2 Weeks down

I have been in India for just over two weeks now! I am sorry that I am not doing a better job of updating the blog. I have been surprisingly busy and I am still taking everything in.

Traffic

The traffic here is soooo different from the states. I mentioned it before in an earlier post but I am going to try an explain it some more because it is such a large part of the experience. I am going to try and do a video later to give you a better idea of what it is like. There is so much chaos and randomness to India traffic. Cars share the road with large buses, construction vehicles, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, rickshaws, people, cows, etc. There is no sense of obeying any type of traffic laws. Cars will just stop in the road when they get to where they want to go. Each moment on the road is a game of chicken. Who is willing to take the risk and drive in front of another car. It can feel a bit claustrophobic on the road since there are so many motorcycles weaving in and around cars. They come right up to the cars too. The other day a motorcycle even hit our car. Our driver just exchange a look with the motorcyclist that said 'why did you try to get through that gap? I was already there' and kept going.
All this craziness seems to work most of the time which is something I don't think an American could understand. Sometimes it does have consequences though. The first week I was here I witnessed a woman and her baby get hit by a car. Construction was going on in the road going the opposite direction we were. When they do construction on the road, they just pull up and start working. They don't car they the road going that direction is completely blocked. Because of this cars were going down our road in the opposite direction of traffic. A woman holding her baby was crossing the road. She stepped out only looking in the direction that she expected to see traffic. She didn't realize cars were going both ways on that street. She stepped right out into the road and into car. She smashed in the windshield and flew back rolling a flipping a few times. She was able to protect her baby from the impact and only dropped the baby at the very end of her rolling. It is one of the craziest and most horrific things I have ever seen. But she did stand up immediately from it, though crying and screaming. People from all around rushed over to help her. Interesting tidbit on how the people of India handle situations like this. Since there really isn't much of a police force to deal with these instances, the people who witness the crash gang up on the person responsible and beat him up. So usually after an accident the person at fault has to flee the scene to avoid being beaten. At least this is what I am told. The whole thing was tough to take in and made me want to leave India. After thinking about it for a few days and digesting it I realize pain and accidents like this are happening all around the world including back in California. I just happen to be in a place to witness it here within my first week. It is just another reminder that we are not guaranteed to live to the next day, no matter where we live.

FRRO

I had to register for working in India the other day. I was gone for about 12 hours to do this. It was like the DMV, but 100 times worse. We got there around 10am, although the company that helps us with this process had people waiting in line since 6am for us! I had to hand some guy a stack of 20 or so sheets of papers that had been prepared for me. He stamped them and signed them and I got a ticket number. We then sat around for about 1.5 hours till my ticket number was up. I had to go into the room and fight through a group of people to get to one of the 3 men that were checking of the papers. Once I did that I went to another room to get another signature and then into a line to hand in all my signed papers. Once I did that they gave me a sheet and told me to come back in the evening. So I went over to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then walked around and explored some of Bangalore. The guys told us to come back at 5. They would be getting us better spots so that we wouldn't have to wait all day to get our papers. We came at 5 and waited to get in. I got into the main room where you had to wait in the line with your number. Though I am pretty sure I got in before I was suppose to. Everything was so chaotic and random. There was some yelling and arguing between a few guys before I managed my way into the place. Then I got to stand in line for a good hour. Someone in my line had some issues with their papers. I watched probably more than 50 people in the other lines go up and get their papers in the time that my line did not move because of this one guy with issues. Eventually they got it sorted out and my line started moving though. I have my registration and now I am allowed to leave the country though.

Whitefield vs India

I am working in an area known as Whitefield. It is a good hour to two hours outside of downtown Bangalore and is very different from the main part of the city. I think the best comparison would be Simi Valley in LA. There is a lot more money here and less traffic. There are nice restaurants and large shopping areas. Even though I have been here for 2 weeks I really haven't experienced India yet. I am living in the bubble of Whitefield expat life. Up until a few days ago the most authentic Indian food I had eaten was Pizza Hut. I have had great sushi, and crepes, lasagna, t-bone steak, burgers, etc. I think you get the idea. There is a large issue with sanitation in India so part of the reason for eating this way is that I am eating at fancier places where I am less likely to get sick. I have to drink bottled water only and most people even use bottle water for brushing their teeth. I have to avoid leafy greens for the most part. Though I did eat 3 salads last week (at fancy restaurants) Besides eating lots of great food at fancy restaurants, I have been enjoying other things like massages. I've gotten two so far already.

Money

U.S. money is worth a lot here. It is interesting how the cost of things work though. Because of the high import taxes some things are more expensive and then because of wanting to eat at places with better sanitation, things get a bit pricier. Electronics and Alcoholic cost about 1.2-2 times as much here as they do in the states. This means that they are crazy expensive for the average person in Bangalore. Imported cars like BMW's are sold at twice the cost because of the import tax. Food can be super cheap though. A large bottle of water is about 15 rupees, which is around 30 cents. I went to Subway today and got a sandwich and drink for about 2 bucks. A latte or mocha is usually around 80 cents. But if I eat at my hotel, a coffee is around 4 dollars and a meal is around 15 dollars. We did a all you can eat and drink buffet last weekend that was 30 bucks. So meals can range from a dollar to 20 bucks depending on how nice you go. My 1.5 hour massage was 20 bucks. My money goes a lot farther here most of the time. I also have to balance going to places that cater to expats and are more expensive with cheaper places that have more risk of getting sick.