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.

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!!!

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.

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.

Dadu and snapping

When I'm at Gariahat and I want some cold water or a cold drink, I usually stop at this one little stall.

There's an old man, Dadu (meaning grandfather) who works there. He's a frail skinny, old man, who is a bit slow in his moves.

Normally I will bring back like 2 cokes, and 1 or 2 bottles of water. Normally if I just get 1 bottle of water he will end up bringing me 2 bottles of water and 1 coke, and I just laugh and ask him to switch it.

Now, the other day I had gone and was picking up my drinks, and there were 2 or 3 people behind me. They can all see that this guy is already helping me, and therefore busy, right?! Well, you would think so, but now, they kept calling to him.

Finally one guy behind me said, "Dadu, aapni ki korchhen?" (Grandfather, What are you doing?"

I snapped at their blatant disrespect of this gentleman, and said, "Kaaj korchhen. Ki aapni dekhte parchhen na?" (He is working. Can you not see that or what?" The guy looked at me, shocked and then shut up. :-)

I don't stand for disrespect of elders, maybe it's not disrespect in their eyes but to me it was, and I had had enough!

2 years and some change

Well, today is the 2 year mark of me being in India.

Looking back, it's been an adventure, a roller coaster, anything but what I expected.

I've started (and continue to) learn Bengali. I can read, write, speak (to a certain extent) and understand quite a bit. I never imagined I would be learning a new language so late in my life that would be essential for every day, well, maybe Spanish (or brushed up I would say...) if I had stayed in the US. It was hard, and still is...I still have problems trying to say exactly what I want to say in bangla. I either say things in direct translation from english to bangla, which doesn't work, or I say them wrong! It's a work in progress.

Plus...I've had lots of things to learn to deal with, such as the traffic, the stares, and the hardest, being dependent on someone, and living with the in-laws.

The traffic isn't so scary now, I can still remember the first day I arrived in Kolkata. We had taken the Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Howrah. It was an adventure. At Delhi, we had gotten a porter, which I had no experience with, and while we were waiting to board the train, some guy had come up to DH and asked if he wanted his ears cleaned. W-O-W!!! Talk about shocking! I had never taken a train ride before, we had taken over the right side of the train (the bigger part of the compartment) and we spent the night watching movies and just talking and watching the scenery. We had gotten off the train and went to wait in the pre-paid taxi stand to go home, we had numerous taxi drivers try to rip us off, and DH asked me if I wanted him to pay the extra or if we should wait. I said wait...I can still remember the feel of the sweat dripping down my back and face, bap re bap! It was so hot and humid.

The ride home...well, I was seeing things for the first time, and I was scared! The traffic was horrible, and scared the living daylights out of me!! But now I'm cool with it, and I joke with DH about waiting to see how my family deals with the traffic. hehe!

I've always been independent, I hate being dependent on others, and I **HATE** being treated like a child, and always having to tell someone where I am going and what I am going to be doing. I guess, that is just the Indian culture, and I have to deal with it, but having to tell my MIL where I am going and why I am going is getting old. I'm 27 years old, I need my independence, so I'm waiting with bated breath for the day we move out.

Also...the food, the adapting was not so bad...but there are some foods that I can't stand, but I still have to eat...like today...we're having gugni (chick peas)...which I can't stand...but I'll eat it for lunch, and maybe try to convince DH to take me out for a celebration dinner!

Yeah! 2 years!

Seriously, did that just happen to ME?!?!

Sunday and Monday I had the pleasure to meet Sharell who also blogs about her inter-cultural relationship. Monday we went out and around and we got accosted by little beggar kids. At one point we were in a taxi, and there were these 2 little kids who came up and were like, "aunty, aunty, chocolate!" and "money". After the kids became enough of a irritation, Sharell rolled up her window, and then they proceeded to the other side of the cab. Then the other window went up, and then they went to the front window. Hmm, I've never seen them like this!

But today I was walking around at Gariahat today running my errands when I stopped to buy something at a corner stop, nothing abnormal about it. I paid and as I'm putting my things in my purse, the storekeeper calls "Hey!" to this bunch of 4 beggar kids. I just hold on to my stuff, and keep walking, ignoring the calls of "aunty, aunty" and other things meant to make me give them money.

Well, the next thing that happened completely shocked me. I felt this little hand grope my **ASS** and I mean hard enough for me to feel that he had cupped his hand and did it. I thought in my head, "Did that really just happen?" Not knowing whether the appropriate thing to do was to slap the kid upside the head, or whatnot I glared at the kid and sped away, especially since I wasn't sure which kid was the culprit.

After this I came home and discussed it with DH. Next time, I will smack the bugger and drag him to the police station. Just because I'm white doesn't mean I'm easy prey. So, if you grab my ass without permission again, you better watch out!

US Consulate Town Hall meeting

Monday I went to a US Consulate Town Hall meeting. Basically it was just a bunch of American citizens (and by American citizens there was only like 10 white people, and the rest were Indian's who either had kids who were citizens or something of that nature).

We started out with a quiz about America. Then we went on to a speech about the Consular services. It was boring, but informative. :-) I met a few new people.

Then there were some questions asked. Many people were curious about Indian visa regulations (about which nobody knew in the US Consulate, except one ACS (american citizen services) officer).

Among the really stupid questions were :

1. Does the US Consulate pay for the US citizens education in India?
2. If my minor daughter, who is a US citizen, wants to go to school in the US, can the parents come with?
3. If the Consulate can help at Calcutta International School (CIS) to get the younger US citizen students to be able to meet with International schools before their senior year?

These questions I found interesting. I mean, seriously, they were dumb, but...people aren't always sure of the answers. :-)

I enjoyed making some new friends, but also was bored out of my mind.

Now, thanks to going out for the day for this meeting, I have a cold and a slight fever. *sigh* such is life I suppose

Will have a few more posts coming up soon about going for Nihari and other adventures around Kolkata. :-)