Day 26

(Thursday, Feb. 24)
I said yesterday might be my last, but I've thought of more things I want to say!

McDonald's
I had my first taste of Indian McDonald's. Biggest difference: no beef is sold. Next biggest difference: a much smaller menu...just four value meals! McChicken (grilled or fried), McFillet, McAloo (or something like that, I think it is vegeterian?), and some vegetarian pizza wrap. The fries were exactly the same and the fried chicken sandwich was just like home.

Another difference is the lack of a super size option...and there is no sign that says "for 20 rupees more make it a large value meal." The portions are reasonable.

Littering
Something I haven't mentioned yet...there is litter everywhere! India needs to do what the US does and put prisoners to work cleaning the roads. Though...what would the cows eat if there was no litter....and now you know why most people drink packaged milk.

Days 24-25

(Tuesday, Feb 22-Wednesday, Feb 23)

Eating the salad was a bad idea. Julie/Mike: don’t trust it even in a 4-star restaurant…argh.

Wow, my time is really winding down. Things in the office are running smoothly. There are sure to be some stumbling blocks next week when I am not onsite to edit for the team, but it’s time for them to receive the hard feedback that will help them develop further. I have outlined development areas for each, but for the most part they just need practice…trial and error.

Things I will miss about my India trip:

• Having my laundry washed and ironed at 25 cents an item
• Having long fingernails because I haven’t washed my own dishes in 4 weeks
• Having “big” weekends…I waste so many weekends at home and there are so many things I could be seeing or places I could go
• Meeting new people
• Learning to understand the Indian culture
• Being driven to work each day
• Ability to be very efficient
• Seeing new things
• The weather!

Things I will not miss about my India trip:

• Being without friends and family
• Seeing poverty outside any window I look
• Eating like I am back in college
• South African-style pizza…it’s not bad, but I’ve had enough!
• Waiting in traffic while the cows cross the road
• Five-minute showers that are cool in the final minute
• Long-distance meetings via telephone
• Power outages every 2 hours!
• My doorbell that sounds like an ice cream truck
• Hearing car horns every 10 seconds...at least!
• Seeing a man pee outside almost every single day...not just homeless men, but business men on their ways to work who apparently can't hold it just 10 more minutes, so they pull over their motorcycles and pee right there!
  

This may be my final post….I leave Saturday morning at 3am and touch down in London at 7:45 am. I have plans to explore London with a colleague who works in the London office during the day, and then I fly out at 6:45pm. My plane lands at Dulles at approx 9pm Saturday night…I can’t wait!

And for those keeping count, I will have read 5 books and seen 2 movies this month….which is 5 more books and 2 more movies than my average month J

For those who didn’t receive the link to my photos (sorry!): http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=ycztl1x.a6s3pdxh&x=0&y=-xv0lf6

Day 23

(Monday, Feb 21)

I made good on one of my regrets: not eating out enough. I had dinner tonight (alone) at the Trident Hotel restaurant Cilantro. This hotel is definitely the most gorgeous hotel I have ever been in…There was a fountain/pool (200 feet long by 150 wide, no more than 3 feet deep – I think, it was night so it was hard to tell --, with cascading water that falls off each edge of the fountain). In the middle of the pool were four fires!

The meal was the best I have eaten in India. To begin with I ordered wine…and it was good! I started with a Caesar salad (high-end hotel, I figure the salad should be OK here). In contrast to my previous statement, the salad was not good. It was boring and made with iceberg lettuce…I only ate about ¼ of huge serving. The waiter asked if I liked the salad and I was honest…when I got the bill I saw they didn’t charge me (or CEB) for the salad!

For dinner I had, tenderloin with baby potatoes…all covered with a scrumptious gravy/sauce. I finished with Tiramisu. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t eat out more often!

