Eight weeks to go!

Things are moving ahead. The work on  also our house will be finished on the 29th (ish).

The cats are going to the vet tommorrow for their rabies shot and the vet will fill out the forms for the No objection certificate.
Basically I have to take them to the vet who checks all their paperwork and gives them a rabies shot and fills in the forms. Next I send the forms to our relative in India who will take that paperwork to the Customs officer who will grant the NOC which then gets sent back to us.

I ordered some boxes online and have started packing. The shipping container gets delivered on the 6th of november and leaves Fremantle on the 15th of november.
A friend has put us in touch with a customs agent in Kolkata and he has given a quote which seems OK. The only unknown is how much the customs duty and port fees etc will be, I shudder to think.

It is hard to wind up a life in one place at the same time. I'm determined to keep in touch with my friends here though. I'm just looking forward to being moved and settling in.
But at the moment I feel tired and unsettled and there are just way too many things that can go wrong!
Anyways keep on breathing...

Father's Day

But no father here today cos he is still away in Port Hedland working and we are here in Perth. He will be home inn 2 weeks when his 4 week swing is over. The kids are keeping the presents and cards they made at school till then.
Yesterday was a horrific day...the kids fought till I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I ripped em a new one and today so far as been good (apart from the boys waking up at 6am on a sunday and making a huge noise for the next 2 hours so no one could sleepin but that's normal). Vrinda has a friend staying and so far they have cleaned the kitchen and are making pancakes (without a recipe) so waiting on that.
I have been thinking a lot about how life will change when we are in India. At the moment we live in a suburban street which as large bush blocks (ours is 3000m2) and we barely know even our immediate neighbours. The only people I know here are people I have met through the kids school.
When I lived in India before we lived  inside the ISKCON compound in an apartment. All our neighbours were other ex-pats from different countries. It was like living in India but kind of not if you know what I mean My husband's relatives would visit sometimes but after a while he managed to get them to call us before they came over as their unannounced visits were driving me crazy as everytime they came I had to drop everything and host them, go out and get drinks or cook or whatever.
Our new house is right in my husbands village but separate from where the rest of the family live. I know my mother in law will probably be at our house most of the time which I don't mind as she is pretty easy to be around and I like her cooking (I mean I know sometimes I might feel hacked off with her...I KNOW that will happen but I at least can go to my own room or whatever). Because of  having ISKCON just down the road white people are not such an oddity so I don't get too much interest in me because of that. I have a big wall and a gate thanks to my husband so noone can see in from outside. I guess I will get lots of visitors to start with and maybe less as time goes by.
To be honest I don't know but I'm determined to ride out the issues whatever they may be...after all I have to live there and I'm hoping to live there for a long time so burning my bridges isn't going to work.

Our moving day is 15th of December so not  long to go.

Shit happens...

The last week has been a tough one and I'm still dealing with the fallout. First of all I am just really really tired, at the moment I just want to run away to a quiet place and not have people wanting me, needing me, expecting me. I am tired of parenting alone and I need a break.
So when I got the news that our project manager is no longer able to help us with our house, well the shit hit the fan. I really could not see how we could continue...I am still pretty upset about it but have started forming Plan B and I think it will be OK.
I do have to say though that my husband (and me in a support role) work really hard for our money and because of that we don't want to waste it. I know how our little house and family is not a number one priority in everyone's mind but when I'm paying someone to do a job I expect honesty and to stick to what you said you would do (RANT OVER).
 Anyway onwards and upwards!

Here is a pic of my kids... on our recent trip to Denmark.( Denmark is a small town in Western Australia)  Not a very good photo I know but I like the huge tree trunk they are posing in!
For now my husbands cousin is going to help us put in a new septic tank at the house and do a few minor bits and pieces. I am going to order all the bathroom fittings and then a guy is going to come from Kolkata to install everything so we wont be without a bathroom for too long.

I am on a search to find these tiles for my kitchen...if I have to I will buy them here and put them in my shipping container.
Well it is school pick up time. Im off but I might do another post tonight...

