put it there for protection and also so it wouldn’t trip people as they got on and off the train. I leaned against the wall and held on to whatever I could find to hold. The hour passed quickly and when I got on the next train, it was a local passenger train and was relatively empty. There were two other women sleeping lying down on the seats in my compartment so I took the single seat next to the window. It was pleasant just watching the countryside as we passed. 

Some H.S. school girls came on and took the next compartment. It was fun watching them as all children act the same. Two shared the earplugs of a headset so they could listen to the same music. School children all wear uniforms here in India so that’s how I know they were students. The students and the one of the sleeping women got off and a woman with a little girl got on with her Mom (the grandmother) and there was an older man who I wasn’t sure if he was with them or not. When the second sleeping woman got off I found out he was with them and the four of them took over the compartment. The little girl was so sweet that by the end of the trip, she was blowing me kisses and I returned them to her. 

The sun was setting and I got to see a beautiful sunset. And as we passed the villages I also got to see their life process. Indians are extremely spiritual/religious. All the auto-rickshaws and taxis have small alters inside with their particular belief system. Muslims would have Arabic writing but sometimes it is in English and they have written By the Grace of Allah. Christians have pictures of Jesus and Mary, sometimes a rosary hanging from the rear view mirror. (My Mom had one herself so I’m used to that!)  But the Hindi have a cornucopia of deities: Krishna, Shiva, Lakshmi, etc. And they have lights around them that flash colors, and sometimes incense sticks burning. What is really amusing are the “hybrids”, with a combination of two religions!  There's the statue of Krishna and the Rosary.

And there is a centuries old custom of lighting an oil lamp outside the doorway at sunset. I asked about it and I got several answers: to chase away bad spirits, to welcome Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, and to ,,, I finally just Googled it and here’s the answer: Light symbolizes the absence of darkness, grief & unhappiness. Almighty's divine grace is spread all over the house by lighting the lamps.  That makes sense but it was very interesting to see all the houses that had lamps lit. The ones that didn’t could have been Muslim or Christian, and as we got closer to the big cities, there were not as many. Away from the Ancestral Homes I guess customs aren’t followed as strictly.

So I’m at the house today all by myself. Both Eileen and her roommate are away. I have a hot shower waiting for me, and a fridge full of food and cold drinks. The electricity keeps going on and off but they have a backup system that trips over when the power goes.  It makes a sound that I know it has changed over.  Oh the luxury of it all!

Wishing you a wonderful life wherever you are.  Enjoy.

Love,

Marie

#83 Items I find amusing

Where am?  In my room at the Guest House

How am I?  Comfortable but needing to work at keeping cool.   It’s starting to warm up here.

The first item I wanted to tell you about was what I found when I came back to my room earlier this week.  I went to a friend’s house to celebrate his birthday and after dinner and celebrating at his house we would have to take a auto-rickshaw back home. We really had a good time sharing a bunch of beautiful French pastries we bought at a fancy bakery at the mall. Yummmm, but I got distracted from my topic. So after the party which I knew would be late we arranged for me to sleep over at my girlfriend’s house that she has an extra bedroom and this way we could share the auto. It’s starting to get really difficult finding an auto rickshaw lately. 

Then the next day we found something to do and the next day again so for three days I stayed in her guest room. It was fun. The next day we finally left her house and walked back to the hospital together and that’s when I found what I found in my bathroom.  A poor little gecko had fallen into my toilet. I don’t know how long he was in there, it could have been 3 days, but he just couldn’t get out.  I tried to help but he was so panicked that I decided to lay the toilet brush in a position that he could climb up it and get out.  I walked away and when I checked later he wasn’t in there. So from now on, I don’t leave toilets uncovered and I’m telling my friends not to do that either. That would have been so sad so I’m glad I was able to rescue him.

