No, I'm not talking about my hangover (one of which I do not have). We reserved this day to go to an American movie in an Indian theater. But I'll get to that later. . .
The day started just like many before . . . I got barely 4 hours of sleep, Mike knocked on my door to go workout, I skipped working out and I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep (unsuccessfully).
It was a normal work day at the office. There are two things different about working in India: 1) the day starts later and goes later - most of the team doesn't come in until 3:30 - 7:30 pm and work into and through the night; 2) the time zone difference makes it difficult to work normally - I send a batch of emails during the day and then receive responses in the middle of the night. Both of these things make the work day quiet but is part of what is keeping me from a good night's sleep.
Mike was experiencing 'Delhi Belly' so we decided to head back to Little Italy for lunch. I decided it was time to risk life and limb by climbing on the back of Schick's scooter. Wow, I should have done that on day one. It is definitely the best way to experience the city of Baroda. Most people here ride scooters, so being on the back of one is normal and helps me blend in . . . kind of. It's pretty hard to blend in when I am still the only blonde I have seen in Baroda since I arrived. Schick mentioned that we were getting far more attention then he does when he is on his scoot alone. I kind of like it . . . does that make me vain? I'm not sure I should consider it flattering, I mean people look because I'm strange in comparison to the norm. But I'll take it as a complement and smile at everyone that looks my way. (This is the great advice I had been given by a wonderful Telecom team member who had come to Baroda earlier this year. Thanks Deborah!)
The EB Telecom team planned a potluck dinner today. Each member of the team brought in homemade dishes, just like in the US. I was amazed at the spread! Homemade dishes of all sorts - mostly favorites of each team member. There were veg dishes and non-veg dishes. Everything was delicious!!! I would have taken pictures but I'm not allowed to have a camera in the TCS building. :(
I sat with three intelligent and beautiful women from my team - Komal Shah, Archana Chauhan and Ketki Kulkarni. They told me about all the wonderful places I should visit in India on future trips here. This country has so much to offer - different religions, different cultures, different landscapes. I can't wait to make another trip to this beautiful place!
After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects - Schick and Kevin. They picked us up from the hotel on their way to the movie theater. We were heading to see The Hangover II in English. I rode with Schick on his scoot (I feel like it's a drug and I am full out addicted), Kev and Mike took a rickshaw.
The theater looked just like any theater in the US. They sell similar concessions. One difference, they have Tomato Chilli Popcorn. Had I not just eaten a huge potluck meal, I would definitely have tried it. Another difference - here there are assigned seats at the movie theater with different prices depending on where you sit. Schick picked a great spot right in the middle of the theater. There were some pretty hilarious advertisements before the meeting. One in particular for some kind of tooth care product is a favorite amongst the Indians and Americans alike. Once the movie started, there was non-stop laughter - it was a very funny movie. Half way through, at a very random moment, we took a 10 minute intermission. I'm familiar with intermissions at movies, they have them in Europe also. But there they try to find a good moment to stop the movie. Here they just stop it exactly half way through. Interesting.
After another exhilarating scooter ride home (it's even better at night because there isn't much traffic so I could look around more and Mike could open it up a bit), it was time for bed.
Namaste
The day started just like many before . . . I got barely 4 hours of sleep, Mike knocked on my door to go workout, I skipped working out and I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep (unsuccessfully).
It was a normal work day at the office. There are two things different about working in India: 1) the day starts later and goes later - most of the team doesn't come in until 3:30 - 7:30 pm and work into and through the night; 2) the time zone difference makes it difficult to work normally - I send a batch of emails during the day and then receive responses in the middle of the night. Both of these things make the work day quiet but is part of what is keeping me from a good night's sleep.
Mike was experiencing 'Delhi Belly' so we decided to head back to Little Italy for lunch. I decided it was time to risk life and limb by climbing on the back of Schick's scooter. Wow, I should have done that on day one. It is definitely the best way to experience the city of Baroda. Most people here ride scooters, so being on the back of one is normal and helps me blend in . . . kind of. It's pretty hard to blend in when I am still the only blonde I have seen in Baroda since I arrived. Schick mentioned that we were getting far more attention then he does when he is on his scoot alone. I kind of like it . . . does that make me vain? I'm not sure I should consider it flattering, I mean people look because I'm strange in comparison to the norm. But I'll take it as a complement and smile at everyone that looks my way. (This is the great advice I had been given by a wonderful Telecom team member who had come to Baroda earlier this year. Thanks Deborah!)
The EB Telecom team planned a potluck dinner today. Each member of the team brought in homemade dishes, just like in the US. I was amazed at the spread! Homemade dishes of all sorts - mostly favorites of each team member. There were veg dishes and non-veg dishes. Everything was delicious!!! I would have taken pictures but I'm not allowed to have a camera in the TCS building. :(
I sat with three intelligent and beautiful women from my team - Komal Shah, Archana Chauhan and Ketki Kulkarni. They told me about all the wonderful places I should visit in India on future trips here. This country has so much to offer - different religions, different cultures, different landscapes. I can't wait to make another trip to this beautiful place!
After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects - Schick and Kevin. They picked us up from the hotel on their way to the movie theater. We were heading to see The Hangover II in English. I rode with Schick on his scoot (I feel like it's a drug and I am full out addicted), Kev and Mike took a rickshaw.
The theater looked just like any theater in the US. They sell similar concessions. One difference, they have Tomato Chilli Popcorn. Had I not just eaten a huge potluck meal, I would definitely have tried it. Another difference - here there are assigned seats at the movie theater with different prices depending on where you sit. Schick picked a great spot right in the middle of the theater. There were some pretty hilarious advertisements before the meeting. One in particular for some kind of tooth care product is a favorite amongst the Indians and Americans alike. Once the movie started, there was non-stop laughter - it was a very funny movie. Half way through, at a very random moment, we took a 10 minute intermission. I'm familiar with intermissions at movies, they have them in Europe also. But there they try to find a good moment to stop the movie. Here they just stop it exactly half way through. Interesting.
After another exhilarating scooter ride home (it's even better at night because there isn't much traffic so I could look around more and Mike could open it up a bit), it was time for bed.
Namaste
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