Darjeeling...Our 6 1/2 Year Delayed Honeymooon

Back in December DH and I had traveled to Darjeeling after he had finished up some work in Siliguri. We spent 5 days there and we walked around a lot of places. We also stayed in an awesome hotel called Revolver, which is a Beatles themed place, that a good friend of ours had recommended. We stayed in the George and Ringo rooms and the best part, in some people's mind, but not mine, is the fact that you can order some traditional Naga thali's for dinner. We tried that the first night we were there and I could barely eat because the overwhelming smell of fermented fish paste and everything else had me wrinkling up my nose.

The first day we mostly just wandered around the main part of the city, including searching for Kunga, which is an amazing Tibetan restaurant. The amazing part, which we realized after we arrived, is that it is straight down the road from our hotel. However, it took us at least 20 minutes of walking around to find it. Here were had the most amazingly moist, beef steamed momos and some thenthuk. We visited here every single day to enjoy the goodness, mostly the soups after a long day in the cold.

We also ventured out one morning early to head over to Keventer's to enjoy the porky goodness. We also visited the zoo, made some new friends while on the Ropeway, visited the Botanical Gardens, which wasn't in bloom and much more. We had walked all the way from our hotel to the zoo, which took at least 1 hour and we were so exhausted at the end of the day. We also went to Glenary's and had some good tea, snacks and just time to hang out.

However, the best part of the trip was the fact that we enjoyed hanging out at the local bar named Joey's. The first night we only had a few drinks and then went back to the hotel and the owner, the late Puran, had told us about a short-cut to get to the hotel. The next day as we had spotted him walking down the road while leaving on our adventures he had recognized us and asked us how we managed. We said fine, but sadly in February it was announced that Puran had passed away and the pub is now run by his wife.

On our last day here, we had decided that we would get up at 5am and go see the sunrise. We didn't, however, head over to Tiger Hill, which is where most people would go. We had found this amazing viewing area on the road just before the Governor's House and we went up there. Amazingly, I was standing there looking out over the valley and saw a glimpse of Kanchenjunga (the 3rd largest peak in the world) through the fog.

The view while the sun was rising over the mountain was spectacular and not something that I would have missed for the world. After this we had gone to Keventer's again for breakfast before picking up a few last minute gifts for our friends and headed back to the hotel before getting in the car and returning back for our train.

Family's Visit to Varanasi

So, the family had traveled to Varanasi on an AC train from Howrah. They had arrived and were swamped by autos that wanted to take them to their hotel. However, because J wasn't feeling good they had just taken whatever one they could get and got to the hotel. Once they were there J had stayed in the room and slept because he wasn't feeling well, while my mom and B had gone out. They went to the Ganges River and took a boat ride. Well...the boat wallah's knew they were foreigners and despite being told how much they should pay (around Rs 300 for both) they had ended up getting scammed. They had paid Rs 400 EACH for a 2 hour ride. Well, at least they were happy and enjoyed it. They had also been scammed into giving Rs 300 for the cremation wood. They were also told that they would have to pay for the guide, but they staunchly refused.

Well...they had finished their experience by shopping around and Mom found a tapestry that she wanted to buy for B's daughter, L (since that is what she wanted from India), but the store keeper wanted Rs 850 for it. My mom said, no the most I'll give is Rs 500, and the shop keeper counter offered her with Rs 750, but she stuck to her price and walked out. However, the guy called her back and said, ok, 500. That was probably still too much, but mom was extremely proud that she could bargain for herself.

The next day J was feeling much better so they all ventured out to the Ganges again, where to nobody's surprise the boat wallah was waiting for them again. However, J told the guy to get lost and that they didn't need him, which he promptly did. They again went out on the river and saw the cremations and once again the people asked them for money for the cremation wood. J being J, he had decided to give only Rs 100, well...the people keeping telling him "not enough, not enough, give more!" He flatly refused and went on their merry way.

