My New Home

We got to look at our apartment and talk to the landlady today. The apartment is going to be magnificent. I mean this apartment is nicer than any of the apartments that I have seen in Davis. It is really big and in a very, very nice neighborhood for Northern Delhi. It is approximately a 20 minute walk to my department on campus. And if I feel so inclined I can always just take the metro which has a stop right outside my door.... literally (which is the nthe metro is one of the nicest I have seen in the world... I mean that too). This means that I can get pretty much to any of the main places in Delhi for really cheap (the most I saw for a ticket was Rs 20 or $.50). The building across the street form us is the old Parliamentary Secretariat and was the British center of control in Delhi before they built the other buildings in New Delhi when the British moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The apartment we will have was once occupied by the former president of India when he was just starting his career as a politician. The buildings themselves were designed by a semi famous architect. Other cool things include walas who come to our house for yoga lessons, cleaning EVERYDAY(meaning sweeping and kitchen I think), a dobi (washer man), and older women who come to sell weeks stock of home cooked Indian food (at around Rs40 for the whole thing). Newspapers are also delivered. Did I mention that there are ACs in all of our rooms? The only downside is that we can't flush the toilet paper down the drain because the plumbing is like 100 years old. But there is almost never any blackouts or water shortages in this neighborhood. Needless to say, it is FANTASTIC! When we went into the apartment to look at it, we were so amazed. It is really cool.

Also we talked to our land lady who was just about the coolest land lady ever in India. She was like, " I think of you as my own children. I want to show you the best India has to offer. If you ever need to contact me, even in the middle of the night, for any reason, then just call me." She also wants us to attend an Indian wedding. The first night that we move in, she wants to make for us an authentic Indian meal. She is pretty upper class (surprise surprise considering she is the landlord of this neighborhood). She doesn't live there (she lives in S. Delhi) but her mother (who is also a great grandmother... we saw her great grandchild) lives there. Her daughter is a doctor too so she said we could go to her if anything is needed.

I can't wait to move in...