Crisis in the third world.
Yesterday was supposed to be my last day at work. I spent the afternoon shopping with K., one of the girls from home. I picked up some last-minute things, and I got some fabric for my friend Karen. I then changed into one of my sarees, and we went to work. I wasn't there an hour when one of the other Texas people, J.D, started feeling really ill. She was dizzy, weak, and started throwing up. We were all really worried. So I left work to take her home. I think my class of reps was disappointed that I wasn't going to be there with them, and I didn't get a chance to give them the chocolates that I had brought. I did get a carved box from one of my reps.

Anyway, when we got to the hotel, I had the staff bring a wheelchair so that we could get J.D. upstairs, and I had them call the doctor. He showed up after about half an hour and examined her. He determined that she had some kind of intestinal nastiness and perscribed her some antibiotics. I sent someone from the hotel to get her medicine. Apparently, you can get a perscription filled here at 1:30am. I stayed in her room for a couple of hours to make sure she was going to be OK.

So, I guess that's it. I'm all packed and ready to go. I'm going to head downstairs in a bit to check out. I wasn't able to change my travel plans, so I'm still going through Mumbai. The travel department at work has tried to arrange a representative to meet me in Mumbai and help me get through the airport. But unfortunately I can't log onto my work email, so I have no idea if it was finalized or not. I guess I'll see when I get there. If there's no one in the airport for me, I'll just do it all myself. I hate the Mumbai airport with a passion. It's filthy, run-down, and scary. You have to get on a bus to get from one terminal to the other, and you have to lug your bags around until you cneck them in at the international terminal. Most international flights occur at night, so you're doing this at 1am or whatever. There are official people to help you, but there are plenty of "unofficial help" hanging around as well. I'd rather lug my bags myself than worry about whether the person who's taking them for me is going to steal them or charge me a huge fee. UGGH. I can't wait.

So I'll write again when I hit the states. Until then, take care everyone! Mama, mama I'm comin' home!

Big update
Saturday, J. and I finally made it to Nagarjuna Sagar! After only 1 1/2 hours of sleep, I threw myself into a hotel car and off we went. The drive took about 3 1/2 hours, and we went through some countryside and a lot of little towns and villages. Once the traffic thinned, I noticed our driver was nodding off at the wheel! So J. asked him if he was OK, and the driver said he needed to stop for tea. We stopped in this little village, and J. and I sat in the car while the driver ate. A guy came up to us to beg for money, and he wouldn't leave the car for like 10 minutes! Weirdo. Anyway, after getting back on the road and going through a torrential downpour, we made it to the lake. We drove across the dam, which was pretty impressive, and bought tickets for the boat ride.

The boat took us across the lake to an island with a museum and some Buddhist temples and monastary. The museum had some really interesting sculptures, but the building itself was in a terrible state of repair. The grounds on the island were well-kept, though, and I took some great pictures. After we finished with the island and lake, we got back in the car to drive to the waterfalls nearby.

The waterfalls were super pretty. The falls are made of several streams that fall over the rim of a flat area. Supposedly they have a source in the mountains. They plunge quite a long way to a pool at the bottom, and then continue on down the valley. The observation point is level with the top of the waterfalls, so you look down into the valley, which is thick with vegetation and palm trees. Further down the valley, there was a shrine set into the side of the mountain.

Some Indian guys wanted to take a picture with us while we were there. Afterwards, we decided to have one last look and then head back. We were looking down the valley toward the shrine when one of the Indians ran up to Jason. He was really excited and kept saying something we didn't understand, probably in Hindi or Telegu. He was gesturing with his hands to show something big (like how a fisherman would describe his biggest catch of the day). Finally, he made another motion with his hands, which I realized was a crocodile's jaws. I yelled "crocodile!?" and ran over to look at the waterfalls. In the basin at the base of the falls, there was a monster crocodile swimming around. He had to be about 12 feet long. We took pictures and waited to see if he would come nearer to us, but he swam off instead. Later, I learned that while crocs are fairly common in India, they are not that common in this state, Andhra Pradesh. So it was really exciting to see one.

