My New Place

So, I moved out of Kenneth’s Animal Kingdom in the super far out part of town called Thoraipakkam- I now live in an equally un-pronounceable town called Thiruvanmiyur. Try saying that 10 times. This surrounding area is much better than the other place. There are tons of eating and shopping places, within walking distance. And, there are far fewer animals here, but still a lot of dogs. Chennai has many dogs. They are harmless to humans, because they spend more of their time attacking each other. These dogs don’t mess around- they are skinny, eat trash, sleep in trash, and roam around in packs at night, picking on other dogs. They are scarred, bruised and need a bath. They stay out of my way for the most part.

The place I am staying in is a guesthouse affiliated with the organization I am working with. The staff here manage the place, but its unclear whether YRG owns the place, or if the man second in command owns it. His apartment is right across mine. His brother also owns the flat below mine. I wonder if his family owns the whole complex. There is a Gym for the complex too, but I don’t really see anyone using it. Its kinda expensive, but at this point it seems worth it. My room has AC, Internet, cable, a great view of the beach and the commute to work is 12 mins and Rs. 80 ($1.74) round trip.

The beach is literally a 1 min walk from the apt complex and its always full of people. There are two higher end restaurants on the beach, one Indian, the other Italian. The Italian place is actually run by Italians and it’s yummy. I am so pleased that I can eat something other than Indian food all the time. Bread is not so great in this country- but fine, you can’t have it all. The salad there is great too. And, there is an affordable, clean and very professional salon/spa around the corner. It’s great! I got my legs waxed, eyebrows threaded and hair washed for $8. I think its okay to spend $10 a week there- so I will be definitely be back weekly. Nice.