Upside down!

Am blogging from another continent today.. in the days since my last post, I've travelled across the seven seas, as they say, and entered a new phase of my life! Like I've been saying on my blog since New Year's - 2007 is a year of changes, ups and downs and hopefully some settling down!

I've been here like 4 days, and its not hit me yet that I'm not at home.. you see, it really helps to have family who can take care of you, feed you dhoklas, upma and chapatis so that you feel "Dilli door nahin"! I'm eating, sleeping and surfing the net all day - just like I did at home! And to top it all, they're trying to make me watch 'Saloni ka safar' or some such soap on Zee, which I never even watched at home! And God help me, if I ever do end up watching it, I know I've been converted!

Anyways, since its weekdays and everyone's working, I haven't gone out much, so there is no shell shock - yet. Ofcourse there is the usual getting used to the different time zone and weather.. But there are some things that I always knew about, yet when I have to face them in reality, my mind boggles!

I mean, for starters.. there is such a thing as 'too quiet'!! Ok, I lived in South Delhi's relatively quiet, "posh" area earlier, so its not like I am not used to screaming vendors and constant traffic all the time.. but I did wake up every morning to the incessant honking of the DTC buses on the main road nearby, I did wake up to the constant chattering of the maid who came to mop and sweep the house, and my mom's daily chatter with her.. I did wake up to the pleading of my helper at asking me to drink my morning tea before it got too cold, I did wake up to the blaring sound of early morning news on TV.. And I did sleep to the sound of loud punjabi music on loud speakers playing in the park near our house when the wedding season was on!

Where is all that?!!

I haven't heard a single noise from any car nearby, ours or otherwise! No one listens to the TV at a blaring loud volume coz its so quiet everywhere, you CAN hear the tv at lower volumes! No one comes barging into the house everyday to clean up and talk (as if talking is part of the job description of a maid!).. No one understands the goodness of a chaloo chai (the one made from Red label tea leaves and not Lipton tea bags).. and no one seems to be around at all!!!! Today was the first time I heard the door bell ring in 4 days! I didn't know what the sound was for, till my aunt got up and opened the door! Hehehe.. Its so quiet, I can hear my own breathing!! And I feel awfully guilty about even trying to listen to my CDs coz I feel it will cause a raucous in the house! Imagine, my little cd player! :))

And ofcourse, the switches are all upside down, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they have names for all the roads, and they have huge spaces of land in between their houses which my Indian mind considers a waste! Hehehe..

Oh well, ofcourse one gets used to it :) There is nothing like driving on wide open roads at good speeds, rather than tackling Delhi-Gurgaon traffic on NH8 every morning..

But.. someone just give me good old noise!! :))