"Are you happy", or "have you settled in to life in India", are two questions being asked of me a lot lately. The simple answer is, yes - I am happy and we have moved into our very comfortable villa, and are starting to get used to our Indian way of life. It is very different and the normal daily routine is not the same as Australia, but it's good. Mike doesn't leave in the morning until 9.30am so he has been getting to do breakfast with the boys. that all changes next week when school starts. He is not home until much later in the evening, and we are trying to get used to that at the minute. So, 'the Nairns' are 'settled'!
That being said, we are still bumbling our way along through the culture shock, and will probably continue to do so for many more months. We, (read Susie), are looking forward to more of a routine next week with the boys starting school and with work taking more of a prominent role for 3 days for me. We are having quite a few teething issues with the house - well, I say teething issues that will probably be ongoing for the next 2 years. It seems that when someone is arranged to come and fix something, it will happen on their own time, not mine. Then when they do arrive, they will attempt to fix it but will probably create another problem in the end.
For example, our hot water system (yes, this again) was not very hot, so we asked the technician to come and look at it. So he did, and then not 10 hours later, the pipe burst going in to the unit. The plumber then replaced the pipe, and the next day the entire unit would not heat water at all - stone cold ! So the technician came back and repaired it so that we had hot water, but the unit now leaks, and it is located above the toilet !! So we now have water constantly leaking onto the toilet seat !! This will require a new casing to the system, which is now under review by the landlord -this could take a week or two. Until then, there is a small bucket catching water on the toilet seat. So things, do get fixed, sort of, and they just take a while.
If you think this is the only scenario I have encountered in the last 5 weeks - you're incorrect. There is a similar story to the kitchen sink leaking, the air conditioner in our bedroom, the clothesline in the garden, the satellite TV connection, garage door not closing, the Internet connection, and a few other things as well. They are all either semi-fixed now, or 'under review'.......... This is standard practice I'm told.
On a positive note, I love that I can call a trades person and they will come any time of the day or night to assist me. I just won't know exactly when or understand a word they say ! For that reason, and many others, I am truly grateful for having Lydia available to speak for me.
That being said, we are still bumbling our way along through the culture shock, and will probably continue to do so for many more months. We, (read Susie), are looking forward to more of a routine next week with the boys starting school and with work taking more of a prominent role for 3 days for me. We are having quite a few teething issues with the house - well, I say teething issues that will probably be ongoing for the next 2 years. It seems that when someone is arranged to come and fix something, it will happen on their own time, not mine. Then when they do arrive, they will attempt to fix it but will probably create another problem in the end.
For example, our hot water system (yes, this again) was not very hot, so we asked the technician to come and look at it. So he did, and then not 10 hours later, the pipe burst going in to the unit. The plumber then replaced the pipe, and the next day the entire unit would not heat water at all - stone cold ! So the technician came back and repaired it so that we had hot water, but the unit now leaks, and it is located above the toilet !! So we now have water constantly leaking onto the toilet seat !! This will require a new casing to the system, which is now under review by the landlord -this could take a week or two. Until then, there is a small bucket catching water on the toilet seat. So things, do get fixed, sort of, and they just take a while.
If you think this is the only scenario I have encountered in the last 5 weeks - you're incorrect. There is a similar story to the kitchen sink leaking, the air conditioner in our bedroom, the clothesline in the garden, the satellite TV connection, garage door not closing, the Internet connection, and a few other things as well. They are all either semi-fixed now, or 'under review'.......... This is standard practice I'm told.
On a positive note, I love that I can call a trades person and they will come any time of the day or night to assist me. I just won't know exactly when or understand a word they say ! For that reason, and many others, I am truly grateful for having Lydia available to speak for me.
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