Proud to be an American

For those of you who love Indian food, I just have to say that you probably haven't been to India. I, myself enjoy Indian food...in Salt Lake. Indian food in India is a whole different story. The first few days I was here I tried to be adventurous and keep an open mind. I had had some recommendations of what was good from people at home who had been here before. I tried the food at a few different places, but came to the point in which I would have rather just not eat than eat Indian. Even just walking into the lunch room at work was enough to bring an unpleasant burning to my throat. Then my boss came into town, and because he has been here seven times and is not fond of the food himself, he was able to show me where I should eat. So now I have several select restaurants around my flat that I can get to pretty easily and the food is edible. However, almost three weeks of eating out is starting to get to me. You think when your boss hands you a corporate credit card and tells you to use it for all your meals that it will be great. But it has grown old. So last night I went to the FabMall and bought some cereal. I wanted to purchase some milk to go on my cereal, however the only "milk" in sight was in a bag and I didn't think it was a good choice. So I went with yogurt instead, which for those who know me well, know I am desperate if I'm eating yogurt. I also bought some peanut butter and bread to take a sandwich to work for lunch. So the cereal was good even with the yogurt and the sandwich was delicious. One of my coworkers asked what I had had for lunch and I told her I ate a peanut butter sandwich. She didn't know how to respond to that. I told her I was American. I didn't know what to do for dinner so I went with Pizza. I asked the guy at the front desk of my flat (pictured) to order it for me because I could just see it not working out with me trying to do it, but he didn't really understand what I was saying. He gave me the phone number and I went to my room to give it a try. I called Pizza Hut and said I wanted to place a delivery order. They took my phone number, which was just the number to my building in general, and then said they would call me back with the prices. I didn't care about the prices and they couldn't call me back because they didn't have my name or my room number. So I called the front desk guy and asked him if he would order it for me. He understood this time (obviously it's easier to understand over the phone than in person) and he said he would order me a Hawaiian pizza. He called back a bit later and asked if I could spell the kind of pizza I wanted. He thought I was saying "whyan" pizza and the pizza people didn't know what that was. It was hilarious. He ordered it for me and it was actually delivered very quickly. The service in this place is fantastic.

You know you're in India when...

You know you're in India when your local friends won't let you walk out your door without one of them with you; when the number of men you have seen urinating on the side of road has exceeded 20 in just 14 days; when cows nap on the medians; when rabies-infested dogs outnumber the roaming cows; when men drop in the middle of the sidewalk, cover a blanket over their head and go to sleep; when huge concrete structures are built by hand; when a film will not be attended if it does not contain at least four dance/musical numbers; when a two-wheeler is the family vehicle; when the word "tact"is only used for a push pin; when a river running through the middle of the city is no longer a river, but now a garbage dump; when monkeys run the streets with their babies hanging from their shoulders; when there are hand-washing sinks everywhere you eat for after the meal, not before; when there are so many different local languages they just speak English; when the women spend all day throwing a scarf over their shoulders simply for fashion; when camels walk down the busy streets of Bangalore; when there are more people just standing outside Forum Mall than in all of Salt Lake; when men walk around holding hands not because it's their sexual preference, it's just what they do; when car horns need to be replaced every few months because they are used 5 billion times a day; when there are lines on the road and street lights in the streets, but they might as well not be there; when huge beautiful hotels are right next to shanty towns built in trash; but when the people are so kind you know they would do absolutely ANYTHING for you. This is such a random place, but I love it.

Mysore and The Indian Foot Fungus

Today is Saturday, which normally is a day for sleeping in. However, when you're in India for only 2 months, sleeping automatically falls to the bottom of the list of priorities - sometimes regretfully. This morning I went to a city called Mysore which is about a 2 hour drive from where I'm staying in Bangalore. I went with my coworker Melissa and my new friend Vinutha who I also work with. Vinutha arranged a car to take us from Bangalore to Mysore and back so we didn't have to deal with the inconsistencies of the trains. Our driver's name was Govind, and I'm not sure I would recommend him to any visitors. You can't drive fast in India because there are too many cars, people and animals in the road. Also, there are speed bumps every 10 feet, which creates a hindrance for speed as well. However, Govind seemed to be in a hurry today. The drive there and back was constant speeding up just to slam on the breaks before we bottomed out on a speed bump, or hit a resting cow in the middle of the road. Needless to say, I was grateful for a safe journey, but even more grateful to be out of the car once we made it home.

