On the road again...

Well the end is near. I have confirmation that my flight will depart Mumbai airport Thursday morning at 3:25 am. So tomorrow will be my last day in the office. I am guessing I will begin the trek to the airport around 10pm but who knows for sure.

In my first entry, I mentioned that with a hotel name like the Sun n Sand, you would expect to see it down the Jersey shore. After 4 weeks at the place it sort of became even more like that then I realized. Breakfast buffet comes with the room so I am down there ever day before breakfast. Well every monday I would see a new set of faces like they were the week long renters and Monday mornings were like Saturdays. Old faces checking out after their 1 week tour and new ones checking in.

For this post, I thought I would put some of the various observations I have made and some different things I have seen. I will try and make it like a Letterman or Leno skit where they review news headlines from around the US. Yes I am making an attempt at humor here...

Traffic Signs

Here are the english traffic signs on the expressway that don't quite translate to American English... can probably blame the British for most...

"Observe Lane Discipline" - sounds like a training mantra of some sort

"Overspeeding and Tyre Bursting will cause accidents. Obey traffic laws" - not sure the difference between speeding and overspeeding. I looked up tyre and that is the british word for tire.

"Caution look for wrong entrants" - not sure if this is telling you are going the wrong way or if you should be on the lookout for somebody coming the wrong way.

"Take Diversion" - polite way of informing you of a detour

Observations

Indians do not say anything when somebody sneezes. It is pretty much just ignored

Everyone has a cell phone and everyone gets calls during the day... even managers who are speaking to a group of people.

Interesting Signs I have seen...

Yep, smoking, alcohol, and meat are all dangerous to the survival of the fort. And in India, veg means no animal products so things made with eggs (french toast) are labeled pork product.

Nothing wrong... just differnt... and there is a rotary club






In case you wanted to see a veg menu in english...


Coming soon to a strip mall near you... globalization



Honking is encouraged by the truck drivers


A local tailor

Why haven't I posted in so long?

Well, it has been almost a week since my last post and a lot has happened since then. Between the internet at the hotel not working and me being away all weekend, I was not able to get any posts out. Well enough of the excuses...

Last Wednesday night I went to dinner with Brian and about 6 guys from work... all of the women bailed on us. Vasan, Shailesh, Paresh, Seshu, Rizvi, Sandeep, Kuldip, Rajendiran, Brian, and myself went to an area in Koregan Park called ABC Farms. This little street has 4 or 5 bars that are really interesting with live music and various indian fare. One of the funniest things is this little strip is right off the unpaved dirt road we take to work. And it is next to a place called "Burger King" but it is not part of the chain. The bar/restaurant we went to had a lounge feel to it because there are tables and couches. The big thing to do at this bar is smoke tobacco from a giant water bong. I did not partake but apparently it was a very smooth strawberry tobacco. We stayed there for a few hours and then went to the Den. Same place I went a few weeks back. At the Den we were told last call when it was 11:50. This is probably a good time to mention that last Thursday was Republic Day. On Republic Day, no alcohol is served. Which is why we had last call at 11:50. It was a fun night out and the early ending was probably best for all of us.

Thursday was pretty uneventful as I did several hours of work. I caught a little bit of the parade on TV which was interesting. In addition to having a big military presence in the parade like you would see in a military event, there were a couple of floats and different animals like elephants. I also finished up my 4th or 5th book on Thursday (The Winner, David Baldacci).

Friday turned into a long day at work with a conference call which started at 6pm. Additionally Brian got some sort of flu like bug which knocked him out. So for dinner, Sheila and I went to Mainland China for dinner. We ate outside on the patio because it was a pretty nice night. The food was ok but it didn't taste quite like Chinese that I am used too. This is the 2nd different Chinese restaurant I have been to and I still have not seen a chinese person working in either spot. I think this confirms that Pune is not a true tourist spot yet. When I was at the Taj I saw many asians walking around with there electronic equipment which I think is a sure sign of a tourist spot. Haven't seen it in Pune yet.

Saturday we went to Fort Singhagad (means fort of the lion). There isn't much of a fort left but it was good to get out and see some sights. The fort is way up on top of a mountain so it also had good views. It was similar to being in Colorado (although not nearly as elevated, 1290 meters) with lots of hills/mountains and brown in the area.




Prior to getting to the fort, we stopped at a "beach" area. In the distance is a damn as this is the water source for all of Pune. And camel rides ready to happen for any youngsters... or whities.

