After an exciting end to the week, and saying goodbye to our friends Kristin, Murali, Maya and Priyanka- we are taking it easy and just laying low this weekend.
Yesterday (Sat) we stayed home in the morning and had a leisurely breakfast of idlis and dosas (as you can see Noe has her fair share of). In the afternoon we went to a real estate fair that highlighted some local builders in Bangalore. We are still thinking about investing here, but have serious reservations because of the the traffic congestion as well as the power shortage.
This past week, they started 8 hour power cuts, which for us was not that disruptive at our apt- due to a massive diesel generator that they run in lieu of hydroelectric power. The monsoons did not materialize in Karnartaka this year, and the city is facing a major power shortage.
India's power issue really effects the daily living of most people, as one might expect. Although, most of us really take our access to power for granted. Sri has thought long and hard about our personal electricity usage, and started a blog about it a few months ago- I've linked to it if you are interested. But, my point, which escapes me often these days, is that living in a place where we often don't have electricity without the added carbon effect of burning diesel has really brought to light the things I take for granted:
Cooking, using microwave, blender and other appliances whenever I want
Running washer machine whenever I need
Running fans/air conditioners whenever I feel hot
Having wireless access on all the time
Turning on the TV anytime to tune into cartoons (which I have resorted to here!)
Access to hot water anytime
And these are just a few of the things that come to mind. We are adapting our ways and learning to do the cooking and laundry in the morning, when there usually is power. Power cuts are typically from 10am to 6 pm. Don't get me wrong, I do also take full advantage of a decent amount of diesel (especially durning afternoon nap- when I'm all about making it the perfect temperature to keep the kids asleep:-)
The one thing that travel surely does is allow you to refect on your life 'back there' and think about the ways others adapt to seemingly less convenient situations.
One more week of work for Sri in Bangalore, and then we're off for a mini vacation in the coffee plantations near Chikmagalur (Western Ghats) next weekend. We're stopping off to see Belur and Halebid (old temples) and stay at the Taj. Then we leave via overnight train to Vijayawada next Monday.
Till next time!
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