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15.5 Weeks and I’m Showing!

Well things seem to be fine. My blood pressure is good 110/72 and only a few GI problems. But I guess that’s because my peristalsis has slowed. And, I’m showing. I thought it was just my regular fat, but its not. My clothes aren’t fitting properly. Its so strange, my arms and legs are getting skinner, while my tummy just gets bigger and bigger. For the past few days, I just decided that I was getting fatter and fatter, but in reality, I’m showing, a little. I have to say though, that it’s a little difficult to tell the difference between my regular fat and the baby. I guess I’ll just be getting bigger and bigger until I finally get to see Rahul. Only 4 more weeks to go. It doesn’t seem that long, now that I live with people.

I Moved Again

Anytime you come to a new city, you move at least 3 times before you find a neighborhood that makes you happy. Well, I think I found that neighborhood. I moved to from Thiruvanmiyur to Besant Nagar. It’s about the same distance from work and it’s a much better neighborhood. I’m still just a quick walk away from the beach, have Fab India around the corner, and I have roommates. I live with the boys now. It’s nice to have roommates.

The rent is also far more affordable. We live in a two bedroom and two-bath house. It’s a great place, though it does get hot in there. We don’t have the same amount of breeze as many of the other houses I had lived in had. So, we all sleep in one room- the room in the house that has A/C, and has the TV. I forgot what it was like to live with boys- they like to snack and watch sports. I have never clocked this many hours of ESPN before, neither have I seen so much football in my life. Apparently, it’s World Cup. I guess it’s a big deal. At least I’ll have tons to talk to Pat about when I get back to the states. I’m sure he’s watching all these games. I even saw the Czech "spank" the USA 3 to zero last night. Nice. I’m turning into a guy. And all of this while I’m pregnant.

Pondy Bazaar with the Boys

Sunday, we were up and ready to explore the city. We went to Pondy Bazaar in T. Nagar. T. Nagar is the shopping district in India and Pondy Bazaar is just one huge main road in that area. There are tons of little stalls selling hair accessories, fake jewelery, clothes, shoes, bags, and flowers, tons and tons of flowers.

This bazaar is considered the busiest in Chennai, the locals barely come here- but the number of people there made me think otherwise. Not only are there hundreds of stalls, there are also A/C shops selling higher end, more expensive items. There is also a ton of yummy food in the area. But, our mission was to shop, and to shop for work clothes.

Tushar was planning to wear sweats and athletic gear to work—I had to help him. Kyle, on the other hand, was having trouble parting with more than Rs. 150 (approx. $3.33). In his defense, every penny counted.

We had delicious freshly made juice, made from mangos, limes and pomegranates. Apparently, regardless of the number of times we asked that there be no ice or water used to make the juice, we found the juice to have chunks of ice and to be too thin to not have any water. We sent it back- but all they did was remove the ice and return the same drinks to us. Tushar, a cowboy, drank it anyway. I have yet to ask about his BM. That might be too much for him.

Later, we ate at a Mexican place- the nachos were good, but still Indian. And, the enchiladas, were ok- not very good at all- they tried, but, as usual it was just a little off.

The New Guys in Miami

The New Recruits

Last Saturday, two 1st year med students arrived from Tufts- Kyle and Tushar. They claim that they are not together, though they behave like a married couple. Kyle is super tall and kanjus (hindi for stingy) and Tushar- well he likes to relax and go with the flow. Oh, he also has a serious Chai fetish- he needs it all the time. Here, first year students are called Chickens. Strange. They will be staying at the overpriced guesthouse with me for the weekend, until they can get another place.

Miami—A Beachside Indian Restaurant?

Saturday night we went to an Indian restaurant called Miami. It was on the Beach. They serve… Indian food. What!?

Just as we were finishing up a very heavy rain came. It was so windy and rainy, I thought it was a tropical storm or something. Huddling together under a thatched roof, with the rain falling horizontally, and right in our faces, we saw the wait-staff chasing after 2 escaped rabbits. I had often wondered whether the meat was fresh in India. Sho’ is. Rabbit Masala Curry was on the menu and those little guys were on the loose. There we were trapped, soaked and witness to the loss of Rs.1000.

No Masala in my Mac n’ Cheese Pleeze!

So, part of being here at this apartment is that breakfast is no longer a part of the deal. This is really too bad, because the best thing about being at Kenneth’s place was breakfast. It was delicious and filling. I love South Indian food for breakfast, it’s the best. The baby and I loved it. Now, I have to eat cereal and toast again. Ahh, it was nice when it lasted. I am also on my own for dinner.

I went to the local “American” grocery store. I heard that they had oatmeal, cereal, cheese, ice cream, peanut butter and other stuff. The trip was the same as anyone who has to make a special trip to the Indian store in the states. The stuff is imported, so it’s a little expensive- but when you are done with sambar-, you are willing to pay any price for a tube of Pringles and hunk of cheese. This time, I paid nearly $3 for a box of Mac n Cheese. My plan: Mac-Cheese and Charmed on TV. Yes!

Instead, after making my mac-cheese, the Tamilian Aunty who was visiting from the Seychelles and was on her way back- wanted to taste my dinner—my Kraft Mac n’ Cheese dinner that is. I was dreading this moment. I purposely delayed making dinner knowing that they came anywhere near it, they would mess it up. She, as predicted, hated it! So, she made it her business to look for salt and pepper and when she couldn’t find it- she knocked on the neighbor’s door to find salt and pepper. Then, when there was no pepper to be found- she added malaha poodi (an actually super delicious power that you mix with oil into a paste and eat with idlis). Malahapoodi is great with idlis, but NOT with Anju’s long awaited Kraft Mac n’ Cheese Dinner! What was this woman doing to me? All I wanted was some Mac Cheese and Charmed—that’s it! Anyway, she put a SHIT-LOAD of malahapoodi on my mac cheese- tasted it and concluded that it was much improved. Then, the little 3 yr old kid who lives there, wanted to try it. I’m hating life right now. His parents don’t want him to eat the foreign food- they were so stressed. They asked me if there was beef in it and how I had prepared it. I said no, and out of a box. I also said that it was hot and that my show was starting. The Tamilian Aunty, who I couldn’t get to leave fast enough, kept telling me to mix in the malahapoodi. NO! NO! NO! If I mixed it in, I would effectively be putting a $3 gourmet meal in the toilet, I didn’t want this shit in there. Then I gave the kid a piece of mac with the heaviest dose of malahapoodi—he didn’t like it. SCORE!

I dashed across the hall into the apartment, repeating that my show was starting. I closed the door, telling them that I was turning on the AC. Once the door was closed, I through our the nasty malahpoodi encrusted top layer into the sink- and had a seat in front of the TV, in time to catch Alyssa Milano having a premonition. Finally, freedom- until, my cell phone rang…

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.