It's officially been 1 month since I've been here. I can't believe how fast time flies. I feel like I just got here. Well let me jump right into a full month's update. I'll try to go in chronological order as much as I can.
Week 1
I have to say, the way I felt stepping into the office the first day is indescribable. I was so impressed with it. None of the full-time employees were in the office when we got there early Monday morning. Everything to me seemed shiny and new. It was amazingly clean and very well kept. Besides the snacks that were virtually the first thing you see when you enter the room, the cube separators caught my attention. They are much shorter than the office I'm used to back home. It made me feel really tall. ;) I can't complain about that. The office itself is set up really well. My very favorite part about work is that I have a 5 minute commute to work as opposed to the 35-45min drive. During the week, I was just busy with work. We don't really do much during the weekdays anyhow. Typical weekday is to go into work, catch up on email and then jump right into the day. We're there anywhere from ~8am-??. I think we genearlly stay anywhere between 7:30pm-11pm. The first weekend following the week was my trip to Delhi to visit my family and see my nephew (my first cousin's baby but she's essentially like a sister to me) for the first time. After introducing myself to the team on Friday I left for Delhi. Delhi has changed quite a bit since I was last there. My aunt has moved since the last time I was out there so the area is new to me. What's absolutely CRAZY is that there is a huge mall craze going on where there are malls popping up everywhere. They are literally right across the street from each other. I think where I was there were maybe 10 within 1 mile from each other. Seeing the family was great but unfortunately it was such a short trip. AND my nephew is soooooo cute. Did I mention I went for a ride with my cousin's husband on his bike?? We went 130mph!! On Indian roads...scary.
Week 2
I can't recall much from this week! But let me add that after work we go home to a really great meal prepared for us by our chef, Ranjit. We are totally spoiled over here. We have the drivers who take us everywhere we want to go. (Sounds like a Visa commerical). We also have someone to cook for us and people to clean up after us (i.e. make our beds, do our laundry if we want, etc). It's ridiculous. It took a little getting used to. I'm still not comfortable with it just yet. On the weeknights we play Carom. It's an Indian board game. I'd say the concept is similar to pool but it's a square board with 4 holes and actually, Google it. I don't feel like explaining it. Adam mam, as I like to call him bought the board and we played almost every night with the house help. It's seriously a comedy hour when we play. Good fun.
The following weekend Adam, Regina and I went to Charminar. It's one of the 7 wonders of Hyderabad. Charminar is a beautiful mosque located in the old city. It is by far the most crowded place in all of Hyderabad. There are people everywhere. The area is full of colors which makes it so vibrant and it's also so full of life. Oh we also saw the movie Hitch at the IMAX on friday night. The theaters here have assigned seating. Pretty neat.
Week 3
More work. Friday was AWESOME...about 50+ people from the team went to an open area to play cricket!! I don't understand the game at all but I'm learning. It was so much fun. We played in a field with flood lights and people from our team were commenting during the whole match. There was a mike and a PA system for the area. We had four teams and the best of the two played against each other. (My team won!). When I was in the outfield I actually was hit in the face by the ball. It was more funny than anything else.
This was a weekend that I was really looking forward to. Weekend in Goa...or so I thought. Adam, Regina, and Aldo left for Goa on Friday. Matt and I were leaving on Saturday to meet up with them. Turns out the flight was cancelled so our trip was abruptly ended. I was at the airline counter in disbelief but also found it hilarious at the same time. Matt and I never made it to Goa but we nonetheless had a good weekend. I have yet to go to a pub here or out dancing. So much to explore. I did manage to get myself a bed cover so now my room is not so sterile. It makes me happy when I come in my room.
Week 4
This week flew by. The weekend is still pending so i'll have to write about that at a later time.
I do want to tell you about the mad traffic here. First of all, there are no rules. People don't stop when the traffic signal is red. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way and are seen more of as an annoyance. There are also people who will drive againt the flow of traffic. Seat belts are optional. Oh the mopeds are insane. I've seen as many as 6 people on a moped. I've seen families of 4 with a baby too.
Did I also mention that I virtually have an orange bar EVERYDAY?! I managed to stock up my freezer with them. Saamra, Brian, Heather, Adam, Matt, Lauren, Sara have now tried this delictable popsicle and have lived to talk about it. All I can say is that I don't think I can get sick of it. I really think India and orange bar are snonymous terms. It's sad but true.
Alright, I am going to get to bed. I promise to update this blog more often!!
Shadie and Chris are my FAVORITES. I just love them, adore them, and everything in between. Shadie and Chris more commonly known as Shad Shad and Gorgeous respectively. They were here well before I came to India.
My pictures of Charminar - http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=8z3ijw0n.7r4m6tiz&Uy=7gz2mw&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1