They were supposed to have gone to Lucknow during this time away, but because the train they had booked back to Kolkata was regularly late they decided to forgo it. They instead decided to come back on the 24th instead of the 25th and they had luckily found some AC tickets on the return. However, they had realized that the train would take them over 24 hours to return and ended up booking plane tickets instead. Talk about driving me crazy!!!

PNPC Bengali Style Part 1

I'm starting a new series called PNPC Bengali Style (PNPC means poro ninda, poro charcha, or roughly translates to Gossiping and Bitching about others) for the odd random things I hear around town.

The other day I was swimming and this random lady (RL) comes up to me and this is how the conversation went.

RL : Are you Indian?
Me : No, I'm American.
RL : Where are you from in the US?
Me : New York
RL : What do you do here?
Me : I'm married to a Bengali.
RL : What's his name?
Me : Told her DH's name
RL : Really? I am a Sengupta too! We're in the same caste.
Me : (thinking in my head) Lady...I don't really care about caste...you're mad!

Seriously?! It's a good thing I didn't let on that I speak bangla too! I came home and told this to DH and he just about busted up laughing and had a huge ole grin stuck on his face for some time!

Swimming is going good, I'm sore and that's a good thing, as it tells me I'm pushing myself instead of just letting myself "get by" with the bare minimum effort.

Swimming adventures

So, in an effort to get some exercise (and within the standards that are allowed by my knees) I decided to start swimming. I wanted to this last year, but then I was informed that all of the swimming "clubs" had stopped taking applications. This year I made extra sure to get my application in on time. The club I chose was Anderson, or ILSS, since some of our goods friends are members there.

I got the application on the 10th (cost 60 rupees / $1) and had to hand it in on the 18th. I had to give 2 passport photos and have a doctor "sign" my medical release. This meant I went to the club's doctor and paid him 25 rupees (50 cents) and he just signed the paper. I handed it in and paid my Rs 2000 ($33.39) and was given a receipt and told to come back on the 18th for my ID card.

At this point, I also had to purchase a suit from them since they require that all suits have the 'ILSS' logo or else they won't be allowed in the pool. Plus a retarded looking shower cap with ties...yeah, I'm sure we all look pretty sexy.

The pool is divided into 2 sections (length wise) and separated by some sprinklers that shoot up, so that the kids that are learning to swim don't get run over. Otherwise the other half of the pool is up for grabs and most people swim laps.

So, I've learned (after 2 days of swimming) that is going to be easier on me if I start to just wear my suit to the pool and change after, since there is always a rush for the bathroom for showers and changing. I also learned the 1st day that I should get out a few minutes early in order to have the bathroom free so I don't have to wait in line to change into dry clothes.

Anyways, back to today. I'm sitting on the bench waiting patiently for my turn to change. Next to me is this older lady who all of a sudden takes off her salwar bottoms. I'm thinking okay, she's just getting ready to go to the bathroom to change. Then I realize you can see her panties and I'm like grossed out. So...next thing I know she's draping her upper body with her dupatta and then all of a sudden the suit is going up the legs and the kurta is coming off. Thankfully she's still covered with her dupatta, and bam! She's changed. Mind you the room is full of small girls...no boys, but still? Come on lady!

Then across the room I see this other lady pulling off her pants. Fine, her kurta covers her butt and all so no wardrobe malfunctions. Then I saw her holding up her pants and carefully pulling her panties out of the pants. Yuck!

Tung Nam

DH and I have been eating out at a lot more new (and out of the way) places these days. This time it was to a place we've seen photos and heard about the food, but never been to before. It's called Tung Nam, and its located in Tiretti Bazaar, or Old China Town. It's just off the Central Metro station and to the Tiretti Bazaar side. Once you come out, just cross the statue of a man on a horse, and go straight down the road where the cars are coming in and you'll spot this little joint. The only thing is, it closes between 3 and 6pm. Don't be discouraged by the lack of decoration, the food is amazing! It is also very cheap. For 3 bowls of wonton soup you will pay around Rs 280, seeing as they are Rs 90 a bowl.