We started out in Mysore at the Tibu Sultan Palace. The outside seemed small and insignificance, but the inside was incredible. Every wall was an intricate wood carving with painting. You can't take pictures inside of palaces so unfortunately I will probably forget the incredible detail that was in that palace, but just seeing it today was amazing. It is also unfortunate that it is not being preserved very well. The palace was built in the 1800th century so not only is it really beautiful, it is really old. However, it's not being preserved so the paintings are fading and the walls are being destroyed.

After the palace we drove to the top of Mysore and visited the Chamundi Temple. We had to take our shoes off again. I struggled a lot more with it this time than at the last temple because this area was a lot dirtier, however I did it and now I'm certain I have the Indian Foot Fungus. I can't really explain this ailment, but I'm sure you will be curious to see the symptoms when I get back to Utah. We went through the temple where a sacrifice was being performed. I'm not sure what was being sacrificed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was something human - the smell was awful. From the steps of the temple I could see all of Mysore below and it was beautiful. I also drank coconut milk from a coconut. It wasn't what I expected, but I liked it. Vinutha and Melissa then ate the coconut meat from their coconuts, but I didn't think it had any taste so I didn't eat mine. There were a ton of people at the temple area, but most significantly there was a group of little boys rolling tires with sticks. They were adorable. I took a picture with them and then gave them each a Rupi. I also saw four monkeys in the trees and on a building. That was pretty great. The weather at the top of Mysore was crazy. This is monsoon season in India and I think that's what we experienced today. The wind was so strong it was difficult to stand against and the rain soaked right through my sweater.

We went to the Mysore Palace next. This was the kind of palace I expected to see in India. It was amazing. Every single wall, ceiling, arch, window, door and anything else you could think of was ornately decorated in the most lavish way possible. My favorite was a set of doors made of cherry wood with tiny inlaid ivory ornaments. It was incredible. This palace was also built in the 1800th century, but it was maintained so much better than the Tibu Sultan Palace. In fact, to protect the floors you have to take your shoes off before entering. I didn't struggle with it so much this time because I had already succumb to the fungus at the temple. After we had gone through the palace Vinutha and I were waiting for Melissa by the shoe drop off/pick up area. A Japanese woman and her Indian guide came up to the table to drop off their shoes and umbrellas (the monsoon had followed us to the Palace). The only problem was that the Japanese woman was not aware that she had to take her shoes off. The guide told her the bad news and it didn't go over very well. She was reluctant and told the guide if they were going to make people take off their shoes they should provide booties. The guide responded with the fact that 10,000 visitors go through the palace every day and they were not going to provide booties for every visitor (especially when the Indians don't ever where shoes anyway). She then looked at me and Vinutha and with a grimace on her face asked if our feet got hurt when we went through the palace. We told her our feet were fine and I refrained from telling her of the Indian Foot Fungus I had contracted earlier. I didn't think it was the right time. I saw an elephant as we were leaving the palace. That was my first elephant sighting in India, but hopefully not the last.

We ate lunch at Pizza Corner which had pretty good pizza and had a nice ambiance with Shakira playing in the background. We visited the Sagamohan Palace, which really wasn't much of a palace, but was actually an art museum. This museum had a few paintings by the painter Ravi Verma. I wasn't familiar with him before coming to India, but he does the perspective painting where the subject's position moves to face you and you move around the painting. I don't know how he does it, but it's neat.

Our last stop was Bridaran Garden and KRS damb. It's a garden that reminded Melissa of Alice in Wonderland, which is precisely what it was like. It was very colorful and a nice garden, but probably not something that would be too impressive at home. We saw the tallest man I have ever seen there, and he was Indian. He was close to two of my height. Now, I know I'm pretty short, but still, two of me is tall. The garden was peaceful and it was a nice stop.

Mysore was a good trip, but all of the people and the noise started to overwhelm me towards the end of the day. There are just so many people everywhere, and so many cars, and the noise is incredible. Even out in the rice patty fields, which was a nice change of scenery from the city, there is still people everywhere. I guess in a country of so many, they need to be somewhere.

