i love the nightlife

Night 1 - On the Rocks, restaurant at Park Sheraton Hotel where you get a hot rock and cook your meat and are given sauces. After dinner, try going to the "nightclub" called Dubliner...when I tried at 10 on a Saturday it was closed...such is the nightlife here
Night 2 - Party at the CG's residence...lesson learned - limit alcohol at the CG's house or else you may end up hugging important people that saner people would not be hugging...oops
Night 3 - Going to see the musical Chicago, huge auditorium with unassigned seating. Pre-show there are shirtless men in tight red sequined shiny pants walking around the aisles...ummm...the mc talks FOREVER telling what i think he thought were jokes...the play starts out being amusingly bad (kinda like Mariah Carey's Glitter) then turns downright painful...driving the need for a post-show drink...we go to "Bikes and Barrels", a cowboy-esque loud bar. Here I learn the segregation policy. All the poor blokes who couldn't scrounge up at least one girl have to go hang out in an upper deck, staring down over the balcony at the less pathetic people. The balcony has a net...in case a guy wants to jump? The music is loud loud loud and the Tamil rap dancing is pretty sweet.
Night 4 - Happy hour at the Leather Bar, yeah that really is its name, but no there are no leather daddys...darn false advertising
Night 5 - Meet for drinks at one of the Taj hotels at a bar whose name I forget. Wait the requisite 1/2 hour for drinks to be made by the 6:1 ratio of bartenders to customers...watch how excited the waiter gets that my friend orders a flight of martinis...apparently they don't understand the concept of a flight and the glasses are not any smaller...loud loud loud music as always...highlight of evening absolutely the guy who tried to sexily dance through the gold bead to make his grand entrance and got himself all tied up and almost choked. Moved on to try Dubliner again and this time it WAS open on Saturday night...imagine that! Danced a lot, met some Swedish guys, my Swedish guy (who was actually Finnish apparently but all I know was there was blah blah blah not about me) told me his hobbies included drinking but that he also cooked a lot and from that moment became to me the Swedish chef and all I could hear was muppet voice from him...then we went and played Rock Band...very poorly...and then walked home, getting very lost late at night. Monday morning found out that the Regional Security Officer had gotten updates about our evening from the local police, the hotel security guards, the residence guards...geez don't like knowing I'm being watched...
Those are the weekend nights, weekday nights have included learning to play bridge, book club, representational events, Salsa...two more years to go...

showing the flag

Sometimes when the CG is unable to attend events us entry level officers (ELOs, apparently being called junior officers was too offensive?)are asked to go in his place and be the American presence. Some are really cool, others a bit less glamorous. Regardless of the ELO perception of the event, when an invitation is given to the CG it comes from people who genuinely want to build relations with the U.S. and a lot of great public diplomacy can occur just by showing up. Tonight was my first such event. Frankly, after a full day of work and recovering from complete icky sickness the day before, I was dreading having to sit and smile all suited up. And right before I got panicked that maybe I would be expected to speak or at least mingle and say appropriate things! So I looked real quick on the internet to get talking points and catch up on recent events, printing some things out. In the car I read some of these things and got myself mentally prepared for what looked to be a few hours of sitting still and listening to speeches. Upon approaching the hotel, the car first had to have the requisite "security check". When I walked in and gave my card (yes I have cards now! english on one side, tamil on the other)I started to realize the power of being with the consulate. I was treated like someone important, escorted around and given coffee and then seated in the first row in the VIP section where everyone had their names on their chairs. Hmmmmm, a reminder that although I'm not important, the position is and the position builds bridges. The evening started with an impressive singing performance, followed by speeches, bouquet and plaque giving, videos. The winner of the award, Shri. Sunil Bharti Mittal, gave an inspiring and interesting speech. In all, I learned a lot both about the importance of showing up and about Indian industry, some of the important names as well as some of the important themes. It was particularly interesting to hear their take on the rising power of entrepreneurism in the country, especially for an economist. Oh, and I am understanding more and more that Indians love the word "august".

first impressions of chennai

Today marks three weeks in Chennai and the Consulate in all its wisdom decided I needed a day off to celebrate and contemplate. Later today I think I'm going to San Thome Cathedral but for now I'm going to take advantage of my internettedness and catch up a bit on this blog thing.

My first weekend in Chennai was really just about catching up on sleep. My sponsor picked me up at the airport late at night and dropped me at my new apartment, having left me some awesome food she had prepared. I made a great impression my first day when I got so hungry that I freaked out a bit on the RSO and then fell asleep multiple times during the meeting of section heads. OOOOps.

My apartment is HUGE. There is a lot of furniture and it is pretty nice, just not at all my style. Luckily though I will be able to have covers made pretty cheap and I will get the walls painted so hopefully by the time Natalie arrives (September 28...46 days, not that I'm counting or anything) my pad will be pretty finely pimped. Okay, I must admit that right now I am watching a show about cheese, really boring but man the cheese is pretty.

Saturday after I arrived I pretty much only had energy to walk with my sponsor to Amma Nana's, the expat grocery store. The walk was not long but frankly a bit scary, one must REALLY pay attention while walking the streets given the amount of vehicles, potholes, animals, people, whatever on the street. Seeing everything that is available at the grocery store(albeit at more American prices) I feel a little silly about how much food I packed in my household effects (HHE). Most important, there is a whole fridge of imported cheeses!!!! YIPPPEEEE!!!

