Natalie and I are taking Bollywood dancing lessons. With Chennai Man 2008, Jodi No 1 (the Indian version of either Dancing with the Stars or So you think you can dance?) winner Sanjay. Boy that man can moves his hips. And his shoulders. Along with Natalie and me, two others from the consulate, an Indian woman, a French woman, a British woman and a 12 year-old Indian boy hang out in a small room and bumble through his choreographed fun. I have to admit I was curious about Sanjay, especially after he was telling us that he would be on T.V. the next day. I don't have a T.V. but I do have You Tube. So I watched my teacher rock out to Bon Jovi on the Chennai beach with some little kid. Yes I did. We won't talk about it again. The first song we have been learning is Talli Main Talli Ho Gai which apparently means I'm so drunk. At many points in the song our hand motions are supposed to represent doing shots...I've never popped my hips so much while doing shots but whatever. I look like a epileptic spider on crack who just had vodka sprayed on her and fell into a blender that happens to have been slung down a slip and slide while trying to do the dance. Natalie looks flawless. I want to take a video of her and post it so people can have an idea of what I am SUPPOSED to be doing. But it is a ton of fun and next family wedding Natalie and I will totally rock our new dances. We are working on Jai Ho now. I've downloaded the songs and due to the monsoon making running impossible, Natalie and I just have Bollywood dance party in the apartment instead. Life is good. Some of the moves though are very counterintuitive. Sanjay gets a little fed up with the class's general lack of ability to do his crazy moves but he tries not to show it. Usually he starts showing us something insane which seems simple enough when shown slowly but becomes impossible to do at the speed of the music. After we try it with music he tends to sigh and then just tell us to shift from foot to foot and pump our arms. When the french lady kept saying "but my arm wants to go here not there" he took a deep breath and told her to "use your head". Heart.
Last weekend I went to my first Indian wedding. It was the pinnacle of efficiency, an economist's dream. We arrived slightly late having gotten lost (I suppose we should have turned at the cow in the road but we went straight). I sadly did not have a sari to wear as my sari shirt had not been made yet, sigh. Oh, I forgot to say whose wedding it was! Balu, a cutie who works in the consular section with us! He has the most rocking glasses. Anyways, we show up late and go up to the third floor and people usher us forward saying please come and then put up chairs in the front row for us to sit and give us diet cokes. Kinda felt bad ruining the view of the super cute kids who had heretofore been the front row. Balu and his bride and family members were on stage. As were bananas and flowers and things that were making smoke. A whole lot of photographers were at the foot of the stage. A heck of a lot of people were in the audience...hundreds and hundreds. I didn't really understand what was going on but jasmine was pinned in the bride's hair and the cords were tied around the neck and some rings were exchanged and then Balu and his bride walked around the alter and then walked around it with their family and then it was receiving line time. Everyone (yes EVERYONE) took off their shoes at the foot of the stage and worked their way up to say congrats and have a picture taken and then collect shoes and then were herded to the second floor. The second floor had eight rather long tables which probably fit about twenty people on a side. The room was arranged in sections of two tables with chairs just on one side of each table and an aisle between each pairing of tables. As guests sat in the chairs, waitstaff went down the aisles b/w the tables and rolled out new paper, then a waiter went down the aisle and gave each guest a fresh banana leaf and bottle of water, then a whole slew of chefs with their own pots walked down the aisle and loaded the banana leaf with all sorts of deliciousness (especially the pineapple wonder). People ate and if they wanted more they folded the leaf one way and when finished folded it the other. And then the waitstaff just rolled the paper and leafs back up which was our cue to move so that the little kids stalking our chairs could sit and the process could be repeated for the next batch of guests. We then left. Overall, ceremony plus meal took about an hour. Beautiful! Tonight we are invited to a wedding reception. My sari shirt is made but the tailor didn't open yesterday due to monsoon. I might just wear my sari with a tank top and tuck it into my workout shorts since I don't have a petticoat.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hyderabad
The newest consulate in India is Hyderabad and since it just started adjudicating visas this year many of its ELOs have come to Chennai to do some training. Being plain awesome, they decided to invite all of us from Chennai to go visit them. Ten of us accepted including me and Natalie. We left right from work, fitting five of us in my hatchback with our bags and my driver to get to the airport. Tiny little plane, Nat and I seated in the very front FACING some nervous looking couple. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was Kingfisher Airlines (yes the country's equivalent of Budweiser has an airline...classic). The meal consisted of a cole slaw sandwhich and strangely cut up potatoes that pretended to be applesauce, dismaying Whitney. We arrived and were amazed by their beautiful, clean, orderly airport. You feel the high tech wave as soon as you get off the plane in Hyderabad.