Days 21 and 22

(Saturday, Feb 19)

I spent the day with Sujatha and Sim. We started with lunch at the Big Chill…I liked my meal so much the first time, I really want to go back. Next we headed to this huge outdoor market that is only open for two weeks each year. It was great to walk around and check things out, but there wasn’t anything that I really wanted to buy. Apparently most people go for the food, but I was warned to avoid it because it would not sit well in my “delicate” stomach.

Later that evening Sim and I went to the movies and saw Ray….If you haven’t seen it yet, go rent it. It is amazing. Jamie Foxx totally deserves the Oscar. The director does a good job at making you feel uncomfortable. Jamie Foxx does a great job of becoming Ray Charles, you totally forget Jamie Foxx ala In Living Color.

(Sunday, Feb 20)

Last weekend day in town….I can’t believe how fast this entire trip has gone….I haven’t done nearly as much as I should have…I should have gone to one of the fancy brunches, I should have eaten out at restaurants more often, I shouldn’t have read all day on my first Saturday…

Sunday we went to the Lotus Temple, though the line to go through it was longer than the line for the best ride at Disney Land during Christmas vacation. Even from the outside, it is quite breathtaking. Check out this website to see pics: http://www.bahaindia.org/temple/background.html.

On Sunday we also drove through central Delhi and Delhi’s version of Embassy Row. Driving through this part of town, you have no idea you are in Delhi. There is actually order on the roads, there is no trash littering the sidewalks (as is the case through the rest of what I have seen in India), there are beautiful homes, and great architecture within the government buildings – a pretty refreshing look at the city. Though, it keeps coming back to mind that no one has faith is thin government and it is said to be horribly corrupt.

Days 16-20

(Monday, Feb 14)

Joe and I did talk, and we had the same meal (soup and a sandwich) but it was purely coincidental.

Valentine’s is a surprisingly big hit here. For example, one of the guys in the office Guarav (who is married) bought flowers for the office. The manager at the Travel House (the company I went through for tour guides, etc.) even wished me a happy valentine’s day!

(Tuesday, Feb 15- Friday, Feb 18)

Work as usual…actual more work than usual. I have been working crazy hours. From 10am to 10pm, I thought I was supposed to take it easy out here? Part of it is my own doing, I mean what else am I going to do each night? Indian Idol and reruns of New Radio are only so entertaining. The good news is I still feel really connected to my team. They have been relieved when I left because we worked so hard in January, but I think they each might receive 5-10 emails from me each morning…I think they might be happier to see me back so they won’t get slammed each morning.

February has probably been the most productive professional month of my life. After the first week of training, I have been able to get solid work finished each week. I’ve gotten the team to point where they need me maybe 2 hours of each day…being able to work almost 6 hours uninterrupted is amazing – uninterrupted by other people, but also by emails – the biggest time stealer during work days in the US. Granted I spend at least my first 90 minutes answering emails each day, but I don’t get any more after that! It’s great. For non-CEBers: CEB is an email world. I send and receive a total of 150-200 emails every day…so if the last comments sounded nerdy, they were.

Friday night I spent at the mall…just like when I was 14! I checked out prices in stores like Harrod’s, Marks and Spencer, Levis, and Lacoste – did a little bit of buying but nothing major. I did buy a few books though…For the lady readers of the Shopaholic stories, I bought the newest in the series “Shopaholic & Sister” – also, did you know that “Shopaholic takes Manhattan” has a different title outside the US? It is called “Shopaholic Goes Abroad.”

Day 15: Day Trip to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal)

(Sunday, Feb 13)

The Taj Mahal
Sim, Price, and I started our day at 6:30am, the drive to Agra was about 4 hours. Not far from the Taj Mahal we met our tour guide Biki. You are not allowed to drive cars near the Taj because of pollution, instead you need take an electric bus, camel carriage, or rick shaw. We played it safe with the electric bus…couldn’t imagine riding behind a camel would smell too good.