My favorite, won ton soup

This is all that you will see.

This is their amazing wonton soup. I love this stuff. This is a meal in itself. Add a bit of soy sauce,
their chili vinegar sauce and some chili sauce and it's amazing!

Steamed pork rice!

Steamed Noodles, I didn't try this, so I don't know how it is,
but looks a little bland to me.

Pork Hamie, this was had with the noodles (for DH and a friend) and the
Pork itself was good, and I can imagine it went well with the steamed noodles.

Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant

Today DH and I decided to go out for lunch. We didn't want any meat because there is both mutton and chicken cooked at home and we would eat that for dinner. So, we decided to go for something veg, or some other meat. We also wanted to try a new place. So we landed up at Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant today. This is located at 10/2, Manohar Pukur Rd, Kalighat, Kolkata. Incidentally, this is a Southern Indian restaurant!

Today we had some pizza, as another friend posted about it here. We went and sat in the AC section and soon had decided what we wanted. Here are photos of our food. 

Papdi Chat Rs 52

We ordered the Al Fungi pizza (Rs 152) and added Fresh Tomatoes (Rs 15 extra) and Black Olives (Rs 60 extra)

I loved the pizza. I'm definitely going to go back and get it again!

 

Fares

Oh, for those of you who take auto's around Kolkata be aware that the fares are going up.

The new fares (I've experienced recently) are :

Gariahat to Ruby (or vice versa) is now Rs 10, but if you get down on the Bijon Setu (at the train station) it's only Rs 8, and to Fern Road is Rs 9. This raise is from Rs 7...so a bit steep. I still remember when it would cost me Rs 5 to get to Gariahat.

Also, now from Ruby to Jadavpur Thana it's Rs 10 from Rs 9.

Also, for taxi's the fare has gone up (quite some time back though...) and the calculation is quite complicated. The formula is Amount on Meter  multiplied by 2.4 and then you add Rs 1. So if the meter says Rs 24, the formula is 24 x 2.4 = Rs 57.6 + Rs 1 = 57.6, so rounded up it's Rs 58. Complicated I know...

Ah, and a few times I've taken taxi's that have their meters recalibrated. Meaning, the meter will read Rs 25 when they turn it on and then you just pay what is shown at the end of the trip. It's kinda trippy, I've only taken these 2 times (both times with DH, thank god, because I didn't know about the recalibration thingy) and I'm always thinking "The taxi driver needs to reset his meter" until I remember and then I'm like what an idiot! LOL

They Love Me Here...I think?

Okay, you know you go to some places way too often when these sorts of things happen. 

I love Banana Leaf, a small south indian food joint, within walking distance from Rashbehari metro (towards Gariahat). When I go I normally order 1 or 2 plates of rasam idli, depending on how hungry I am, and if I want some filter coffee. This is how it normally goes when I walk in after I sit down.

The waiter normally hands me a menu, and I look at him, and tell him I don't need it. If it's one of my normal waiters they just ask me "rasam idli?" and I smile and nod. They even know to give me extra rasam instead of the coconut chutney. They give good, fast service. :-)

The other place that DH and I go to a lot is Oly Pub, on Park Street. Now here, see we go a lot. Here we get amazing service. So here are the ways you know we go there too often

1 - we order a plate of chicken sandwiches, which is 3 sandwiches cut diagonally, normally served on one big plate. Well, one of our waiters will give 2 small plates with 3 pieces on each. This must mean he pays attention to how we share our food...or he just splits them up evenly. 

2 - I, well both of us can really but it's easier for me, can bypass the entire line (especially on the busy weekends) and normally get a table instantly or after a short wait. Normally this only works if we find a waiter who serves us or we go upstairs and into the back.

