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!