An American Moving To Calcutta

We have left Kolkata

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:51:00 +0000

My family and I are moving to Gurgaon, just southwest of Delhi. I will be starting a new blog: american-in-delhi.blogspot.com. So far, there is only a preliminary post, but I hope to have a more...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Two Quick Posts With Nothing in Common

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:06:00 +0000

I Went To the Consulate Today. After a number of attempts, some real, others imagined, I finally managed to find the U.S. Consulate here in Kolkata. My colleague, who assisted me, was not allowed to...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Video of a Paanwallah at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:11:00 +0000

Every once in a while, some of my staff led by Abhishek, would invite me to go to Bangashree's for lunch. The food is great, especially their chicken and they have fabulous fish. The first time we...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Photos of Kolkata From My Camera Phone:

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:47:00 +0000

Ekta Heights We live in Jadavpur, in the southern section of Kolkata. Will looking out the window onto the terrace. Living Room Living Room Terrace On the Road to Santoshpur Every...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Color of Dawn

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:30:00 +0000

I stayed at a friend's house this past weekend and woke up to the sound of birds. They owned birds, kept in cages on the veranda. Brilliantly colored lovebirds, parakeets, cockatiels and finches were...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Guest Post: William Goes to School

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:51:00 +0000

Well, I guess I should being by telling the story of The Others: About the time we moved here, my mom was contacted over myspace by an Indian skater by the name of Zubin. (Editor's Note: Zubin is a...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

More Durga Puja!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:00:00 +0000

Shubo Durga Puja! This came to me in the comments section of my last post, but I felt it deserved a post of its own. My experience of Durga Puja was mine alone and I seriously didn't explore the...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Durga Puja in Kolkata

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:37:00 +0000

On Monday, I answered the doorbell to find three men at my door. Once again I was being asked for Durga Puja money. This time it was for meals. I asked what the last 400 Rupees was for and they...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Buying Beef in Kolkata

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:49:00 +0000

There is a place in Kolkata called Beck Began, where you can purchase meat and fresh produce near Park Circus. Beck Began is located in a mostly Muslim area and it was rumored to sell beef there. I...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Monsoon Mania

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:42:00 +0000

The monsoon has been dealing us a tough hand this week. It has been raining nearly nonstop from Saturday through Monday. In the evening, just before work was about to end, I received an IM from a...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Bicycle Rickshaws

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:07:00 +0000

On Saturday, after completing work, a couple of friends came with me to go furniture shopping at Steel Junction. Will and the rest of us piled into a taxi and took off toward Salt Lake. When we...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Holidays & Birthdays

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:18:00 +0000

Last week, three strangers showed up at my door while I was cooking dinner. They were requesting 400 rupees for the upcoming Durga Puja celebration, which is probably the biggest they have here in...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

I Bought Liquor By Myself, Sort of.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:55:00 +0000

I asked the driver to pick up Will and bring him to the office. I asked him to accompany me on my quest to buy something all by myself. He said, "Mom, if I'm with you, it's not all by yourself."...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

The Importance of Finding Your Sense of Place

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:54:00 +0000

I was over on IndiaMikes earlier and there was a posting from a young English woman in Delhi asking "when will I ever feel like I'm home?" It got me thinking about how lost I've been feeling. Don't...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Clarifications

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 08:36:00 +0000

First off, It IS Gangurams, not Gangrene, as previously posted. Wills read the sign as he was speeding past. Sorry for the confusion. Second, the car and driver does cost between 900 and 1,200...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

My Spirit Guide Decides to Visit.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:57:00 +0000

It was an auspicious occasion this morning. I woke up to the caw, caw, caw of the crows which fill this city like pigeons in NY, but above the cacophony, I heard a high pitched shrill, a...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Gangrene Sweets Open Since 1882

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:14:00 +0000

We are finally moving to our new apartment today. We closed yesterday paying three month’s rent as a security deposit, plus first month. I only found out a couple of days ago that I’m going to have...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

"The World Loves Our Sweet Dark Beauties"

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:20:00 +0000

Shopping in India is at times overwhelming, frustrating and always interesting. Since we are moving to our new place this coming weekend, we needed this weekend, to find a basic minimum of stuff to...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

American Style Malls

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:55:00 +0000

Wow. We heard a rumour that City Centre may have a pet store, so last night after work, we asked the driver to take us to Salt Lake's City Centre Mall. First off, getting out of work occurs at 7:30,...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Monsoon

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 04:13:00 +0000

Weather is bad. It's been raining for a full day with no end in sight. The roads are flooded and most of my team won't be making it in to work today. Since I'm only around the corner, and my driver...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Registering at the Foreigners Office

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:24:00 +0000

The first thing I recommend to anyone moving here is to step off the plane and immediately go to the nearest passport photo shop and get ten or 12 made. You'll need them for applying to everything,...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Finding a Place to Live In Kolkata

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:02:00 +0000

Originally we had planned to move to Salt Lake, a planned section of the city, but those who live there say it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to the office. Right now, I'm about ten minutes and...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

First Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 03:52:00 +0000

Instead of staying at the Landmark Hotel as expected, the company put us up at a flat associated with the Princeton Club. It is a three bedroom, two bath on the fourth floor of a group of appartment...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

The Flight

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:50:00 +0000

We arrived at O’Hare with plenty of time to get everything arranged. There were few people in the airport and no waiting involved. We flagged down a skycap who helped us manage the four boxes, three...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.

Quick Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Jeanne Heydecker) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 07:35:00 +0000

We safely arrived, all of us, including dog and cat on the 25th of July. I don't have an internet connection yet, but will post the details ASAP. I am LOVING it here. My housing is great, the job is...

30 years ago, I left India to return to the States after a year at Sir J.J. College of Architecture in Bombay. I promised to return as soon as possible. 30 years later, I am finally fulfilling that promise. Follow my experience of uprooting my family and pets and moving to the other side of the planet.