Malaria

These are my coworkers Melissa and Kim. You may have noticed it’s been a few days since I last posted. This week I have had the opportunity to work ALOT (today, a total of 14 hours), oh, and I have malaria. Self-diagnosed malaria, that is. I have a prescription called Malarone (thanks to Margot’s Costco card) that I am supposed to take everyday. I forgot to take it one day and now I have a cold. Malaria symptoms are closer to the flu, but I’m certain I have malaria. I’ve actually heard you can’t come to India without experiencing malaria, so I’m grateful I’ve got it.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Bollywood. I’ve watched bits of different Bollywood productions on television, and they are fantastic. In India cinema they are not allowed to kiss on screen, but sporadically breaking into song and dance is absolutely acceptable and expected. Quite often in Salt Lake my Indian coworkers serenaded me with humming and sometimes even a quiet song while sitting at our desks. I’m sure they weren’t aware that they were serenading me, but our desks are so close to one another that I couldn’t help overhear the sweet music. In coming to India I thought I would miss the humming, however I am actually lucky enough now to enjoy it in surround sound. Not only do they hum to themselves, but also to each other. Whether this occurs intentionally or not, I’m not sure, but it’s incredible. I just can’t wait for the day when I’m sitting in the lunch room eating my french toast for breakfast and a young handsome Indian man jumps on a table and sings of his love for the dark locks of his officemate. It will be great. Only in India.

LifetimeS Work

Today was Sunday so I went to church. My driver from yesterday, Ramu, came to get me as well as my coworker Melissa and my boss Curt. We drove only about 1 mile to the Bangalore 1st Branch in Indira Nagar. It was great that it was so close. There are three branches in Bangalore and about 4,000 members in India. I thought that was a pretty good number until I remembered how many people live here. There were quite a few people in sacrament meeting and everyone was really nice. I met an Elder Charles who served with Heidi's brother in Bangalore. The talks were really great, but the singing was the best art of the whole meeting. They sang just fine, but the bishopric sang really loud and slow so the chorister had to turn around and look at them several times. Also, they pronounce a "b" sound instead of a "v" so the opening hymn was the greatest when we sang "Love at Home." I have never enjoyed "Lub at Home" like I did today.

After church we ate lunch and then went to a temple in Bangalore. You can't wear shoes in the temple, which I understand and respect, but I had big issues taking my shoes off and walking around that place. Who knows what diseases I picked up. My boss told me just to remember the ground there is no different than at home. I assured him I would not take my shoes off and walk around in a public place at home either. We couldn't take any pictures of the temple. It was neat, but very commercialized...Disneyland-like. We walked through with our guide who lives there and then ended up in a gift shop. Our guide described that the monkish men who live there and take care of the temple are all volunteers and live by four principles. No meat because meat makes you less charitable. No sex because sex contaminates your body and mind. No alcohol because it fogs your mind. And no gambling because gambling makes you lie. He also described that the most important lifetimeS work is answering who are you. I got a kick out of that...him implying we had more than one life.

We went to the Bangalore Palace. I loved the outside of the Palace. It didn't look anything like you would think Indian architecture would look, but it was great. It was designed after Windsor Palace. The inside was not what I expected either. The queen still stays there sometimes so I expected it to be really nice and elaborate. It wasn't. They tend to build things and then just let them age. The grounds were also a bit surprising. It was pretty bare and where there was greenery, it wasn't very nice. We had to pay 200 RPS to get into the palace and then another 500 RPS to take pictures. That is about $20 which is practically robbery around this place. It was worth it though.

There are lots of homeless people here and for some reason I feel differently about them than I do about homeless people at home. There is a raised sidewalk over the street I live on. I have walked across it every night and there are people asleep up there on mats with blankets over them. It's not that I expect to see things like that here, but it just seems so much more ok. Even though I've seen it a billion times, I still am shocked with I see homeless people sleeping in Pioneer Park in Salt Lake. I guess I just think that at some time this country would run out of jobs and some people would have to be homeless, or that's just what they do. It's just different than at home.

