Last week in India

I know I've missed blogging a few days...not sure if anyone has missed me but I've got a lot to talk about today!

Work has been very busy this week!  I'm trying to make sure all the little things I've made notes about on about ten pieces of paper are getting resolved before I head home.  Two funny things about work...the first is that one of my trainees told me I look like an Indian actress named Kajal Aggarwal.  I'll put up her picture so you can decide for yourselves...I don't think we look alike but I took it as a compliment.  Another funny thing from work is how many times they have commented on my typing speed and asked how many words I can type per minute.  Today they finally decided that I was going to take a typing test online so I took two different tests and each time came up with 88 words per minute (1 error each time bringing it to 87 wpm).  There were happy to finally know that but then asked me if I knew anyone who could type faster than me.  So, if anyone is up to the challenge the site is http://www.typingtest.com/.  If you can beat 87 wpm, let me know and I'll tell the class.  :)

Yesterday I decided to forego some sleep in order to go out and take care of a few last minute things.  I brought my sari to a tailor and they will be making my blouse that will go underneath.  Our cab driver took us to a site called the Seven Tombs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutb_Shahi_Tombs) which was quite cool.  The tombs are large domed structures...check out the wiki page for more info and I'll post some pics here also.  After that we stopped by Chowmahalla Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chowmahalla_Palace) which was beautiful!  It was a royal palace and I took a lot of pictures of that as well.  Then, we went shopping for pearls as Hyderabad is known as the City of Pearls.

Today (Thursday) we celebrate a major Hindu festival called Navrati or Dussehra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navratri).  As it is a major holiday we have the night off of work!  We were invited out to a fair or festival which I'm looking forward to!  They had a contest at work last night and people were invited to dress up in Indian formal clothes to celebrate this holiday.  Both of the ladies in the class dressed up but the men wore their normal work clothes.  I wore one of my new tunics and a scarf (dupatta) which went over well!  I'll try to post another pic of that.  I hope you all have a good end to the week!

Gandhi Jayanti

Today (October 2) is Gandhi Jayanti which is a national holiday celebrated to mark the birthday of Gandhi.  I don't know what the Indians do to celebrate but I will ask my class tomorrow when I go to work.  All I know is that alcohol was not served in the hotel (per a letter sent under my door) and was not served at the Hard Rock Cafe where we had dinner.

We ventured out to a different mall today (GBK) and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe which is in the mall.  This was the first trip outside of Hitec City (the enclosed area the hotel and work are in) for the three new arrivals training the other class.  It was fun to see the city through their eyes for the first time, especially their reactions to the traffic and people on the streets.  We had a very enjoyable dinner...I got my favorite - a mushroom swiss burger!  MMM. 

After dinner we went over to Golkonda Fort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golconda_Fort).  I originally wanted to go during the day but was told by my cab driver that there was a lights show at night so I should go at night.  The tour was still cool but I feel like we could have seen more during the day.  I'll post some pics here in a bit.

I still have a list of things to get done this week so I'm hoping I'll be able to fit it all in.  It is hard to believe I've been here for two weeks now and will be leaving on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends again soon! 

Dukudu

Well, I'm writing this out on my phone again tonight as my laptop and phone can't get along and share the wireless access here at the hotel. The weekend has arrived though and it is off to a good start!

I went out to see a movie called Dukudu with four of my trainees this afternoon. Dukudu means "jumping" in Telugu, which is one of the official languages in this state. Two things I knew about Indian movies before I went in: they are longer than your typical American film and there will usually be a few song and dance sequences. So it was no surprise when the movie lasted three hours and had five song and dance numbers. At least the theater had comfy seats and there was a short intermission. I did appreciate the tough security at the theater - they confiscated my gum and my camera battery on the way in, as if they were anticipating me sticking gum under my seat while taping the movie on my tiny pink camera! No worries, I retrieved my things on the way out. The craziest part was meeting the theater manager, a friend of my trainee, Rahul. Narim used to live in Duluth and work just up the shore at Grand Superior Lodge. I hate to say it but small world, right?

I ate alone at the buffet when I got back tonight as Kristen left in the wee hours of the morning. My waiter took pity on me and brought me some hot, fresh naan (bread) from the kitchen!

I have tentative plans with the guy from Texas and the two people who recently arrived from our Minnetonka office!

On Wednesday night our class bought us dinner from a local restaurant called Paradise...great food!  It was the first time I've sat in the cafeteria as we usually eat at the hotel before going into work for the night.  We enjoyed watching cricket on the televisions and I even saw a ping pong table in the "Recreation" room off of the cafeteria!  I feel like if we had tvs in our cafeteria at home, people would sit there for way too long watching and never go back to work!  I also discovered the coffee cart and I got some very tasty chai tea.  I was told chai is one of the things I had to try while here and since I like it I was happy to have some!

