Happy Birthday Dode!

I want to begin today's blog by wishing my Auntie Dolores a very happy 80th birthday.  I was fortunate enough to be home at the same time as her during my summer trip to MN and so I got the chance to visit with her and her friend Claude for several days.  It was great.  I'm not sure why our family calls her Dode since no one else on earth uses that as a short version of Dolores, but we always have. 

Claude, Dode, me, Mom, Dad (the cat's name is Alley)

I also want to note that I've now been here two months.  This second one has really flown by now that I'm in the thick of my classes.  Reflecting on the past month I can observe three new things.

1. I finally understand the bus system.  I can say this is true as of today.  I finally checked out the routes online and seeing them helped immensely.  I won't bore you with why it's been so confusing, but if you come to visit you'll see for yourself.  I think the Macau natives are just so used to it that they don't understand why it's confusing and so therefore no one has been able to explain it to me.

2.  Fall is here.  The seasons have definitely changed.  I wore my jacket for the first time today and am already thinking about buying a warmer one - along with a warmer blanket.  Apparently none of the buildings in Macau have heat, and so everyone relies on space heaters during the winter months.  I guess I should go buy one in advance before the price goes up. 

3. As I've mentioned before, phase two of culture shock is gradually presenting itself.  I feel like I get more easily frustrated with people and complications on a daily basis than I did at first.  I'm also feeling more homesick, now that I'm getting used to everything here.  I still really enjoy Macau - it's just feeling more real that I'm going to be here for a long time yet and the potential of going home for the holidays is seeming much less likely.  Also I think the first month was so easy and we did so much exploring that it was bound to be fun and exciting.  Now we're working our heinies off and don't have nearly as much time or energy for adventures.

So I'm trying to learn to work more efficiently and stop being such a perfectionist.  I just need to make time for adventure to stay happy.  Today I did this by going out to get Indian food for dinner.  It was delicious, I brought some work to do with me while I ate, and now I have dinner for the next several days.  A solid choice and a good excuse to get away from my computer for a couple hours.  Gotta find the things that bring you comfort and make life easier.  This place definitely counts.

Reason #1 to like Taste of India - beverages.  They aren't skimpy with the chai, and they provided me with my own pitcher of water - I didn't even have to ask.  Finally, a restaurant that understands I need more than 6 oz. of fluid to get through a meal and that I don't want to constantly have to flag someone down to ask for a refill.

Reason #2 to like Taste of India - veggies.  This is a very meat-centric land and so I've been feeling the lack of veggies pretty intensely.  It was great to be able to order three delicious and nutritious vegetarian dishes.  What you see are daal (yellow lentil dish), palak paneer (green spinach dish with cheese cubes), and aloo gobi (orange-ish potato and cauliflower dish).  They were all really good and quite spicy.  Sorry tummy!

Reason #3 to like Taste of India - I don't have to worry about dinner for at least three more days.  This is my tower of leftovers.  I don't know how you say "crazy lady" in Hindi, but I could see it in their expressions when I ordered so much food.  First the waitress asked if other people were coming.  I said no, I just wanted to have extra for tomorrow.  Then she asked if they should just box some of the dishes in advance and I tried to explain that I wanted to eat a little bit of everything first.  I'm sure she thought I was ridiculous, but she'll have to get used to it.  I plan to make it a regular event. 

Here's a vid I took on the way to the restaurant.  Remember this lady?

And here's another I took as I was leaving.