Day 4 of Bangalore
Heidi Hojnicki
We are on day four of “living” in India, and I say “living,” because we are still staying at a hotel, which makes it feel like we are tourists. We won’t be able to even see our house until tomorrow, and we are not quite sure when we actually going to be able to move in – hopefully this week.
It also feels like we are not 100% “living” here yet, because we are so jet lagged. It is particularly tricky helping a four year old get over jet lag, since he des not fully comprehend what it is. Plus, he is processing leaving all of his friends and family and all he knows behind in the US. It’s a tall order for a four year old.
When all of our dining is out, and we cannot do laundry or much of anything for ourselves, it just feels like some sort of limbo. As we actually move into our place, I know things will be different.
We are staying at a very nice hotel (so I’m certainly not complaining about the accommodations), and all of the staff has been exceptionally welcoming and warm to Che. They have all been chatting him up and giving him lots of treats and little gifts – far too many – but I suppose we can look at this as a way to ease his transition.
We have not ventured out too much yet. One day we did errands like getting passport photos and buying a mattress. We decided to walk to the photo studio, which proved to be a bit tricky, since they are doing a lot of construction on the sidewalks. Most of the sidewalks were torn up, leading us to have to walk in the street with the traffic, which can be quite an adventure. Che was clearly tentative about doing this, and he complained about being hot a few times. Sadly, this kid ain’t seen nothing yet when it comes to heat.
Today, I wanted to go to the ISKON Temple (a Hare Krishna temple), which was a 25 minute auto rickshaw ride away. Che and I have started using bandanas (Thanks to Leslie for them) to cover our noses and mouths as we ride the autos (Auto is short for rickshaw, which is the same thing as a tuk-tuk). Pollution can be bad, and the exhaust when riding in in an open auto can be pretty yucky. I got the bandana idea from locals whom I see saw using cloths, such as dupettas. Che had lots of fun on the auto rides today, seeing a cow and a monkey. The temple itself was beautiful, and being up on a hill, it offered nice views of the city. I don’t know much about the hare Krishna sect, but my image is a bit tainted by the western version – which, to be honest, I saw no evidence of the western concept of the Hare Krishna sect. I need to read more about it. Che said his favorite part about the temple was washing his feet because it tickled. One we arrived at the hotel, he said, "I liked that adventure!"
This afternoon, we are heading to the mall to see Paddington. That’s all for now.