Kristen, Rich, and I ordered in some breakfast to her room this morning...I got some oatmeal which was your typical oatmeal, so I was pleased.  We wanted to celebrate Kristen's new job(!) with some champagne and when we called to ask about their cheapest champagne we were told it was 15,000 Rupees, which is over $300!  Needless to say we passed on that! We had a good breakfast with some lively conversation instead!

It was Kristen's last night at work and we took A TON of photos and she got a few gifts from the class.  They had a LONG goodbye with each of them shaking her hand and promising to keep in touch and even some saying they hope to visit her in California. 

I chatted with my parents on the phone (hi mom and dad) and now I've found some E! News and Jay Leno on the tv so I'm going to watch that as I get ready for bed!  I'm not sure yet what the weekend will hold but I'm hoping for a few more sightseeing adventures on my last full weekend in Hyderabad! 

Half-way Point

Well, today marks the half-way point of my trip...I've been here a week and a half and have a week and a half to go!  I didn't blog at my usual time after work as my computer didn't want to connect from the hotel so I'm just going to write a bit before heading into work tonight.

Last night (Tuesday) Kristen and I ate at Kangan, the Indian restaurant at our hotel, again.  The last time we went we each ordered an item and shared and this time we got the same two entrees but a different starter...we had delicious food including one of our faves, naan (flatbread).  We also got a picture of the bracelet maker and I took a pic of the bracelet he made me this time.

We celebrated one of our trainees birthdays last night.  Rajesh turned 34 and there was a pineapple flavored cake to celebrate.  The rest of the trainees smashed cake all over his face on the outdoor patio and he didn't look super pleased about that but he was a good sport.  We took some class pictures as well.

We slept today and got up a bit early to go back to the mall as Kristen was looking for one final thing before she heads home.  We were surprised to see that it was raining outside!  At the mall we visited Creamstone (which is like our Coldstone) that Vineet had recommended to us.  I found a couple of tunic style shirts for myself and we went back down to Hypercity, the Super Walmart type store on the bottom floor of the mall to find some treats to bring into class tonight.  As we were shopping a cute little girl about 8 years old came up to me and said, "Hello Auntie."  (Apparently Auntie means something different here than in the US.)  I said hi and she asked me if I would take a picture with her.  Her dad was like, "Tell her what the picture is for..." and the girl said it was for a school project.  Her dad took a pic of us on his camera phone and I asked for one as well on my camera.  After they left she came back to find me a few minutes later to ask where I was from and my name.  I asked for her name as well and she said Arti.  She was a cutie and had very good English and you can see the pic of us to the right.

I'm off to work in about an hour for the night...our class is bringing in dinner from a local restaurant that is supposed to be very good!

Charminar

Monday at noon Kristen and I decided to venture to Charminar.  I took a couple pics of Charminar which I will probably load tomorrow but for now here is the wikipedia link if you want to see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar.  It is a big cool structure but we only looked at it for a minute as all around Charminar there are shops and of course, we went shopping.  I bought material for my sari and it is a very pretty fuchsia color!  I still need to have the top made and what someone is calling a petticoat but really it is just the underskirt part.  (Petticoat just sounds so 1800s.)  It was very crowded around there and very hot in the middle of the day and we returned back to the hotel to nap before going into work tonight.
Work went very well tonight, especially for a Monday when sometimes it is hard to get back into the swing of things.  We met up with another trainer, Richard, who came in from Texas and he is very nice.  There are two others coming in this week so I will have company next week after Kristen heads home, which I'm very happy about.  The time is flying by...I think I will be home before I know it!  I'm going to sleep now...hope you are all well back at home! 

Brunch and pool time...a very relaxing Sunday!

Well, one week down and two to go for those of you who are missing me! 

Today we decided to relax and have a low-key day after our many adventures yesterday.  I slept 10+ hours last night which was great and met up with Kristen at noon for brunch.  We decided to check out the Sunday brunch called Bubbalicious at our hotel’s Italian restaurant, Prego.  It was a good decision…they had all sorts of appetizers, pizza, meats, desserts, and drinks and we ate and drank our money’s worth!  It was our one meal today so I feel it was ok to indulge a bit.  We went to the pool this afternoon and tried to catch some sun though it was mostly cloudy.  It was still warm so we swam a bit and read our books by the pool for quite a while.  I’m reading Marley & Me…I realize I’m like six years behind but I knew that it would be sad so I haven’t picked it up off my shelf before now.  Marley reminds me a lot of a wonderful yellow Lab I used to know and love…I think a few of you might know who I’m talking about and agree!  Speaking of dogs, I miss my three little Yorkies at home though I’m told they are being well cared for.  Someone meanly said that Teddy has forgotten about me but I don’t believe it…he is a lot smarter than he looks!  J 

I’ve loaded the picture of me swinging the cricket bat from yesterday!  Make sure to check it out!