3 - The door guy (we normally give him Rs 10-20 when we leave) will tell either me or DH (whoever comes later if we come separately) where the other is sitting. Awesome! This means I don't have to search everywhere for DH.

4 - We also give the guy who cleans the tables, gives ice, and whatnot Rs 20 when we leave. We do this for a reason. If he sees us come in and knows there is going to be an empty table he will tell others that the table is not empty and give it to me. Also, I know he will watch out for me if I'm waiting for others.

5 - We normally don't have to tell them our drink order. They normally bring us Old Monk and pour us our standard large pegs. This happens unless we specify we want beer. Then they bring it.

6 - Sometimes we sit downstairs, and some guys get rowdy we go upstairs. When we tell them what happens they sort of get irritated.

7 - They aren't intimidated by my Bengali and just talk to me, :-)

I love Oly! Those are the 2 places we go to a lot...so we get good service :-)

Trolling at a friend's wedding

Saturday night, DH, P and I went to a friend's wedding. We didn't plan to stay long seeing as how we were already late. We meant to pick up DH around 8, but managed to pick him up around 830pm...so off we went.

We went said hello to the bride and groom, and then decided to eat. There was a plethora of foods...biriyani, jeera rice, daal makhani, naan, and lots of other things to eat. My problem with wedding food is that it's normally pure bengali food and it's hard to eat my fill. So, thinking I'd enjoy it, I took some jeera rice (the flavour was a bit overwhelming for me...) and some butter masala paneer. Then I spied some chicken florentine (YES! Some continental food =D)

Well...I went to the counter where they were serving the chicken and they gave me a bit. I asked for more, they said "This is chicken, non-veg" to which I replied "Aaro din" (give me more) and they again replied "But it's chicken." Slightly frustrated at this point I said, "Jaani, aami porte pari, Chicken Florentine lekha achhe" (I know, I can read. It's written Chicken Florentine.)

Then we had more food and left...I ended up coming home and having a maggi at 1am. :-)

Yep, highlight of my night was trolling at a wedding =D

Marriage Certificate Attestation...and all the drama

So, on the 29th of May DH took our marriage certificate to the NRI/Home/Foreigner's office at Writer's Building here in Kolkata. He had written a letter to the Officer in Charge telling him that we needed the marriage certificate to be attested so we could get it apostiled at the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs). So, he submitted the letter along with 2 copies of our marriage certificate and was told to come back in 7 days. The NRI/Home/Foreigner's (N/H/F) office was to forward our file and request to the Marriage Registration office (MRO), where they would check our certificate against their duly registered copy. So...7 days later he went back to N/H/F and he got the file number.




The guy at the front desk gave him the file number, and told him to only go to the MRO after 7 days. DH nicely asked him why, and he was told that other's are coming in and getting their file number and right away going to the MRO and they are being told that they don't have the file and then they are returning to the N/H/F office and are complaining to their super's that they aren't doing their work. What really happens is that they post it to the MRO. Yes people, they MAIL it to a office that is within walking distance. Why, I have no clue.




So, DH waits the required 7 days and then goes to the MRO, where he is told that they have not received our file. They have received file numbers before and after ours, but not ours. So, DH then goes to the N/H/F office and asks what happened. He is told that our file was sent out the 31st, and then is sent to the Dispatch part of the office to see what happened. So, he goes, and they look through all their registers but do not find our file number anywhere in their records.




So, what happened you ask? Somewhere between their front desk and their dispatch office (a space of maybe 50 feet here people) our file was LOST. Yes, Lost.




So, DH goes back to the front desk and asks what he is supposed to do now. They give him their office copy and have him make a xerox of it...so he goes, and makes 5 copies. He returns to the N/H/F office, where they attest the copy of their original letter and he goes back to the MRO. Well, DH being DH, he goes to the bank first and deposits the Rs 1000 ($20USD) fee and gets the receipt. He goes back to the MRO and they are kind of miffed at him for already paying the fee because they tell you to come back in 3 days and submit the fee in case they can't find your certificate.