Yesterday I went to the pool (oops, another sunburn, dammit!) and went shopping. Got some pearls for my mom and aunt, and a set of beautiful black pearls for myself. I also got a suitcase to replace the one that Ryan let me borrow on my last trip. It was damaged in transit. I packed up a lot of my stuff. I did some last minute shopping today and more packing.

The big news today was two bombs exploding in Mumbai. At least 44 people died, and the last I heard, about 150 were injured. Apparently, there were also plans to blow up a section of railroad, but the detonators were found before they could go off. Such a sad state of things. One bomb went off in the middle of one of Mumbai's bazaars, and the other exploded near the Gateway to India monument. They were timed to go off during lunch, so that the maximum number of people would be injured. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings yet. I'm a little worried, since I'm scheduled to have a stop in Mumbai on Wednesday, on my way home.

It's the final countdown!
My days are numbered here. I leave for the US next Wednesday. So I've been slowly making preparations to go home.

This week I've been fighting with my work about various stuff. I've tried to apply for some vacation time, but apparently I can only do that once I get home. Ridiculous. I'm also trying to make sure they have me on the schedule for when I get back... which of course they didn't. It's been very frustrating. And when I switched jobs back in, oh, MARCH, no one told me I had a new extension, so I had to log in with a temporary extension the whole time. I contacted our telecom department to make sure my extension will work when I get back, and they told me I had been trying with the wrong extension the whole time. Gee, guys, thanks for the update.

I've also arranged to spend my first weekend in the states back in Arkansas, so that I can see my family and pick up Liam (that's my cat). Victor's signed up to go with me. What a nice boy. Now remember, my parents live on a farm. And apparently, it's "Artificially Inseminate the Cows" time. That should make for a fun vacation. Dad wanted to know if Victor would like to learn how to do it (or at least hold the cow's tail while Dad did it). Hmm, somehow I think not.

In other news, we once again are planning a trip to Nagarjuna Sagar this weekend. But I'm not keeping my fingers crossed. Something tells me that I'm just not meant to go there. I've also got to do some last minute shopping. Family members are now requesting pearls, and I've got to get a suitcase to haul my stuff back in. I also remembered that my parents' birthdays are coming up... so I might as well try to do some shopping for them.

Today was Victor's last day at his internship in Dallas. Hooray! He's moving the rest of his stuff back to Austin tomorrow. His dad is driving up there to help him. Now, here are the factors for the move:
1. Dallas is hot as hell these days
2. Victor lives on the 4th floor of the complex, and the elevator won't fit a bed or chair.
3. Victor's got a sprained ankle and crutches
4. Victor's dad is not in the best of health
So I'm sure it's not going to be a pleasant experience for the two of them. Sorry, guys, wish I was there to help. I can say that while I'm safely halfway around the world!

I've walked Las Ramblas, but not with real intent
Sometimes I have to take a step back and think about the situation I'm in, as if from the outside looking in. Tonight, I was an American dressed in traditional Indian clothes, with a belly full of Lebanese food, singing along with a Welsh band on the TV. Slightly ridiculous.

The hotel's 24-hour restaurant is having a Lebanese food festival for two weeks. The food is super freaking good. I have no idea how authentic it is... I was here for their Mexican food festival, and I would say it was inspired by Mexico at best. Anyway, I had some shrimp, pita bread, and rice for dinner. Yummy.

Channel [V], which is one of the music channels on TV here, has a show called "The Rock Show" every night. One night a week, they profile a rock artist. Tonight, it was Manic Street Preachers. Yay! I saw 30 minutes of videos, including a really annoying mix video of "Tsunami." By the way, what is it about Nicky Wire? He's not particularly attractive, but I do find him alluring. Maybe it's the makeup, dresses, and feather boas. He can hoover my house anytime!

And in totally unrelated news, Britney Spears was apparently totally kissing Jordan Catalano at some LA nightclub. Oh my God, Angela! (via Gawker)

I have the best boyfriend ever. And new hair.
Today, I decided I would try getting some highlights in my hair, so I called the hotel beauty salon. It wasn't going to be too expensive, so I set up an appointment for this afternoon. Immediately afterward, I started to have reservations. So I called Victor. Yes, I knew it was 3:30am for him. But I was a desperate girl!