Delhi Belly

I never thought I would be in India shopping with my boss helping him pick out shoes, however, that's what I did yesterday. Saturday, June 16th, I finally got to see Bangalore. My boss flew in on Friday night and this is his seventh visit to Bangalore so he was able to show me around. In the morning we walked down the street to a cafe for breakfast. I had a strawberry smoothie and blueberry muffin. They were both pretty tasty. It is incredible the things you see here just walking down the street. Everything is under construction on the street where I live. Their construction is a lot different here than at home. They build everything by hand and their scaffolding is bamboo. I saw several piles of sand being moved by women with big plates and picks. I also saw several old men with stacks five feet high of bricks and concrete on their heads. And this is all besides the cows napping in the middle of the street. It's crazy. We went back to my flat and rented a car for the day. Our driver's name was Ramu and he liked Kenny G. We went to a place called Commercial Street to go shopping. Commercial Street was totally Asia. There were people everywhere and shops with the same things over and over. There were big neon signs and once again people everywhere. I bought some red sparkle shoes. All the shops owners called me Ma'am. I don't like to be called Ma'am. After that we went to Brigade Street. It was a bigger street with more neon signs and more people. We ate at Pizza Hut and that's when the Delhi Belly began. I don't know if it was the smoothie or the pizza or something else, but Delhi Belly is not something I would recommend. My stomach cramped up and I thought I was going to die. The driver came to get us and we drove through some government areas. On one government wall there were several painted signs instructing passersby not to urinate. I can see how this sign would be necessary considering I have seen now three men urinating on the sidewalk. The smell on the streets is just delicious. We then went shopping at Forum mall which was pretty similar to a mall at home. That is where I helped my boss pick out some new shoes. I just really can't even describe the number of people here. They are just everywhere. The number of people we saw in Forum mall is probably comparable to the number of people in Salt Lake. We went back to my flat and had Pepsi's on the roof. It is strange to do such casual things with my boss, but I have been grateful to have my coworker Melissa with us because she's a talker. For dinner we walked to the Leela
Palace, which is a hotel near the airport. It was the most amazing hotel I have ever seen. The gardens were beautiful and the food was delicious. I was still experiencing the Delhi Belly so I stuck with rice, but I did taste my boss's meal and Melissa's meal and they were very good. We walked home after that and once again, it was reaffirmed to me that this is the most random place. We walked out of that amazing hotel and right next door there were little hovels where people lived in trash and dirt floors and nothing else. It's hard for me to understand how they don't want more. I went home and battled with the Delhi Belly a bit more until it finally left me after a few hours. Avoid the Delhi Belly at all costs on your next trip to India.

Cake Smashing

This morning I actually had time to go out before I had to go to work at 1:00 pm. I went to the grocery store, "FabMall" where I luckily found contact solution, but unluckily found a smell I do not want to remember. My coworker wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch down the street from where I am staying. I wasn't too fond of Chinese food in China so I wasn't sure I wanted to try it in India, but I went anyway. We walked there and almost lost our lives several times in the traffic. The Chinese restaurant was closed so we ended up back at the 100 Feet Boutique near my flat. We only had 45 minutes until our car was coming to pick us up for work, but the waiter said it would only take 30 minutes to get our food and eat. I should have known from my experience with my Indian coworkers in Salt Lake, where 2 minutes actually means 40 minutes, that we would not be done in time. I ordered spaghetti and it was delicious, but it did take longer than 45 minutes. Luckily my driver waited for me.

It was my coworker, Sunoj's, last day at work today. Even though I just met him on Tuesday I have talked to him on the phone several times, and I really liked him and was sad to see him go. (He's the one in the middle with the tan shirt). Mid-afternoon another person on my team sent out an email to the entire floor and everyone came over to watch Sunoj's "cake smashing." Because I am part of a few different distribution lists in India I get emails all the time to gather around someone's desk for their "cake smashing" on their birthday. I have never been able to gather and watch because I was in Salt Lake, so I never knew what that meant until today. Sunoj cut his cake and then another guy on our team smashed a piece all over his face. It was great.

One last thing. Before I came to India, I was warned several times that it would be hard to find certain personal hygiene items such as deodorant. I made sure to pack enough of this item for myself to last two months. However, I did not consider packing enough for a country of 1.2 billion...one regret. I suppose they have more crucial items to purchase with an average annual per capita income of only $727.