So, he gives the file and they tell him to come back in 7 days. At this point he asks if it possible for him to transport the file back to the N/H/F office since they lost our file last time, he is told no.




Fast forward 14 days, to yesterday. DH is sick and intending to go nowhere, but he has a hunch and so he goes to the MRO and finds out they have JUST finished our report that day. Well, lo and behold, they have him sign for the papers and give him their report (didn't they tell him no before? I'm seeing a pattern here...) and off he goes to the N/H/F office to get the officer to sign and stamp our marriage certificate. Well, our luck fades fast, as the officer who signs it is out of the office and we are told to come back in a day or two since he has taken leave.

So, now we are just waiting to go back to the N/H/F office to get our original marriage certificate signed and stamped and then we'll take it to MEA one morning and then pick it up in the evening, and then we'll make plans to head to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi to get my visa sorted out. This whole attestation is needed for the FRRO here in Kolkata, but not needed for the visa conversion, as far as I know.




*Phew* I'm so glad the waiting game is over people.




For those who need to go through it in Kolkata here is a simplified list




NEED :




- 2 copies of Marriage Certificate

- Letter to Officer in Charge at NRI/Home/Foreigner's Office stating why you need it attested

- Rs 1000 demand draft from Reserve Bank (to be given to MRO)




Steps : (as it should be done, not as we did it...)




1. Give letter and copies of Marriage Certificate at NRI/Home/Foreigner's Office

2. Go back in 7 days and get the file number

3. Go to MRO 7 days after getting the file number

4. Return 3 days later to MRO and give them the demand draft

5. Return 7 days later (I suggest maybe give them 2 weeks instead...) to see if your report has been completed (at this point they should have sent it on to N/H/F office...)

6. Return to N/H/F office to find out status (probably wait a few days before going...)

7. Return and pick up stamped and signed Marriage Certificate

8. Drop off Marriage Certificate at MEA (I'm sorry I don't know the address or where it is...) in the morning with a Rs 50 postal draft (or something, I'm not sure, DH knows...) and then return and pick it up in the evening, they will have put a stamp (or glue a paper stamp on back, I'm not entirely sure which they do...) and then COMPLETE!!!

"Speak in hindi!!"

So...I was sitting in the auto today waiting to go to South City and there were only 3 people, and we were waiting on a 4th person. The other 2 people (a guy and I think his girlfriend?) had apparently been waiting for about 15 minutes for the auto to go. I get in and then this is how the conversation went (it was in bangla so this is a translation!)

Guy : "Do we have to wait all day to go?"
Autowallah : "We are waiting for 1 more person. This is how it normally goes."
The guy muttered some comment I didn't catch.
Autowallah : "Well, if it was just you 2 on a fared auto then you would have been gone already"

HAHAHA!

So then his girlfriend said to him, "Well, if you ask stupid questions you'll get stupid answers. She's laughing."
Me: "Auto's never go anywhere unless they have 4 passengers, even the ones from Gariahat."

Girlfriend (as she's feeding him a bite of noodles) : "You are like all other men, you are always eating!"
Boy : "Speak in hindi!"
Me : "Why? I can understand Hindi. And bangla."

LOL Love the surprised look on their face.

Then we had the normal conversation of why I was here, and how long I had been here for.

Seriously, made my day!!!

Legal or Illegal? Someone tell me now...

So...sorry I've not been posting lately. We've been going through some hard times. I was told by a friend of mine that because of the change of police jurisdictions that happened last year that he had been transferred from the Bhavani Bhavan FRO (in Alipore) to the Kolkata FRRO (on AJC Bose Rd). So, like the 3rd I go to the Bhavani Bhavan FRO by myself only to find out that yes, I have been transferred and I need to bring in my original Residence Certificate / Residential Permit (RC / RP) and they would sign it.

