Thursday, October 14, 2010

Yesterday I hid…

…in the room all day after breakfast.  I did not go to the gym and I did not go down for lunch.  I did not pass ‘Go’ and I did not collect 8,860 rupees.

I felt lethargic and melancholy.  Tired of living in a hotel room, I did what most rational people would do.  I stayed in that very hotel room.  All. Day. Long.

After the **‘soup incident’ the other day, I just didn’t feel like dealing with India.  I opened the drapes and the windows and picked up my book.  Not even 20 pages in and the workers were on the scaffolding outside, peering into my fish bowl. 

I closed the windows, the drapes and my book.  I turned on the TV and flipped through the English speaking stations before finally settling on Vicky Ratnani , the Emeril Legasse of Indian cooking shows.  No sooner had I learned that chicken sausages were in fact chicken hot dogs, when the satellite went out. 

No television?  “Are you frick-frackin’ kidding me!”  Upon investigation I found out that a transformer had blown, which in turn knocked out the satellite.  With the question, “How soon will it be fixed?” was the reply, “Twenty minutes.” 

It is now more than 24 hours later and it is still not working.  To me, it is somewhat reminiscent of ComCast in the states.  I guess India is beginning to feel a bit more like home (insert maniacal laughter).

(If some of you are wondering why I don’t try Hulu or YouTube, let me tell you I have.  YouTube movies buffer more than they play and Hulu blocks foreign URLs.  Though Paul has an older version of UltraSurf that works on his notebook, my laptop is persnickety and doesn’t like the current version.)

With no light coming in from the window and none coming out of the television, I flipped up the ‘No House-Keeping’ switch and napped, on and off, for most of the afternoon.  Upon waking I regretted not having housekeeping come in as I found myself almost out of toilet paper.  I was finally forced out of the room in search of a roll.  I will eat the food and I will learn the customs, but I will not, repeat not, be forced to use my left hand.  Flush you very much!


** I’ll tell you about the ‘soup incident’ tomorrow…

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who lived in India for 5 years and the satellite went out all the time. She said it made her feel at home too because it was always going out in Sydney at that time anyway.

I'm sure you'll find your feet soon. There is just so much to take in. I am enjoying hearing about your adentures.

Anonymous said...

And as well as your dentures I like your adventures. Sheesh. I am practically illiterate...

Expat No. 3699 said...

@ Selma

I hope I find my feet soon too, and I also hope to find them in a flat and out of this hotel.

You are far from illiterate, as anyone who reads your blog would know. I think your fingers just aren’t moving across the keyboard fast enough to keep up with you!

Unknown said...

No fair flashing the guys on the scaffolding just to see how high they bounce when they hit the ground.

Not that you would do that. It's just that I had this Monty Python moment as I was reading your post today and that's what fell out.

xoxoxox

Bama Cheryl said...

Big adjustments and entirely understandable that you want to hide a bunch. Just take it slowly and find your level. Enjoy!

Expat No. 3699 said...

@ Lceel
You make me laugh.

Oh my, did you know there is a penguin on top of my telly-vision? Nevermind…it exploded.

@ Bama Cheryl
Yes it has, and will be for awhile, a big adjustment. I’m taking it day-by-day.

Nej said...

Oh gosh, I think I would have hidden too. Sometimes it's all just a little too much, and you need time to recharge. :-)

(getting caught up on some of my blog reading today) :-)