We go to dinner at this peaceful restaurant with a Buddhist theme where I got myself a beautiful, juicy, heaven-tasting steak. The difference in the experience all had to do with the small details that for some reason they can't figure out in Chennai - the music was in the background allowing conversation to be in the foreground, the waiters are trained to not put their hands in your food or to rub their hand all over the rim of your glass when putting it down, we all got our own menu, they actually had the wines on their wine list, waiters walk around instead of reaching over people...it is amazing how much of a difference these little details make. Dinner ruled. So did bed. We stayed with Janice and Jerry and Abbie(Janice is the ELO, Jerry captains a ship in 3-month on, 3-month off intervals and yes he has dealt with pirates!!!!!, Abbie is the beautiful golden lab). They have a great apartment on the first floor but also have a "rooftoop palace", a little apartment on the roof!
My morning was so great. I woke up and watched the sunrise from the rooftop, going downstairs to make coffee by boiling water and putting it through a paper towel with coffee grounds...yum! Finally got to do some reading on Ghost Wars. Gotta stop and talk about something I read here. This is a quote by Ronald Reagan:
"My problem with Bill was that I didn't understand him at meetings. Now, you can ask a person to repeat himself once. You can ask him twice. But you can't ask him a third time. You start to sound rude. So I'd just nod my head, but I didn't know what he was actually saying."
He is talking about Bill Casey, the CIA director at the time. Seriously, if you are the president and it is your CIA director and the Cold War is going on...YOU CAN ASK AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!!!! This both made me laugh and cower in fear at the same time. So Reagan really wasn't lying when he said he did not recall...except maybe it was that he never actually heard. WOW.
The rest of the weekend was pretty sweet too. We saw beautiful old buildings and palaces and arches. The town is much more Muslim and the architectural style reflects that. The city is old and walking around the streets has a real charm. Chennai, being the Detroit of India, appears to not have as many older buildings, most are more or less big concrete blocks, at least in the neighborhoods we are mostly in. There is a large stone Buddha statue in the middle of their (stinky) lake. Originally when they tried to take it out the barge sunk and many people died. It stayed on the bottom of the lake for I think 20 years before they raised the money to raise it out of the water. I got pics. When leaving the lake, there was a crowd staring over the side and a police van. The driver told us that they are fishing a corpse out of the lake. Huh. We ate at a Bollywood themed restaurant and I couldn't tell the wax people from the real ones. When we went to brunch at the Marriott the waiters did a choreographed line of cakes that they brought out to us (still don't know why). My favorite part was the confusion they had after depositing the cakes...they all kinda looked at each other like "Now what?" and then ran into each other trying to slink unnoticed back into the kitchen.
All in all a great time. Oh, when we tried to go home, the check in lady informed us that Kingfisher had sold us a flight that did not exist...maybe they had been sampling too much of their other product? So we spent a lot of quality time at the airport. Difference with the US? The airline offered nothing for the inconvenience - no free flight, no meal voucher, not even a bottle of water. Nothing. Oh well, I made it home.
We go to dinner at this peaceful restaurant with a Buddhist theme where I got myself a beautiful, juicy, heaven-tasting steak. The difference in the experience all had to do with the small details that for some reason they can't figure out in Chennai - the music was in the background allowing conversation to be in the foreground, the waiters are trained to not put their hands in your food or to rub their hand all over the rim of your glass when putting it down, we all got our own menu, they actually had the wines on their wine list, waiters walk around instead of reaching over people...it is amazing how much of a difference these little details make. Dinner ruled. So did bed. We stayed with Janice and Jerry and Abbie(Janice is the ELO, Jerry captains a ship in 3-month on, 3-month off intervals and yes he has dealt with pirates!!!!!, Abbie is the beautiful golden lab). They have a great apartment on the first floor but also have a "rooftoop palace", a little apartment on the roof!