Luckily, Victor didn't yell at me for waking him. He gave me the advice I needed, and I promised to make it up to him when I get home. Thank God I have a boyfriend who cares about hair. I'm a lucky girl.

So, I got some reddish highlights put into my hair. It took two hours to get the highlights in. Nothing here happens quickly. The hairdresser left several times to do God knows what. The color looks good, but the cut he gave me afterward was not so good. In fact, he did the opposite of what I told him to do. After I got back to my room, I took the scissors from my desk and did a little chopping myself to fix the back of my hair. You can get away with that if you have wavy hair. I will have to get my hairdresser to fix everything when I get home.

Arrghhhhhhh!!!!!!
I have a pet peeve that I have to talk about. I hate the sound of snotty noses. I'm know I'm not alone on this. I don't mind the sound of blowing the nose, but the constant snotting without blowing is what gets me.

Apparently, there's some sort of cold going around work. Since we've been cooped up in a small room together during training, a lot of the reps are now snotty. Most of them carry a handkerchief with them (as opposed to Americans, who are all about the tissues). So freaking use it! Or, if you don't have one, go to the freaking bathroom and blow!

I'm not too happy about spending 8 hours a day with a bunch of sick, coughing, snotty people. I'm not sick right now, but I'm sure that I will be soon. I only have a week left here... can't I get through it without becoming deathly ill?

You're listening to the streets...
I've seen some interesting stuff in the last 24 hours. On the way home from work (at around 6:45am), we came upon an autorickshaw/scooter wreck. It didn't seem like anyone was hurt, but the scooter was pretty badly damaged. I couldn't figure out what had caused the accident, because traffic is pretty light at that time. Then I realized that one side of the road was shut. The road has a divider between the opposite directions, and only our side of the road was open. So both directions of traffic were using the same side of the road. We continued on around the corner, and I discovered why one side was shut. The Indian army was doing something on the other side of the road. There were two or three tanks, several other big vehicles, and personnel all over. It didn't look serious, so they were probably just doing some kind of standard manouver. I found it interesting that the two servicemen diverting traffic were using tree branches to flag the traffic.

I went shopping this afternoon, and in the oncoming traffic, there was a huge motorcade with flags, banners, drums, and waving people. There were lots of cars and many big trucks (lorries) stuffed full of people. Apparently it was a parade of the communist party. The banners were all in Hindi or Telegu (whatever it was, I couldn't read it), so I couldn't read any of the slogans. But I'm pretty sure my driver said "Communist Party."

On the way home, traffic was stopped for a long time because the Chief Minister was out and about. Due to the Indian proclivity for assassinating leaders, the government takes great caution when officials are on the move. There are usually several cars in the motorcade which have shades drawn, and the minister is in one of those cars. Traffic is always stopped until the motorcade goes by. I have experienced this several times (Hyderabad is the capital of Andhra Pradesh, so there are lots of government folks around). The same thing occurred in the spring when the Dalai Lama visited.

Not to change the subject or anything, but I bought a super cute jean skirt today. Now, I need another jean skirt like I need a hole in the head. My friends once decided that if there was a Mandy action figure, it would be wearing a jean skirt.

Switching schedules sucks.
So, it's 1:41am Indian time, and I'm so sleepy! I still have another 5 hours of training left. I wasn't able to nap this afternoon... not that I didn't have time, but I just couldn't sleep. I watched Say It Isn't So instead, which was pretty silly. Movie choices are slim pickins here, even though I have three movie channels.

I'm sitting through training right now. We've moved from the language training to the policies and procedures section, which lasts about 4 weeks. I know everything covered in the training already, since I have been doing this job for a year and a half, and I actually trained a class not too long ago. So, since I'm not really doing anything but sitting here, I'm really bored. Boredom doesn't help keep you awake, especially when your body is used to being asleep at this time.

