by the time we got the kids to bed it was closer to 3. We got up and got dressed and I got to meet the maids. they are two sisters who are I think in their early twenties. They seem really nice but they do not speak nearly any English and I speak no Hindi so communication is slow. Its amazing how much dust and debris accumulates in one day so it is nice to have a extra help cleaning the apartment. after they left we finally ventured out to see the neighborhood. we live in an apartment complex that seems to be about 10-15 years old. maybe more. the grounds look very nice from above but on ground level you can tell that some of the pavement and landscaping need some attention. the hallways also look like a coat of paint couldn't hurt. It reminds me a lot of college. our actual apartment it pretty nice minus a few minor details. We do have a very nice gym and also a pool that is available. I am still trying to get a clear answer as to how often and what they use to clean the pool before we go swimming. Again the pool is nice but looks to be a little older. The so called "premier" housing community is right behind our development or society as they call it. from the looks of it, besides the nicer landscaping and a significantly better playground it is really not all that better looking than where we live. 
However, the face that live so close to our kids school and Kathleen's work makes our apartment ideal. we also live across the street from a mall that has an arcade and bowling available. There is also a McDonald's there and a KFC and Subway even though I don't think I will ever be able to eat at the subway. we are supposed to stay a way from raw veggies. It might take a while before I am ready to go down that road. Our apartment is also close to a local park is nearby but we haven't been there yet. I haven't been to the golf course yet either but that is only about 2 miles from here, allegedly. The neighborhood does look a little decrepit by American standards but from what I understand it is pretty decent by local standards. Some sidewalks either disappear all together or are falling apart. One section might be 6 feet wide while a few feet down the road it might only be 2 feet wide. A building might be very nice and well maintained while the next one is definitely not. Most stores are just little store fronts which can be pretty intimidating since I am sure they are looking forward to trying to make a buck off us. I am sure I will have more stories about our new city after a while.
Later that day during the first rainstorm of the day we took a walk to the boys school. it is only a few minutes walk down the road from the apartment. Its called Vivero International Preschool. I am really impressed with the school. I know its only been a few days but from what I can tell they really car about all the kids in there school. Every precaution available is taken for the kids safety. It is walled in but pretty much everything is so that isn't surprising. The kids must wear hats when playing outside so that they do not get too much sun. they
are required to wash hands when arriving and after almost every activity. plus they must have two sets of shoes so that they can have an indoor set as well. it keeps any of the stuff from the street outside of the school. The staff and teachers are overly polite to the parents and do not mind at all if you show up uninterrupted like I did today when I came back an hour early by mistake. Alex seems to have picked up where he left off and Nathan is really enjoying his new school.Lastly we went to a store called the Big Bazaar. The closest thing I can compare it to is a micro Walmart. I has just about anything you might need and is pretty big (about 4 floors) but nowhere near as big as a Walmart. We got some basic groceries but had to call it short since Kathleen got a call that her transport was on its way. On a side note one difference in products that took me about three seconds to figure out (at home) was butter. I bought what appeared to be a normal package of regular butter but failed to realize that it was one big block of butter instead of four separate quarters. I guess I will be chiseling butter for a while but now I now and knowing is half the battle. Well, that's it for now. More to come later.
No comments:
Post a Comment