Just settling in.... think again

All day I've been thinking about writing about Goa and our 3 days there but all that changed in the last hour. I knew something was amiss this morning when Bali wasn't here at 10:30 to start lunch but I just figured there must be some confusion on our return date or on his return (he went home last week to see his wife and parents and extended the trip a couple of days since we went to Goa). I was wrong. After a couple calls, Bali came by the apartment and explained he won't be working for us anymore. This was a HUGE blow and a surprise. It has nothing to do with the Kelley family - in fact, I'm confident he will miss the boys a ton (and maybe me a bit) but nonetheless - it's the reality and I need to deal with it. I want to be mad at someone but right now I'm mostly mad at myself for not spending more time in the kitchen learning from Bali. What a missed opportunity. I was surprised at how strongly I felt about this news and it was magnified by the fact that when he came in the door - the boys were extremely excited and yelling "Bali's back, Bali's back!" A familiar and comfortable smile in a sea of unfamiliar people and things is more valuable than you might think.

It also became apparent to me that even though Bali was a servant, he has become a trusted ally over the past few months. I was looking forward to meeting his wife, his family and seeing his home. I'm sad - sadder than I would have thought.

Update: Anup just arrived. He will be cooking for us short term - maybe long term. He asked a lot of good questions about what the boys will eat (don't forget this conversation is mostly broken English, lots of pointing at foods and many gestures) and I know he's really nice. Anup cooked for John and I in Hyderabad (south central India) when we came to India on our first trip... but now he wants to live in Delhi and is working for Google here in Gurgaon. Full circle - we meet again... etc. etc.. I feel better already.