Settling in....

I think I've been in India for three days now...I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all. Here are some general updates...
(1) Travel...After having my flight to Newark cancelled, I managed to get on another flight but my baggage didn't. It all worked out though because the airline and the school gave me some money to get clothes. (The school also arranged for a driver/guide to find some places to shop at.)

(2) School...It's awesome! They really take care of their teachers. The first few days of orientation have been filled with setting up bank accounts, getting registered at the foreign office, meeting the school doctor, filling out paper work, yada yada yada. But, it hasn't all been boring. It's fun to do some of those things. (Not the 2 hour trip downtown for the 3 hour foreign registration process...) Everyone has been very helpful.

(3) Bandra...The neighborhood I'm living in is cool. One night I walked down Hill and Linking road, two of its busiest shopping/dining streets. I bought a map of India for my wall. Initially priced at 300 rupees, I bargained down to 150 (42R to the dollar...).

(4) Auto-rickshaw experience...The school sends a bus to pick us up every morning. Well, today I overslept! So, I had to catch a rickshaw which took me the 15 minute journey to the school. The rickshaw is basically an electric bike with a one-two person covered seat. It cost 40 rupees for the ride. I gave the driver a 100R note. He was thrilled at the tip. (No doubt, the dollar meant a lot more to him than to me.) Plus, I just appreciated that I made it to orientation in time for breakfast.

I will be posting some pictures soon...Stay tuned!

Preparations, preparations, details, details...

I leave in less than 72 hours...CRAZY!
I've nearly completed the long list of tasks required for an international move:
(1) Filing Indian Visa application
(2) Modifying bank Info
(3) Contacting financial advisor
(4) Donating furniture, clothes, etc.
(5) Selling of the car
The list goes on and on.
It's been good to take a look at my life and experiences in Minneapolis through pictures and possessions I've collected. It's also very exciting to think about starting out somewhere new. I hope that I stay in touch with a lot of people. (And have some visitors in Mumbai too....Free lodging!!)