Transportation, Costs, Schedules...

Ok I think I have got it figured out:

1. Transportation- It is best to use Ola, an iphone app, similar to Uber (they have Uber here too). It is truly the cheapest. At first I was using this car service which was costing me double the amount I paid for an Ola. And an auto rickshaw is a complete gamble because they do not use a meter and you always have to bargain by half. The problem is that we have become friendly with the driver. He has been so nice and has really taken care of us. So we decided that on the weekends when it is the whole family we will use this driver and on the weekdays, John and I will use Ola. Now I have to teach John to be comfortable with using Ola and then he can go out on his own adventures. For now, John walks the kids to school and picks them up. The kids ride their bikes to the gate and then they walk to school with John. John walks everywhere and stays local unless I am home. I am using the free University shuttle and carpooling with other faculty at the University. Since we live far out, I still need to take an Ola all the way up to our place. It is not bad. Most days I travel for an hour in the morning and the afternoon. There is so much activity and driving is crazy, the time passes by quickly.

2. Costs-  Most local food is pretty cheap. Anything that is imported or a cuisine outside of India, it is a bit pricey or you could say it is on par with American prices for average restaurants such as Yard House. Today, for lunch at the University I had two Idlies, Somber, Coconut Chutney, and a Vada for Rs. 30 ($.50-- yes 50 cents!). It was divine.

3. My schedule is looking like the following:

Monday-8:30-9:15am meet with my mentor teacher at Indus for a weekly meeting.

               10am-3pm- Traveling to the University (via Ola and Shuttle), attending one class, and
                                   traveling back home (Shuttle and Ola)

Tuesday-7:30am-6pm - Traveling to the University (Ola and carpooling), attending two classes,
                                       meeting with my Professor, lunch, completing readings for classes, traveling
                                       back home (Carpooling and Ola)

Wednesday-9:30-3:30pm- at Indus International being a participating observer. I can walk there. It is
                                           only maybe 500 meters from our home.

Thursday-7:30-1pm- Traveling to the University (Ola and carpooling), attending 1 class, traveling
                         back home (Shuttle and Ola) AND then hopefully John and I can meet somewhere for
                         lunch.

Friday-9:30-3:30pm- at Indus International being a participating observer. I can walk there. It is 

                                           only maybe 500 meters from our home.

Saturday- 10:30-4:30pm- Adventure out in the city exploring parts of Bangalore together.

Sunday- All day we stay home and try to cook a big meal and just let the kids play.

John's Schedule looks like the following so far:

Monday through Friday- 8:00am walks the kids to school and picks up the kids at 3:10pm

Monday, Wednesday, Friday- Needs to be home for the cleaning ladies. They are supposed to come at 8:30 but show up anywhere between 9 and 10am. We will need to work on that.

Monday through Saturday- John does laundry in the morning and hangs it out to dry all day so it dries properly.

In between all of this, he cooks, wash dishes, preps for his on-line class, works-out, and tries to relax. Today he made pizza with homemade sauce. Yum! He figured out how to use the toaster oven as an oven. That is what most people have in their homes in terms of an oven. What John accomplishes in the short time between dropping the kids off and picking them up is truly amazing. Everything takes a long time to accomplish here and he does it with such ease.

Kids Schedule

Monday through Friday- 8:10am-3:10pm- at Indus International- they walk to school with John

                                        3:30pm-4:00pm- Snack, show, electronics

                                        4:00pm-5:00pm- Play with friends outside in the neighbourhood

                                        5:00pm-5:45pm- Dinner and homework (it is really sweet a kid in JJ's class
                                                                     named Cooldeep lives in the neighbourhood and comes
                                                                     over to do homework with James and me)

                                        5:45pm-6:30pm- Play with neighbourhood friends outside

                                        6:30pm-6:45pm- Bath (it is so quick b/c we fill a bucket of water for them to
                                                                    take their bath with. It is the best way to keep the
                                                                    temperature constant).

                                        6:45pm-7:30pm- Stories and meditation

                                        7:30pm-7:45pm- We lie in bed with them. They tend to go to bed earlier
                                                                     here b/c it seems that they are wiped out by the end of the
                                                                     day. JJ has red eyes and Ash complains a lot.

Saturdays- 6am-7am- We are going to try to sign JJ up for neighbourhood soccer. John will go with JJ
                                    and Ash and I will sleep in. 

                  10:30pm-4:30pm- Out on an adventure with the whole family

Sundays- All day play in the neighbourhood.