I'm registered!

I finally completed the foreign national registration process in India!  I know it might not seem like a big deal to you, but it is.  A lot of people, including Bob, say that registering ranks first among their worst experiences in India.   My registration was remarkably uneventful.

at the fro office

Last Tuesday, we went to the FRO office to begin the process.  When we showed up, the place was eerily calm, and we later found out the Mr. FRO himself (who people describe as a monster, the master of nightmares, or at best, jerk) was out for the day.  Jai, a man from Bob's work who was helping us, told us that meant the employees were doing whatever they wanted, including registering people very quickly.  We pushed to the front of the group, since there aren't any lines here or concept of "turns" and turned in all of my paperwork (about 100 pages of documents including a letter from Bob's work, a copy of our apartment lease, etc).  In thirty minutes my passport was stamped, and they told me to come back in a week to pick up my official "papers" or proof of registration.  When I left, I had a sinking feeling they would lose everything in the mess of their office.  It was the least organized place I had ever seen.

casual day since the master of nightmares is off

very sophisticated filing system

he has my passport in his hand!  it's all over!

Today Bob and I went back, with Jai, and happily retrieved my papers in all of 10 minutes.  My forty minute FRO experience is completely unheard of, and I'm sure that if other foreigners heard about it, they would be paying me to find out how it went so smoothly.  If you live in America and never plan on coming to India, skip to the next paragraph.  For the rest of you:
1.  Go on a day that the evil Mr. FRO is not at work.
2.  Shove your way to the front of the group.  You will have to be kind of rude, but it will be worth it.  Plus, it's not rude in Indian culture.
3. Smile.  A lot.
4.  Ask a helpful Hindi-speaking friend to go with you.  Or even better, say a few things in Hindi yourself, and be sure to use the Indian head bobble when people ask you questions.

When we left, we also went to get something notarized at the courthouse down the road.  To our surprise, it was an outdoor district court that looked a lot this photo I borrowed from another website:

this looks a lot like the outdoor district court we visited today

It was infinitely cool.  Jai was very proud that we only got charged Rs. 150 ($3) until we told him it was free at home.  Also, the notary guy didn't even read the paper or ask for our passports, which is kind of the whole point of a notary.  Oh well.  No complaints here.

All in all, it was a pretty successful day.  Registering was something I was super anxious about, and now it's over!

Success!... Kind of.

Today I had a pretty big to do list, and I am happy to say that I did all of it.  This afternoon, before Bob went to work, (he works from 1p-10p to be able to collaborate better with his office in Louisville), we went to Ambience Mall.  It is reportedly the largest mall in Asia, and although I've only been to a few malls in Asia, I do admit that this one is pretty large (Kimberly, don't get too excited.  It's still smaller than MOA).  Before Bob went to work, we had breakfast at Haldiram's and got some passport photos made. Breakfast pictures below :)

After a long day of shopping, I'd found everything I wanted and I was ready to head home and relax.  All that stood between me and a long, warm shower was an autorickshaw.

Here is the only problem with riding in a rickshaw.  Well, the only two problems.  The first is that it gets really hot, which will eventually be bearable.  And the summer is almost over here too, so that will help.  The second, and larger, problem is that the driver usually only has a glimmer of an idea about where you want to go.  I've learned in my short time here to use as few words as possible.  They only get confused.

Me: Hello sir. Sector 42?
Sir: Sector 53?
Me: No.  42.
Sir: Ok.
Me: Kitne? He gives me a blank stare. How much?  (Kitne means how much in Hindi, his first language.)
Sir: How how much?  250 rupees.

After some bargaining, I got him down to 200 rupees, which is about $4.  We drove for about 30 minutes, and finally he pulled over to the side of the road.

Sir: You get out here.
Me: Um, what's that?
Sir: This is Sector 46.  You live here.
Me: I said 42!  *I know yelling doesn't help  people understand a foreign language, but I thought I'd give it a try.
Sir.  You said 46. *The screaming clearly wasn't helpful. 
Me: I said 42. 
Sir: 46.
Me: Sir, I live in Sector 42.
Sir: You said 46.
Me: Alright.  I'll just get another rickshaw.  Thanks.
Sir: No miss.  I take you.

During the first ride, I was vaguely aware that we were going the wrong way, but I thought I was just panicking, or freaking out for no reason, so I didn't say anything.  Joke's on me.  The sectors are about 10km apart, so the little jerk charged me 100 extra rupees.  I know it isn't much, but it wasn't my fault either.

When I got home, I was soaking wet, and when I got to our apartment, I was so glad to be standing at the door, steps away from that shower.  And then my key didn't work.  This is the first time I tried it, and it didn't work.  I tried for about 10 minutes, standing in that infernal hallway, which isn't air conditioned.  Which is fine when you are about to step inside your air conditioned apartment, and not ok when you are locked out.  To make a long story short, I called the main office, and three men came.  They didn't not speak English, and couldn't get the door open.  Right before I called Bob to come home and let me in, one of the men finally made it work.  It was gratifying that they couldn't open the door either, but that gratification cost me an hour in the 100 degree hallway.

Anyway, it was my first day alone in India.  At least I have something to remember it by.

Tomorrow: The FRO (Foreign Registration Office) which many immigrants in India (including Bob) report as their worst experience ever.  Can't wait!

Goodnight!

k, with love

Am I getting deported?

So, I found out about 12 days after I get to india that my passport as to be 'registered' with the government 14 days after arrival. Whoops. It's fine....

• I get all of the paperwork and go to the registration office on day 14.... when I get to the front of the line (after 2 hours of waiting mind you) the guy says, "Sorry, we can't do anymore today". Can't do anymore today?! Then he tells me when I come back I have to pay a penalty for not registering in time. I almost freaked out on him... But I left and went back to the office and finished my work day.
• Attempt number 2: I go back the next day... do the normal 2 hour wait... when I give the FRO officer my papers, he looks at the address of the current hotel i stay at... he looks at it for a long time... he then says, really, really loud...'illegal, no register!'. what?! what's happening??? i'm naturally a nervous person anyways... when he says this my heart starts pounding, my hands start sweating, and i look to him for some sort of indication that this is a joke... he doesnt give me that indication... i then start thinking, holy crap, im getting deported... anyways....he says that the hotel that im at right now (and where i'm currently writing this blog post) is not authorized by the government, and hence illegal. not sure why, but apparently some stuff has gone down here... He then goes on to ask me why I need a lease for an apartment when im a foreign national... I don't know dude, I'm staying here for 6 months so it might be more cost effective to stay in an apartment. He doesn't agree. He tells me I need more proof that the owner of the flat is ok with me staying there...
• Thankfully I'm with a guy from the office that talks through everything and we get the passport registered... But I have to go back with proof that I changed hotels and more proof for the apartment...
• Oh, and this guy from the office... he randomly tells me the world is going to end in about 8 years... weirdly he seems ok with it. he asked me i believed this and i said no, i believe in jesus and jesus hasn't told me himself when he's coming for me (i didn't say all of this, but i did disagree with him)... we were no longer friends for the rest of the day. 

So this experience wasn't fun... but I'll be fine. One thing that's not ok... Apparently the government shut my phone off b/c I was late registering. When I try to make calls this woman, speaking in hindi says, 'you haven't submitted your papers for government approval. no calls can be made'. not cool india. not cool.

Bob