Big weekend.
Let me just start off by saying how tired I am of un-time-consciousness here! I understand that traveling in a foreign country is all about learning cultural differences, but common courtesy should have no borders.

Needless to say, I didn't go on my weekend trip. J., who is one of the other Texans over here with my company, and I were supposed to meet the rest of the group (all Indians from work) at our hotel at 9:00-9:30 Saturday morning. One of the managers at work, V., had supposedly made all of the travel arrangements and booked cabins for us. J. had been out of town in New Delhi and Chennai for a couple of days for work, and he took a 5am flight back to Hyderabad to get here in time to leave on our trip. So I spent Friday night packing and sleeping, and woke up early Saturday morning to have breakfast and stuff before we left. I was down in the lobby at 9:30 with my bag, and was shortly joined by J. No one showed up. At 11:00, we tried calling V. His dad answered the phone (most unmarried - and even married - Indians live with their parents) and said he hadn't arrived back from work yet... remember, our center works the night shift. He should have been back and left already. His dad said he hadn't mentioned anything about the overnight trip, and that V. had probably been out with friends after work.

I checked with the hotel desk to see if anyone had left us a message. Nope. J. checked his email, just to see if V. or any of the others had left any notice about the trip being cancelled. Nope. I was so angry. Both of us had gone out of our way to prepare for this trip, and no one even had the courtesy to tell us it was off. This was, of course, not the first time people from work had not shown up to do something with me. I've been stood up for lunch, shopping, or drinks. But this took the cake. I can't even imagine someone back home doing something like this. Not to mention that we are from the corporate office, and that J. is the interim Area Manager for this center. It doesn't look good to do that to workmates, especially superiors.

So after I got over my frustration, I decided do to some shopping. I went with J.D., one of the TX girls, to Shilparamam Craft Village, which is right next to Hi-Tec City, where I work. It's a great place, with gardens, scupltures, and craftspeople selling their work. I had been there before, so we didn't walk through the entire complex, but I did get some trinkets for me and some gifts for the folks back home. Afterward, we stopped at the pearl shop in the hotel, which is fairly overpriced but has some great stuff. I got a really nice silver and pearl necklace, and a set of silver and garnet jewelry. I talked my way into a decent discount, as is the custom here. Did I mention that Hyderabad is the pearl capital of India? You can get pearls super cheap here.

Saturday night we had dinner with some of the Irish people, and then headed down to T2, the club in the hotel. The big sweaty Indian guy from last weekend was back, and was dancing with the girls again. I was sure to avoid eye-contact and stuff, but he still came up behind me and grabbed my waist to grind on me. I wheeled around and said "Get the fuck off of me!" and walked away. He left us alone after that.

After T2 closed down, we trekked out to Treasure Island, which is a club about 40 minutes outside of Hyderabad. We piled into a hotel car (six of us plus the driver!) and headed out into the countryside. We finally made it to TI, which was a really weird club. You have to cross a moat, walk up a couple of flights of stairs, adn then you're in a big room with a dancefloor and some tables. It's supposed to look tropical, so the roof is thatched with bamboo. They played marginally better music than T2. The big sweaty Indian guy made a comeback there (a lot of the T2 crowd goes out to TI, which stays open much later), and again he tried to grab me. So I stuck my finger in his face and said "Get the fuck off of me! I'm not kidding!" And he left us alone for a while. I got tired and sat down with one of the other girls. Some guy tried to hit on me, but in a much better way (by making conversation). Apparently there were a ton of mosquitos, because I've got about 11 huge welts on my legs and one of my arms.

After such a big night, I spent Sunday at the pool. Oops, got a sunburn. Not too bad though. I have to switch to the night shift again this week, 10:30pm to 6:30am. Yuck! I'm going to go take a nap so that I can stay up.

Hello, stranger.
Finally, I have some time to write. I'm done with work and down at the computer in the hotel's business center. I feel like I've been neglecting my website and emails and stuff for the last week or so. So here I am to make up for that.