So, I go home and report this information to DH, and he says ok, and I said I will take it tomorrow and have them sign it. Well, I'm waiting for him to figure out what he is doing, and then he ups and gets ready and tells me to get ready, and all of a sudden he says we are going to the FRRO. So, we go to the FRO to get them to sign it and then we report to the FRRO.

Here, they tell us that my RC / RP is illegal because I have been registered on a 10-year tourist visa. I get pissed and they tell us that we have to go to New Delhi and go to the Ministry of Home Affairs for them to regularize my overstay and convert my Tourist visa to an Entry visa. So, feeling all pissed because now the government has made me a criminal (I have never gotten a ticket in my life...) and I just want to go home and cry.

So...I go home, and then later that week after we had been getting all our paperwork together we go and speak to the Commissioner of Police (who is over Kolkata Immigration) who says, "This sounds like a complicated and long story. Let me send you to a patient listener, I am a very impatient listener." We go and talk to the Assistant Commissioner of Police who then verifies that even if I have been wrongly registered I am still registered, and therefore I *HAVE NOT* overstayed and am not here illegally. Thank Goodness!

So, now we have to get our marriage certificate apostiled (I have no idea really what that means, except that they will verify that it is real...) and then we will head to Delhi. :-)

I am sure we will be told a few different things there, so I'm hoping our luck holds out.

Only half a Euro Madam...

Today I was waiting on the side of the street with DH waiting for a taxi or a bus or something to take us home. Well, you know how the drill goes, nothing goes as smooth as you want it to in India. All of a sudden this guy comes up and stands in front of me and starts talking.

"Please madam, give me some money for food. I am unemployed and I do not have a job. Please, just one plate of rice, 20 rupees. Only half a Euro."

DH replied not so nicely, "No thanks!" while I stood there staring off to the right in an attempt to ignore this man, because all I wanted to do was say, "If you can speak English that well there is no reason you shouldn't be able to get a job, so why should I give you *MY* money?"

So, then I looked and DH and laughed and said I was going to blog about this. DH's response was "Cholo!" (let's go) and so with his camera in hand, we start following this guy and DH starts snapping his picture. We follow him a distance and DH speeds up and tells me to stay behind so the guy doesn't know we are taking his photo, and tries to get in front of the guy to get a better shot.

Well...just as DH gets in front of the guy, the guy veers off into the bathroom as I am coming up behind him, and so I cross to where DH is and tell him that if he wants a better shot he is going to have to wait until the guy comes out of the bathroom, and he says "Ok, I'll wait. But you get behind, so you don't catch his attention." I went and had an ice cream at the little Kwality cart and sat down and waited. We waited for like 10-15 minutes (and even purchased movie tickets for Sunday LOL) and there was still no sign of him.

We decided to give up and then started walking back towards home to catch something and all of a sudden the guy is right in front of us, I was thinking, "How the hell did we miss him??" LOL

I mean, seriously, this guy didn't look like a beggar. He spoke pretty damn good English too...I was almost tempted to tell him off, but I just ignored him since that tactic works pretty good for me (or the "Kichhu hobe na. Jao!" Nothing happening. Go!). Take a look for yourselves, since DH gladly gave me this photo. :)

Then we are walking further and this guy says to me "Madam, come inside, English movies." Seeing as how every time I go past one of these road side DVD stores this happens, I turned to him and said, "Aapni ki bhabchhen aami shudhu English bujhte pari?" (What do you think I only understand English?) and he looked shocked. DH had kept walking LOL

PIO and OCI merge?

While DH was making our lunch of alu paratha he was using a page of the Economic Times under to keep the mess minimal. Lo and behold, there was this article.

According to the ET there is some talks going on about merging PIO and OCI cards. It also gives a lot of good information, like where to apply and how much they cost, etc. Now, while this is good news for the Indian citizens, because it is less confusing and better in the long run it leads to me a few questions that, sadly, were left unanswered.

