To do or not To do!

In my last blog, I had given a headsup about the title of my next - What not to do in Luxembourg, but this one’s dedicated to what ` to do’.

`Bienvenue à Luxembourg!’, flashed next to a smiling faces on one of the airport billboards. I can clearly recall that enigmatic smile and have begun to see the enigma behind that smile. Well, it has been a fairly fast paced month since I arrived at Luxembourg. Travelling to UK took a major chunk of that one month and now that I am back, I can almost say … `I have finally un-arrived’.

For starters, we have no wifi…One of the phones is doubling up as the hotspot and lifeline to the digital world. It is super strange for a country to be that high on the per capita income list and play a poor joke on every wannabe who wants to make that mandatory check-in on Facebook… or may be not… The application for the internet connection had been submitted on 21^st May and till today we await with bated breath to proudly adorn the router on a pedestal. Fingers and wires crossed!

Since I have already made an opening remark on `strange’, let this blog be exactly about that. India is fast moving towards a cashless economy, where 50 p, 1Rp, heck even 10 rupee coins are almost non-existent…. but I was surprised at the sheer volume of coin transactions this economy does… from 1¢, 2 ¢, 5 ¢, 10 ¢, 20 ¢, 50 ¢ to € 2 … a Numismatist’s dream portforlio I’d say ..… It is convenient when the prices are in the likes of €11,73 and so on….. but you can imagine the dread with which I hand over a note for that 1 kg of ‘Aloo’ and get a handful of jingling coins. I even have a special pouch for coins since my purse can hold no more. I am forever on the lookout to trade them in but, courtesy MOTH, that is like a distant dream. Whenever I am adamant to use the coins, he will put me on the forefront, and I take forever to deal out the coins of all shapes, sizes and denominations to the cashier who mutters away impatiently.

At the apartment, living among unopened boxes and scores of ‘VIPs’, I feel like I am `Terminal'ed’ in the cloak room of a railway station. You ask why? Well, it’s because you order a wardrobe for literally the future… a distant future … even when you needed it like yesterday. A popular Swedish brand said they could deliver within one month and take 3 months to assemble, WOW! Another popular brand said they could deliver in a month and also install on the same day, so no prizes for guessing whom we chose. In fact, I finalized my return date from the UK only to receive the internet and wardrobes with bated breath and open arms. And I am not kidding. We did devise a temporary solution though … well, when would that book case come to its real use… And why not? It takes me lesser time to decide what to wear (courtesy the glass panes) and pray as even Bhagwanji happily sits atop on the topmost shelf. One case, many solutions!

An `out of its original box ‘solution has also been made for my extra shoes and bags which now occupy the lowermost of the kitchenette shelves.. Visitors beware of what I serve! 😈😈😈 

And oh, did I recount how we finally made it through to who seemed like the only English speaking customer service personnel at Auchan?... By replying,`Je ne parle pas française’, meaning `I cannot speak French’…. and I got my work done. 😉

In line with lessons 1-3 and 4-5, here are MY real ¢¢¢:

Lesson 6: Patience is the key…… *goes back into hibernation*

Lesson 7: Jugaad is my best friend

Lesson 8: Truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Next up: Welcoming our first….