India from Sharon's Perspective

We're doing better than I imagined. Josh and Kelly are adjusting much better than I thought they would. Actually the last couple of days, boredom has set in for them I think. We have been waiting around the house for 2 days for the screens to be installed. Ahhhh, India workers on India time. Yesterday the guy brought them out and said he would be back today to install. Tony called the shop at 1 pm and the shop owner said they would be out at 2. Right now I'm writing you at almost 3 and no sign of him yet. When he does come it will take him a few hours. He'll either be here all evening or not at all today.

Other things are coming along though. The house is starting to feel more homey. We now have curtains and living room furniture. That helps a lot. We had been going to bed by 7:30 because we had to keep the house dark to keep the bugs out and we had nothing to sit on to watch TV except 4 straight-backed resin chairs. Actually, the house is a very comfortable house. We feel blessed that we are out in the country. It is sooooo quiet and peaceful here, rather pastoral. We sit out in the middle of cow pastures with the creek running by. We watch the local village women wash their clothes and hair in the creek and the little kids play in the water naked. In Idaho I took the mountains for granted, but to be able to look out your window at the foothills of the Himalayans is great.

It gets dark here really early (at 5:30 pm) and it gets dark fast. Wham! No long twilight. But on the flipside it gets light early, around 5 in the morning and I actually like that. My morning routine consists of getting up and start the coffee water heating up (that usually wakes up Kelly) and then I start sweeping up the bugs on the kitchen floor and the obvious ones around the house. The bugs aren't really big, mostly dead gnat type of things. Kelly and Josh aren't even bothered by them. At home, they would freak out at the tiniest spider. Why does making coffee wake up Kelly you may be asking, because the water filter plays music when you use it. Tomorrow my domestic help starts. I'll just have her sweep and mop the house mostly. There isn't much other housework for her to do. I usually do a one load of laundry a day and you know I'm picky about my laundry. I also have to do dishes after every meal so we won't attrack these teeny, tiny little ants in the kitchen. Its no big deal, though, because there aren't many dishes. Last week we went shopping every afternoon to get stuff for the house but this week I wait for things to be delivered and installed, like drapes, curtain rods, furniture and SCREENS. (It is now after 3 pm.) The only critical things we still need (and they are less critical) are wardrobes for the bedrooms (still living out of suitcases) and some plastic tables so we can set things on and get them off the floor.

Josh and Kelly started school this week and that keeps me more busy. If there are no workers here, the afternoons are my restful times. (Right now I am looking out the window at the neatest bird. He has a long beak and bright orange and turquoise feathers. Cool, huh.) Meals are starting to get a little boring. We have no stove yet so mostly sandwiches, chips, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and bananas for lunch and dinner. Our neighbor keeps wanting to feed us but kids don't really like Indian food yet.

Well, that's a little bit about our routine and life. I'll try to write more about observations about people and .... Ooops better go! The screen guys just got here. Yippee!