Biki was not as excellent a tour guide as Jai. In fact, Biki was a bit annoying but he did know his way around Agra and got us to head of any lines. He cracked Sim and I up because it was very clear he had a mental script that began at certain points during the walk up to the Taj. For example, once he reached 300 feet away he said “from here you can admire….the Taj was built by….if you notice…” and if you interrupted him, he would repeat the last sentence he said and pick up from there! I think Sim got a kick out of interrupting him. The main reason we weren’t too pleased with him at times was that he never shut up! The Taj Mahal is beautiful…I just wanted to stare at it without listening.

My brother Shawn said there were too many pictures of the Taj Mahal within my online album and it was boring…perhaps the beauty is not captured by photographs well…but it was striking.

A Day of Weddings and Peace Rallies
February 13th was a very popular day to get married! We saw at least 10 wedding processionals between Agra and Delhi…and get this, the party/reception happens first. The groom doesn’t show up until the evening (he arrives on a mare, always a mare) and when he finally shows up, the actually ceremony occurs, but usually by this time most people have eaten, danced, and left…so only the immediate family sticks around for the ceremony.

Day 14: Day Trip to Jaipur

(Saturday, Feb 12)

Amber Fort
Price and I headed out to Jaipur beginning at 6:30am. The drive took a little bit less than 4 hours, but it was as pleasant as a drive on Indian road can be. Our first stop was the Amber Fort where we met our tour guide Jai. The fort was amazing and Jai was a great tour guide! The day would not have been the same without him. For an entire day tour, the fee was 550 rupees ($12.80) – we gave him a nice tip too because he was so great.

We had two options to get up to the fort: (1) walk the 2 km or (2) ride an elephant…we of course got in line to ride an elephant!!!! When else will I get to ride an elephant??? So for a total of 450 rupees ($10.50US), Price and I got to ride an elephant. I’ve got to say…it’s definitely overrated…slow, bumpy, and wet! As you might imagine, elephants aren’t the most graceful animals…and they spit! I got elephant slobber in my eye!

The Toilets
Following the four drive to Fort Amber, I need to use the ladies room. While Price waited for the elephant I went over to where I had seen the sign for toilets. Toilets was an over-statement…there were holes in the ground that didn’t even have doors! And you had to pay to use the hole in the ground! I walked right back in line and told Price I had decided to wait. Jai, the tour guide, said there were restrooms at the top of the fort.

About two hours later, we checked out the toilets at the top of the fort. Price had no problems….I on the other hand had a problem. Good news was these restrooms were free, they were cleaner and there were doors on the stalls. I went into a stall and realized my bad luck…another hole in the ground to squat over! I really thought about it…tried to figure out how I could possibly keep my coat dry, my purse clean, and remain balanced enough that I wouldn’t fall in or around the hole and end up with urine all over me – that’s when I realized there was no toilet paper and I didn’t have any tissues in my purse. I gave up and decided to keep holding it…there was no way I was going to chance falling in my or another person’s yuck. Guys have this sooo much easier.

After touring the fort we headed to lunch at a fantastic hotel that had beautiful bathrooms!

Other Stops in Jaipur
For lunch we had a buffet at a former palace! The palace is now a hotel, which is common…former ruling families have their palaces into hotels so they can afford to keep the palace in the family. Had my first taste of Indian food, but also had “continental” cuisine…in fact I had the best German potato salad I’ve ever eaten! (Sorry Grandmom…)

The tour guide took us to a high-end jewelry store…Price and I think he gets a cut of each sale he brings, but to be honest the store was beautiful and sold beautiful things. I bought myself and Joe a small sink painting for our new place. We also saw a jewelry-making demonstration.

The Observatory
Price enjoyed this stop a lot more than I did, but it was interesting nonetheless. There were about 12 large scientific structures used for various purposes that were each advanced for their time. For example, the world’s largest sun dial with 20 second accuracy. Also horoscope tools and date tools. The pictures are cooler than my descriptions.