First, the news. I had previously thought we were were going to have Friday off, since it's Indian Independence Day, but it looks like we'll be working instead. I'm going to suggest that everyone wear traditional Indian clothes so that it will still feel like a holiday... and that way I can wear one of my sarees. Most of the girls wear traditional stuff every day, but they guys generally dress like Westerners. Also, it looks like we may be going out of town this weekend. Some of the people from work are taking an overnight trip to Nagarjuna Sagar on Saturday. This is the place with waterfalls and a lake that I had planned to go to last month... so maybe I'll actually get to see it.

Going out of town will be nice, since I really haven't done any sightseeing since I've been here. I saw most of the important sights of Hyderabad when I was here last time. So I haven't had much chance to take pictures, buy souvenirs, and see new areas of the country. I feel bad that I'm over here but not really experiencing much... but our work schedule prevents taking a lot of trips. It's much different being on a business trip than being a tourist.

I'm going home two weeks from today. That doesn't give me much time left here. I still have a lot that I need to buy... presents and such. I was hoping to do some Christmas shopping while I was here. Maybe I'll get a chance to do that. The main problem is that I don't really have a shopping partner. I don't want to go into a jewelry shop alone, because the sales people are very pushy. They also expect you to barter with them for a better price, and I'm better at that when I have someone there to back me up.

Finally, here's a news story that warms the cockles of my heart. Delhi Belly Prevents Colon Cancer. Man, I must be immune to colon cancer by now!!! (via Uffish Thoughts)

S h o p p i n g... we're shopping.
Went shopping last night. Got some shirts and stuff for Victor and some girly cosmetics stuff for me. The big department store here was having their annual sale, so I ended up spending only about Rs. 2700, which is about $57. I also bought some shoes and a purse. Now, both of those purchases were splurges, so I don't know if I really needed (or even wanted) them that much. But I haven't done much shopping since I've been here, so I wanted to treat myself.

On the way to work this morning, an eagle swooped right in front of the car to pick up a mouse or rat from the road. There are eagles everywhere here. They're quite urban. They hang around the pool at the hotel sometimes.

The class was comparing/contrasting Indian and US culture today. Needless to say, I disagreed with some of their views. They were quite vocal about current politics in America, especially regarding our involvement with Afghanistan and Iraq. I tried not to get involved, but I did have to make some points about September 11 and the aftermath. I also spoke to the fact that the world gets mad when the US gets involved in things, but if we don't get involved, everyone's crying "Where is the US? Where is their aid? Why aren't they doing something?" That to me seems a little hypocritical. Anyway, I'm not much of a political person, and I don't claim to really have much grasp on foreign (or even domestic) policy, but I did have to interject a little.

Alright, back to class.

News Update
Saturday afternoon, I went with to the tailor's shop to pick up the clothes I had left there. I now have a new salwar kameez suit (which makes my hips look wide... grrrr) and two finished sarees. The brown saree came out so beautifully. I'm excited to wear it.

Our company has several groups here training at this facility, including some Europeans and Canadians. Saturday night, a bunch of us met up for drinks and Chinese food. It was the 25th birthday of one of the Irish guys, so we had a cake during dinner. Afterward, most of us went to T2, which is the club in the hotel basement. It's the club to go to in Hyderabad, and it was packed. The music selection is pretty crappy, considering they play almost the same set every time I go... but at least it's free to get in for hotel guests. One of the girls started dancing with this big Indian guy, and he would not leave us alone after that. Finally, one of the Canadian guys started dancing with him... grinding on his ass and stuff. That didn't go over too well with the Indian guy, but I will say he was not discouraged easily.

Just for fun, here's a list of songs you might hear at T2:
"Like A Prayer" dance remix
"Summer of 69" dance remix
"In Da Club"
"Hey Sexy Lady" (or whatever it's called, by Shaggy)
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
"We Will Rock You" dance remix
That Nelly/Kelly Rowland song... so annoying!
Popular Indian pop songs

Sunday was spent watching the Real Madrid vs. Thailand game, doing a manicure and pedicure, and watching a couple of movies. It was cloudy all day, so I couldn't go to the pool like I wanted.