Going on...

My husband has just been home for a week after 4 weeks away for work. It was a hard week, we are both tired after a busy 4 weeks and the amount of details to work out before we move led to some snippy moments! I find the 4/1 rota to be the worst as it takes a good few days to get adjusted to having him back around again and by the time that has happened it is time for him to leave again. Once we are in India he will be working 2 months and then home for 1 month. I think this will be much much better. Plus in India we will have the luxury of not having so much of the housework/garden maintenance to catch up on while he is here.

The day before he came back was Janmastami so the children and I went to the temple for a few hours in the evening. It was very crowded there and we struggled to even get inside the temple but we did in the end and we saw the cultural programme and some dancing. Then we had some prasadam and came home around 9pm. It was a shame that my husband missed it. I am really tired of him missing everything!

I had  received an email from the Indian Visa and Passport Office saying that the kid's OCI had been approved so we took their passports in there and they will put the sticker in and courier them back to us. My husband also needed his OCI transferred from his old passport to his new one so we got that done too.

I have been looking at  a few indian tile websites and not having much luck finding anything nice. They are either throwbacks to the 80's with pink and grey floral patterns or an indian interpretation of modern/contemporary. So not what I am looking for! Maybe I need to put a few boxes of tiles in my shipping container...

My MIL rang up and just hearing her voice I missed her so much...she is unconditionally caring and no matter what I do (and she has seen me really freak out) she is still my biggest supporter. Shed a few tears and made me feel really good that we will be so close to her soon.
I chased up the pet relocation company again...he is meant to be getting back to me (sigh).

Kitchen nightmares...

We have been trying to figure out a few things to do with the kitchen recently. Because the kitchen is presently 2 small rooms and a verandah there is quite a bit to do... First we need to decide where the water will be which means deciding where the windows will be.
It is harder than you think especially when I am just going off a floorplan and can't see how the light is and all the small details like that.
Looks like we are just going to be in camping mode for quite a while when we arrive as unless I  can sneak in a quick visit before we all actually move (unlikely) I am just not prepared to make too many decisions which could turn out to be expensive mistakes.
So it looks like there will just be an empty room with a sink, a stove and a table. A friend of ours has a gas stove that looks really good and she has found it good so she is going to buy one for us in Kolkata and get it in the house before we arrive http://www.sunflame.com/CookingRanges.asp hopefully the top one if we can get it.
I'm also hoping to be able to have a walk-in pantry/scullery area with a 2nd sink...

The kitchen that is there now!



What I want






 

Inside I am freaking out just a little bit.

about this move. Part of it is the amount of stuff I have to organise to make it happen. I'm mostly worried about the kids and how they will  manage and adjust to the move, I also feel a bit guilty about moving them from a life that they are pretty happy with and giving them a totally different one.
In some ways I wish we were moving sooner so I could just get there and start.

Some good news is that the children's OCI cards have been approved, now I need to go back to the Indian Passport and Visa Office and submit their passports then in about 7 working days they will be returned with the stamp thingy in them. This means they are now Overseas Citizens of India and will be able to come and go from India without a visa for the rest of their lives. They don't even need to register with the FRO (Foreigners Registration Office). I am the only one that still needs to do that as I have a PIO card (person of indian origin) as I am not eligible for OCI. PIO lasts for 15 years which is still pretty good.

Dina has returned from Switzerland and work will start once Ramadan is over, as our mistri (carpenter) is muslim he is not available till then. In the meantime I'm trying to work out a kitchen floorplan which is quite difficult when I'm not there.
I want to leave as much as I can till I am actually there but still have the necessities so we can be comfortable. If we didn't have to consider the 2 cats that we are taking with us then I would leave everything and go and stay in a hotel till the house is ready! (bloody cats!!!)

This week I am going to meet with the pet relocation company to find out what needs to be done and he will give me a quote for that. I also want to go and get some book boxes so I can pack up books and things that we don't use that much. I will feel good when it looks like I have made a start!