Will the PIO be no longer available? If so, how does this affect those of us who are not Indian by birth? One would assume that the PIO would still be available but there is no further information to be gleaned in the article (unless I'm missing something, which is entirely possible). Assuming the PIO is no longer available, then what will the spouses of Indian citizens get? Will we be eligible for OCI or what will we do?

There are so many unanswered questions, let us see what happens as DH says nothing will likely come into law for at least 2 years. :-)

Bangla reporters...

The other day I met up with a friend for coffee at the Indian Coffee House. As usual, it was crowded. We didn't find a table downstairs so we went upstairs to look for a table. We went to the side, and to my right I saw a television station (which one I have no idea except that it said bangla বাংলা) and something told me that they would probably come and try to talk to us. Next thing I know the reporter had come over and was asking us if I knew about the "International Women's Day" on March 8th, I replied noncommittally (I had no intention, or desire, of being on TV) and told him maybe my friend had some thoughts. So he asked her and so she replied and and agreed to be filmed. The reporter wanted me to stand by her, to which I again said no. They asked her the questions and then left.

Then, while he was leaving he asked me, "What is with you?" I replied in bangla, "Aami korte hobe na. Aami korte chaichhi na." (I don't have to do anything. I am not wanting to do it.) LOL

On top of everything, I could barely understand his English, he had such a heavy accent.

Auntie, Church, and Foreigners...

The other day I was going out to pick up some medicine at the local drug store behind our house, and on my way out ran into our neighbors, whom we call Auntie and Uncle, since they are the parent's of one of our friends.

Well...Auntie and Uncle are both Christian and since I have not claimed to be any religion, they seem to think maybe I'm Christian as well, or maybe they feel the need to try to convert me. Ever since I have arrived in India they have been issuing me invites via DH to attend their church with them, never have they invited me personally.

We were talking, and Auntie said that if I wanted to go to church with them, they went to a nice one and they would take me. Then, came the selling point. She pointed out to me that, there were a lot of foreigners who attended their church, some from Brazil, US, etc, etc. My reply was, “It sounds like my hindi class. There are students from all over, France, US, Brazil, Nigeria...” she merely smiled and then we went on.

I came home and told DH about this and he started laughing. I am hoping I don't get cornered like that again, because I have no interest in going to any church, and I'm not sure there is a polite way to turn down her offer.

Don't say ram chagol! and Learning Hindi

Well...I'm into my 3rd week of Hindi classes, and besides saying small sentences like, "Mein khush hoon" (I am happy) or "Mein ladki hoon" (I am a girl) and the sounds, and a few words, I'm not so far into it yet. However, I can write the letters in their horribly round shapes (I much prefer Bengali script as it's more straight) and read it pretty well.

Well, let me tell you about my teacher. Her name is Latika, her native tongue is Hindi, and her husband's is Bengali. I know, you are probably thinking, Why do we give a crap about what her husband's native language is?, there is a point I promise! This is her first time teaching at Ramakrishna Mission, and she's not entirely sure how to go about it, not that I correct her. At the beginning of each class we are supposed to say a prayer, and in my Bengali class we were made to stand while we repeated it...well, she doesn't make us stand, maybe she doesn't know better? Also, I swear she has ADD (attention deficit disorder) because she can't stay on the same subject for more than like 20 minutes. If she did, we would already be done with the sounds, and writing, and you know...the boring stuff.

In one of my last classes we were going over some small vocabulary words. The word bakri (goat) came up and she asked me what it was in Bengali. I told her it was chagol, and after a slight pause continued on to say, "But, my husband always says ram chagol." Now, ram chagol means a billy goat, but it can be used as an insult, meaning a very stupid person. My teacher upon hearing this was shocked and said, "No! Don't say that! That's not a good thing to say!"

Then the next class we were going over the hindi words for banyan tree and riverside / bank (which for the life of me I can't remember at the moment, and I'm too lazy to get out my workbook...) and she couldn't tell us the exact English translation for them, so I texted one of my friends and asked him. He responded and I then told the teacher...hehe, the power of technology.

