first impressions

This is long overdue since I’ve been here a week and a half, but I wanted to share them anyway. :) I’ll do it in bullet form since that seems simplest for this sort of entry.

1. Seeing city lights from the sky through cloud cover is really gorgeous
2. Lights along the side of the road here are sometimes the long (3 feet?) fluorescent lights instead of the ones I typically see in the States. Why not?
3. Mattresses and pillows are really firm here. I may have to outgrow finally my bad habit of sleeping on my stomach.
4. I’m learning food names in a combination of Nithya’s Telegu and Thenu’s Tamil (gari = vari?). This can be confusing when trying to order.
5. Dipper baths with the option for hot water when heated by flipping a switch to turn on the water heater on the wall (with some patience) are quite refreshing. That said, not having a separate stall or tub for bathing take a little getting used to. Am I supposed to stand in the center of the bathroom or near one side? Does it matter how far from the drain I am?
6. Purchasing things is done very different here, whether it’s a salwar-kameez or my breakfast. You pay at one place, get a receipt, take the receipt to another window, and pick up the item there. When shopping, you may have to go to another place where your item will be bagged. I haven’t decided if this is faster/more efficient or not…
7. Crossing the street is an adventure. So is driving. Three vehicles across in a two-lane highway with auto rickshaws, cows, bicycles, cycle-driven carts, cow-pulled carts, etc. are commonplace. I’ve just decided in both to assume that we will all live to see another day and not to worry. After all, I’ve only seen one car hit a water buffalo crossing the road so far. And cars/trucks don’t really need much more than inches when passing other vehicles after all, do they?

I'll try to post again later after dinner.