Our tour guide for the day was Vasan




I opted not to ride the camel




Sunday we got up early and left for Mumbai at 7am. We arrived at The Gateway to India around 10pm.



The Gateway is the main entrance from which the British built the port. Mumbai itself is made up of 7 islands and was renamed Bombay by the British Empire which had difficulty saying the name. Then in 1995 or 1996, Bombay was renamed Mumbai. From the gateway we boarded a boat to Elephanta Caves which is about 10 km off the coast. Our guides for this trip were Pankaj a coworker from the office and his wife Sonal.




Here is website about the caves...
http://www.tourtravelworld.com/hot_spots/mumbai/elephanta_caves:/

The caves were something you would see in Indiana Jones movies. Carved into the side of a mountain are a wall of pillars. Then within the mountain are rows of pillars with various chambers representing different scenes for the god Shiva.



They were built around 450 - 750 AD. The caves and sculptures are dedicated to Shiva.




Shiva is a hindi god known for destruction (Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver are the other 2 main hindi gods).



Legend has it that the Ganges came out of the head of Shiva. Additionally, Shiva held bulls (and thus cows) sacred which is why cows are not really eaten in India. Shiva is also the father of Ganesh the hindi god with an elephant head. Ganesh is the bringer of all good things. So every house in India will have a statue of Ganesh. The catch being that you can not buy a good luck statue for yourself. Elephanta caves meets the tourist spot definition listed above as I did see a few asians. It is also an obvious destination because locals would balance a pot or bowl on there head and demand a $1 for the picture. They could speak enough english to convey this message to us.

After the caves we returned to Mumbai where Pankaj and his wife Sonal took us to fashion road. This resembles a flea market except everything is in a single line. I wanted to buy Short Kurtas as gifts so this is where we went. With Sonal as my guide and negotiator, I was confident in my deals. The proprietor of the shop saw the whitey with his camera, how quickly I picked out 3 kurtas and saw an easy mark. When we inquired about the price, he said 900 rupees. An outrageous opening bid but I read that the shop owners will be mad if you take the initial price (means they could have gone higher) and wasn't sure how easy this would be. Sonal became furious at the offer and tried low balling him at 400 ruppees. As the negotiation took place in Hindi, I merely watched the facial reactions. When it appeared the guy wasn't going to go low enough, I put my 3 kurtas on the rack and walked out. Leaving Sonal to close the deal. She got him down to 500 rupees for the all 3. Came out of the stand and asked me for the 500. So I gave my 500 bill and the sale was closed. Just as an fyi, 500 rupees is about $11 or $12. With the sale complete, I was hungry and we went to a pizza place right on marine drive in Mumbai. I went with a thin crust pizza which was almost as thin and crunchy as a Bayonne bar pie but not quite. This area is the closest I have seen since being here of an international city (rio, buenos aires, etc). And of course the area has a major Cricket stadium nearby.

If I get off standby and depart on Thursday, I will try and write one more entry before I leave.

Cults in Pune

I have nothing really new to report today but perhaps a little tidbit of info you might find interesting...

For the past few weeks I have noticed many whities in a specific area en route to work. It is in the suburb of Pune called Koregaon Park. Many of the white folks are dressed in red robes. Today we saw a man in just red underwear walking the street. So I decided to find out what is going on there. It is the location of a cult, the Osho Commune. The Osho community was founded by Bhagwan Rajneesh who later changed his name to Osho. Much to my surprise, this cult actually exists in the US as they had a compound in Oregon. At its peak there were 200,000 members and 600 centers. Here is what I found on the internet to describe the techniques of the cult

Rajneesh used a curious blend of Californian pop psychology and Indian mysticism to motivate his followers. His last technique , tagged The Mystic Rose, involved following a regime of laughing for three hours a day for one week, crying for three hours a day the next week, followed by becoming a ' watcher on the hill ' (i.e. sitting ) for three hours a day for another week.

Based on talking to locals around here, one can safely assume that California pop psychology is a polite way to refer to free love and mind altering substances. And if there is any doubt, just look at the entry requirements to the commune...

