Pictures of my place and car

Stairs up to my bedroom

Front Door entry - side window is in Living Room now has an AC in it PTL!

My car - Hyundai Santro - has AC as well and power steering!!

Kitchen with back door - very narrow - go through this into a small square courtyard and over to Raj and Brenda's house! Very handy

My nook next to the kitchen

Living room - new sofa set, drapes and coffee table. I also have a reclining chair which I really appreciate especially now that I have AC in the room. The main reason for the AC is to get rid of the humidity during the monsoons - of course it will be a real blessing when it is hot in summer. The monsoon season here is much cooler than in Pune - quite a change - I even need a thin jacket or sweater.

trying to post pictures

blue tarp covers bedroom window during
monsoons

so now I am going to try to post some pictures to this blog - not sure if it will work but lets see. These are pictures of my home and my car. Living room, Kitchen, nook, stairs, back door(off kitchen), blue tarp that is put on windows during the rainy season, front door, car,

well that took over half an hour

since it takes so long to do from home I will post more pictures tomorrow at work where we have broadband - so much quicker!! so you will just have to wait for that.

June 26, 2007

After 2 weeks I finally have internet at home again - one of the frustrations of living in India is inconsistent connection.  They call my connection high speed - but it is just dial up and definitely NOT high speed.  O well, I will take what I can get - this is one of the downsides of living in a village rather than in a big city like Pune. 

I am adjusting to a very different life style here - have finally got most of the stuff I need - am getting some cabinets built - once they are in I will be settled - of course there are no pictures on the walls or other decorative stuff - just the basics of living.

Well, when it rains here we often don't have power - in fact the last few days we were without power - so that means no work - at least not at the office.  I came home yesterday soon after getting to work and again today - but fortunately today I had power at home so was able to work from home.  It seems like we are having lots of rain already but I have been assured that this is nothing yet - just wait till we don't see the sun for a month - then I will know what real monsoons are. 

Was in Pune last weekend for a farewell for Sandra - she was in the first IPHC (in 1999)  I led and has been in Pune since working in slum communities with HIV/AIDS people.  She is looking forward to moving back to Switzerland - .  Driving here is quite hazardous - I get pretty tired after driving to Pune and back.  Now with the rains it will be even more treacherous.  I am grateful for my car though - with the rains etc - it is a real blessing. 

The large hall that is under construction at the base is moving along - slowly - thankfully the rains haven't fully started yet - giving the builders a little more time to complete the roof at least.  Then they can work on the inside during the monsoons.  The UofN Workshop will be held here first weekend in Sept - so the building needs to be at least mostly completed by then.  The challenge is on!!!

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It's about time!!!

Hi everyone - I have not been able to write in my blog for some time now - my internet has been disconnected for some reason - not sure why but everyone says that is how it is in India?!?!?  What to do??  Hopefully that will soon be restored.  So I am limited to using the internet at the office for now.  Last week had to hand around home for the last 3 days waiting for different delivery people etc.  No phone and no internet - pretty quiet!  Now my phone is finally up and running again- yeh!! 

Well, the rains are still holding off but since it has rained a little the temp has definitely dropped - yeh!!  There are still power cuts (of course they are just a way of life here) so there are still times when it feels pretty warm.

I broke down and got an AC - mainly for the humidity but it certainly doesn't hurt for the heat.  So nice to be able to have a comfortable sleep -

This Friday I will be going down to Pune for a few days - first to attend Sandra's farewell and then to stay for a few days Mercy Ministries consultation - it will be good to see what is going on in our area again. 

It is great to be able to drive - however it is also pretty exhausting driving - with all the various kinds of traffic = including people and animals.  Thankfully I have kept safe on the roads -

My house is set up and starting to really feel like home - will include pictures next time I post - I promise!! 

Would love some response

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Not sure what the nbsp is about

Sorry about the nbsp after each sentence - if someone knows how to fix that let me know.

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June 13th

Wow i have almost been here a whole month already!  and it is time to write again.  Life has been kind of hectic for me - felt quite sick on Saturday - stomach thing (guess the water wasn't clean enough for my tender tummy.  Recovered by Sunday though - thankfully.  Tuesday drove to Pune again - took 3 girls with me - we each had a number of errands to run.  I finalized my sofa and AC unit - yes I broke down and bought one since that will really help with the extreme humidity here plus be a real benefit during the summer heat.  Originally I was planning on getting a dehumidifier but then considered that this would only be helpful during the monsoon and since the price is pretty much the same it made more sense to get the AC that way I can use it about 9 months of the year. 

