No, I'm still not done talking about the plastic bags

Last week I went to Target again and got just a chocolate bar. The checkout lady put it into a plastic bag before I noticed - she was fast. If she was quick, I was stubborn :) I shot the plastic bag right bag, er, back at her and said "I don't need a bag, thanks." I hope she didn't throw it away.

My next stop was at Tatnuck Booksellers. This store was a surprise, because this checkout lady asked me "Do you want a bag for that?". At last, somebody who cares about what I want. :)

Next stop: parked car under a tree.

I know this Mastercard parody has been used by 1,263,839 people so far, but I will use it again.

Chocolate: $1
Book: $8

Spending lunch hour eating chocolate and reading Dave Barry under a shady tree on a beautiful Spring day: Priceless.

Talking about Target...

I like Target stores. I like their cheerful designs, I like their neat store with everything in its place, I like their discounts. And the corporation seems almost ethical compared to Walmart (see the previous recycling post). Almost.

Remember the recent mess with the Bausch and Lomb contact lens solution? The types that were called MoistureLoc were suspected to have a link to severe eye infections, in some cases leading to blindness. Some stores voluntarily pulled out the solution from their shelves, and eventually Bausch and Lomb recommended the same thing. Please take it off your shelves, they said to stores, until we find out what's going on.

I happened to be in Target that day, and passed the eye care aisle. I saw the Moistureloc solution on sale. Not only had they not taken it off their shelves, but they had put it on sale at half price! It might cause blindness, but who can pass up a good deal! Especially if they hadn't read the news recently.

These are the little ways for a corporation to show that they care - not about saving our behinds, but about saving their bottom lines.

Talking of Recycling...

The new Target store plastic bags have this printed on the side:

10 WAYS TO REUSE YOUR TARGET BAG

Tiny Trashcan Liner
Doggy Duty
Water Balloon
Roadtrip Rubbish
Soggy Laundry
Ice Pack for Head Lump
Toiletry Tote
Kitty Litter Liner
Tomorrow’s Lunchbag
Care Package Padding

Very innovative, very witty. But wait, you haven't seen nothing yet! I returned some clothes (still in the Target bag) to a Target store recently, and saw their cleverest way to reuse the bags, which they don't advertise in the above list: Use them to pad your trashcan liner, so that your fragile trash doesn't get broken. Okay, that wasn't a very clever way to recycle the bags. But that's what the Target personnel did: dump the returned bag, with the reuse instructions on it and all, into the trash. It was funny in a sad way.

Still, it's nice that they suggest that we their customers care about the environment, even if they don't.

Here's helpful hint #11 from me, to reuse a Target bag.

#11: Don't use it in the first place. When you buy a piece of chewing gum and the checkout person is bagging it for you, just say no!

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Recently, my daughter helped me pick out a present for her friend's birthday. Later, I stopped at the Paper Store for gift wrap and a birthday card. The teenager at check-out asked me "Do you want a bag for that?", pointing at the gift wrap roll.

I remember the dollhouse we'd bought as a gift, my little girl has the same one. It is attached securely with thirty seven wire ties and several miles of scotch tape, to a sturdy piece of cardboard (The dollhouse contains pieces that might be choking hazards, so these wire ties and tape are a safety precaution to ensure children don't actually play with the toy). This whole thing comes in an indestructible plastic box. I was going to wrap this up in the wrapping paper, which itself came wrapped in clear cellophane.

So now, do I need a plastic bag to carry the cellophane wrapped decorative paper that is going to cover the plastic box that surrounds the cardboard protector that secures the dollhouse?

The correct answer is "Ofcourse!".

But I said, "No, thank you."

Then the checkout girl started to put my greeting card in a small plastic bag, and I said, "That's okay, I don't need a bag for that either."

So she pulled out a large paper bag and was going to put the small lone birthday card it it, and I told her, "Really, I don't need a bag."

She said, "Are you sure?", looking at me strangely. I put the card in my purse pointedly.

The next time, they might kick me out and refuse me service for being a troublemaker. You see their point - they are the Paper Store. If people start refusing bags for their merchandise, how long before they shun favor bags and paper plates, and - God Forbid - curling ribbons? Then what would happen to the paper economy? What would we recycle? What would we do with all those trees, which would breed without control and become a menace to the human population? What would we put in landfills? What, tell me, what, kind of legacy would we leave our children?

But I'm still a rebel and have been going about refusing bags for small items everywhere. I've already donated my share in those toy wrappings, disposable diapers, junk food bags, paper towels, to my local landfill.

So, Paper Store girl, go easy if I refuse a little baggie here and there. On second thought, I should have taken the paper bag from you. I might need it over my head so you let me into your store the next time I need gift wrap.

This blog is now a junk drawer

For the things that I like to write (just because I like to type) that don't belong anywhere else. When I started this, it was supposed to be my R2I (return 2 India) journal. Now it is that and a lot more. Thank God for blogs, the self storage of the internet. Without them, important information like when we clipped our nails (yesterday, at 10 AM, right after we reorganized our spoons and forks drawer) and what we had for our afternoon snack (trail mix) would be lost forever and ever to future generations :)

Taking India in stride

Taking a walk in India is not a walk in the park (literally) - especially for a woman. But if you aren't just walking for exercise, or to get closer to nature, walking in India can be fun. You have to be very much more alert, but you get to see life as you walk. We don't get to see much life here in the suburban US, especially those of us for whom Winter unofficially lasts six months. Besides the occasional rabbit or robin or rattlesnake, I suppose, depending on where you live.