My morning was so great. I woke up and watched the sunrise from the rooftop, going downstairs to make coffee by boiling water and putting it through a paper towel with coffee grounds...yum! Finally got to do some reading on Ghost Wars. Gotta stop and talk about something I read here. This is a quote by Ronald Reagan:
"My problem with Bill was that I didn't understand him at meetings. Now, you can ask a person to repeat himself once. You can ask him twice. But you can't ask him a third time. You start to sound rude. So I'd just nod my head, but I didn't know what he was actually saying."
He is talking about Bill Casey, the CIA director at the time. Seriously, if you are the president and it is your CIA director and the Cold War is going on...YOU CAN ASK AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!!!! This both made me laugh and cower in fear at the same time. So Reagan really wasn't lying when he said he did not recall...except maybe it was that he never actually heard. WOW.
The rest of the weekend was pretty sweet too. We saw beautiful old buildings and palaces and arches. The town is much more Muslim and the architectural style reflects that. The city is old and walking around the streets has a real charm. Chennai, being the Detroit of India, appears to not have as many older buildings, most are more or less big concrete blocks, at least in the neighborhoods we are mostly in. There is a large stone Buddha statue in the middle of their (stinky) lake. Originally when they tried to take it out the barge sunk and many people died. It stayed on the bottom of the lake for I think 20 years before they raised the money to raise it out of the water. I got pics. When leaving the lake, there was a crowd staring over the side and a police van. The driver told us that they are fishing a corpse out of the lake. Huh. We ate at a Bollywood themed restaurant and I couldn't tell the wax people from the real ones. When we went to brunch at the Marriott the waiters did a choreographed line of cakes that they brought out to us (still don't know why). My favorite part was the confusion they had after depositing the cakes...they all kinda looked at each other like "Now what?" and then ran into each other trying to slink unnoticed back into the kitchen.
All in all a great time. Oh, when we tried to go home, the check in lady informed us that Kingfisher had sold us a flight that did not exist...maybe they had been sampling too much of their other product? So we spent a lot of quality time at the airport. Difference with the US? The airline offered nothing for the inconvenience - no free flight, no meal voucher, not even a bottle of water. Nothing. Oh well, I made it home.
Friday, November 6, 2009
diwali
Diwali ruled.
I am fortunate enough to live in an aparment that was relatively quiet...colleagues kept posting on facebook about not being able to sleep and wailing dogs but I came through pretty unscathed...only one time did I feel like I was under siege in my apartment.
For those who don't know, Diwali is when the entire population buys a crapload of fireworks and then lets little kids set them off for about three days straight with no supervision. It is loud and bright and kind of fantastic. Except when trying to walk to Yomaris' house for the party...then the indiscrimnate firecracker setting off on the street really does seem a personal hazard...but we all got through okay. After some imbibing we went on the roof armed with firecrackers...the entire sky of the city in every direction was lit up with constant blitzes of color...we just took in the sights and made our contribution (thankfully with no injuries despite our lack of pyrotechnic skills and the plethora of exposed wires on the rooftop).
Diwali ended for me at the Hash. The Hash goes on around the world and finally Natalie and I tried out the Chennai one. What happens is people ahead of time plot a running course but those behind have to find it and there are plenty of false routes along the way. It was really cool and we wove through busy streets, a cricket field (with a game going), temples, the beach. People kept asking if I was a virgin and while at first I thought it might be an uncomfortable conversation explaining the differences in cultural norms between our great nations really they just meant if I was a first timer to the Hash. After the run there is beer and food and ice blocks. Big ice blocks. Natalie and I had to sit on the ice blocks to get introduced...and right after we sat a bunch of kids started setting off a whole bunch of firecrackers in a corner, thus delaying our ice-sitting time...when finally we were introduced I was explained as Becky with the U.S. government and Natalie as my sister who bought a one-way ticket because she is looking for a mate.