Progress and more photos

It has been school holidays here so I have been very busy with my kids but today they are back at school so I am taking the opportunity to update here.
We applied to have the electricity reconnected a few months back and the good news is that the electricity is now on. We also have signed up with the local gas bottle delivery service and that is all in place too.
A high boundary wall has been built...I was actually against building such a high wall but my husband thinks it is neccessary, I did put my foot down when he wanted to put broken glass and nails along the top! I know this is common in India but I would feel like I was in prison and I think if someone is determined to climb over a bit of glass isnt going to stop them.


This is the view from the road..




The front room, I really like this room.

 Our friend Dina arrived back in India from Switzerland yesterday so work will be starting on the house soon, there is a lot to do but because we are wanting to build an extension in the next couple of years it seems pointless to spend a lot of money renovating at the moment so only what is needed to make it liveable will be done at this time. Things like mosquito screens, fans, a basic kitchen, inside toilet and bathroom, and plastering and painting. Before it gets hot we will need some airconditioning too.



The wall


 Because the house had not been lived in for several years the outside was very overgrown but now the land has all been cleared and some new topsoil has been brought in. My husband tells me there are several fruit trees there too.

This is my mother in law (thakuma) sitting on the back steps

My mother in law is a very sweet and hardworking person. I am looking forward to spending more time with her....so are the kids for that matter. My daughter was very excited when I told her she could go to Thakuma's house whenever she wants once we move!


Tram guy and Thakuma by the new front gates

It's quite hard when I am not actually there to oversee what is happening there...I HATE these ugly gates but nevermind they might look better when they are painted. That will happen when I am there to choose the colours. I have told them to wait until I geth there to choose the paint colour for anything that needs painting except the house interior which can just be plastered where necessary and whitewashed for now.



Back from holiday...

We spent the last 5 days at Tree Elle retreat in South Western Australia...fantastic holiday. I have had my mother and one of my brothers here from New Zealand too. My brother left today (tears) but my mother is here for another week.
One good thing is that I have received my PIO card in the post! I am still waiting for the kid's OCI cards but apparently they take longer.
Our friend and project manager Dina is on holiday in Switzerland for a month but wheb he gets back work will start on our house. Can't believe we are moving in only 5 months
SQUEE!!!!!

Broken modem...

I woke up the sunday before last, and my moden was dead as a doornail. So frustrating after I had only just started this blog! I have received my new modem today so hopefully I will be up and running again soon.

Some more house photos

Back porch

The gender specific loos...WHY?

This is my nephew

View from the front gate...squee!

Some background on us

I'm Emma, a 34 year old New Zealander. My husband is bengali and we have 4 children. We met in Mayapur which is the  world headquarters of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). It was 1997 and I was travelling with two friends, we were visiting Vrindavan and Mayapur to attend some courses and go on parikrama.
My husband was working as a security guard/maintenance man and had also taken an interest in the philosophy. I at the time was a cardcarrying member of ISKCON and living in the ashram in Auckland.
Long story short we married in March 2001 and moved to New Zealand in 2002 with the idea that we would one day move back to India.
Ten years later we are living in Australia and the day has come when we are ready to move back. My husband will continue working here in Australia and do FIFO 2 months on/1 month off.  He is already doing 6 weeks on/1 week off at the moment so we are used to this lifestyle.
We have bought a house closeby to Mayapur in my husband's village, a 2 minute walk to my mother in laws house. It needs a lot of work but we are going to dp what is absolutley necessary before december and then finish it off when we are there.

The front of our house.

Post 1...

Hmm...first ever post. I was waiting for the right time to start this blog but things have been so busy lately I have no idea when that time will come.
Our tickets are booked for December 15th, the house is bought but has no running water, electricity and is very rundown.
I have applied for PIO card for myself and OCI for the children. That will take 8 weeks to process. I have a few quotes for moving but thats as far as I have got on that front.
I also have no idea how to "work" this site...
I think in the future I will be glad I documented this adventure. I hope other people will enjoy it too.