I am not sure if you ever experience this but I often find a soundtrack for certain periods in my life. Anyway, I believe I have found mine for the trip. It is mostly because I only have a certain number of songs downloaded on my work computer but the works.
Today was our first day of actually training people. I loved it! It makes me want to be a teacher. Watch out Bar, I might be following in your footsteps. : )
The people here are extremely smart and eager to learn which makes my job easy. I will be happy when I leave here though. It is just an unnerving place to be. I have quite the story for my fellow readers but I will spare you for this evening as I am exhausted. I’ll write about it tomorrow, unless of course I'm once again moved to discuss the dictomy that is a third world country.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
An Evening In India To Myself
Right now I am sitting outside on my balcony writing. I can hear the wild dogs in the distance barking as if they were silenced during the day. The temperature is a nice 75 degrees with little breeze and though the air is moist it is almost refreshing. Looking out I can see the lights from buildings but for the most part it is dark. There haze in the sky so the moon and stars are completely blocked from sight. I am almost use to the smell so it is no longer something that stands out when I walk outside.
I have to say, it is strange to be in a country where poverty and riches are right across the street from one another. It is also strange to be in a country where a war is going on and Americans seem to be the source of hate. Though there is heightened security at both the hotel and the office, I don’t feel safe. You never know who is against you and who is on your side.
The tone of the country is somber and you can feel that though Bangalore is far from Mumbai the people are affected. I wonder if those that live in tarp houses know what has happened in Mumbai. I am sure the only thing on there mind is where their next meal is coming from. I have to say, though our exposure is very limited, as again it is not safe to walk around the area, it is a life changing experience. I do hope I can come back during a safer time and really get to experience the culture and hopefully do something for those that have nothing (even if it is just buying them a pair of shoes).
This whole experience makes me very thankful for all that I have.
As I stated before, I am sitting outside and can hear all the sounds that are in the surrounding area and the dogs are getting very loud. It almost sounds like something bad is happening to them because the barking is becoming shrill. It breaks my heart (as you all know I am a huge dog lover). Now there is silence. Makes me wonder what just happened to those dogs.
What you have been told about cows being sacred is true. There are cows that just roam the streets. I feel strange staying in such a nice hotel when right outside there are people that haven’t eaten for days. Unfortunately now is not the time to be heroic and even if it was how do you go about doing that. Would you just show up with food and water? I wonder what the reaction would be. Would there be joy or would people resent the fact that you pity them?
I came on this trip for two reasons, one I wanted to go to India to see the Taj (which to my dismay will not be an option) and two to have a moving experience where I let the culture change me. I have been here for a day and luckily or unluckily, depending on how you want to look at it, I am getting the latter experience.
I should probably go to be though since it is 11:30 and my sleep schedule is all messed up. I know my last posted eluded to the fact that I would be writing tomorrow but I was having a moment and thought I would write down what I was experiencing at the present moment. Good night all.
I have to say, it is strange to be in a country where poverty and riches are right across the street from one another. It is also strange to be in a country where a war is going on and Americans seem to be the source of hate. Though there is heightened security at both the hotel and the office, I don’t feel safe. You never know who is against you and who is on your side.
The tone of the country is somber and you can feel that though Bangalore is far from Mumbai the people are affected. I wonder if those that live in tarp houses know what has happened in Mumbai. I am sure the only thing on there mind is where their next meal is coming from. I have to say, though our exposure is very limited, as again it is not safe to walk around the area, it is a life changing experience. I do hope I can come back during a safer time and really get to experience the culture and hopefully do something for those that have nothing (even if it is just buying them a pair of shoes).
This whole experience makes me very thankful for all that I have.
As I stated before, I am sitting outside and can hear all the sounds that are in the surrounding area and the dogs are getting very loud. It almost sounds like something bad is happening to them because the barking is becoming shrill. It breaks my heart (as you all know I am a huge dog lover). Now there is silence. Makes me wonder what just happened to those dogs.
What you have been told about cows being sacred is true. There are cows that just roam the streets. I feel strange staying in such a nice hotel when right outside there are people that haven’t eaten for days. Unfortunately now is not the time to be heroic and even if it was how do you go about doing that. Would you just show up with food and water? I wonder what the reaction would be. Would there be joy or would people resent the fact that you pity them?
I came on this trip for two reasons, one I wanted to go to India to see the Taj (which to my dismay will not be an option) and two to have a moving experience where I let the culture change me. I have been here for a day and luckily or unluckily, depending on how you want to look at it, I am getting the latter experience.
I should probably go to be though since it is 11:30 and my sleep schedule is all messed up. I know my last posted eluded to the fact that I would be writing tomorrow but I was having a moment and thought I would write down what I was experiencing at the present moment. Good night all.
Monday, December 1, 2008
First Day in India
Today I woke up at 2:00 AM thinking I was super late for work. I looked at my phone, which of course is set to US time, thought it was 4:00 AM, and was completely thrown off by this. We are 10 ½ hours ahead and 4 hours of sleep makes my brain a bit foggy. Needless to say, I woke up and wound up unable to fall back asleep.