Fan freaking tastic!
I am fortunate enough to live in an aparment that was relatively quiet...colleagues kept posting on facebook about not being able to sleep and wailing dogs but I came through pretty unscathed...only one time did I feel like I was under siege in my apartment.
For those who don't know, Diwali is when the entire population buys a crapload of fireworks and then lets little kids set them off for about three days straight with no supervision. It is loud and bright and kind of fantastic. Except when trying to walk to Yomaris' house for the party...then the indiscrimnate firecracker setting off on the street really does seem a personal hazard...but we all got through okay. After some imbibing we went on the roof armed with firecrackers...the entire sky of the city in every direction was lit up with constant blitzes of color...we just took in the sights and made our contribution (thankfully with no injuries despite our lack of pyrotechnic skills and the plethora of exposed wires on the rooftop).
Diwali ended for me at the Hash. The Hash goes on around the world and finally Natalie and I tried out the Chennai one. What happens is people ahead of time plot a running course but those behind have to find it and there are plenty of false routes along the way. It was really cool and we wove through busy streets, a cricket field (with a game going), temples, the beach. People kept asking if I was a virgin and while at first I thought it might be an uncomfortable conversation explaining the differences in cultural norms between our great nations really they just meant if I was a first timer to the Hash. After the run there is beer and food and ice blocks. Big ice blocks. Natalie and I had to sit on the ice blocks to get introduced...and right after we sat a bunch of kids started setting off a whole bunch of firecrackers in a corner, thus delaying our ice-sitting time...when finally we were introduced I was explained as Becky with the U.S. government and Natalie as my sister who bought a one-way ticket because she is looking for a mate.
Fan freaking tastic!
i suppose i lied
just read the end of my last post where i said i would nap and finish the thailand story tomorrow...i did nap!
Okay a quick recap of the rest of thailand because alas i waited too long...check out the pics on facebook, says so much...Dinner at the hotel, yummy pizza, signed up for two tours to maximize the use of our time. The next day we got a van to ourselves and a tour guide drove us about 1 1/2 hours outside of bangkok, with stops to see coconut cutting, scraping, boiling, making along the way. We got on a long skinny motorized boat and took off down the canals, ending at the floating market. At the floating market I bought a sweet purple hat that doubles as a fan. Then we got on a paddled boat and checked out the market...I found the beer here boat that floated past and was super happy! (Shhhh, it was after noon SOMEWHERE). On the way home we stopped and took elephant rides...again the pics explain more. The driver sits on the elephant's neck and "steers" by using his feet and tickling behind the elephant's ear. Natalie and I were on a carriage thing on the elephant's back. So fun.
When we got back to the hotel, Bridget and Holly took off for McDonalds. Natalie and I went into a little hole in the wall restaurant. The kind woman standing above much broth and various types of balls of meat didn't really speak english so after trying to discern what is on the unpublished menu we just sat in chairs and waited. A bowl of noodles with awesome yummy meat balls showed up...the one meat ball was some sort of shrimp and cinnamon. It ruled. And it was 30 baht, less than a buck. The next day we saw a bunch of temples that really were mindblowing but again I am not a describer of visual beauty so check out the pics. Oh there was a ferry and two massages...the thai massage reminded me of a book I have with the title "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do it".
Okay it was maybe three weeks later but I did in fact talk about the rest of Thailand!
Okay a quick recap of the rest of thailand because alas i waited too long...check out the pics on facebook, says so much...Dinner at the hotel, yummy pizza, signed up for two tours to maximize the use of our time. The next day we got a van to ourselves and a tour guide drove us about 1 1/2 hours outside of bangkok, with stops to see coconut cutting, scraping, boiling, making along the way. We got on a long skinny motorized boat and took off down the canals, ending at the floating market. At the floating market I bought a sweet purple hat that doubles as a fan. Then we got on a paddled boat and checked out the market...I found the beer here boat that floated past and was super happy! (Shhhh, it was after noon SOMEWHERE). On the way home we stopped and took elephant rides...again the pics explain more. The driver sits on the elephant's neck and "steers" by using his feet and tickling behind the elephant's ear. Natalie and I were on a carriage thing on the elephant's back. So fun.
