Back to the Cul-de-Sac

We have landed on Canadian soil - with no return ticket in hand. We've been off of Planet India for two weeks, decompressing in Greece. Two weeks? It already seems like a lifetime ago that we were in India, in fact it seems unreal that we actually lived there.
Maybe Greece - Santorini in particular - was too good to us? The food, the wine, the vistas (spectacular), the relaxed/no worried atmosphere - just too tempting to stay longer. Guiltily we all admitted we didn't miss India at all.

There is a term, after a long relationship ends and you meet someone else right away - the new guy is known as the rebound guy. The rebound guy is so great he helps you get over your long relationship guy. Well, Greece was our rebound guy, so good that we had no desire to go back to India, it made our inevitable return to Canada much easier.

Just before landing in Vancouver the pilot told us the temperature was 16 degrees celcius with blustering winds. It seemed like we descended through ten minutes of clouds and I was waiting for what lay underneath. Rain. Dark. Cold. But we saw a glimmer of sunshine that somehow made it through the clouds...it was bright and chilly, but not windy - this would do.

We were greeted at the airport by family and whisked home to Michael's sisters' house. Our tennants moved out of our house on the 29th and we got the keys back to our house. It will be about a week before we move in but it is nice to have a home to go back to.  Our home. Canada.

I am sure we will miss our "rebound guy," Greece, but I know in the end it will be India that will creep back into our thoughts and our memories.

There is no place like India. I hesitate to sign off completely, to finsh blogging. There is a lot more to write about, believe me. So many stories that I could not tell while in the country - many funny stories, some frustrating ones, but all unbelievable. Eventually I will put it all down in writing, maybe a little at a time, maybe all at once.

The last two years were an adventure, full of opportunity and ups and downs. The future will bring more travel, more change and more opportunity. But if there is one thing that stuck from the ashram - the most important thing is to do is to "live in the now."

Out of India

We've been out of India for about six days now. We couldn't go straight home of course, that would have been too direct. It wouldn't have felt right going straight from India back home to Canada. Plus when you are half way around the world you have to take advantage of the travel opportunities - well, we do anyway.

So we chose Greece. An easy 4 hrs from Bangalore to Doha, a 2 hr stopover and another 4 hrs to Athens. And there we were, out of the place we've called home for two years and plopped into a western country. The start of new beginnings.

And just like that we adapt: lane driving, short shorts, tank tops, fresh fruit (cherries, peaches), huge plates of food, garbage cans. No sari's, no burqas, no three wheelers...

We adapt quickly, perhaps too quickly. I'm thankful for my blog now and all the photos so that we don't forget. The things we learned in India, the things we want to change about the way we live in the western world - to not get caught up in the rat race - is it possible?

Last Few Days

Missed it by that much - did our best to get everything sent off via air shipment, but no luck. We had too much stuff, and so when we found out we were over the limit (six cubic meters) we did the only sane thing - added more furniture to what has now become the sea shipment. The guy says it will get to Canada within 5 - 6 weeks. Now that would be fabulous but I won't hold my breath.

The movers seemed to do a really good job - about ten guys swooped in at 10:00am, packed everything really well and the truck was gone by 4:00pm. They had a mere 45 min. break to eat their tiffin lunches in our garage and another hour waiting for a truck so they could actually load it up, but all in all it went very smoothly.

The kids had their final exam on Friday, Michael had his last day of work, we are moved out and officially on vacation! Holed up in a hotel for the final days and I really don't feel like leaving the hotel until we have to go to the airport. It is so quiet and clean, there's always a cool breeze, - it's not really India at all here in the hotel! We can tell the newbies with their sunburns and glazed over looks on their faces. I remember feeling like them two years ago.

Two years ago! It's hard to believe - we knew it would go by fast...and it did. Charity meetings and Rangoli meetings are a thing of the past. I had my last yoga class on Tuesday; my last OWC coffee morning and lunch with the girls on Thurs., my last haircut with Arlene today (she is so good and fast and I didn't have to leave the hotel).

We aren't much for drinking hard liquour but we did buy some gin at duty free when we arrived. After our Kabini trip we started drinking the odd gin and tonic - didn't want the gin to go to waste (that's a Ukranian and a Scot for ya). So here we are in the hotel, drinking G &T's, going to the pool everyday and eating at the buffet - finally acting like typical expats! 

Moving Day

Well it is moving day today. It's 7:00am, have to get the kids off to school and then Michael and I will continue to organize our stuff. Still hoping to get everything into an air shipment but we have our doubts - amazing how much we have accumulated over two years. Not big things but lots of smaller items.The problem is they all add up.

Giving as much stuff away as possible. Most of it goes to our maid who is a single Mom of two boys. A few things like a TV, water purifier and all our potted plants and trees will go to one of the OWC charities, Bangalore Hospice Trust, a palliative care center for cancer patients. They make it easy and have even arranged transportation for the goods at a reasonable fee of about 500 rp ($10).

One last coffee and cinnamon bun on the patio before the movers come at 10:00am.

One Last Walk Around the Block

This is our last weekend in the house and we have been busy spring cleaning. It is amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in two years. And since we want to fit everything into a tiny air shipment we are busy giving stuff away.

But this weekend our priority was to go out for one last walk around the neighbourhood. We will always have great memories of our walks around the block. Here's a look:

The Shiva Temple

The Friendly Children

Always Interesting Streets

The Coconut Stand

Fresh Chicken

The Corner Store where we stop for a drink and a snack

The Traffic

Buses Making U-Turns on Busy Streets

The Boys on the Garbage Truck

Laundry

Stray Dogs and Rangoli