Chandigarh 1 (Nov 4)

I've been here a couple of days now and am getting a little more used to things. We are staying in a 3-bedroom house that belongs to Jessie's family on his father's side. It is part of a larger building that has 2 or 3 residencies with separate entrances. There is a back yard that we share with various others, particularly Rom's family.

Rom (I'm not sure how to spell his name) takes care of this house when it is empty. He sees to the yard and the main rooms. The bedrooms were locked off separately when we first arrived, so they were pretty dusty, but when we got here he brought us tea and cookies and swept out the rooms. His wife has been cooking some of our meals. He has 2 children, a son and daughter, and his father lives with them as well. His father used to be a tailor, but I think he is essentially retired. Rom works as a technical consultant for the government, I think.

I went out yesterday to do some looking around, and I have to say that I am quite impressed with Chandigarh, especially the residential areas. There is much harmony between the open spaces and the buildings. The streets are laid out in a very easy to navigate grid. I took some pictures of the residential area in my sector, and I'll try to post those soon.

The traffic is a bit alarming. There are many cars, and also a lot of these motor driven rickshaw things, and on top of that there are plenty of bicycles and bicycle rickshaws. People drive without much regard to things like signs or road markings.