When we got back to the hotel, Bridget and Holly took off for McDonalds. Natalie and I went into a little hole in the wall restaurant. The kind woman standing above much broth and various types of balls of meat didn't really speak english so after trying to discern what is on the unpublished menu we just sat in chairs and waited. A bowl of noodles with awesome yummy meat balls showed up...the one meat ball was some sort of shrimp and cinnamon. It ruled. And it was 30 baht, less than a buck. The next day we saw a bunch of temples that really were mindblowing but again I am not a describer of visual beauty so check out the pics. Oh there was a ferry and two massages...the thai massage reminded me of a book I have with the title "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do it".
Okay it was maybe three weeks later but I did in fact talk about the rest of Thailand!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Natalie is here!!!!
Natalie arrived three weeks ago...and it feels like forever and only a second at the same time. She hit the ground running for sure! Two days after she arrived she came along to help out on her first service project. The Consulate was doing its Day of Service in honor of 9/11 and Gandhi's birthday. I was fortunate to be chosen as a helper with some of the planning and got to spend the day at the project. We went to a Muslim school for girls run by the Indian government. The grounds had formerly been a palace but the yards were very overgrown and the buildings were in need of help. Along with over a hundred volunteers from local colleges and schools, we cleared the field (using blades, no really) and painted the stage. The schoolgirls were adorable and at one point Nat, Whitney (the intern) and I toured the grounds with them. They were incredibly proud of their school and fascinated by us. All along the walk the three of us were swarmed by the smiling faces shaking our hands and asking for our autograph.
That weekend I took Natalie down to Temple Bay where we got to walk along the beach in between cows and see the temple. That Sunday we participated in a Breast Cancer walk along the beach. While I was working that week she got out and saw two orphanages and found an organization to volunteer regularly with where she can help children with disabilities. All in all a productive first week for the Natalie!
The next weekend which was last weekend was Thailand! By Friday night I still hadn't packed and we had signed on to go to a presentation at Global Adjustments about Diwali where we got to see an amazing dance performed by two guys in makeup and jangles. Dancing here is storytelling and one was the good god and the other the mischievous evil god...the dance culminated in a wonderful fake sword fight...the music was live...all in all incredible! We went home to pack but there was a lot of noise outside so we hurried up to the rooftop to watch the fireworks!
Finally I packed and we headed to the airport after picking Bridget up. The flight was not at all terrible and at the end...I was in THAILAND!!!!! After waiting for Holly to show up we got into a rented minivan shuttle and headed out into the 7 a.m. Thai day...I've never been so happy to see cars actually driving in the lanes!!!! Yes, imagine that, the roads have clearly marked lanes and people actually stay in them! And it is so CLEAN!!!! Heavenly.
Our hotel is amazing and since we are trying to check in so early we end up with one room instead of three....except that the room is an apartment as big, probably bigger actually, than my huge government apartment that I have now. And we have three balconies and amazing views!!!! We order room service and nap.
After napping and hitting Starbucks we take off to the Sky Train which delivers us to the weekend market, aisle after aisle and row upon row and tiny little side alley upon tiny side alley of vendors of all sorts of stuff...of course I mostly focused on the street meat and other food!
There was so much food on the street! Getting off the train I got a sesame and salt waffle, then Nat picked up the green mango with chili in a bag then I got the coconut pancakey things and then we both got coconut ice cream...we really just ate our way through the market...and shopped...yes even I bought stuff...two skirts and two shirts and an awesome pink headband. We did in fact find another bed restaurant for dinner! Must go nap, will finish tomorrow.
That weekend I took Natalie down to Temple Bay where we got to walk along the beach in between cows and see the temple. That Sunday we participated in a Breast Cancer walk along the beach. While I was working that week she got out and saw two orphanages and found an organization to volunteer regularly with where she can help children with disabilities. All in all a productive first week for the Natalie!