Those wishing to meditate at the commune must fill out an application form( complete with two passport size photographs), prove HIV - negative to an on -the -spot test given at the center (Rs 125) and purchase three tunics (two maroon and one white). Meditation is then Rs 100 per day (Rs 35 for Indians) and you can come and go as you please. You must also arrange your own accommodation outside the Ashram

Yep, an HIV negative test. Apperently that is key to spiritual enlightenment. I might have to see what this is all about this weekend. Visitors are welcome to view the commune and the price is less than $2. Similar to many other cults I have read about, this one has a do as I say not as I do philosophy. The cult leader lived in luxury while his followers lived through humble means. Everyone in India refers to this Oshu guy as crazy and the guy who owned 99 Rolls Royces. Which of course were purchased by the members of his community. And if you dig in a little, of course only those in the community are wealthy and mostly westerners. I have enclosed a web site if anyone is interested on the history.

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/rajneesh.html

And for those of you who were interested in the 2nd 5 day test match between India and Pakistan, it ended in a draw again today.

Tomorrow is a holiday in India so there is no work. A group of us from the office are going to dinner and then to see Wedding Crashers. Movies get here a little later than the US. Rumor has it that 10 - 15 minutes were cut from the movie to get it from an R rating to PG. Last time I saw this i nearly pee'd my pants so hopefully that is still in there.

Start of week 4

Well, I have been here since January 4th and I am definitely ready to head home. Living out of a hotel for so long wears you down. And to be honest the food is starting to get to me. Everyday for lunch the cafeteria serves plain rice and a flavored rice. Additionally, 2 or 3 soupy sauces which can be put on the rice is also served. Always veg. I have gone across the street several times and ordered food but I have tried almost everything on the menu. Here are the dishes I like so far

Chicken Tandoori
Chicken Biryani
Katti kabob
all kinds of bread

The problem is not the food itself but having it so much. Even when I go to places that have western style food, it still is done in Indian fashion. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it but you get to a point where you want what you are comfortable with. Needless to say, bread will be purchased today and Peanut Butter and Jelly will begin making a significant appearance in my food rotation. For those wondering, my jar of peanut butter is half gone and jelly is almost full. I purchased some pseudo ritz crackers at work today and might try pb&j crackers

Smarda sent me a link from the Conan Obrien show it is absolutely hilarious. It is titled Indian Call Center. Here is the link, just scroll down until you see Indian Call center.
http://www.milkandcookies.com/keywords/conanobrien/
Some of the scenes in the street are spot on for where I am. You will see one of the 3 wheeler taxis that I have ridden in as well. The sketch itself is more making fun of tech support but it is worth watching. Even though the towers perrin help desk is located in the US, ours follows the same protocal as seen in the sketch.

So you are all wondering about my visit to Taj Mahal (translates to Crown of the Palace). It was awesome. We left work a little early on Friday to catch a flight up to Delhi. There we met up with the folks in gurgaon. Everyone was tired friday night and we knew we were getting up at 5:30 the next morning so we just went to the hotel restaurant until they asked us to leave because they were closing. Actually they didn't ask us to leave but they stopped serving beer and wine so we left. It was good to hang out with the entire group (kip, brian, brian, sheila, and dolly) so we could exchange war stories about our experiences. Lavnish was not around so we never saw him.

On Saturday at 6am we left the hotel for the train station. Our train departed around 7am and got us up to Agra around 11. We then had a private tour take us to the Taj. The Taj was amazing

It was built as a tribute to the Shah Jehan's favorite wife. He had 3 wives, christian, hindu, and muslim. The other 2 were only for political reasons. All of his documented children (14 in total) came from his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. However, he did still have a harem of 2000+ ladies. And despite his mourning after Mumtaz's death, his appetites were still fulfilled.

The taj itself is tremendous to look at and hard to capture on film. Everything about it is perfectly symetrical. The only thing in the entire complex that is not symetrical is the tomb of Shah Jehan inside the mausoleum. Originally, there was supposed to be another Taj across the river for himself but after his son placed him under house arrest, the project never started. Between the marble and gems, it reflects lights of different color so depending on the time of day will determine what it looks like:

From Chinese Turkestan in Central Asia came Nephrite jade and crystal; from Tibet, turquoise; from upper Burma, yellow amber; from Badakhshan in the high mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, lapis garnets, sapphires, bloodstone, forty three types of gems in all - ranging in depth from Himalayan quartz to Golconda diamonds - were ultimately to be used in embellishing the Taj Mahal

here is some of the marble work on the main gate




We saw it in the middle of the day so it was very white.