Last night the same friends, continuing our birthday celebrations (one’s BD is Dec 30^th and the other is Jan 22^nd) we went out for dinner and a movie, but in reverse.  Movie was American Hustle which showed at 4:30 and then we had dinner. We went mainly because it was in English and then that morning I read that it had Oscar nominations. My girlfriend checked the reviews and one of the most critical websites – Rotten Tomatoes – gave it a rating of 93%. Very good!  But even with that info, I was so impressed that it was excellent. I found it more entertaining than The Life and Times of Walter Mitty. So I highly recommend seeing it.

So today is January 19^th, I leave in ONE MONTH!!! 

Another amusing item is a going away gift my girlfriend gave me.  I now have two pills, individually wrapped Albendazole tablets, to take when I get back home.  Yes, folks, I have to De-worm myself.  I feel like a puppy.  I have no symptoms but she feels very strongly about it that she had a problem when she went back one time and she has lived here in India for 4 years now.  She is also a Microbiologist so I respect her opinion. I could take it in Australia but if I go on to Taiwan, I think I could be re-infected so I will wait until I am Home Sweet Home and do the one pill.  She says I’d know if I need to take the second pill.  How’s that for a parting gift!

I feel very blessed that I really have been very healthy here, except at the beginning when I had the adjustment to the climate. It is my usual reaction to environment changes, sinus/pulmonary/coughing.  But in less than 2 months I was adjusted and never had a problem again. Lots of people get sick here so I was most fortunate.

That’s all I have got for you today. I’ll write again when I think of more stuff. Enjoy your life.

Love, Marie

#82 Keeping myself busy

Where am?  In my room at the Guest House at the Hospital.

How am I?  Happy but certainly busy with all my new technology.

Hi Everyone,

As I told you I ordered a new tablet, a Google Nexus 7. It’s arrived and I am going to have to play with it to learn how to use it. Nothing comes with instructions anymore. They just think you’re going to know how to use it by osmosis, or from the grandchildren I’ve been told. I don’t have grandchildren so I’m used to the old fashioned way of reading the book. But digital things don’t have books. 

Even my camera had no book!  There was a disk that I uploaded to my computer but you can’t take your computer with you while you’re out taking photos!  Oh yeah, now the phones are miniature computers so you CAN take it with you. Well I can’t.

However, on the same day that I got the call that my Nexus had arrived to pick it up, I got a new phone.  It was a surprise to me, believe me. What happened was I have been thinking about my phone and what to do when I get back to the US. I had a “dumb” phone, not one of those Smart Phones. So I’m in the auto rickshaw with my friend doing errands, going shopping when she mentioned that she needed to buy a phone for a young Indian man she has kind of adopted. AND IT HITS ME!  Buy myself a new phone and give my old phone to him. So I told my girlfriend and the next minute we’re at a shopping complex that sells nothing but phones and accessories for them and I’m picking out a phone. 

Didn’t want an iPhone, and the Samsung was too expensive too, but I found a Lenovo for under US$ 75 and I got it. A Smart Phone that I put into a bright pink case to protect it and also to help me keep track of it. You can't miss seeing this bright pink phone case. Two days later and I still don’t know how to use the darn thing. My fingers are too big that when I push the letter I, I get an O. and for N I get a M. 

Another friend asked if I had called her and I didn’t know I did. She sent me a msg and I answered "Not Intentionally".

So now I have to learn two new pieces of technology before I leave India. But the phone will come in handy in Australia, and other places, including the US when I get home.

Meanwhile I went to lunch today and I don’t know what it was that I ate – obviously a curry – but afterwards I needed to drink a cold Lemon drink to cool off my mouth. And even as I am typing now, the skin on my right hand is still stinging. We eat with our hands here and whatever hot chilli was affecting my mouth, is also affecting the skin on my fingers. It could be worse, right? Ha Ha

I think I’ll close for now and post this. If there are any questions or things that you want to know about India, please email me and let me know.  We’re getting down to the last days so speak now.

Enjoy yourselves, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.

Love, Marie.