I jumped on the phone with my parents, sat outside for a bit, watched TV, messed around online, and was able to talk to Sally. Since we had to cancel our travels around India due to the recent terror attacks we have a few extra days to fill with something else. We were going back and forth with plans (Rome, Barcelona, Bulgaria) and finally decided to go to Barcelona as it is the cheapest alternative and I get to spend an extra few days with Sally. YAY!
Anyway, around 6:00 AM I started to get ready for work. I ordered coffee (by the by the hotel treats us like queens), blasted my music, and started getting ready for my day. After showering, the natural thing to do is blow dry my hair, usually I set up my straightening iron before hand so it is nice and hot. Today I plugged it in and not only blew out my iron but also blew the electricity in my hotel room. It sucked, mostly because my iron was really expensive and I had already lost my hair dryer to Paris. Tear tear.
After getting power back, I continued to get ready for my day; of course, at this point, I was running a bit late. I avoided any other tragedies and was able to make it down stairs in time for our van to take us to the office. Now I really must set the scene for you; the hotel is literally a palace in the middle of a poor city.
It is quite the dichotomy. You literally walk/drive outside the compound (which is surrounded by gates) and you find yourself in an over crowded street (made of red clay) with men, women, and children of all classes walking the streets. Some have no shoes, some are carrying pots over their head, some children are in uniform on there way to school and others are wearing nothing but a cloth and playing in the dirt.
There are apartments across the street from shanty’s, there are cars on the street with three-wheeled open buggy’s. Wild dogs roam the streets and howl at night and I can’t forget to mention the very interesting smell that surrounds the entire place.
I will back track for a second and say that when we walked off the plane you are hit with hot air and a smell that you can’t quite put your finger on. It was like nothing I have ever smelt. I was warned it would smell, in fact on of my partners had played a practical joke on me by putting curry in my cube and told me he was just getting me ready for India. But the smell wasn’t that strong, it is more of a subtle smell that really can’t be described. Another interesting note was there were birds flying in the airport. Where there are birds, there is bird shit and let me tell you the whole airport was filled with it.
Ok back to describing Bangalore and my morning: There is a mist on the road as the clay gets kicked up into the air, which makes seeing a bit more difficult. It should be noted that India probably has the craziest drivers in the world. Since the country has a British influence they drive on the other side of the road, and of course all cars are manual. Anyway, there are not street lights. People use there horns as a form of communication when driving. Apparently, there aren’t many accidents, but wow, there were several times when we were driving into oncoming traffic and weaving in and out. Seatbelts are a MUST!
Anyway, I am off to bed and will update more tomorrow. xoxo
I jumped on the phone with my parents, sat outside for a bit, watched TV, messed around online, and was able to talk to Sally. Since we had to cancel our travels around India due to the recent terror attacks we have a few extra days to fill with something else. We were going back and forth with plans (Rome, Barcelona, Bulgaria) and finally decided to go to Barcelona as it is the cheapest alternative and I get to spend an extra few days with Sally. YAY!
Anyway, around 6:00 AM I started to get ready for work. I ordered coffee (by the by the hotel treats us like queens), blasted my music, and started getting ready for my day. After showering, the natural thing to do is blow dry my hair, usually I set up my straightening iron before hand so it is nice and hot. Today I plugged it in and not only blew out my iron but also blew the electricity in my hotel room. It sucked, mostly because my iron was really expensive and I had already lost my hair dryer to Paris. Tear tear.
After getting power back, I continued to get ready for my day; of course, at this point, I was running a bit late. I avoided any other tragedies and was able to make it down stairs in time for our van to take us to the office. Now I really must set the scene for you; the hotel is literally a palace in the middle of a poor city.
It is quite the dichotomy. You literally walk/drive outside the compound (which is surrounded by gates) and you find yourself in an over crowded street (made of red clay) with men, women, and children of all classes walking the streets. Some have no shoes, some are carrying pots over their head, some children are in uniform on there way to school and others are wearing nothing but a cloth and playing in the dirt.
There are apartments across the street from shanty’s, there are cars on the street with three-wheeled open buggy’s. Wild dogs roam the streets and howl at night and I can’t forget to mention the very interesting smell that surrounds the entire place.
I will back track for a second and say that when we walked off the plane you are hit with hot air and a smell that you can’t quite put your finger on. It was like nothing I have ever smelt. I was warned it would smell, in fact on of my partners had played a practical joke on me by putting curry in my cube and told me he was just getting me ready for India. But the smell wasn’t that strong, it is more of a subtle smell that really can’t be described. Another interesting note was there were birds flying in the airport. Where there are birds, there is bird shit and let me tell you the whole airport was filled with it.
Ok back to describing Bangalore and my morning: There is a mist on the road as the clay gets kicked up into the air, which makes seeing a bit more difficult. It should be noted that India probably has the craziest drivers in the world. Since the country has a British influence they drive on the other side of the road, and of course all cars are manual. Anyway, there are not street lights. People use there horns as a form of communication when driving. Apparently, there aren’t many accidents, but wow, there were several times when we were driving into oncoming traffic and weaving in and out. Seatbelts are a MUST!
Anyway, I am off to bed and will update more tomorrow. xoxo
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