In other news, my boyfriend is on crutches. Apparently, our little soccer matches have gotten a little more agressive! Also, I missed Brad's going-away party. We're gonna miss you, Brad!!! I hope L.A. is nice to you, and is generous with its favors!

Another Indian Weekend
Hey everybody. It's Saturday and I'm at work.

Training is going much better. I'm participating more in the class, and it's been more hands-on than at first. The students are really improving. Here are some of the interesting things I've heard them say (and corrected):

"Colored" for black people
"Red Indian" for Native Americans
"Ain't" instead of isn't (he had no idea it shouldn't be used)

There have been a lot of mispronounciations and such, but it's been pretty easy to correct them.

I thought I'd also write a bit on some of the things I see on the road here. It's become second nature to see these, but if I really think about it, they are still unusual to an American. And remember, this is a city of several million people.

What I See on the Streets of Hyderabad
Cattle and buffalo walking the streets, sometimes laying in groups in the middle of the road.
Men peeing in public, either at a stand urinal or just on the side of the road.
Packs of dogs roaming around.
Pedestrians everywhere.
Small children, old people, and cripples, begging at stoplights.
Bicycles, scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles.
Autorickshaws.
Chickens scratching around.
Laborers breaking boulders wih a hammer and wedge.
Women washing clothes in a puddle.
Huge "tent cities" - small tents made of plastic, garbage, etc... each housing a family of laborers.
Scaffolding made of bamboo.
Crowds of people wearing eye patches outside the optical hospital.

I could go on and on, but I've got to get back to training.

Training. Is. So. Boring.
Uggh. There is no computer for me to use in my training class. It's going to be two very long weeks. We're not using the big, beautiful training rooms... Instead we've shoved 21 people into a room the size of a dorm room. With five or six round tables. OK, you can't conduct a class with round tables unless you're doing something (like an art class), because people have to turn away from the table to see the instructor. How are they supposed to write then? And then there's me, the person who is observing the class... basically I just sit there. What am I supposed to do while they're working on assignments? And I'm supposed to prepare a report about the class, but I have no access to a computer. We're not even given a proper lunch break... just a 20 minute break for breakfast, a 20 minute break for lunch, and a 15 minute break in between. How am I supposed to get any work done?

Anyway, if you're wondering why I'm not emailing you or posting here, that's why. Oops, gotta go, my stupid lunch is almost over.

I'm still in the throes of a nasty head cold, but the rest of the symptoms have subsided. Yay! Yesterday, two more people from Austin came over here to India, and one brought a little care package from Victor. Unfortunately, I probably won't get much use out of the CD-ROMS he sent, because they still haven't gotten me a stinking laptop. But hooray for the new Super Furry Animals album!!! Victor also included a mix CD, which was very sweet and thoughtful.

I'm switching to working days the next two weeks (6:30am-2:30pm) for a training class. So I'm spending the weekend trying to adjust off of the night shift schedule. I also don't have to work on Monday, since the class is Tuesday-Saturday this week. Three day weekend! Today, I went shopping with two of the Texas girls here. I took my two sarees and some salwar kameez (a type of pantsuit/dress) fabric to a tailor to have them stitched. We also went music shopping (no good CD's to buy, but I did get Irma La Douce on video CD). Finally, we hit the grocery store for some snacks. I found microwave popcorn!!! I was so happy. I also found a type of Lay's potato chips I'd seen on TV, Australian Cilantro Surprise. Victor, if they're any good, I'll bring some home for you.

On the way out of the grocery store, some little kids were trying to get me to buy something or other, basically begging, which is normal... but these kids were way too pushy. I was agitated enough after the shopping experience (the grocery store was very crowded, triggering my claustrophobia), and thes annoying boys pushed it too far. I told the first one to "fuck off," which he didn't seem to understand, because they were waiting at the car door when I went to get in. I yelled "BACK OFF!" and got in the car. Still, one of the boys tried to push his way in after me. I shut the door as quickly as I could without slamming his fingers. I felt bad for yelling, because that's just how the culture is here, but my PMS could take no more.