More Animals
Saw my first camel today…unless I’ve seen one at a zoo and don’t remember. It was also on my way to Jaipur that I saw quite possibly the funniest thing I have seen in all of India: a man driving a motorcycle with baby goats in the saddle bags! And then in front of that motorcycle, another one with baby goals in the saddle bags and the mother goal in the front basket!!! Where else I am ever going to see that again. I have only one regret: that I didn’t have my camera ready.

Rethinking my airport driver
Now that I have experienced considerable road travel within the Delhi area, I realize I may have unfairly judged the driver who picked me up from the airport. His driving skills are par for the course here…everyone drives like a nut because if you don’t you’d never get any where! There may be three lanes dedicated to traffic in each direction, but that is only taken as a suggestion…4-5 cars can possibly fit across three lanes, so why not try it? Also, who’s to say that the we should each stay on our own sides of the road…sometimes one-way roads, arbitrarily become two-way.

Day 13

(Friday, Feb. 11)

An American Evening in India
After work I went to the cinema (which is in the mall) with Sujatha. We saw Johnny Depp’s “Finding Neverland” – pretty good movie, though it starts pretty slow. The movie cost 150 rupees ($3.50US) – the movie theatre, like most in Gurgaon, is very new. It had the coolest seats that I have not yet seen at the home theatres (at least the ones I go to!). Not only could the arms of the chairs come up so that couples can sit closer together (Sugatha and I elected to leave the armrest in place), the whole seat (not just the back) reclines. Just like in the U.S. movie theatre food and drink is marked up, but no where as bad.

We had dinner at the mall also…at Ruby Tuesdays! And yes, the menu is pretty much the same. And I have had my first alcoholic drink in India! In the state of Haryana (again, this is where Gurgaon is) no imported alcohol is allowed to be sold. Therefore drinks like a white Russian (Kaluaha required) are not available. The reason I bring this is up is because it is amazing how many different types of liquor are imported to India. The drink menu, the same as the US version, must have 50 specific cocktails listed, but you can only order about 20. The waiters must hate it! That location should black out any drinks they can’t make – Sujatha, order three different drinks before she found one that they would make.

Days 9-12

(Monday, Feb. 7 – Thursday, Feb. 10)

Laundry
On Monday I received my laundry back from the attendant….I was missing two pairs of underwear! Somehow I knew this would happen, this is why I counted everything I put into the laundry bag! Amit, the attendant, was in my apartment with the phone company guy when I was putting my laundry away. I told him I was missing two items and he was like “really?” I said “yes, underwear…” Two days later one pair of underwear has shown up. I didn’t think I want the other pair back. Regardless I have sent my laundry out again, this time I sent 4 pairs of underwear – stay tuned to hear whether I have an underwear left when I return from India. Maybe I just should have brought 30 pairs (from college – you know how it is avoid laundry at any cost) and not had to wash underwear while I was here. I haven’t sent my bras out to be laundered, I am hand washing those…they are too expensive to lose!

Work
Things are finally going pretty smoothly. The technology is much smoother than it was a few days ago…we still have some kinks, but the team has become rather productive in the past few days with great responses back from the US team.

American Company
Price arrives on Thursday night and will be in the office on Friday. It will be nice to have effortless conversations…hopefully they won’t all be about work in the next five days! We have a great weekend planned: Saturday at the “pink city” aka Jaipur (http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~kartik/jaipur.html) and on Sunday: Agra and the Taj Mahal (http://www.liveindia.com/tajmahal/).

The Gym
It took 10 days, but I found it…and I even when in and worked out! It was basically a glorified home gym with one bike, one treadmill, and one nautilus-like weight system. There was also a scale…I checked it out, but it was in kilograms…I liked the low number, but didn’t want to know what the conversation. So I am going to stick with that. Speaking of healthy living…I have been clean and sober for two weeks now…in fact, I don’t even know where to buy alcohol. I will be a cheap date by the time I get back to DC!

My trip is half over!!!

