Final Housing Update

I finally moved into my new apartment at Gautam Nagar. There are a lot of things that are different about the new place from the old: no housekeeper, one room vs. entire apartment, everyday man’s neighborhood vs. fenced off security guard neighborhood, dirty bathrooms and dusty tables vs. servant cleans everything everyday, but I’m adjusting. I figured one of the best ways to adjust to the new environment was to take as much ownership of the place as I could. In a sense, make it my own.

One of the things I did (initially cause I didn’t think they would provide) was go to the local mall and buy a set of bedsheets and a pillow. It instantly made the place a lot more cozy and I felt a lot more at ease sleeping on bed sheets that I provided and not ones from who knows where. On Saturday, one of my Naga friends hooked me up with one of his friends and I got full sized fridge in my place as well as a 20 liter Bisleri water jug dispenser. I did a little rearranging of the furniture and bought some cleaning supplies (sponge, bathroom slider, rag, toilet paper) and the place feels a lot more like home now.

The environment once I step outside is a lot different too. Instead of seeing lines of security guards sipping water and sitting in front of an air conditioner all day, there are people riding three wheeled bicycles selling vegetables and kids playing cricket in a small field in front of my apartment building. Apparently, the area that I’m living in now is not nearly as safe as before (but I’m not sure what could be safer than before) – so I’ll have to take more precautions in terms of when I come home and how I come home in the future.

Aside from the wedding this past weekend, I also got a chance to have dinner at Caroline’s house, who’s aunt is a diplomat at the US Embassy. The friends that we met from Penn were there, and it was a good time of catching up and sharing stories from the wedding. We also got a chance to meet some of Caroline’s aunt’s friends, many of whom work for the Embassy or are somewhat related because of Marines work. It was cool hearing their stories of how they all ended up in India. It was also encouraging to exchange perspective on things, like living overseas. Many of the people had been all over the world and were hoping to see different parts in the near future. Some were even raising families. I can identify a lot more with my friends out there who are looking to do international relations/politics type work. These people really love what they do – and they get to have fun while working as well.

Picture of the old bedroom

Another angle

Bathroom (it's not as grimy as it looks)

New room - all to myself. The water jug and fridge helps to make the room feel a lot homier.

Rotate 90 degrees right - the "bedroom" side of the room.

The bathroom - I had to clean up about a dozen cigarette butts and scrub the sink before using it, but now it looks a lot better. Too bad there is no hot water though - cold showers are rough!