The next weekend which was last weekend was Thailand! By Friday night I still hadn't packed and we had signed on to go to a presentation at Global Adjustments about Diwali where we got to see an amazing dance performed by two guys in makeup and jangles. Dancing here is storytelling and one was the good god and the other the mischievous evil god...the dance culminated in a wonderful fake sword fight...the music was live...all in all incredible! We went home to pack but there was a lot of noise outside so we hurried up to the rooftop to watch the fireworks!
Finally I packed and we headed to the airport after picking Bridget up. The flight was not at all terrible and at the end...I was in THAILAND!!!!! After waiting for Holly to show up we got into a rented minivan shuttle and headed out into the 7 a.m. Thai day...I've never been so happy to see cars actually driving in the lanes!!!! Yes, imagine that, the roads have clearly marked lanes and people actually stay in them! And it is so CLEAN!!!! Heavenly.
Our hotel is amazing and since we are trying to check in so early we end up with one room instead of three....except that the room is an apartment as big, probably bigger actually, than my huge government apartment that I have now. And we have three balconies and amazing views!!!! We order room service and nap.
After napping and hitting Starbucks we take off to the Sky Train which delivers us to the weekend market, aisle after aisle and row upon row and tiny little side alley upon tiny side alley of vendors of all sorts of stuff...of course I mostly focused on the street meat and other food!
There was so much food on the street! Getting off the train I got a sesame and salt waffle, then Nat picked up the green mango with chili in a bag then I got the coconut pancakey things and then we both got coconut ice cream...we really just ate our way through the market...and shopped...yes even I bought stuff...two skirts and two shirts and an awesome pink headband. We did in fact find another bed restaurant for dinner! Must go nap, will finish tomorrow.
Monday, September 28, 2009
time is really flying
originally i had as a goal to post once a week so that i could keep a record of what the heck is going on...does it count if the past month has flown by like a week? Even though it had enough packed into it to be a year? My little sister is on a plane right now and when I sign off I'm going to go pick her up and for some reason that put my butt in gear to finally write something.
The work is challenging. As much as people made cracks about how most consular toured officers are well overqualified for the work, I can see absolutely the logic in starting out here and getting the lay of an overseas tour land. No one part of the job is terribly difficult but there is a constant barrage of tasks to be juggled, a ton of detail and lots of judgment calls along the way. They really did hire us for our judgment...uh oh me.
Being in a post with so many ELOs is wonderful because I can draw on their help and have a built in social network but it also presents difficulties. Some really great opportunities come up and it is hard to not be chosen sometimes. There is more than enough opportunities to be able to keep constantly busy and know that I'm doing important work but because of the high stress level certain tensions arise that I overreact to in the moment. Overall though I am incredibly lucky to work with such amazing people and also lucky to have managers who make sure opportunities abound.
Life in India can also be challenging. But immensely rewarding. Again no one thing is terribly difficult to adjust to but all the little things add up. The pace of life is just different. The idea of customer service is nonexistent - oh there are tons of people milling around in any hospitality environment but none actually seem capable of listening fully to an order, asking a question if they don't understand so that the order will be correct and completing it in a timely manner. Most of the time I can see humor in it but sometimes the 30 minute wait for a drink or the 20 minutes it takes to get a spoon for the ice cream which is then melted really gets to me.
But this place is amazing. One night after dinner me and two friends decided to try out this bar called 10 Downing Street. We talked with a few different autorickshaw drivers to no avail. Finally a man on his evening stroll took pity and explained where it was. Success...until all the rickshaw drivers got up front and the three of us in back...it was one full rickshaw. When we got to the bar the manager took us right away and said "Come, come" as they are wont to do. He led us to the other table of white people and then seemed perturbed/amazed that we did not in fact know the other whities nor did we want to sit with them. We got our own table and the place was a strange and hellish version of an english pub with crazy red walls and wildly dancing men. The hell vision became clearer when people came to our table and lit it on fire trying to sell us flaming shots. Egads. On the way home we took two autorickshaws...and the friend I was with told our driver to race the other one...I had no idea those things could go that fast!!!!! Nor did I know that three wheelers can in fact take turns on two wheels.