Days 7 and 8

SATURDAY
Uneventful Day
Spent most of the day the same as I would have at home, except I didn’t have Joe’s company. I read a good deal (finish John Grisham’s “The Last Juror”) and watched TV – that’s it! I did do some of my reading outside in the courtyard area in front of the building.

SUNDAY
A Day Around Delhi
I met up with Sim at her parent’s home (where she still lives at age 26…it is actually pretty uncommon for unmarried children to not live at home). Her mom was funny…she seemed pretty traditional if I would have judged her appearance alone, but by our conversation I could tell she was much more western-minded than I would have guessed. A lot of her questions (there were just a few) were about what did I find surprising so far and what types of things I thought were crazy…and then she said “don’t worry about being polite.” Of course I worried about being polite!!! I just told her I found the traffic to be the craziest.

The thing about Delhi is that it is a very old city that has not knocked down old buildings to build new ones. Also, because owning cars is a somewhat recent trend folks have always lived in the city to be close to things…there was never a mass exodus from the city to move to suburbs. Anyhow, what I am getting at is there seems to be little middle-class housing. Or maybe I am defining middle-class housing wrong. Perhaps I need to redefine…middle class might be barrios/ghettos in old apartments/condos, where as the lower class is the folks who cannot afford housing – when I look out any of the windows of my housing here I see make shift housing of tents and like. The truth is the most surprising thing here is how close wealth and poverty live next to each other.

Delhi Monuments
I visited three beautiful sites in Delhu:
Qutb Minar (http://yume-dreams.cool.ne.jp/photo/india/dehli/qutb-minar/t_qutb-minar_24.jpg)
Tomb of Alauddin Khalji (http://www.storyofpakistan.com/images/p0202030201.jpg and http://www.indiatravelogue.com/images1/mp/mandu5.jpg)
Humayun’s Tomb (http://www.pcug.org.au/~alanlevy/Thumbnails/Images/Delhi-Agra-Jaipur/Humayun.JPG)

Driving Around Delhi
To all you Hyundai bashers (Slade, I mean you!): The Hyundai accent is a popular, nice car here!!! That’s right I said nice! A more common car is the Suzuki Alto…There are lots of Hyundais, Suzukis, and Qualises. Not too many cars that would sell for more than $12,000 US. Most of the cars that are common are not even sold in the US. Even the Ford cars that are here are not in the US.

Our driver made an accidental turn into a Muslim neighborhood (Sim explained) that was a bit….unnerving. Anyhow, the young children all started knocking on my window, pointing, and saying hi…It was like they thought I was a movie star or something. None of them begged (as was the case with the last 6 year old who knocked on my window).

The Animals
I got some confirmation on the animals that keep blocking the roads: cows (I have only seen one cow that is white with black spots), buffalo (who know?), and some are oxen as I had guessed!

I’m not nuts….would you have known this is a:
Cow? http://www.5tigers.org/AllAboutTigers/Adventures/habitats/images/cow.jpg
Buffalo? http://www.who.int/multimedia/indiaweb/galleryfeature/animals/who-211944.jpg
Also, I saw monkeys on the side of the road today!

Day 6 part 2

Big Bazaar, trip #2
I got my George Foreman/Sanjeev Kapoor grill! No italian dressing though, though I found herb dressing which smells pretty good. I also bought a barbecue sauce as back-up though -- it's not Hunt's or Kraft, so I'm not sure if it will be close to American-style sauce or not.

I also bought some Frosted Flakes (there aren't too many choices: Cornflakes, Chocos, and Fruit Loops were my other choices) and milk -- the milk was in a carton and not stored in the refridgerated section...

And I broke down and bought a cadbury chocolate bar...my first sweet in exactly one week...chocolate is good. I also bought cookies :)

Day 6

They sell George Foreman grills! Except they are marketed under a famous Indian chef's name...though George's signature is still on the top. I will head back to Big Bazaar tonight to buy one (and Italian dressing).