But apparently at sunrise and sunset the colors reflected are different. Additionally, the park is open 3 days a month at night around the full moon which gives it an additional color. There is a lot of haze and pollution in the air which hinders the brightness. Apparently laws are being passed to reduce the pollution. But this time of year the haze is there. It really became apparent in some of my pictures from the fort which had a view of the Taj

After seeing the Taj, we went to a place that showed us how the actual gems were put into the marble. It was interesting. I picked up a sample from the gift shop there. Then we went to the Fort of Agra. This was the palace where the emperor lived. It wasn't like a medieval fort where the townspeople enter when under attack. This one was almost exclusively for the emperor. There were 3 different types of temples in there for each wife. There was a special market place where the king could select those lucky few to be added to his harem.

After the fort we saw how carpets are made. The hand made carpets were really expensive. Nobody picked up any of them because the cheapest one was about $400 (for a door mat). Some of the larger ones were about 2000 or 3000.

Then we went home on the train where food was provided

off to the Taj today

Well, I am off to the Taj today and it should be a fun time. I will get to see more of the country that doesn't involve my hotel, office or the drive between the two. As I have indicated previously with so much time spent at the office and traveling between the office and hotel, I have not really seen or experienced that much here. We will be meeting up with the group up north and it sounds like partying pretty hard tonight. Then get up early to catch a train to the Taj. Flying back to Pune on Sunday.

Since I do not do much other than work, sleep, and eat, I will talk about meals (not food specifically). People are taught here to not leave any food behind as it is gift from god. Same philosophy exists in the Martingale family although not because it is a gift from god but because Martingales are ravenous animals around food (those not familiar, the martingales are my mom, her 8 brothers and sisters, their spouses, and children). Everyone here is also fanatical about washing their hands which is something that could be practiced a little more in the us. Before every meal people wash their hands. Immediatley following the meal in the office, everyone washes their hands. They have a room with 6 sinks next to the tray drop off in the cafeteria. So you drop the tray off and then wash your hands. In restaurants, each person is given a bowl of water with lemon in it to wash your hands immediatley following the meal. This is essential since hands are used with most meals. Many of the Indians will actually only wash their right hand becuase that is the only hand they use to eat. This is related to the all good things come from the right I mentioned in another post. Only using one hand to break/tear bread is tough. I have attempted it a few times but I usually resort to two hands because I don't have the patience.

One thing that I have enjoyed is that one of the drivers (he doesn't come every day as there are several) likes to practice his English with me. He always asks me to sit in the front seat so we can talk. He works from 6am - 11pm driving people around and has 2 young kids. He has also been informing me on some of the cultural differences in India. Like at 29 (for 3 more months), I would be married if I lived here. Outside of the major cities he says that girls get married between 18 and 23. Guys 23- 30, so I am still in the range.

Cricket is terrible

So everyone is probably wondering how the 5 day test match between India and Pakistan turned out right? It was a draw. Apparently if the match is not complete after 5 days it is a draw. Just to give you an idea of how this ridiculous event came about lets start from the begining. These 5 day test matches consist of 2 innings. An inning being when each team loses all 10 of its batters. Pakistan was first up and lost all of their batters somewhere around day 2. They somehow scored 600+ runs in that one inning. On day 3 india came to bat and the first 2 batters batted the entire 3rd day and part of either the 4th day. With just the 2 batters, India amassed 400+ runs. However, lighting was poor (which i think means clouds) on the 5th day and the match stopped. So without even 1 inning being complete the match is over with no winner. This seals the deal that the sport is silly.

I caugt a little bit of the golden globes yesterday. They were broadcast live on one of the channels here which means it started at 6:30 am Tuesday morning. So as I was getting ready for work, I had them on. I still can't believe that this would be on live and I can't watch a playoff football game.

Today was the first day where training was specific to the groups. Prior to this, I was training everyone on background info. Being able to focus on 10-15 students and narrow the scope to actual work is making it go a little smoother. I found out at dinner tonight that those not in my group told their new instructor that I was tough.

Friday we are flying up to the Taj. Well we will fly up north and then take a 3 or 4 train ride to the Taj. Should be a good little side trip. I have sort of fallen into a routine here where I get up, eat, go to work, back to the hotel, eat, read a little and go to sleep. So this trip should make things a little more interesting and hopefully provide some material for future blogs.