Today I walked to the spa for a massage and a cow was in my way. A big black one just sitting taking up the road with a "You want some of this" look...sadly yes, yes I do want some of that, medium rare with some mashed potatoes...ah Thsiland I can't wait to eat my way through you. Oh which reminds me of another spa...Temple Bay is a beautiful resort with an amazing infinity pool and hammocks and a lot of beauty...just don't get a "massage". I went in for mine and was taken in a room and told to get naked. When I asked for a robe the woman looked at me quizzically. I tried to walk out but the manager told me to take a towel. Decided to give it a whirl, toweled up and went into massage room. Oh goodie look at that table. Wait why do you want me to sit on this stool? Um, okay. Eeeek why are you pouring copious amounts of burnt coffee smelling oil over my head? And just moving it around? Um, will I get to be on the table and be massaged if I put up with it? Apparently not, because the next thing the lady wanted me to do was just lay naked face up on table...and I could tell there was a lot more getting oil poured over me without any rubbing in store...I walked out. Yes, I walked out on a "massage". Sigh. Oh I better go get my Natalie!!! Yippee!
The work is challenging. As much as people made cracks about how most consular toured officers are well overqualified for the work, I can see absolutely the logic in starting out here and getting the lay of an overseas tour land. No one part of the job is terribly difficult but there is a constant barrage of tasks to be juggled, a ton of detail and lots of judgment calls along the way. They really did hire us for our judgment...uh oh me.
Being in a post with so many ELOs is wonderful because I can draw on their help and have a built in social network but it also presents difficulties. Some really great opportunities come up and it is hard to not be chosen sometimes. There is more than enough opportunities to be able to keep constantly busy and know that I'm doing important work but because of the high stress level certain tensions arise that I overreact to in the moment. Overall though I am incredibly lucky to work with such amazing people and also lucky to have managers who make sure opportunities abound.
Life in India can also be challenging. But immensely rewarding. Again no one thing is terribly difficult to adjust to but all the little things add up. The pace of life is just different. The idea of customer service is nonexistent - oh there are tons of people milling around in any hospitality environment but none actually seem capable of listening fully to an order, asking a question if they don't understand so that the order will be correct and completing it in a timely manner. Most of the time I can see humor in it but sometimes the 30 minute wait for a drink or the 20 minutes it takes to get a spoon for the ice cream which is then melted really gets to me.
But this place is amazing. One night after dinner me and two friends decided to try out this bar called 10 Downing Street. We talked with a few different autorickshaw drivers to no avail. Finally a man on his evening stroll took pity and explained where it was. Success...until all the rickshaw drivers got up front and the three of us in back...it was one full rickshaw. When we got to the bar the manager took us right away and said "Come, come" as they are wont to do. He led us to the other table of white people and then seemed perturbed/amazed that we did not in fact know the other whities nor did we want to sit with them. We got our own table and the place was a strange and hellish version of an english pub with crazy red walls and wildly dancing men. The hell vision became clearer when people came to our table and lit it on fire trying to sell us flaming shots. Egads. On the way home we took two autorickshaws...and the friend I was with told our driver to race the other one...I had no idea those things could go that fast!!!!! Nor did I know that three wheelers can in fact take turns on two wheels.
Today I walked to the spa for a massage and a cow was in my way. A big black one just sitting taking up the road with a "You want some of this" look...sadly yes, yes I do want some of that, medium rare with some mashed potatoes...ah Thsiland I can't wait to eat my way through you. Oh which reminds me of another spa...Temple Bay is a beautiful resort with an amazing infinity pool and hammocks and a lot of beauty...just don't get a "massage". I went in for mine and was taken in a room and told to get naked. When I asked for a robe the woman looked at me quizzically. I tried to walk out but the manager told me to take a towel. Decided to give it a whirl, toweled up and went into massage room. Oh goodie look at that table. Wait why do you want me to sit on this stool? Um, okay. Eeeek why are you pouring copious amounts of burnt coffee smelling oil over my head? And just moving it around? Um, will I get to be on the table and be massaged if I put up with it? Apparently not, because the next thing the lady wanted me to do was just lay naked face up on table...and I could tell there was a lot more getting oil poured over me without any rubbing in store...I walked out. Yes, I walked out on a "massage". Sigh. Oh I better go get my Natalie!!! Yippee!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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...
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...
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