It’s been a little over 2.5 weeks since I’ve been in Thrissur and I recently found my own apartment! I’m still in shock that I found something so quickly. It has 2 bedrooms, 3 beds, a fridge, plates & cups, a table and chairs, a microwave, LPG stove, and it’s easy to get to work. My organization helped negotiate the apartment for me after I found it because I can’t speak Malayalam and they needed a reference. Apparently they know my organization quite well and I also understood that me being married contributed to me getting the apartment over six local single college girls who were willing to pay more!
I spent this last weekend cleaning it like a mad woman. I washed the walls and counters, mopped the floors, cleaned the bathroom and windowsills, etc. etc. etc. Now the place is ready to move into! I also bought a few things like a dish rack, towels, soap, small bathroom rugs and a bed sheet to help settle me into the apartment. Shopping for all the cleaning supplies and other things for the apartment was an adventure in itself! Because of all the stuff, I also took an auto-rickshaw for the first time to the new apartment ☺
The apartment is the ground floor of an old home that has a unique color scheme. On the first floor there is a family of 4 (2 girls and mother and father). The neighborhood is actually quite nice. Mostly families it seems with lots of little kids. I got to meet some of them yesterday. There were about seven of them all standing on my porch asking me what my name was and where my mother and father were ☺ The two girls upstairs also came down and introduced themselves to me, which was nice. There are definitely a lot of eyes in the neighborhood, especially me being the new move-in. One of my roommates helped me do some last bits of cleaning today which was really nice! I move into the apartment tomorrow night.
Although I’m excited to be moving into my own place, I also feel a little sad to be moving out of the hostel even though I was mortified the first night. It’s nice to be around people and I absolutely love all my roommates, who I’ve learned so much from, especially about the life of women in Kerala and India. I admit that living here on my own is quite difficult, especially being away from family and friends. It’s also challenging to get around here in English without knowing any Malayalam. You can find English more widely spoken in bigger cities in India, but since I live in a suburb in a not so touristy place, English is not as widely spoken. Next weekend, I hope to venture out to the bookstore to pick up a Malayalam language book so that I can use more than the few words I’ve learned when I’m shopping and conversing with people. I don’t particularly miss the US much, but I do miss my family and friends and I think of everyone back home often, so without my roommates, I think it would take me much more time to adjust here and learn the subtle idiosyncrasies of the culture (ie. washing clothes, eating food, wearing clothes, buying vegetables, etc.). I’m glad that I lived with them (couldn’t have asked for better roommates) and now I can invite them over for visits! They’re going to come over tomorrow night to help me move all my things and help me settle in which will be nice☺
I’ll post some pictures soon and write more about other stuff that's been happening as well! Arranging focus groups for the next two weeks and one of those weeks will be in Central India in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Get to do a bit of traveling!
Its so great to hear about your adventures (and misadventures too, they can be another kind of fun). There's so much to learn and all at once, eh? It'll get better. I hope the mosquitoes are not too bad, is it the rainy season? You might check with a local pharmacy (homeopathic or otherwise) to see if there are remedies available. Local wisdom and local therapies are often the most effective. Good to hear people have taken you under their wings. I miss you, thanks for writing the blog!
ReplyDeleteSuch awesome, exciting news - a big next step for you! Lots of comments I could make, but I have to say the biggest smile came from seeing "wearing clothes" described as a "subtle idiosyncrasy of culture". Yeah, yeah...I know that's not precisely how you meant it to be read, but it still brought a grin to my face! Would love to see a pic of you in your new outfits once they're ready. :)
ReplyDeletecongratulations on the new place, Jenn! Love reading your blog and learning about India through your eyes.
ReplyDelete@Ellen - I miss you too! Yes it is a lot to soak in. I'm certainly learning a lot about myself, patience, and building relationships. It's a humbling process no doubt. The mosquitoes are not nearly as bad as they were when I first got here. Somehow they've migrated to my feet, but in general, I think my blood is getting old :)
ReplyDelete@Margie - funny! I'm glad you got what I meant. "Wearing clothes" is definitely a must do here and covering every part as well :) My roommate and I were joking about the style of dress here in Kerala the other night when we were watching some TV show that had some woman wearing a tight strapless dresses on. In addition to that, I also faced my own embarrassment recently where I wore one of my favorite t-shirts that had too low of a neck and I wore it during my first management meeting. My roommates didn't tell me until the next day! Still mortified about it, but very good lesson learned and we all had a good laugh about it because that's just what you do in embarrassing moments :) I get some leeway, at least I think, which is a good thing. I'm looking forward to dressing like a local soon :)
@PTH - Thanks! I'm looking forward to moving into the new place tonight. Good to hear from you!