I don't think I can put into words the lack of rules on the roads in this country. Basically anything is legal. And if somehow you get caught or in an accident, you can buy your way out. As an example, red lights (when you actually come across lights at all) are merely a suggestion. 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers go right through. Even cars will go through. If there is a divider in the road so you can only drive on one side, that apparently is only meant for cars. 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers drive on any side of the road they want and in any direction they want. The Crazy Trucks (similar to paraguay buses, the trucks here have funky colors and decorations) have no real power. So a slight incline means they crawl to a stop. And on the back of the trucks it actually says honk horn. If you honk they will move to the side and let you pass. Cars will also honk constantly to move 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, and pedestrians out of the way. A comical thing that I see is there are stickers on the back of cabs that say "If I drive rash, report me." Not only is the wording funny, but if they didn't drive rash, you could be killed

That is all for now.

weekend of relaxation

My second weekend in India is coming to a close. This was a pretty low key weekend. I did hit the bars on Friday night but was flying solo on Saturday so I used the opportunity to walk around the hotel neighborhood and unwind from a tiring week of training. I have provided training to people before but never the volume I have been doing. And never where I had to spend so much effort to carefully articulate my sentences and focus on the questions. I am getting much better at understanding Indian English. So hopefully week 2 of training will be a little easier. With much more hands on work coming up, it should be.

For lunch on Friday I brought 2 peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches to eat. I think not eating cereal and my limited consumption has been the biggest shock to my system. They have cereal in the hotel but I do not trust the milk. It is probably not pasturized or it might be goats milk. I let them put it in my tea and that is it.

Friday night after work we went to a place called Lush. It was a dinner and drinks place that has a dance floor. In addition to myself and Dolly (who left early Saturday morning) there were 6 Indians with us from the office. We were virtually the only ones there at 8pm which was good. It gave us a chance to eat and talk. Sometime around 11 it started to pick up and by midnight the place was in full swing. As I expected, it wasn't much different then being out in the US except the style is a little different here. Nobody was wearing traditional indian clothes but the style might have been more European than American. This is probably a good time to mention that I traveled to the bar riding shotgun in a car. What an odd feeling to ride shotgun in the seat that should have the steering wheel and gas pedals. Initially when we started to move, I moved my leg instinctively to hit the break. Not because we were going to hit anything, just didn't think we should be moving.

Saturday, I woke up late and ate breakfast. Then I began walking around the hotel neighborhood.



There isn't that much to see around here.



One of the streets I went down must have a hostel nearby because I saw some fellow whities (of european persuasion) with back packs. Additionally, I found one of those "western hangouts" the chief security officer warned us in an email to avoid. I wasn't hungry or thirsty at the time so I skipped it. Since 2 more people were flying into Mumbai Saturday night/sunday morning, I was left to my own devices on Saturday night. I happened across "Little Italy's Italian Pizzeria and Restaurant". I ordere pene pasta with a red sauce, bread, mineral water, and a ruffino chianti classico. If I go back again I might order a pizza and pretend I am at the Trotteria. Arriving at 8:15 I was the only person in the place but by the time I left around 9:15 it was pretty crowded. The food was good and I entertained myself by begining my 4th book since departing 10 or 11 days ago.

This is probably a good time to talk a bit about the food here. I have come to the conclusion that I need meat on a daily basis when I am not familiar with the food. The office provides breakfast and lunch for all employees (employees pay 50 rupees per month or roughly $1 for this service). Additionally at 7pm there is a snack which is stuffed bread. The stuffed bread is a little on the spicey side but not too bad. Unfortunately the office only provides the veg menu. This means bread, rice, and 2 or 3 vegetable gravy type toppings. Some being extremely spicey. After 3 days of this Dolly and I went to the restaurant across the street from the office to get a little variety. I have settled into a routine for ordering where I tell Vasan what meat/fish product I would like and he orders me a different dish each time (similar to Friday night dinners with Smarda). Of course when I want meat it is not beef. It is usually chicken or turkey. Additionally I have been sampling a variety of prawn dishes which are shrimp. So far I have like everything I have tried. But far and away the best things I have had here are the breads. They have so many different types of bread and they are so good. Since I have been here, I have had at least 5 or 6 different types of bread.

Sunday was another low key day. Brian and Sheila arrived and will be here for the next 3 or 4 weeks. I walked them around a little today so they weren't trapped in the hotel. However, both were extremely tired so the walk was only an hour or two with a lunch break thrown in there. We stopped at Subway. The unfortunate thing is that I can not order food here from an Indian restaurant on my own. I need a guide. Seeing the roads and people was probably a bit overwhelming for the two of them but in a few days it will be second nature. I didn't have my camera with me today so I missed the chance to snap a picture of a camel walking down the street. Brian had his camera and I will steal it from him.

