Living Like an Ex-Pat

I finally got a key to the apartment on Monday. It’s a 3 bedroom, 3 bath apartment on the 6th floor. My driver helped bring the luggage up and the first thing we noticed was the light switch in the hallway didn’t do anything. Uh oh. Inside the apartment it was more of the same – no power. Did someone turn off the electricity?

I call the relocation specialist and she says to check with security. Sure enough, they go turn on some main switch. Still no power. I send the driver back downstairs to talk to security as I looked for my flashlight. Security comes up and they’re looking for something. Nope, not in the bathroom or kitchen, but success! They found a breaker box in the hallway. The main switch was in the off position. Whew!

The A/C unit in the living area was cranking out cool air as I took a quick assessment of the apartment. One bedroom had a new bed, but I couldn’t figure out where the switch was to turn on the A/C. The other bedroom had a functioning A/C unit, but the light switches didn’t turn on any lights. The third bedroom had the A/C on and the lights working. I felt like Goldilocks.

I then noticed that none of the beds had sheets, blankets or pillows. A quick check in the closets confirmed no bedding other than a blanket. Yet another call to the relocation specialist (I was having dinner with her that evening) and she offered to bring some bedding when she picked me up. She was smart enough to also bring towels, which I also lacked. She did show me how to find the multiple electrical switches each room seems to have. None of the switches are marked. They control the electriacl outlet, fan, lights (many lights), A/C, etc.

She also told me that the hot water heater has to be turned on about 20 minutes before showering, but we’re not sure which switch is for the hot water (there’s no hot water for the sink). Thank goodness she mentioned it or else I would’ve been taking a cold shower in the morning. Alas, I did end up taking a cold shower (for 2 days). I tried the switches in one bathroom with no luck. I did the same in the other bathroom, which was warmer to begin with, and accepted the room temperature water as being bearable. I’ll figure out which combination of switches will turn on the hot water heater by the time I leave!

The apartment is really spacious. The honking horns cannot be escaped, but the wrap-around balcony is cool. The apartment takes up half of the building and there’s a balcony around the entire apartment. The exterior wall is floor-to-almost-ceiling windows. The views are of other apartment buildings, but it’s great looking out at the city. In the morning I watch the guy in the next building pray facing East as a woman in another building does a walking circuit on the small rooftop terrace.

Grocery shopping in a big store is non-existent here. The closest market is teeny, but has staples like bread, butter, water, chips, yogurt, milk, cereal along with Indian staples. A guy follows you with the basket, which makes the store even more crowded. He also tries to sell me things. Try this dip, try this sweet. Then when you check out, he reads the prices to the cashier and bags everything. Fairly efficient since the store doesn’t have scanners.

Fruits and vegetables can be bought off the street, right outside the apartment door. Some vendors have stalls. Others sit in the road and sell produce off a blanket. My purchases have been limited to bananas and eggs so far.

Driving: The traffic is as horrendous as I’ve heard. With three-wheeled taxis (rickshaws) buzzing everywhere, along with the 4-wheeled versions, buses, goods carriers (aka trucks). It’s not the vehicles that I fear, but the pedestrians that seem to dart out of nowhere right in front of you...and there are LOTS of people walking everywhere!

To make things worse, there are vendors selling on the side of the road everywhere and forces more people onto the streets. I don’t know how these drivers do it. It’s frightening being on the road. The honking doesn’t help either. It seems that they honk at virtually anything, but I guess it makes sense when people, cars, buses, trucks are all trying to get somewhere. I think the driving has to be some of the worst I’ve seen, beating Shanghai with no doubt.

Dust: Dust is quite pervasive, which is why cleaning ladies come daily. My apartment feels like a dust bowl. I normally am barefoot in my house, but here I have to wear slippers otherwise they soles of my feet would be black by the end of the day.