The problem with living in the suburbs in US is that, while you can walk all you want, there's a chance of wearing out your legs if you want to walk to the town center (except for some lucky few). You may think places seem close by while driving, but your legs will disagree if you walk to the small store nearby to get milk, or walk to the library to drop off that book that's due. And this is in crowded Massachussetts - looking at the map, you'd think that if you take a large stride you'd be in the park, and if you stretch your arm a little you can touch the post office. I wonder how things are in vast states like Texas.I like to take walks too, though I don't get the chance to, much. I think it'd be much easier to do this in India, but I'll let you know when I find out.

The R2I Encyclopedia

Since this journal will probably be of little practical use to those planning to R2I, I will do my good deed for the blog and be done.Go to R2I Club for answers to all your questions - from "How do I go back? When? Why? And why not?", to "Should I take my fridge, dishwasher, and kids back with me?", "Is a rolled newspaper or a bare hand best for dealing with the mosquitoes in Bangalore?". You can even venture into the non-R2I section, at your own risk, to read about anything - cabbages and kings, and whether pigs have wings.Now I can get on with my blog again. Whew!

The ABCs of R2I

As warned, I started my story in the middle. Now it makes sense to go on to the beginning, and explain that "R2I" stands for - "Return to India". It seems to be a popular term on the web for Indians worldwide, who are planning to return.I am an Indian living in the USA for the past ten years, and will be returning (with mixed feelings) to India some time next year.

Indiapendent

I've never spent a day as an independent adult in India. Sure I celebrated my 21st there, but ten days after, boarded a flight to land in the USA.

Let me interrupt myself. The good way to tell a story is to start with a beginning, solidify it with a middle, and finish with a satisfactory end. I'm not a good storyteller, and this is my blog! So I might be starting in the middle, zipping back and forth as I please, and going sideways every now and then.

So I landed in the USA, then here I am ten years later, an independent woman who can get anything done, right?. But when I took trips to India, I was as good as a child. Worse than a child, really, because as a child I was pretty independent in India. But as a grown-up, I was a foreigner even in my home city Hyderabad, and sat at home till somebody took me out. Last December we took another trip to India, and this time I ventured out, because sitting at home till somebody takes you out gets dull after a while.

First time, it was in Bangalore. It was a sleepy afternoon, MIL and little daughter were taking a nap, and husband was starting to doze off. I told him I was going to take a walk, and did. I had to be very watchful so I wouldn't get lost. It was looking easy - it wasn't even my hometown, and I was blending in very well with all the people. It was looking easy, until I opened my mouth. I stopped at a stationery shop to ask about some stickers for my daughter. My MIL told me everybody in Bangalore understands Telugu. So I started with that. The shopkeeper and the clerk stared at me like I was speaking alienese. Then I tried English. When I said "Do you have stickers?" their stares only got more confused. I had to use Hindi, my last resort. Don't get me wrong, I love Hindi. I think it sounds beautiful, only not when I speak it. Nothing. I saved myself by pointing to a pencil box, and then bought it. Luckily, I also spotted stickers under the counter, and got them again by the universal language of signs. I had got what I wanted, but I did not feel blended in anymore. I bit on my tongue and got back home.

Honestly, it was no better than in my early days in America. I spoke great English, but the Americans I spoke to didn't seem to talk in English at all. It took a while of my being in America before Americans finally learned to speak and understand English really well.Anyway.

I went out again another day. I was feeling brave, even with my language handicap. I even took my three year old with me. I went to a fruit stall, pointed at apples, and held up three fingers (mumbling incoherently). The fruitseller didn't bat an eyelid. He collected, and handed me the goods. I left it to the good man to figure out how much change to give me. The way to get about and get things done in Blore (atleast for me), is to never say a word. I was getting the hang of it. Buying three apples doesn't seem like much, but it was much to me.

Then we were in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is easier for me with languages. For one, everyone really understands Telugu, in all its forms and accents. If they don't, they'll understand Hindi, whichever way you speak it. I only got to go out alone once this time. It was an important thing I wanted to do, get a present for my parents. Time was running out, husband was away running important errands, and I decided to go for the acid test. I had three shops in my mind, in the crowdedest, noisiest, craziest part of town - Ameerpet and Panjagutta. I left daughter with mom at home, got into an auto and went to first the store, then the mall. I got another auto to take me to the third store, at which I had to pass the ultimate test - cross the Ameerpet main road. I gathered up my courage, looked to the left, then the right (and if you'd lived in America for ten years, you'd have done the same), and then ducked behind another group of people who were crossing. When I opened my eyes again, I was across. I had the present, and I had survived too!

So now I feel better about how I'd get by in India. Yes, yes, I know, I know I ain't seen nothin' yet. But I'm happy with what I seen so far.

Why another R2I blog?

There are some great blogs out there already, with a lot of detail about "R2I"ing.But my friend suggested I write one, and I wanted to do it. I expect this blog won't contain many practical tips. I don't even know yet what this blog will contain :)So we'll see what happens.