I have grown tired of the water restrictions that everyone says I should follow and have slowly broken away from it. I still drink bottled water when given the chance. However, if I want to get a mixed drink I need ice and I order it. I brush my teeth with the tap. And today when we were at Subway, I got a fountain Mountain Dew which is probably made with local water. I will let you know if it brings me down.

This is probably the first country where I would discourage people from crossing at the light. It is actually easier, and in my opinion safer, to j walk. The lights are often times just a suggestion and traffic doesn't stop at it. If it does, the lights only seem to apply to vehicles with 4 or more wheels. The autos (3 wheeled cabs), 2 wheelers (that is what they call scooters and motorcycles), and bicycles just go through the light.

Cricket

As much as it annoys me when training the India team, I am fascinated by the head movement phenomenon. I would love to find out how this got started. Thanks to Smarda, who happens to be taking an Outsourcing Course at Stern, I have the following information for everyone...

Indians, particularly from South India, have a perplexing habit, as they listen to you, of shaking the head in a manner that appears to be say "no". This is labeled the Indian wiggle. But, it can have various meanings: "yes," or "I am listening," or "I agree," or "go on."
-- Offshoring information technology- sourcing and outsourcing to a global workforce. By Erran Carmel and Paul Tjia

So it has an offically documented term in literature called the Indian Wiggle. Until now everyone was reading my description and accepting it on faith. With this newly found documented proof, faith is not needed.

After work last night, I went to dinner at a place called 'ZK' (pronouned zid k I think). Those are the initials of a big cricket fastballer (or pitcher). Today being the first day of a 5 day cricket match between India and Pakistan, I asked a few questions about cricket. I doubt I will ever get into cricket as the action is not that exciting. Here is a summary of my understanding...

The fastballer bowls the ball (throws a 1 hop pitch) at the batsmen who holds a wicket. If the batsman does not swing and it hits one of the pegs in the ground, or if the batsman swings and misses, he is out. If a flyball is caught, it is also an out. An inning will continue until the team loses 10 wickets (batsman). When the batsman hits the ball, there are 2 automatic ways to score. Off the pitch (field) on a fly gets you 6. If it rolls off the pitch you get 4. Otherwise, you must run from one peg area to another to gain runs.

The part that discredits this game as a sport is the fact there are lunchtime stoppages and tea breaks. That is right tea breaks. That alone will prevent it from catching on in the US.

1 week of training down...

When I woke up on Tuesday I remembered that Tuesday is Malaria day. Time to take the malaria pill. It instantly reminded me of Goodmorning Vietnam. And the more I think about the movie, this place isn't much different. There are cars and trucks on the road along with people, bicycles, scooters, and animals.

There is another head movement that is very common in this country. It is a short, quick, rapid head shake (left, right, left, right). It is almost a subtle head shake. The best way to visualize it is to think back to Mike Tyson's Punchout on Nintendo. In the game there was one opponent that did the head shake. That must have been taken directly from this country.

I can't believe that IT jobs are coming here and theinfrastructure is so bad. Every day at 6am and 7am the power goes out in the hotel. It almost immediatley comes back on which I think means there must be a generator back up that it switches too. It is unbelievable. I have been in the shower and the lights just go out for a few minutes. Luckily the water is still hot.

The driving on the opposite side of the road I think has some other trickle down effects which have caused me slight issue. The main one being when you go to walk past somebody I think you go to your left instead of the right. I instinctly go to the right and consistently go the same way as the oncoming walkers. Not sure if it is just me or there is something to this. I guess I can check the theory out in England someday.

Communicating outside the classroom is very difficult. Our driver only understands what time it is we want to get picked up. We tried to explain to the driver to stop somewhere on the drive home from the office. He couldn't understand what we were asking. So he called over a countryman who speaks english and had him translate for us. Only he didn't get it either. He decided that when we said we were sick of eating at the hotel that we were looking for another hotel to eat at. The reason being that hotel doesn't mean a place where you stay in India. A hotel is a restaraunt. After that failure, I decided to eat my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich since I have been here. It was one of the best pb&j sandwiches i have had in recent times.