Laundry
I put my laundry in the bag for the attendant today. It is 10 rupees (less than 25 cents) per item...I wonder is a pair of socks counts as one item or two? And everything, even my underwear and socks, will come back ironed! How funny with that be?!?!

Day 5

Today was election day in Haryana (the state Gurgaon is in) so we had the day off :) Three days in the office and I already have a paid day off....good timing on my part!

Cooking
I feel as though I am back in college...before I had an apartment! I am missing all the essentials (or what have become essentials)...For example, no oven (but I do have a stovetop), no plastic wrap or foil for leftovers, no seasonings, etc. I could buy some of this but it seems like a waste to buy it for such a short time. I cooked all three meals yesterday. For breakfast I had my famous 2 eggs and cheese on toast with ketchup -- so easy to make. For lunch I had grilled cheese and soup -- also easy and delicous. For dinner I ate some of the leftover pasta and chicken...the chicken was not so good. I cooked it in a frying pan with a little oil and no seasonings -- I must find out of they sell George Foreman style grills here. And I need to get some italian dressing to at least marinate the chicken -- I think I saw that at Big Bazaar.

On the otherhand, I am much less wasteful here. If I have a little bit of juice left, I will place my glass in the refridgerator to drink it later, versus throwing it down the sink. It is less a money-saving action and more "I don't want to go to the grocery store again soon."

TV
American Idol is on, but so is Indian Idol! I stumbled across it last night! But it is not in English, so it takes away a bit of the fun.

Lots of reruns: News Radio, Friends, and Becker tend to be on a lot.

Roadblock
I was standing out on my balcony during the afternoon today...it was beautiful. I was checking out the traffic that had come to a stop -- because five animals were crossing the road!

The Apartment Attendant
I was in the apartment today when the attendant came by...he cleans the apartment better daily than Joe and I do weekly. He dusted all of the furniture, washed all the floors, changed my towels, changed my sheets, made my bed, and did all of my dishes...I could get used to this!

Day 4

Woke up at 3:30 am today…fell back asleep by 5am and then woke up at 8:15am.

More about electricity
Because power is limited/stretched thin, each outlet in the apartment has a switch. You need to turn the outlet on for it receive the electric current – smart and not at all obtrusive.

Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar is the name of the grocery store….that’s right I made it to the grocery store. The grocery store is at Sahara Mall (Mike and Julie, that is for your benefit). Kind of strange that you buy food at a shopping mall, but this is the norm here. Big Bazaar is not just food…it’s clothing, appliances, food, and a lot of junk (things you would find a dollar store in the US). The food portion of the store is just 25% of the store. The aisles are small, but so are the carts – they can hold about half of what a US shopping cart generally can hold. Some name brands are available at this store: Jiffy, McCain French Fries, Cadbury, Green Giant, Nestle.

I spent 2095 INR (rupees) – or approx $47.50 US. Diet Pepsi was the most overpriced thing I bought at 100 rupees ($2.33) for a 6 pack – not too bad considering if you were to buy them one at time from a vending machine. Butter was cheap: less than $2 for a pound – Nestle makes butter! I bought soft toilet paper too! If you think Scotties is rough and tough, the toilet paper stocked at the apartment would really give you something to talk about. Mike and Julie: I’ve bought all the basics like salt, sugar, and peanut butter & jelly J

Stealing must be an issue – there were big signs that read something to the effect of “shoplifters will be immediately taken to the nearest police station.”

Cooking without the luxuries of home
Today I made two meals: breakfast and dinner. For breakfast I had one scrambled egg (no milk…Indians do not drink a lot of milk [read that in the India Times today] and I could not find any cold milk at Big Bazaar, though I saw it in cartons on the shelves….I chose to avoid this for now) on one piece of toast. Only difficulties with this was the spatula – it was short and metal, made it difficult to flip the egg.

For dinner I had another high class meal: pasta and canned sauce – too be honest, it was not bad but pot holders would have made it easier.

A short week
Tomorrow we have off! It is election day in the state.