I have almost got my place completely set up - thankfully have been able to get this taken care of before the rains start full on - it has rained on and off a few times but nothing yet - apparently. 

In spite of the humidity I am still very happy that I came back - it is good to be here.  It has been a challenge adjusting to living in Lonavala but it is nice to travel to Pune from time to time.  Pretty exhausting but nice to be there where I feel so at home. 

Got my hair cut yesterday - finally!!!  it had gotten pretty long - I was feeling more like a dog than a person - now it is short and neat again.  Got back in with my old hairdresser who does an amazing job - of course that means I have to go to Pune once a month just for that - but worth it. 

I sure would love some response to my blog.

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catch up

JUST CHECKING TO BE SURE THIS NEW SYSTEM WORKS

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Old and New Lonavala

This is a website that shows you many different places in Lonavala - just to give you an idea of the area I am living in. Enjoy. Just click on the address and the site will open - scroll down for the different choices of sights to see. http://www.angelfire.com/indie/uofnpune/lonovla.html

UPdate on past week

Thursday May 31, 2007
I have been without Internet connection now since Sunday thus no entry in my blog. I moved into my place on Sunday and the furnishing started arriving on Monday. Went back to Pune Tuesday to pick up my car – Hyundai Santro (power steering and AC) plus a few more things. Pune is about 1 ½ hour drive away – so have to really make our time worthwhile when going. Petrol is quite expensive here and there is a toll on the expressway going and coming. It is sooooooooo good to have wheels again – there are rickshaws here but not as plentiful as in Pune and they really charge a lot – so many people end up walking – pretty tough in this hot humid weather! Speaking of weather I am starting to adjust to the heat and humidity – finally. Certainly increases the amount of times a day (not even a week) I shower. The rains will soon be starting – then I will get a first hand taste of what they are like – have certainly heard many horror stories about them.
For standards here I have gotten settled amazingly fast – for example a family (4 kids) were here 3 months (not that unusual) before they finally found a place (just to give you an idea). Of course I was very blessed to have Raj find and negotiate for my place. And then to be right next door to them – how great is that!!!
I was thrilled to find a reclining chair – it is the most comfortable for my back to sit in a recliner.
Thankfully I have an inverter so during the many power cuts I still have power on selected lights and plugs – this is so great to have.
I will take pictures and post them on this site soon.
To see Lonavala and the campus check out ---------------------- website
Went to see a new baby girl born a couple of days ago to one of our Indian couples – boy was she ever cute!
Today we had a couple of major downpours about 15 min each – and I mean RAIN heavy and loud. And they say it does this 24 hours for 4-5 days – can’t even imagine that. With the rain is a heavy thunderstorm – lots of lightning and thunder.
Friday June 1, 2007
Had a big rain last evening – most of the evening – as a result there was a power cut – I guess some trees were blown down. This seemed like a pretty big rain to me but Brenda says that was nothing!! It thundered and lightened most of the evening. And can you believe it – the power was out all nite – and of course my inverter only lasts about 4 hours and then it dies too. So no fan, no sleep machine and many mosquitoes all nite – not such a good sleep for me. Looking forward to using my machine this nite – catch up on the much-needed sleep.
Will be driving down to Pune today to visit with Sandra and try to find suitable curtains for my windows – thankfully the rods are already up – if I can’t get ready made then I will have to get them made – thankfully the cost of making is very reasonable.

been away from internet connection

Sorry I haven't had access to the internet during this past week - have been setting up house and buying a car. This weekend I am in Pune - it has been fun driving around many of the familiar places and see many friends from before. Today we went to the pool and enjoyed the sun, water and relaxation by the side of the pool. Of course with the sun I managed to get a little too much sun so am a little burny but know that will soon turn into a nice tan.
Tomorrow after picking up my curtains (which were made this past weekend) and my printer that needed attention I will be heading back to Lonavala - will start working on Tues this week. The rains have started some - but not too bad yet - everyone says that what we have had has been ''nothing yet' just can't imagine it much worse!!! time will tell.
Will write more once I have access to higher speed internet.