The following night we had somebody in the office explain what we wanted and it was successful. We went to the mariplex. It had a KFC, McDonalds, movietheater, Subway, bookstore and a few small shops. And a baskin robbins ice cream. I was going to get a cheeseburger from mcdonalds when it dawned on me they probably would not have one. I asked the server if they had burgers and he said I can choose anyone I want. Apparently McChicken sandwich is a burger here.

Well another long day is winding down and I will write more over the weekend as well as add a bunch of pictures for people to see.

One last thing, i had a group sing a song again. There was a group of about 10 that were late. I asked the group what punishment we should give and they all wanted them to sing a theme song from a movie. So the 10 latecomers sang some Hindi song. Very entertaining.

GVD and Weekend #1

I have just finished a day of training here in India (Tuesday) and thought I would put a little blurb on what I have been doing the past few days...

Saturday was EDS GVD or global volunteer day. Both Dolly and I attended the event in a village about 90 minutes outside of Pune. The 200+ volunteers from the EDS office took 2 busses out to the village. Dolly, myself, Atul, and our driver went in private car. We originally said we would go on the bus but we were told we would be leaving early so go by car.

The purpose of our trip was to help with watersheds. The village has severe drought problems and since they are at the base of the hill, silt and other dirt runs down the hill into their crops. So our job was to build a series of damns. Rocks were dumped in piles near where each damn should be built. We then set up lines where we passed the rocks from person to person until it was placed on the damn. The damns were about 20 feet long and 5 feet high. Despite the information in one of my books which indicated I need not worry about sun burn, I got burnt that day.




We left the volunteers at the site shortly after lunch. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the jail where Gandhi was imprisoned with his wife. It actually wasn't really a prison. It is Aga Khan's Palace. Gandhi had 2 rooms and a bathroom. I'm not saying it was easy to be in a prison but this wasn't a jail cell.

Check out the "prison"





Saturday night I went out with one of the guys in the Pune office, Vasan. He took me to some place called The Den. It was resturant and bar where the dj played requests all night. Mostly US/UK music from the 70's and 80's. It wasn't a bad spot. I ate Tadoori Chicken there and actually liked it.

Sunday we didn't do anything. Just hung out at our prison. We walked a few blocks to the mall which is really a department store. And then walked around the area a little bit more. We have a driver at our disposal but we have to know in advance what time we need him and where we are going. So on Sunday we had nothing. Not knowing the language and not understanding the alphabet so you can read it really difficult. At least when I go to south america, I have a chance to get places since I can fumble through a few words. Here I know nothing. And everyone we talk to makes this place out to be terrible and unsafe for us to travel anywhere. Apparently it isn't even a good idea to take cabs unless you are indian... which leads me to some observations

On the road they have these 3 wheel cabs. They kind of look like a rickshaw or something. The guy driving up front has 2 handles just like a 3 wheeler. I will get a picture of one this weekend so everyone can see it.

Something it seems everyone over here does when you ask them a question and they respond with a verbal yes and shake their head no. It is often comical but when I am giving training sessions, it is very frustrating. I ask the room if they understand what I just said and 15 people are shaking their heads no but they really mean yes. The visual of that is making me laugh righ now but during the trainings it isn't as funny.

Similar to many of the training sessions given in the US, the participation levels when you ask questions are not very high. After I ask a question of the classroom nobody says anything. So today I took matters into my own hand. I made everyone create name plates and I started calling on people. This made things a little better. Initially, eveyone thought I would not be able to say their name so they thought it a joke. However, they did not realize that once I saw the names in writing, I quickly recognized them because several are friends of mine at NYU. Or at a minimum similar.

I was also having a problem in my classes where people were coming back from their breaks late. So i joking told people I would start implementing punishment. They continued to return late so before the last break of the day today, I informed everyone they would be required to do 20 push-ups for every minute they were late (JK punsihment from St. Joes). Everybody came back early this time except for one person. He was 9 minutes late. So I told him he had to do at least 20 pushups. Then I backed down and said he could either do 20 pushups or sing the Inidian National Anthem. He quickly agreed to do the anthem. The entire class stood up and they all sang. It was a pretty interesting sight to see.

I also learned a little about the only shake with your right hand and wipe with your left phrase. It does have some truth to it as most things do. The truth being that in Indian culture all good things come from the right hand. Everyone eats with their right hand, never with the left. And if they break bread, they break it with just their right hand instead of tearing it like the rest of the world.

I have a bunch more to write but my driveer is waiting so I must go.

