Today I’ve been exhausted. I think it is the sinus pressure combined with adjusting to the heat combined with immersion in Bangla.
I am a hot, sweaty mess.
Mike’s maid speaks Bangla almost exclusively and she enjoys giving mike a hard time by only speaking to him in Bangla. Getting used to a maid who cooks and cleans your things is another issue entirely. The maid/owner dynamic is a power dynamic, in which the owner of the apartment effectively has all the power, and the maid none. It reminds me of 1970s prison experiments where, when certain people are put in power, they can easily exploit the people under them. I’m sure verbal/physical and sexual abuse is rampant in the sector.
It makes me uncomfortable that someone cleans the apartment I’m in, cooks, washes dishes, does laundry, etc. All for $60-80 a month. I don’t know how to react, or if it is morally acceptable to have a maid. Mike’s maid is Meetu, and he does give her employment, which as a single mom after she separated from her husband (a bum, apparently) I can imagine the money she earns is incredibly important. She is a huge time saver, her food is delicious and she is proud of her work and especially cooking. Moreover, if we live here, she will be a huge boon for me learning Bangla and immersing better in the culture. What do you think?
I just woke from an afternoon nap because it began to thunder and rain heavily, but I can barely keep my eyes open—in part because of sinus pressure from my head cold.
Earlier Alec and I went exploring the neighborhood around the Hiland park apartment complex to try and find a place that would give us a sim card. Through comparison shopping we found that reliance has the best deals for Calcutta, but the only corner store that sells reliance sims cannot sell them today (It’s Indian Independence Day—a big deal). We were tempted to go downtown to watch the celebrations, but didn’t. It was too early, and too crazy.
Just because I am sort of blown away by the amenities at Hiland park, here’s a list. I will try and not let it influence housing decisions:
1. cable tv
2. internet, increasible to 175gb cap, and fast for kolkata
3. 12th floor, about 5 balconies
4. 4 bed, 4 bath.
5. AC in the bedrooms. Hot water showers (obviously, currently irrelevant)
6. big common room, big eating area
7. 2 squash courts, basketball net, tennis court, ping pong tables, gym
8. right next to a mall with a “Big Bazaar” store—the Indian equivalent of a Walmart, and a 2 screen movie theater.
9. Decent location in the city to get around. By that, I mean there is no good location in Kolkata I know of in terms of transit.
Lastly, last night we visited Birla Planetarium, as well as the Anglican Cathedral, and a swank hotel called The Park. Birla hosted a starshow (I can’ think of the name). The women hosting yelled repeatedly that she would stop the show if anyone talked or used their cellphones, which she did, yelling at a man using his cell and a woman whose baby started crying.
Love old aunties who mean business.