Week Four - We Are Living Here Now

There’s a difference between visiting a country and living in one.

We’re starting to notice it.

The surprises haven’t stopped—they’ve just become part of everyday life.

The week started with two fender benders.

Neither accident was Ganesh’s fault, and honestly, neither was much of a surprise. Hyderabad traffic is complete chaos. Cars come from every direction, lane markings are optional, and somehow it all works.

The unwritten process seems simple: someone gets hit, everyone argues, and eventually everyone drives away with another dent.

The second accident was more memorable.

A driver hit us, insisted it was Ganesh’s fault, and followed us down the road. As it unfolded, I was texting Gen a play-by-play.

She asked, “Do you feel safe?”

I replied, “Yeah.”

About thirty seconds later, the other driver opened Ganesh’s door while we were still moving and tried to pull him out of the car.

I texted back:

“OK… not feeling safe now. 😂”

Thankfully it ended as quickly as it started. Ganesh handed the man ₹500—about $7 Canadian—and we were on our way. It wasn’t about admitting fault. It was simply the quickest way to end the confrontation.

What surprised me most was seeing a completely different side of Ganesh. With us he’s endlessly patient, gentle and calm. With this driver? He was furious.

Five minutes later he was back to his usual self.

The other thing that stayed with me was his car. It already has plenty of dents. Then it hit me—repairing it probably costs him more in lost income than simply living with the damage. When your car is your livelihood, you look at dents differently than I do.

Genefer has become much more adventurous.

She’s taking three hours of Hindi every week, playing squash, doing yoga and exploring Hyderabad on her own. She now walks to the mall, coffee shops and movies, travelled across the city to a hair salon recommended by fellow expats, and met Anita, who’s helping connect her with volunteer opportunities supporting children, girls and even working animals—including camels.

She also met a group of expats to see The Odyssey.

Indian movie theatres are fantastic. They pause every movie exactly halfway through—even if someone is in the middle of a sentence.

And the concession stand?

Forget popcorn.

The person beside you might be eating roast chicken.

Leo has become a celebrity.

When I walk through our community now, kids come running over yelling, “Where’s Leo? Where’s Leo?”

One family told me how wonderful it was that we’d moved to India and already adopted an Indian street dog.

I had to laugh.

Leo actually is a Thai street dog with a bit of Ridgeback in him, so they’re not entirely wrong. Looking around, he’s built a lot like the local dogs.

I joked to Gen that if I ever lost him, I could probably come home with another Leo and nobody would notice.

Thankfully, Leo’s fan club seems to know the difference.

This weekend we visited Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park.

Calling it a safari is generous.

The park had opened an hour earlier, but everyone was still standing outside a locked gate while a security guard ignored the growing line.

Enter Ganesh.

He marched over, had a very animated conversation with the guard, disappeared inside, and a few minutes later another employee appeared and escorted us through the locked gate.

The rest of the line stayed outside.

We climbed aboard what looked like a 40-year-old jungle truck and had the entire park to ourselves.

The safari itself was wonderfully underwhelming.

We laughed the whole time.

I also spent most of a day planning the trip we’ll take when Alessia arrives.

We’ll start in Delhi before heading through Rajasthan, including Jaipur and Bundi.

Planning it was almost as much fun as the trip will be.

Having Vishal join us to help with Jack means if Jack needs a sensory break, one of us can head back to the hotel while everyone else keeps exploring. It’s an incredible luxury, and we’re grateful to have him with us.

I also discovered that MakeMyTrip.com is addictive. Flights, hotels, private drivers, attraction tickets—you can plan almost everything in one place. I lost an entire day to it and loved every minute.

Jack had another great week at school.

They celebrated Friendship Day, and he also had lunch with one of the school administrators.

When we asked how it went, he proudly announced he’d had a “board meeting.”

As someone who spends plenty of time in business meetings, I couldn’t stop laughing.

He’s also becoming surprisingly adventurous with food. Paneer tikka masala and other spicy Indian dishes that I never expected him to try are now disappearing from his plate.

Watching Jack settle into life here has been one of the biggest surprises of our adventure.

A month ago, India felt unfamiliar.

Now we have favourite coffee shops. Friends. Routines.

Little kids know our dog’s name.

India still surprises us every day.

The difference is…

We live here now.

Even though we know it’s temporary, it’s starting to feel a bit like home…

Chai with Ganesh…

Non road worthy jungle safari jeep…