The suburbs of Pune

After discussion with some coworkers, I have learned that the hotel we are staying at is actually in the suburbs of pune. But it isn't the tranquil peaceful suburbs you might imagine. It is much more urban.

As I am here for work and since I have not adjusted to the time difference completely, I have not really explored any of the country yet. I did walk up and down the street from our hotel which is on a pretty busy road with lots of action.

For those of you who have been to Paraguay, the roads around here are similar in some respects but even worse. On the roads are bicycles, scooters, these 3 wheel taxis, cars, trucks, and some animals (we have seen donkeys, horses, cattle, and even an elephant so far) ... at least that is what is on the road in front of the hotel and the roads we take to the office. Sounds similar to Paraguay right. Well, most of the roads here are paved not dirt. Except they are not even. Front page of the paper today actually was discussing how bad the roads are here and that infrastructure investments need to be made.

Speaking of news in India, since I woke up at 2:30 am here are some headlines of their tv yesterday

Taxi drivers in Mumbai go on strike because the airport moved the stand 1km away. Apparently this is seen as the first step to favoring the private taxis and thus the strike. Along with the taxi story is a story on the first female cab driver in the country. The fog in Delhi is so bad the past few days that flights have been grounded. So now there is an uproar from the press because of the investments made in the new CAT-3B technology which is desinged for fog landings is going unused. And some airlines are swithching planes from boeing to airbus. So the pilots are mad that the boeing pilots will get demoted. And finally, a smoking ban for movies was instituded and some guy named Amitabh is being fined for smoking a cigar in a movie.

The office here is ok. Looks and feels like a cubicle nation just like the US. The 25 minute car ride from the hotel to the office is crazy. The poverty you see is a little more visable then what I saw in Paraguay. It might be the difference between rural poverty and urban poverty. Here the houses/shacks people live in are made of aluminum that was probably discarded from somebody's roof. In Paraguay, much of the rural poverty I saw still had people living in a stone structure of some sort. After going through poverty, you make a quick turn, go through a security gate and you are in the middle of an suburban office park with serveral buildings 8-12 stories high. For lunch everyone goes to the cafeteria (which becomes a break room later in the day with a ping pong table). Food is free. I tried a few different things but I have no idea what it is. The bread here, i think it is baratha, is really good. I haven't picked up my own to make PB&J sandwiches yet which is a true test but I will eventually.

In the training class today, as part of the introductions, I asked everyone to submit their favorite dish so I will start trying some of these out and see how it goes. Tomorrow is Global Volunteer day and we will be building something water related to help a village capture more water and prevent drought. I will let you know how it goes.

Arrived in Pune

Well after two 7 hour flights, 5 hour lay over, and a 3 hour drive from Mumbai, I am safely settled into the Sun - n - Sand hotel. With a name like that you would think you were at the Jersey shore. I am still pretty exhausted but wanted to put down a little bit to let you know how the trip went and my initial impressions.

Typical of most trips I take, I can not sleep on a plane. Even with Business class I didn't sleep. I think I dosed for 20 minutes in the lounge in Frankfurt and another 15 minutes on the 2nd flight. I will say this though, business class is so much better than coach. Especially on the first leg when we were on an Airbus. The seats almost went horizontal, there was movies on demand, video games, and if you are willing to pay inflight internet connection.

We arrived in Mumbai around 2am. The amount of people hanging out at the airport was crazy. Most international flights out of India are around 2am too. We then drove for 3.5 hours to Pune and our hotel. Despite the time, the roads still had a decent amount of cars and trucks on them. Our driver wouldn't go over 80 km/hour otherwise it might have been a lot shorter. The road itself would make the belt parkway seem straight.

Some first impressions...

After checking in at 6am and taking a shower, I didn't put the do
not disturb card on my door. So I was awoken 3 different times before I finally got up around 11:30. The first was to see if I had any laundry to be done. The 2nd was to clean the room. The 3rd was to check the minibar. Then around 2 they stopped by again to give my afternoon chocolates and fruit

I had lunch by myself in the hotel. And the service was unnerving. I was the only person in the restaurant. But there were at least 8 people working. 2 kept hovering over me. Not letting my water get below half way, clearing plates the minute I finished, and magically appearing the second I lifted my eyes from the plate.

By the way, I have already lost power twice since being here. Apparently this is common.

I will write about the streets and office tomorrow. My driver is waiting to take me home now...