Afternoon Fruit

I haven't really had a lot of time to do anything besides work, but Margot made some requests so I am complying. Bangalore is emerging into a metropolitan city with all of the tech businesses which have come here. The office where I work is pretty nice, and in the same area as all of the other big businesses (see picture). My flat is really close to the office, but the area is completely different. Everything seems to be under construction where I live. I have added some pictures of the view outside my living room window. A driver comes to pick me up for work and then brings me home when I'm done. They have a whole network of drivers who transfer the employees if they come to work and leave at odd times. You just go to the basement and the organizer of the drivers yells a cab number at you and you go get in the cab. It's quite the process. Here's a picture of me inside my cab for tonight. The office environment is pretty similar to Salt Lake except that everyone starts work late in the day and stays late in the night. Also, at 4:30 every afternoon a guy with a cart goes around the office and drops plates of fruit in different locations. It's gone within seconds. I love it. It's hilarious. I'm going to campaign for it in the Salt Lake office. The office has a cafeteria that is open 24 hours a day. I have only eaten there once, and it was ok. As a visitor I get free coupons so I don't have to pay, which is nice. The driving and traffic is crazy here. I can see why they don't let people who are not from here drive. There are no lines on the road; you just drive where you can and use your horn a lot. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I will actually get to see some things besides my apartment and the office.

Cow is King

I came to India knowing that cows are sacred, but still the sight of a lone bovine grazing on who knows what on the side of 100 Feet Street in Bangalore aroused some level of shock in me today, or was it yesterday, I'm just not sure anymore. The fact that the grazing city cow was an everyday sight to those around me only increased my shock. I didn't sense a threat from the cow, but I ensured to stay on the other side of the street - the threat of rabies lingers in the back of my mind.

My new flat is quite nice. I have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a living room and a little kitchen. They come to clean twice a day and cook all my meals if I want. I am hoping that the beds are not rock hard like in Taiwan. I haven't overcome my fear of sleeping in an apartment alone yet so I haven't tested the bed out to sleep. It is now 2:30 am and I have to be to work at 5:30. If anyone has any suggestions to help my sleeping issues, please let me know.

From Bagpipes to Raw Beef to Fallen Concrete

It all started on June 2, 2007 when I graduated. The bagpipes were playing, the students were marching and the sweat was pouring. I was happy to be done and on to a new adventure, but I had no idea what I was in store for. On the morning of June 8, 2007 I embarked a plane en route to India by way of New York and Paris. I bypassed long international travel lines at the airport thanks to the company I work for and my business class ticket (not a bad way to travel). On the way to New York I sat next to a man on his way to Dublin. He, along with his three comrades work for NASA and I now understand why those launches cost so much. Traveling business class is not cheap. In New York I sat for four hours waiting for my delayed flight to leave. By the time I got to Paris my flight going to Bangalore had already left. They got me on a flight the next morning so I had to stay the night in Paris. I ate at a restaurant in the airport where a man sitting next to me was eating a patty of raw beef with a raw egg on top. I was deeply concerned for his health, but he didn’t seem to mind. The airline put me up in the Millennium Hotel which was not that millennial. I wandered around enjoying the Parisian houses and not enjoying the Italian men. Two such men approached me with a poor little rabbit who had been attacked by a cat. Somehow they wanted me to help and I wanted to explain to them the risk of rabies. Sunday morning I went back to the airport, got on the plane, drank some champaign (I thought it was apple juice), reclined my seat into a bed (because the seats do that in business class) and slept for most of the 10 hour flight. Because I was a day late getting into Bangalore, my driver was not at the airport when I got there. I didn’t have the address of my apartment and the cab drivers didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. With the help of an Indian I met in New York who had made the same journey I made, we figured out where my apartment was and got in the cab. It was a short ride from the airport, but an interesting one. I didn’t know what to expect from Bangalore, but it’s certainly not like Paris, New York or Salt Lake. The streets are filled with fallen concrete buildings and heaps of ruble line the sidewalks. It will be interesting to go into “Silicon Valley” tomorrow where the office is to see the difference there.