Visas and Movers and Shots, Oh My!

Oh, my, indeed! Not to mention TRC’s and PAN Cards and the FRRO–and the Provident Fund, too.

Now that we have just a couple weeks before we officially begin our India adventure, we can almost–almost–take a breather and look back on the preparations we’ve completed and our dealings with visas and movers and shots . . . whew!

Last spring, we had gotten e-Tourist visas for our first trip to Chennai and that process was online, simple, and quite fast. For our longer term stay, though, it was a different story, with both of our visas hitting minor but frustrating snags along the way.  My first concern was that while the process was mostly online, we did have to send docs including our actual US passports to the Indian Consulate in Chicago! What if they got lost, oh my!! Of course, most of our problems came from our own failures in grasping direct logic and the more formal and less idiomatic English spoken by the highly courteous folks with the Indian service helping us navigate the Consulate. Once we stopped over-thinking the rather straightforward requests for more info–for example, “Please send letter from US school” means, you guessed it, Sarah’s former school in the US, not the American International School in Chennai as I had initially and incorrectly assumed (and as the helpful fellow on the hotline I spoke with did as well)–we managed to get Sarah’s Employment visa in hand. One down! We then figured my visa as a dependent spouse would be smooth sailing until it turned out we needed a copy of our marriage certificate from nearly 45 years ago!

Who knew! And who had one? After some frantic searching and some help from sis-in-law Bev and a gracious official at the Fairfield County, Ohio, magistrate’s office, we managed to expedite the process (“Oh, you’re related to Bev? She’s great, so I’ll be glad to scan and email that to you instead of snailing it”) to keep the ball rolling and soon could check off both our visa’s from the to do list! Not to mention we both grabbed International Driving Permits . . . just in case. Shhhh, don’t tell Sarah I’ve always thought those Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles made in Chennai were awfully sweet . . . .

At the same time, we were getting quotes from four international shipping companies to handle our household items, clothes, books, and Sarah’s teaching supplies. Since our daughter Anna will be living in our house and taking care of our two dogs, (huge thank you to Anna!) we sent only a couple pieces of furniture and kitchen items like our beloved coffee maker and our grinder. Still, all the prices kept coming in about the same level and much higher than we had expected.

“If we don’t ship the desk and the chairs, how much will it lower the price?”

“None, sir, sorry sir.”

“Okay, so if I add a mattress and a couple more bookcases, the price will still stay the same too?”

“No, sir, sorry sir.”

It turned out that for our move, it only made sense to do an FCL, or Full Container Load, so the only variances in price had to do with the cost of packing since we weren’t filling up the container. Ah well, I think I understand it! Contract signed, items packed a few weeks ago, and the ship and will deliver our goods about a week after we move into our new flat. Check.

Throughout the process, we’ve been guided and helped by both the American International School Chennai staff and its Overseas-Based Teachers Information Booklet, and especially by Sarah’s faculty “buddy” there, Barbara, and her husband, who both taught at the school last year, along with Deb, Sarah’s former grad student. It turns out we will be living in the same neighborhood of Besant Nagar about a ten minute walk from Barbara’s home. And thanks to her, we’ve already lined up our housekeeper/cook, Shanthi, who will split duties for both couples. Another box checked! Next, we’re hoping to arrange for Vinoth, our driver last year, to be our long term driver once we get settled.

Of course, I’d be remiss not to mention how important Peter Claridge’s excellent and thorough book, the Chennai Expat Guide has been for us every step of the way. With his sense of humour and his detailed coverage of everything from personal grooming to nightlife to politics and neighborhoods, not to mention his delightful “True Story” sections where he shares folks’ real life experiences adjusting to and dealing with expat life in Chennai, the Guide has proven to be a consistent source of invaluable insights. Be sure to check out Peter’s blog of the same title at Chennai Expat Guide blog where you can find the latest on new restaurants, festivals, and life in Chennai.

Once Sarah starts her teaching at AISC, we’ll be looking forward to some holiday getaways, so we’ve already booked our first two mini vaca’s, starting with a long weekend at the Mahabs at the end of September with a stay at the Radisson Temple Bay Resort to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti day. Then, over fall break in October we’ll hit Pondicherry and be staying at the lovely Palais de Mahe heritage hotel and then at a guesthouse at Auroville. Oh, the places we’ll go!

So, the countdown clock continues to tick along and the excitement–and the occasional dash of nerves–carries us toward our departure for Chennai in just over two weeks.

Oh, and all those shots! Turns out most of our innoculations from last year are still good, and anything we might need can easily be done in India as we just received our new global insurance cards, so check that one off as well. And we’ll share our experiences with those prickly TRC’s and PAN cards and FRRO and the Provident Fund once we’re on India Standard Time.

So much for those visas and movers and shots, arumai! (That’s tamil for awesome!)