Pedersen's Storm the Novotel

July 2010 - Our stay at the Novotel was pretty good. The kids got antsy being stuck inside because of the rain (We arrived during the Monsoon season), which drove mom and dad nuts. I never thought that two weeks in a 4 star hotel's Jr Suite with a connecting deluxe room would be such an ordeal. The Security check for your vehicle at the entrance wasn't too bad: just a quick check with mirrors under the car and a quick opening of the trunk followed by a bomb residue screening by some machine that looked like an oversized dust buster then you were on your way to the main entrance. From there is was just a simple security check airport style. Hand over your bags for x-ray streening, step through the metal detector and then a quick pat down just for safe measure (even if the machine didn't go off). Crystal was lucky, she got her pat downs in a private booth where she couldn't see her infant sitting in the carseat outside the booth. At least these security checks eased us into the mall security, work security, neighborhood security and local park security which really are much easier. Some other fond memories of the Novotel are:

1) Breakfast every morning at the buffet (American food, yummy). William could never keep his shoes off of the table and Logan never walked out without a chocolate beard face.
This is one of Logan's better days.

2) Cheese pizza everyday for dinner for the kids. (Novotel Sundae's were another favorite)

3) Lexi's infant car seat being taken to the back of the car to be put in the trunk as if she was luggage (Don't worry this only happened twice and the bell hops were embarrased both times).

4) We enjoyed the beautiful grounds when it wasn't raining. The kids loved playing tag around the pool area.

5) Getting the Notice that we were getting kicked out of the hotel 2 days before our house was going to be ready. Luckily we talked them into two more days. We wanted 5 more, but they were completely booked after those two days. It is a good thing our house was ready on time or we would have been homeless although the fumes from fumagation were pretty strong our first day in the house.

Ahhh! The memories of our first few weeks in Hyderabad are so special.

Spencer's First Day at Deloitte India

My first day at the Deloitte Hyderabad office was great. The team had a big welcome sign for me and they had a big party to say farewell to Marilyn (The previous Expat I was replacing) and welcome me. They gave me a bouquet of flowers which made a great addition to our hotel room at the Novotel and which Crystal loved. It was great to see all of the Houston professionals again and meet all of the other professionals from Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Saint Louis, and the PCA practice for Mid-America. Everyone was very welcoming. It was a great day to start off my assignment here in India.

Pedersen's First International Flight & First Drive in India

July 20th, 2010 - We left on our family's first international flight (To move to India for 2 years). The plane ride was uneventful really. Crystal got sick with a migraine headache on the first flight so we had to leave the airport for the medical clinic (First foreign entry stamps in our passport in Frankfurt, Germany) Then we only had 10 minutes to get to our gate for boarding our second flight to Hyderabad, India. We were lucky enough to be with a service usher so we got to go to the special VIP security checkpoint where they proceeded to ask us to open just about every carry on bag we had to check the electronics we had packed. First it was the Wii which they swiped with a cloth to check for bomb residue I suppose. We got a thumbs up from the supervisor when the test came back negative. Then it was the vonage adapter, then the telephone for vonage, then the bag with the alarm clock, the bag with the video camera, another bag with our digital camera, then the bag with our electronics cords for hooking up our A/V equipment, and lastly our portable DVD player. Thank goodness we remembered to pull out our 3 laptop computers and the i-phone and cellular phones or we would have been there another 15 minutes waiting for all thumbs up. I think the best look we got was when the supervisor ok'd our Wii gun. I realized I should have packed that one in the checked baggage when the security personnel pulled it out of the bag, but that was a tad bit to late. We made it to the gate at the departure time of our flight, luckily it had not pulled away from the gate yet (I think being 6 people in business class helped that one along). The gate personnel began giving us a stern warning that "You should have called us to let us know you were having troubles" as she explained that our luggage had all been deplaned and would have to be put back on the plane. We all rushed into business class where everyone was settled in and had finished probably their third round of beverages and snacks. Fifteen minutes and two rounds of service later we were off the gate and ready to take off for Hyderabad. The kids were great on both flights. It's too bad us adults couldn't be more responsible :-). The kids even got great compliments from the others in business class who had probably braced for the worst. When we arrived in Hyderabad we were the last ones through customs because we had to fill out 6 customs cards (one for each member of the family). The flight attendant assured me that only one per family was necessary. Our luggage all arrived safely except for one item. Lexi's infant car seat didn't make it on the flight with us and was probably victim to our deplaned luggage. So Lexi's first car ride in India was just like any other Indian baby: strapped to mommy's arms. It's a good thing it was only raining hard and their was only one 15 car pile up accident on the way to the hotel.


We did have an excellent driver that managed to find roads that appeared out of nowhere because there were no street lights on the main road from the airport.


The next day was Crystal's favorite. We were able to go to the mall to buy a new infant car seat. Below are some pictures of the traffic one has to deal with in Hyderabad. There is no way to explain the feeling you get when the entire flow of traffic is coming at you when your driver just pulls out in front of the oncoming traffic to make a cross turn. You just have to experience it for yourself.







Yes those are buffalo in the middle of the city =====>



Believe us there are much worse things going on in the streets of Hyderabad

Hyderabad India Trip

Here are some pictures of the house we are making an offer on to rent while we are in Hyderabad. It doesn't have full power backup (about 80%) so we hope things work well in the hot summers when it is 115 degrees. If not Crystal will have to hang out with the kids at the community pool or at the 5 star hotel next to our neighborhood. I think we'll nickname it the Pedersen Mansion. With a Maid, Gardner, and Driver we may not want to come back to the US after being pampered for 2 years. It looks really nice, but we are anxious to see how well everything works (electrical, plumbing, etc.). Everyone in India has told us to keep are expectations extremely low for how thinks will work.

UPDATE: We were outbid on the house by another couple. Turns out they are also with Deloitte and have had some problems with leaks. We will post pictures of the house we are renting in Lumbini Springs soon after our sea shipment arrives (Late September).

Front View



Living Room

Great Room/Dining Room

Back Yard/Patio

Prayer Room

Kitchen

Pantry and Laundry

Kitchen Oven (The only one I saw)

Guest Bedroom/School House

Family Room

Ground Level Office

1st Level Loft (2nd Story)

Kid's Bedroom

Kids Bedroom

Master Bedroom

1st Level Terrace (2nd Story)

2nd Level Bedroom (3rd Story)

2nd Level Media Room (3rd Story)

2nd Level Terrace (3rd Story)

Terrace views