And suddenly we are out of personnel!!!

Mr. Gill, our driver (here taking his shoes off after I dragged him on a walking tour...but unfortunately he was wearing new tight shoes...), has stopped working for us on april 30th. He will start a guesthouse because he, as he puts it, cannot leave his service with us to his son.

I have spent many hours with him talking about India and its problems, the things that bewilder me, the differences between India and the Netherlands, arranged marriages, bargaining, Hindoe customs and what have you...he taught me a lot about India and its customs, saved us from cheaters, helped us arrange the necessities of life (like getting a gasconnection, water delivered or broken electricity wires repaired) and pulled our leg at april 1st...we will miss him and we hope to stay in touch!

And then Bishnu, our cook, who came with us after we left the old house and moved back to the city...she also left, but not in the dignified way we said "auf wiedersehen" to mr. Gill. Unfortunately, Bishnu had to be removed from our house after we fired her because we caught her stealing. As it turns out, she had been taking money from my purse for quite a while, thinking I would not notice. Stupid of course if you are the only other person in the house.

Obviously I DID find out, and as she broke the one rule T and I have (don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal) it was bye bye Bishnu...except that she wouldn't go, once she found out I was serious, and clung weeping and pleading to the bannister of the stairs, kissing my feet and telling I was like a mother to her and could we please give her another chance, she would return all the money and never do it again....horrible. I felt guilty, I felt betrayed, I felt misused...because I liked her and I wanted her to have a chance at a good life, which she could have had, because she is a great cook and -if she doesn't do things like this- a wonderful cheerful person. Strange as it may sound, i will miss her too, even if I never want to see her again. I just hope that she learns the lesson and if ever she is given a chance again -and I hope that will happen- she will not screw it up like she did with us.

So here we are, no personnel, new house, fresh start.
T's contract will be prolonged with another three years and I really hope it will be a period of less stress and more fun...we are working on it! And for the meantime I self-cook, I self-clean, I self-drive...and I'm lovin' it!!!