Oh, yes, and the workbook makes me feel like I'm in Kindergarten again...seriously, but anyways...I am enjoying shocking my teacher like this, and am half contemplating continuing with the courses just to entertain myself. :-) Because, honestly, if I didn't entertain myself somehow in this class, I would just fall asleep...not good! 

Famously famous or infamously famous?

I have been wanting some Men Tse Tse (a flat noodle soup with a lot of veggies and a light broth...) and some Pan-fried pork momo's from one of our favorite restaurants. :-) I have been wanting this for, oh, about 2-3 weeks now. Well, SIL brought me home some ladoo's since they are like my favorite misti. Well, DH wanted one, so I let him eat one...little did he know that he would have to feed me for that one 4 rupee ladoo. :-)

Well, off we went, and when we arrived the owner of the restaurant waved and said hi to us. She had recognized us and knew exactly what we wanted to eat. So...we sat down and ordered our food, along with 2 mango juices. Not even 2 minutes later the owner came over and told us that they were out of the noodles to make a proper men tse tse and what else could she give us? We replied that she should give us whatever was good, and we were ok with experiments. She replied that she would give us the men tse tse but with thin noodles. We were totally ok with that. We ate our momo's and when our soup came we chugged it down. It was pretty much the same to me, but DH says the flat noodles make it different (but whatever, you know? :P). Then when we were about half way done with our soup, the owner came over and gave us a bowl of chilli chicken as a apology that she didn't have the proper ingredients. The chilli chicken was delish.

Seriously, how many of us could say that we would have that kind of service in the US? I've only ever experience half as good service, even in the restaurants (like Taco Bell, and junk) where I've worked, and even then...it was iffy. Seriously, I'm impressed. :-)

Did you say you were a Nokia Priority Store? Seriously!?

DH managed to break his clip that holds the holster on his belt for his Nokia N900 (for those of you who have no idea about phones, this is more of a computer than a phone...) and thus is carrying the phone in just the holster. Now people, let me tell you why this worries me. I've heard stories about DH leaving things and losing them. Umbrellas, expensive cameras left in the front seat of a cab...this phone is not something I want him to lose. So...I ventured out Wednesday to see if I could find him something. I went to the road side store I usually buy the screen covers at, and they had a flip cover, but not what I wanted. So I proceeded to all the other stores around, and still nothing.

Then today since I had to go to the mall anyways, I went to the Nokia Priority store. Well...I went in and asked if they had a carrying case for the N900 to which I was asked if I had the phone, which I did not. The sales representative said to me, quite rudely, that I *HAD* to have the phone with me. To which I said, "ki dorkar achhe? aapnar product janen na?" (what need is there? do you not know you product?) At this point he pointed me to the sales counter. There I went, and as there was another customer, I waited patiently for my turn. The man at the counter then proceeded to ask me if the phone was like the guy had. I don't know what phone he had, but I proceeded to tell them that No, it was nothing like this phone. It was shorter, and fatter.

Seriously, Nokia India...shouldn't your sales people know about your products? The people at the road side store and at the other stores at least knew the phone I was talking about. Ridiculous!!

Trinca's, Toilets, and Tube Tops

Today the husband and I went out for dinner, well let me tell you...there are ladies who change their kids diapers in the bathroom using a shit load of toilet paper and just dump it all in the toilet and don't flush it...DISGUSTING!!!

We had gone out for dinner and I had to use the bathroom, and so I went and I go in and see the toilet stuffed full!!! I left disgusted...seriously?! If you don't know how to use the damn western toilet, THEN DON'T USE IT! Because leaving behind your kids shit for the world to see is disgusting.

Then I went to the Park Hotel to use their bathroom and OMG!!! Talk about slutty!! I was the only white person in the bathroom full of Indians, and all the others were wearing tube tops and short skirts that barely covered their ass...wtf?!

Horrified! The night was going so great until this!