That Saturday when I woke up there was a little trash fire happening across the street. Since it kind of went with the stray dogs, I took it in stride. However, later that night there was a bigger fire with an acrid chemical smell...I was very worried that it was a normal occurence but it has not happened since. Oh, and Friday evening I had a gas leak (downside, there was a gas leak, upside I totally have a gas stove/range...sweet!) which was "fixed" once and then fixed again Saturday when it leaked again....here's hoping it really is fixed this time!

Oh, my least favorite part of my apartment...the toilet seat in the master bedroom. The design of the seat different and leaves me feeling as though I may fall in at any moment. Now that I could deal with but there is also a crack so my bum keeps getting pinched...ouch. Once I figured out how to turn on the hot water, electric outlets, fans and other stuff, the rest of the apartment is pretty sweet. I keep debating about which room I want...so far have stayed in the one room because when I arrived sheets were already on the bed and I was dead tired and the bathroom shower has a full tub. However, the other room has a lacking of trees by balcony so it gets gorgeous light.

Armed with a weekend of sleep, I was ready for my first full week of work. A lot of filling out forms, meetings, training. Monday night, I went out and learned/played bridge at a colleague's home. Apparently it is a weekly thing. The bridge was fun but I was excited by my first wine in Chennai!

By Tuesday, I had my household staff in place, a housekeeper/cook named Anu and a driver named Ranjan. Both had worked for the person who lived in my apartment before me and came highly recommended. Tuesday, I was taken to work by my driver and introduced to my new car. It was a strange experience buying a car without ever driving it...truth be told I still haven't driven my car...but it is working out.

Wednesday night was a going away party; there is a lot of turnover at the moment among entry-level officers here...a lot of us coming, a lot of them going...music, food, alcohol, the usual revelry...good times...got to see some more apartments, bridget realized she had an apartment within her apartment that she didn't know about (on one of the balconies there is a door leading to a small room and a bathroom, servant's quarters if you choose to have a live-in maid)...how nutty eh?

now online

finally got internets at home so hopefully can keep up with this whole blog thing...hoping it will be a way to keep in touch without having to write the same email to everyone!...the last post i put up i wrote in July a week after getting here...wrote on the computer but couldn't post until now...still didn't write about india yet though!...i have however posted pics on facebook, both of the pre-india journey and my first weekend day trip...

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I arrived in Chennai one week ago today. Holly arrives tonight. It all seems so strange. I want to commit to writing at least once a week so I remember things but everything is moving so fast and simply finding time to myself when I’m not EXHAUSTED is proving difficult. And now that I have taken so long to start writing about this crazy adventure I don’t even know where to begin!

I packed out of D.C. July 7. My little sister Natalie came and was a huge help, especially with the painting! I tired the poor girl out but am hoping to make it up to her when she arrives here in India! As fast as the past few weeks have gone it is crazy thinking that she will be coming here in about ten weeks. Wow.

After packing out of D.C., I went and stayed with my mom in Cape May where my Aunt Kathy joined us for a little relaxing. Mom and I then headed to Philly and finally went to James. The meal was excellent, especially my taglietelli with duck ragu and shaved chocolate. My goddaughter turned one and there was a fantastic birthday party where I got to say good-bye to a lot of family. There was a wine tour of the Brandywine Valley where I got to once again road trip with my cousin Ryan and have an excellent time with the Carr girls and our two fine drivers. Also in Philly I got to see Ross and Allison and Eleanor and have birthday cake with Buffy (and my final Pizza Box fix!).

From Philly I headed to NYC where I did the first of my consultations with DHS. It was quite amusing to see how scared my cab driver got when I asked him to take me to the immigration office…must have been the suit. NYC was full of delights – seeing my Jennifer from Arizona, meeting Finbar, eating bone marrow, having dinner with cousins Laura, Brian, Jennifer, Jaime at Perilla’s (although everything was excellent and we absolutely dined tapas style…I was surprised to find the game hen was my favorite), seeing the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the Guggenheim with Maggie, getting my hair cut REALLY short (pics will be on Facebook eventually), and much more tomfoolery.

Got on the plane and left the States and realized…huh I no longer have a cell phone or computer access and very shaky plans about what I’m doing as I work my way to Chennai. I arrived in Brussels and it struck me how bizarre it was that I was about to meet the host family Natalie had a couple of years before when she was an exchange student. I worried that I would be unable to find them and unable to call them to let them know…but all was fine. Two adorable young women were waiting right after customs and after some hesitant staring we picked each other out! I got to see the Belgian Eiffel Tower (which is a huge atom…very pretty and also made for a World Expo) on Belgian National Day, had some great beers in the city and a fantastic and boozy dinner at their gorgeous home.

Then I was off to Delhi where again I wasn’t 100% sure what would happen when I landed. I got off the plane and had to take a bus from plane to terminal where I first had to get “screened” for swine flu. But I did have my first chance to go through the “Diplomats Only” line! And when I got through customs, there was a driver waiting for me with a sign. The Delhi airport is much nicer than it was just a few years ago when I was there last, a result of strong economic growth and many construction projects. Sadly, the streets had a lot less Ambassadors (the awesome Indian car, once the only car on the road) and still a lot of beggars. I stayed in a beautiful hotel on a high floor with an amazing view although all I did was order room service, drink a Kingfisher from the fridge for the novelty, watch the movie about the MIT prof who taught kids to count cards, and pass out. Well, I tried to pass out but jet lag and the strange changes in time zones caught up and I couldn’t fall asleep until after 3.

But I woke up on time and suited up and got to the embassy. Lots of meetings and then to the airport for my final flight…well after a delay in boarding due to the plane not getting in on time from its prior flight…and another delay on the tarmac due to rain…although once I was in my seat I just fell right asleep.