It's funny, just when you think you have experienced all the weirdness that is a foreign country, something else crops up. We have had our new copilot back from school at FlightSafety in England for almost two weeks now. As soon as he got back he would have been working (flying) in America. Here he had to get DGCA approval to fly and then he has to have his familiarization training done by an experienced captain (me). The last piece to the puzzle is that since we are charter I needed a route check done since I have now been here for 6 months. This is a routine checkride if you have ever flown charter in the states and one that I flew many times up in Pittsburgh with the owner of our business up there. Here getting approvals and someone to actually ride along with us who is qualified has been a nightmare. The company has been calling me almost every day with a request for information. Today I found out that Murphy lives in India, too, as I had just completed my Flight Instructor renewal class online and sent all my paperwork to America, where I received confirmation of said paperwork and a temporary flight instructor's license until my permanent one comes back. They actually just send you a diploma which serves as a temporary license. When I sent my paperwork in, one of the things they wanted was my actual old flight instructor's license. I hadn't needed it for the 6 months that I had been here but I was nervous about sending any pilot license away. Sure enough, I was requested to send the license last week and this week our company requested me to bring in my flight instructor's license so they could make a copy. I had to tell them I had just sent it to America and it would be a few weeks before I got my new one back. This is about the third day of a complete staff of people going down to the DGCA and doing paperwork so that I can just be a check airman and check out my new copilot. Undoubtedly, I am the most experienced Citation XLS pilot in the country and that has come up with our people but that doesn't mean anything with these guys. So, another day goes by and it looks like two more will go by. I am actually thinking that I may not be flying until after Christmas now. The way things are going, I will be lucky to be flying before I go home to the USA on January 28th. What a place!!
On the other hand, I am sure that I am going to be here for the carol sing at the Hyatt Hotel on Christmas Eve. I thought I was going for a checkride yesterday but then it cancelled after I had gone to the airport, taken the sobriety test, checked in with airport staff and was waiting to go to the plane. Then the text message came through that the flight had cancelled. So, it did allow me to go to choir practice last night, which was now getting quite a bit more organized and well attended. While at the practice everyone was talking about some new Indian Visa regulations that are applying particularly to the tourist visas, which is what Karen will have over here. I guess people
who have been here for more than 90 days have left the country temporarily to go to a funeral or something like that and have not been allowed back into the country unless you stay out for two months. Since Karen and I were planning a little vacation next summer that would last only one month, this would apply. How crazy does it get?? Now there is some different visa called an x-visa for India that some are getting and it allows what they call multiple re-entry. So, I guess we are going to have to try and get one of those for Karen. Lots of things to think and worry about.
Last night was our really first cool night this winter season. The kitty was quite fond of the room heater, which is a radiator type. She set up shop right beside it on a little carpet that I gave her.
I was glad that I had my new comforter and slept very well.
As I was riding through a particularly crowded neighborhood in the back of the car last night I was thinking that you can kind of control how much you immerse yourself in Indian society over here. If you choose, you can go right out there and dive into it, noise, pollution, crowds and all. Or, you can also be in India but live a pretty good lifestyle with fancy shopping malls, good restaurants and big houses. You can also choose to not immerse yourself in the less desireable parts of Indian society. When a severely handicapped or very poor person appears at your car window at the stop light or somewhere else, it really makes a difference in your day and how your feel about yourself depending on how you react to these people. It has given a completely new meaning to the word "witness" for me. It's not something I "do" or how I act, it is actually who I am to these people every single minute of every single day.
The picture is from our choir practice the other night at Pastor Karl's house. You all have a wonderful Christmas and safe travel throughout the holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment