Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wedding Invitation
Today someone walked up to my cube and handed me a wedding invitation. He didn't introduce himself but apparently he knew my name because it's on the invitation! Turns out all of the expats on our floor were invited, although we're still confused about who this guy is!
Taj Krishna
Here are some pictures of my hotel. It's really nice.... I'm getting spoiled. I'm going to expect Phil to wear white gloves and call me "Madam" when I come home.
View of the grounds from my room. In the distance you can see the lake and there's a Buddha statue in it.
This is my new room. I like the wood floors better than carpet. I'm usually obsessive about always wearing flip-flops or slippers in a hotel room, but these floors are brand new.
Fishies in the pools & fountains outside
Sitting area just down the hall from the lobby
View of the grounds from my room. In the distance you can see the lake and there's a Buddha statue in it.
This is my new room. I like the wood floors better than carpet. I'm usually obsessive about always wearing flip-flops or slippers in a hotel room, but these floors are brand new.
Fishies in the pools & fountains outside
Sitting area just down the hall from the lobby
Thank goodness for globalization
Indian McDonald's may be gross, but Indian Subway is hardly any different from home! Although they do measure the subs in centimeters, I can still get a turkey sub, which was a nice change from the Zone bars I've been having for lunch every day for the past 2 weeks. But beware the Subway club... instead of roast beef it has roast lamb!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Christmas Comes Early for Court
Hyderabad is known as the "City of Pearls." Here's the history:
The storied wealth amassed under the 200-year reign of Hyderabad's Nizams naturally called forth a precious-jewellery industry. From the year 1724, when the Mughal governor Asaf Jah titled himself Nizam al-Mulk and established his rule over central India's Deccan plateau, until 1948, when the Nizam VII Osman Ali Khan's authority was forcibly superseded by the Indian Army, untold quantities of gems and pearls passed through the Hyderabad's jewel shops on Patthargatti Road. Under the Nizams there was always peace and always a strong demand for gems. The mines close to the Golconda fort gave the world the Hope and Kohinoor diamonds, now in the Smithsonian Institution and the British coronation crown respectively. Diamonds aplenty there once were, but it is pearls that have, over time, left the boldest mark on Hyderabadi culture and trade, and today it is the city's pearl dealers who are champions of the jewellery market.
Once retrieved from the fastness of the sea, pearls in historic days reached India in two ways: from the Gulf of Mannar in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) via the south Indian city of Madurai, and from the Arabian Gulf via the port of Goa. Then, the finest quality pearls were said to be Ceylonese; they were uniformly white, and they were rare. Today, Ceylonese pearls are unknown in Hyderabad, but the slightly yellowish ones from the Arabian Gulf, known as Basra pearls, are readily available both in newly restrung necklaces and in precious old settings. In Patthargatti's shops—some open to the hot city breeze, others crisply air-conditioned—the pearls most commonly sold today are the freshwater variety from China. Emeralds and rubies aside, however, Hyderabad does seem an odd city to be at the top of the pearl trade. The ocean is some 325 kilometers distant, and, commercially speaking, the city is a relative backwater compared to booming Mumbai and Bangalore. But any expert will tell you that Hyderabad's commercial position is due to "the high quality and low cost of labor." A visit to his processing centre confirms that behind almost every door in Patthargatti there are pearl sorters, drillers and stringers, each with hundreds of years of family experience.
So, after our brief trip to Charminar, Muzzafar took Tim and me to a jewelry store. I have always wanted to own a nice pearl necklace. And Tim needed to buy some to placate his wife because he's been gone 6 weeks! Muzzafar knew just the place, a store called Swati. I swear, I only intended to buy one single-stranded pearl necklace and I didn't want to spend more than $100. I have never really cared much for jewelry so I figured it would be easy.
I seriously underestimated the power of jewelry over a woman.
After over an hour of hard bargaining with the owner, I walked out of Swati a thoroughly satisfied customer. For less than his original asking price of the single-pearl necklace with the hanging diamond (pictured below), I got that necklace plus a double-strand of pearls plus a pair of earrings. Oh my gosh!!!! I am so happy!!!!
The storied wealth amassed under the 200-year reign of Hyderabad's Nizams naturally called forth a precious-jewellery industry. From the year 1724, when the Mughal governor Asaf Jah titled himself Nizam al-Mulk and established his rule over central India's Deccan plateau, until 1948, when the Nizam VII Osman Ali Khan's authority was forcibly superseded by the Indian Army, untold quantities of gems and pearls passed through the Hyderabad's jewel shops on Patthargatti Road. Under the Nizams there was always peace and always a strong demand for gems. The mines close to the Golconda fort gave the world the Hope and Kohinoor diamonds, now in the Smithsonian Institution and the British coronation crown respectively. Diamonds aplenty there once were, but it is pearls that have, over time, left the boldest mark on Hyderabadi culture and trade, and today it is the city's pearl dealers who are champions of the jewellery market.
Once retrieved from the fastness of the sea, pearls in historic days reached India in two ways: from the Gulf of Mannar in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) via the south Indian city of Madurai, and from the Arabian Gulf via the port of Goa. Then, the finest quality pearls were said to be Ceylonese; they were uniformly white, and they were rare. Today, Ceylonese pearls are unknown in Hyderabad, but the slightly yellowish ones from the Arabian Gulf, known as Basra pearls, are readily available both in newly restrung necklaces and in precious old settings. In Patthargatti's shops—some open to the hot city breeze, others crisply air-conditioned—the pearls most commonly sold today are the freshwater variety from China. Emeralds and rubies aside, however, Hyderabad does seem an odd city to be at the top of the pearl trade. The ocean is some 325 kilometers distant, and, commercially speaking, the city is a relative backwater compared to booming Mumbai and Bangalore. But any expert will tell you that Hyderabad's commercial position is due to "the high quality and low cost of labor." A visit to his processing centre confirms that behind almost every door in Patthargatti there are pearl sorters, drillers and stringers, each with hundreds of years of family experience.
So, after our brief trip to Charminar, Muzzafar took Tim and me to a jewelry store. I have always wanted to own a nice pearl necklace. And Tim needed to buy some to placate his wife because he's been gone 6 weeks! Muzzafar knew just the place, a store called Swati. I swear, I only intended to buy one single-stranded pearl necklace and I didn't want to spend more than $100. I have never really cared much for jewelry so I figured it would be easy.
I seriously underestimated the power of jewelry over a woman.
After over an hour of hard bargaining with the owner, I walked out of Swati a thoroughly satisfied customer. For less than his original asking price of the single-pearl necklace with the hanging diamond (pictured below), I got that necklace plus a double-strand of pearls plus a pair of earrings. Oh my gosh!!!! I am so happy!!!!
Trip to Charminar
Today began with a trip to Charminar, which is a landmark here in Hyderabad. It was kind of crazy. I guess the locals here aren't as used to tourists as they are, say, at the Taj Mahal. I went with my driver, Muzzafar, and another expat named Tim. The first time someone asked to take our pictures, Tim was like, "Wow! This is awesome! I'm famous!" But the novelty wore off quickly. We posed for a few pictures with people who asked. Then I had about 5 Indian guys surround me for a picture and that was kind of awkward. So after that I just pretended not to hear when people asked for "snaps"!
Here I am at the top of Charminar with a view of the city street below. Like my shirt? It's one that I got from Sakhi's sister! It's very comfortable!!!
The inside of the structure (picture taken from upstairs)
Yup, this is pretty much what traffic is like here. And no, I have not ridden in one of the little 3-wheeled cabs, nor do I intend to.
Here I am at the top of Charminar with a view of the city street below. Like my shirt? It's one that I got from Sakhi's sister! It's very comfortable!!!
The inside of the structure (picture taken from upstairs)
Yup, this is pretty much what traffic is like here. And no, I have not ridden in one of the little 3-wheeled cabs, nor do I intend to.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Trip to the Nehru Zoo
Sadly, there were no elephant rides at the zoo as promised. I will spare you all of the boring animal pictures that I took. There are just 2 post-worthy pictures.
1) Is this a potato tree? For the life of me I can't figure out what kind of tree this was. Yes, I know that potatoes do not grow on trees, but it sure looks like it.
2) Priceless.
1) Is this a potato tree? For the life of me I can't figure out what kind of tree this was. Yes, I know that potatoes do not grow on trees, but it sure looks like it.
2) Priceless.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Stay Tuned..
Tomorrow a big group is going to the zoo and I get to ride an ELEPHANT!!!!! Pictures coming soon!
Muzzafar is the man.
This is my driver, Muzzafar. He is awesome. He has been running errands for me this week and I didn't even ask him to do them, he just offers! Last night he explained to me that his work comes before everything. And geez, he means it. My first week here, he was driving several of us to dinner when he mentioned that his first child had been born that day... and he hadn't even seen him yet! So conversation with Muzzafar is always enlightening and gives me a glimpse into an entirely different culture. Just the other day he was asking about my family. Then he told me about his family. He has 3 sisters and 2 of them are married. He said the other one was "getting proposals, but they are asking too high a price."
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Two more!
Here are more pictures of the group from our weekend trip to Delhi/Agra.
L-R by name: Stuart, Courtney, Brian, Rebecca, Kinisha, Tim, Tarana
And L-R by home office... Los Angeles, Parsippany, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, and Jericho!
L-R by name: Stuart, Courtney, Brian, Rebecca, Kinisha, Tim, Tarana
And L-R by home office... Los Angeles, Parsippany, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, and Jericho!
Monday, October 22, 2007
All Byyyyy Myself...
Well, there were four, then three, then two, now one. Chris left Wednesday, Jon left Saturday, and Brian left tonight. Now it's just me! I'm feeling kind of lonely right now but I have a lot of work to do, and I put Fried Green Tomatoes on.
Before you feel TOO sorry for me, though, I'll remind you that there are several other expats who sit near me in the office. I also know a few others from the trip to Agra. I was invited to go to Bangalore next weekend with a group of 4, but it sounds like they are pretty much going there just to party. Plus, the following weekend I'll be in Germany and I don't really want 4 straight weekends of travel. It's too much. I would rather stay here in Hyderabad, sleep in, do some sightseeing and shopping, and get a lot of work done.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's only Monday...
Before you feel TOO sorry for me, though, I'll remind you that there are several other expats who sit near me in the office. I also know a few others from the trip to Agra. I was invited to go to Bangalore next weekend with a group of 4, but it sounds like they are pretty much going there just to party. Plus, the following weekend I'll be in Germany and I don't really want 4 straight weekends of travel. It's too much. I would rather stay here in Hyderabad, sleep in, do some sightseeing and shopping, and get a lot of work done.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's only Monday...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Taj Mahal!!
This weekend, a group of 7 of us from Deloitte made the trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It was a LOT of travelling, but I must say it was worth it! It's a 2-hour flight from Hyderabad to Delhi. In Delhi, a tour bus picked us up and drove us to Agra (about a 5-6 hour drive).
The negatives: I didn't sleep Friday night since I got back to the hotel at 1:30 and we had to leave for the airport at 4. Airport security seemed somewhat lax which was concerning. Waiting at the airport was annoying because people here cut in line all the time. The flight was cramped and people here don't generally use deodorant so I had to hold my nose a lot. I didn't eat anything but 2 Zone bars and a mini can of Pringles on Saturday until 7:30 pm. Our group got stared at a lot. And I felt gross and dirty after such a long weekend.
The positives: I got to know 5 new people at the firm and had a lot of fun with everyone. I saw monkeys, camels, elephants, and a mongoose. I experienced Indian McDonalds (instead of the McCurry, I chose the McChicken). This very sweet old security guard at the hotel in Agra gave me a personal tour of the grounds because he didn't want me the be alone outside at night, so I made a new friend there - and he called me a "VVIP" (one of the few things I understood). And of course, best of all... I GOT TO SEE THE TAJ MAHAL!!!!!!
The negatives: I didn't sleep Friday night since I got back to the hotel at 1:30 and we had to leave for the airport at 4. Airport security seemed somewhat lax which was concerning. Waiting at the airport was annoying because people here cut in line all the time. The flight was cramped and people here don't generally use deodorant so I had to hold my nose a lot. I didn't eat anything but 2 Zone bars and a mini can of Pringles on Saturday until 7:30 pm. Our group got stared at a lot. And I felt gross and dirty after such a long weekend.
The positives: I got to know 5 new people at the firm and had a lot of fun with everyone. I saw monkeys, camels, elephants, and a mongoose. I experienced Indian McDonalds (instead of the McCurry, I chose the McChicken). This very sweet old security guard at the hotel in Agra gave me a personal tour of the grounds because he didn't want me the be alone outside at night, so I made a new friend there - and he called me a "VVIP" (one of the few things I understood). And of course, best of all... I GOT TO SEE THE TAJ MAHAL!!!!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
End of Busy Season Party
Today we left work early to attend the tax end-of-busy-season party. Everyone got all dressed up in traditional Indian attire. It was so much fun! The evening began with dance and singing performances (all by Deloitte tax employees). Later there was dinner and several hours of dancing. Whoa, these Indians can DANCE!
I also got a temporary henna thing on my hand. I was told that's it's "auspicious" to have your husband's initial stenciled into the design, so if you look closely, you can see the "P" near my knuckle!
I also got a temporary henna thing on my hand. I was told that's it's "auspicious" to have your husband's initial stenciled into the design, so if you look closely, you can see the "P" near my knuckle!
Cultural differences
A few funny things I've noticed.
- I always wind up doing the awkward "hallway dance" when passing people in the office. I finally realized it's because I'm used to keeping to the right, but they drive on the left here, so naturally, they walk that way too.
- Here, the head signal for "yes" isn't the up-and-down nod that I'm used to. It's almost like shaking your head "no" but with a little more wobble to it, kind of like a bobble head doll! This really confused me at first because when I was ordering at the restaurants, I misinterpreted the waiters' head movements for disapproval of my menu choice.
- I've finally gotten used to all the honking in the streets but at first it startled me a lot because I thought there were so many near-accidents going on. Cars honk just to say "I'm here" and no one interprets that as being rude. They honk to say "I'm passing you". They honk to tell pedestrians they're coming up behind them. They honk when they pull out into oncoming traffic to say "watch out". They honk for just about everything except the buffalo.
- Men are much more "touchy" with each other but it doesn't mean anything. It's not unusual to see men walking arm in arm, holding hands, or dancing very close on the dance floor.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wanted: One Butler in Grand Prairie, TX
Seriously... I need one of these guys at home. This is how my laundry came back today! Pure awesomeness.
Take luck!
I must not be fully adjusted to the time change yet. I guess my brain is tired and the people here are going to start to think I am a complete idiot. Someone just said "thank you" to me and my response was "your problem". I was going to say "you're welcome" but then switched to "no problem" midway through the phrase. Brilliant.
And while I am posting such a random thought, I would also like to tell you, Dana, in case you are reading this, that I have met a man whom I shall henceforth refer to as "Indian Brent". I swear, your husband has an Indian twin. He works in the Mebaz store that I've been to twice. He is 100% Brent, except with black hair and dark skin, and maybe a little shorter. Poor guy must have been wondering why I kept staring at him the whole time I was in the store. The resemblence is just too funny. I felt too weird asking if I could take his picture, otherwise I would have posted it!
And while I am posting such a random thought, I would also like to tell you, Dana, in case you are reading this, that I have met a man whom I shall henceforth refer to as "Indian Brent". I swear, your husband has an Indian twin. He works in the Mebaz store that I've been to twice. He is 100% Brent, except with black hair and dark skin, and maybe a little shorter. Poor guy must have been wondering why I kept staring at him the whole time I was in the store. The resemblence is just too funny. I felt too weird asking if I could take his picture, otherwise I would have posted it!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Fun times at Snow World!
Courtney, Sakhi, Jon, Manjari, Charitha
Me on the go-cart course
The whole team before entering Snow World
Eskimo Courtney!
Me and Sakhi after riding the sledding merry-go-round
(I only posted the photos with me in them. If you want to see all of the pictures from yesterday, check out
http://picasaweb.google.com/courtneymoser/SnowWorld.)
Day 3: Still loving it
I am just loving this trip! I'm even getting used to the crazy way they drive here!
Yesterday was a long day. I guess I hadn't adjusted to the time change as well as I thought, because I went to sleep at 1:30 Monday night and woke up 3 hours later, and I'm talking 100% awake and ready to go! I tried staying in bed, watching TV, listening to my iPod, but nothing worked so I just got up, went to the gym, had breakfast, called Phil, and called my parents. Finally, 11:00 rolled around and I met my colleagues downstairs for lunch at the hotel. Then we went SHOPPING!!
The driver took us to Mebaz, which is an upscale clothing and accessories store. The women's section only had Indian dresses, so I bought certain gift items but I can't elaborate. I was jealous of the men's store, though. They make custom designer suits and it is a steal compared to prices in the US. Jon bought a pair of Armani pants for about $40!
Yesterday was a long day once we got to the office. At 2:00 I already felt that I had had a full day, but work had just started. In the evening I was a complete zombie. We got back to the hotel around midnight, though, and by then I was wide awake. I had to resort to the Ambien again.
This morning I got up early and my driver took me to Sakhi's house. Her sister, who is a designer, was sick, so Sakhi showed me all of the fabrics and I picked out a bunch of clothes. Sakhi's house is like a palace! It is gated and a servant opened the gates when I got there. She met me out front and we stepped inside on the marble floors and took an elevator upstairs. She took me to a room with all of the clothes and fabrics laid out and then yelled something in Hindi. Another servant came out and brought me a glass of water on a tray. I spent about an hour trying on clothes! Her sister's designs are amazing. I am getting one specially made salwar kameez in pink and white to wear to the party on Friday. I may not ever have occasion to wear it again (until I come back) but it is soooo pretty and comfortable too! I also bought a lot of tunic-type tops that I can wear at home. It was so much fun!
The room we were in had a large window overlooking the back lawn. I had a view of a gorgeous lawn. Two men were mowing it using one of those old push lawnmowers that look like a toddler’s toy (no motor). There were servants’ quarters tucked away at the back of the lawn behind some trees. I can’t imagine having servants who live on your grounds!
Today will be a short day at work. The whole team (10 of us) is going to Snow World and then to a nice dinner at the Marriott - which the expats tell me has an ice cream place like Marble Slab that's very good. Speaking of food, so far I'm not having any problems. The funny thing is that I'm not used to hesitating so much before trying things (specially things that SEEM familiar - because sometimes when you think you are getting something you like, it turns out to be VERY different than what you were expecting!)
Soon I will post pictures from today's activities!!
Yesterday was a long day. I guess I hadn't adjusted to the time change as well as I thought, because I went to sleep at 1:30 Monday night and woke up 3 hours later, and I'm talking 100% awake and ready to go! I tried staying in bed, watching TV, listening to my iPod, but nothing worked so I just got up, went to the gym, had breakfast, called Phil, and called my parents. Finally, 11:00 rolled around and I met my colleagues downstairs for lunch at the hotel. Then we went SHOPPING!!
The driver took us to Mebaz, which is an upscale clothing and accessories store. The women's section only had Indian dresses, so I bought certain gift items but I can't elaborate. I was jealous of the men's store, though. They make custom designer suits and it is a steal compared to prices in the US. Jon bought a pair of Armani pants for about $40!
Yesterday was a long day once we got to the office. At 2:00 I already felt that I had had a full day, but work had just started. In the evening I was a complete zombie. We got back to the hotel around midnight, though, and by then I was wide awake. I had to resort to the Ambien again.
This morning I got up early and my driver took me to Sakhi's house. Her sister, who is a designer, was sick, so Sakhi showed me all of the fabrics and I picked out a bunch of clothes. Sakhi's house is like a palace! It is gated and a servant opened the gates when I got there. She met me out front and we stepped inside on the marble floors and took an elevator upstairs. She took me to a room with all of the clothes and fabrics laid out and then yelled something in Hindi. Another servant came out and brought me a glass of water on a tray. I spent about an hour trying on clothes! Her sister's designs are amazing. I am getting one specially made salwar kameez in pink and white to wear to the party on Friday. I may not ever have occasion to wear it again (until I come back) but it is soooo pretty and comfortable too! I also bought a lot of tunic-type tops that I can wear at home. It was so much fun!
The room we were in had a large window overlooking the back lawn. I had a view of a gorgeous lawn. Two men were mowing it using one of those old push lawnmowers that look like a toddler’s toy (no motor). There were servants’ quarters tucked away at the back of the lawn behind some trees. I can’t imagine having servants who live on your grounds!
Today will be a short day at work. The whole team (10 of us) is going to Snow World and then to a nice dinner at the Marriott - which the expats tell me has an ice cream place like Marble Slab that's very good. Speaking of food, so far I'm not having any problems. The funny thing is that I'm not used to hesitating so much before trying things (specially things that SEEM familiar - because sometimes when you think you are getting something you like, it turns out to be VERY different than what you were expecting!)
Soon I will post pictures from today's activities!!
Monday, October 15, 2007
TV at 6:00 am
I only slept for 3 hours last night. I was flipping through the TV channels. Most of them are in English but there are some local channels too. I happened upon something like MTV and must admit I kind of liked the following music video... hey, it's catchy!!
Hyderabad: Day 1
Today started out with an 11:00 brunch meeting at the hotel. I met up with Chris, Brian, and Jon at we ate at the restaurant at the hotel. I went with a safe choice - pancakes - which were actually good. The syrup tasted fake, though. We left the for the office around noon. It was about a 25 minute drive, which was even crazier than the drive from the airport last night. If only I had a video camera to capture the madness that is Hyderabad traffic! I saw some goats walking by the side of the road, but by the time I pulled out my camera we had already passed them.
Local movie star - passed this on the way to the office
I suppose this is an internet cafe...?!
Thank goodness Coke is ubiquitous... yummy!
Once we got to the office, we signed in and met with the Paj, who is from India, but lived in Dallas for 11 years. I actually met him earlier this year at a lunch at Uncle Julio's in Dallas. Over the summer he accepted a 2-year assignment here in Hyderabad. He gave us a tour of the Deloitte buildings. There are 3 large buildings referred to as A, B, and C blocks. I work in B. At 2:00 our team members began arriving for work. They generally work from 2-11 pm India Standard time, so that they are online during some of the working hours in the US. We have 6 team members in my group in the Hyderabad office - 3 guys and 3 girls. They are all so nice! We spent a lot of time today just chatting. I have been working with Vinod and Santosh for almost 2 years, but today was the first time I met them in person!
On Friday, the entire Hyderabad tax practice is having a big "end of busy season" party to mark the end of the 10/15 deadline - which doesn't really apply to the work I do, but hey, a party sounds like fun to me. Because this is also around the time of the Indian festival Diwali, it is going to be a big affair where everyone wears traditional Indian dress. While I was talking with Sakhi, and I asked her where the best place to buy a sari would be so that I can wear traditional dress to the party. Sakhi mentioned that her sister is a designer and makes all kinds of clothes. She offered to pick me up on Wednesday morning and take me to meet her sister. I'm so excited - I'll be getting a custom-made traditional Indian sari.
After touring the facilities and meeting the team this afternoon, we 4 expats went to meet Ravi, who is the top tax partner here. We talked for almost an hour with him about the operations here and the unique challenges that this practice has faced. It was so interesting learning about how different cultural customs affect the workforce here. Family life plays a much bigger role here in someone's career decisions. For example, right before a woman gets married, she will sometimes quit her job because she thinks her in-laws would not approve of her working after the wedding. Parents are relied on heavily for career advice, so much so that the firm even has "parents days" where parents are invited to tour the facilities and meet with the HR department. Now I understand more about the girl I met last November in Orlando at training. She was from Hyderabad in the US on a 6-week rotation and she told me how homesick she was and that she cried every night because she missed her parents. At the time I thought it was a little strange, but now I understand their family bonds a little more.
By early evening I was starving. The 10 of us left for dinner at the Novotel hotel around 7:30. The Novotel is a gorgeous hotel in more of a modern style than the Taj Krishna. The restaurant was buffet-style, but when I say that, you can't picture it like an all-you can eat Chinese buffet or something like the Golden Corral - this place was really nice. The cuisine was mostly Indian, but there was a very large selection. I cautiously put a lot of little amounts of different foods on my plate. To my surprise, I liked most of it - even the spicy stuff. My favorites were the biryani (a Hyderabad specialty rice dish) and the nan (flat bread very similar to a tortilla). I also had some "chicken clear soup" which was basically like chicken broth with vegetables. For dessert I had some mango ice cream and a little taste of rice pudding.
After dinner we took a different route back to the office. I finally saw a traffic signal, and it's a good thing there was one, because it was at a CRAZY intersection. While we were stopped at the red light, two little boys no more than 5 years old walked right out into traffic and started rubbing the car with rags and begging for money. One of them even put his little hands up to the window and peered directly into the car. Then the light turned green, and the boys scampered back to the median where there mother was sitting nursing a baby. Our car sped off and my 3 coworkers acted as if they hadn't seen a thing.
Now I am back in my hotel room and it's just after midnight. I can hardly believe that in the span of just a few miles, you can have a 5-star hotel, people living in tents, the buildings of giant US companies, and little children begging in the streets. It is so different from everything I've ever known!
Local movie star - passed this on the way to the office
I suppose this is an internet cafe...?!
Thank goodness Coke is ubiquitous... yummy!
Once we got to the office, we signed in and met with the Paj, who is from India, but lived in Dallas for 11 years. I actually met him earlier this year at a lunch at Uncle Julio's in Dallas. Over the summer he accepted a 2-year assignment here in Hyderabad. He gave us a tour of the Deloitte buildings. There are 3 large buildings referred to as A, B, and C blocks. I work in B. At 2:00 our team members began arriving for work. They generally work from 2-11 pm India Standard time, so that they are online during some of the working hours in the US. We have 6 team members in my group in the Hyderabad office - 3 guys and 3 girls. They are all so nice! We spent a lot of time today just chatting. I have been working with Vinod and Santosh for almost 2 years, but today was the first time I met them in person!
On Friday, the entire Hyderabad tax practice is having a big "end of busy season" party to mark the end of the 10/15 deadline - which doesn't really apply to the work I do, but hey, a party sounds like fun to me. Because this is also around the time of the Indian festival Diwali, it is going to be a big affair where everyone wears traditional Indian dress. While I was talking with Sakhi, and I asked her where the best place to buy a sari would be so that I can wear traditional dress to the party. Sakhi mentioned that her sister is a designer and makes all kinds of clothes. She offered to pick me up on Wednesday morning and take me to meet her sister. I'm so excited - I'll be getting a custom-made traditional Indian sari.
After touring the facilities and meeting the team this afternoon, we 4 expats went to meet Ravi, who is the top tax partner here. We talked for almost an hour with him about the operations here and the unique challenges that this practice has faced. It was so interesting learning about how different cultural customs affect the workforce here. Family life plays a much bigger role here in someone's career decisions. For example, right before a woman gets married, she will sometimes quit her job because she thinks her in-laws would not approve of her working after the wedding. Parents are relied on heavily for career advice, so much so that the firm even has "parents days" where parents are invited to tour the facilities and meet with the HR department. Now I understand more about the girl I met last November in Orlando at training. She was from Hyderabad in the US on a 6-week rotation and she told me how homesick she was and that she cried every night because she missed her parents. At the time I thought it was a little strange, but now I understand their family bonds a little more.
By early evening I was starving. The 10 of us left for dinner at the Novotel hotel around 7:30. The Novotel is a gorgeous hotel in more of a modern style than the Taj Krishna. The restaurant was buffet-style, but when I say that, you can't picture it like an all-you can eat Chinese buffet or something like the Golden Corral - this place was really nice. The cuisine was mostly Indian, but there was a very large selection. I cautiously put a lot of little amounts of different foods on my plate. To my surprise, I liked most of it - even the spicy stuff. My favorites were the biryani (a Hyderabad specialty rice dish) and the nan (flat bread very similar to a tortilla). I also had some "chicken clear soup" which was basically like chicken broth with vegetables. For dessert I had some mango ice cream and a little taste of rice pudding.
After dinner we took a different route back to the office. I finally saw a traffic signal, and it's a good thing there was one, because it was at a CRAZY intersection. While we were stopped at the red light, two little boys no more than 5 years old walked right out into traffic and started rubbing the car with rags and begging for money. One of them even put his little hands up to the window and peered directly into the car. Then the light turned green, and the boys scampered back to the median where there mother was sitting nursing a baby. Our car sped off and my 3 coworkers acted as if they hadn't seen a thing.
Now I am back in my hotel room and it's just after midnight. I can hardly believe that in the span of just a few miles, you can have a 5-star hotel, people living in tents, the buildings of giant US companies, and little children begging in the streets. It is so different from everything I've ever known!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
COURT IS IN INDIA!!!
Wow. This has been a LONG trip. I finally landed in Hyderabad a few hours ago and I'm not very tired yet, so I just took a sleeping pill - we'll see how long this blog can last!. The Taj Krishna is very nice... and I have a butler! I think I will enjoy my stay here.
The rest of Hyderabad, as far as I could tell in the dark, is not very nice. It's different than anything I've ever seen before. The craziest thing is that I haven't seen a single traffic light. Traffic is madness (and that was at midnight - who knows what it's like during the day)! Honking serves as the main form of traffic signalling. It's just nuts. Also, I saw a man sleeping by the side of the road, cuddled up with rocks!
But.... It's almost 2 am here and I have to get up around 9 if I want to work out. And the sleeping pill I swallowed about 5 minutes ago has suddenly made me dizzy and tired! So I'm posting these pics and signing off.
Let me just post these room photos and I'll hopping in bed to watch HBO.
Happy Birthday to Phil from Frankfurt!
Today is my handsome husband's 27th birthday!! Our Sunday school class is having a breakfast brunch to celebrate the birthdays of Phil, Dale, and Elon. So even though I can't be there, I know he'll at least get a good hot breakfast (yummy brunch casserole courtesy of sweet Dana). As the Mom Song reminds us, of course, breakfast is the most important part of the day!
For the past couple of days I have been very sad/nervous and not wanting to leave. But once I was finally packed, I started to feel better. Friday night, I surprised Phil with a birthday dinner at Nick & Sam's - our FAVORITE steakhouse. Then we stopped at the West Village for some Paciugo ice cream and wandered around for a while. It was a great date night!
Yesterday morning we woke up early and went out to the dam over Joe Pool Lake. It was the most beautiful, cool, and breezy morning. I had to run for 1 hour for my half-marathon training program, so Phil ran along with me. Then we went home and made a great big breakfast, ran a quick errand... and suddenly it was time to leave!
I got to DFW really early, but that was fine because I was given access to the Lufthansa club lounge. It was a nice quiet place to talk on the phone, watch the planes landing and taking off, and have some free drinks and snacks.
The flight was pretty good. It was about a 9.5 hour trip. I was allowed to book a "business class" ticket which I assumed had a little more leg room than coach, but not as comfy or well-serviced as first. But I was wrong! On this flight, there was no "first class". Business class had lie-flat seats and feather pillows and personal entertainment systems. (I watched "Premonition" and "Because I Said So" - both only average. I give them sideways thumbs.) We had cocktails, hors d'œuvres, a salad, an entree, and dessert. Altogether pretty nice.
We landed in Frankfurt as the sun was coming up. They bused us from the plane to the airport so I could tell that it was pretty cool outside. And there were tons of cute little German women wearing cowgirl hats, cowgirl boots, rhinestones, and carrying hot pink Mary Kay bags. I had a broken conversation with the girl sitting next to me and I guess there was some sort of international Mary Kay convention in Dallas last week.
So now I'm just sitting here in the lounge with another 30 minutes to kill. My next flight will be another 9 or 10 hours from here to Hyderabad. Once I land in Hyderabad around 11 pm local time, a driver will be taking me to my hotel, the Taj Krishna. I'm not too worried about jet lag. I don't have to be in the office until 2 pm on Monday. And I have Ambien!
Sorry there are no pictures yet....
For the past couple of days I have been very sad/nervous and not wanting to leave. But once I was finally packed, I started to feel better. Friday night, I surprised Phil with a birthday dinner at Nick & Sam's - our FAVORITE steakhouse. Then we stopped at the West Village for some Paciugo ice cream and wandered around for a while. It was a great date night!
Yesterday morning we woke up early and went out to the dam over Joe Pool Lake. It was the most beautiful, cool, and breezy morning. I had to run for 1 hour for my half-marathon training program, so Phil ran along with me. Then we went home and made a great big breakfast, ran a quick errand... and suddenly it was time to leave!
I got to DFW really early, but that was fine because I was given access to the Lufthansa club lounge. It was a nice quiet place to talk on the phone, watch the planes landing and taking off, and have some free drinks and snacks.
The flight was pretty good. It was about a 9.5 hour trip. I was allowed to book a "business class" ticket which I assumed had a little more leg room than coach, but not as comfy or well-serviced as first. But I was wrong! On this flight, there was no "first class". Business class had lie-flat seats and feather pillows and personal entertainment systems. (I watched "Premonition" and "Because I Said So" - both only average. I give them sideways thumbs.) We had cocktails, hors d'œuvres, a salad, an entree, and dessert. Altogether pretty nice.
We landed in Frankfurt as the sun was coming up. They bused us from the plane to the airport so I could tell that it was pretty cool outside. And there were tons of cute little German women wearing cowgirl hats, cowgirl boots, rhinestones, and carrying hot pink Mary Kay bags. I had a broken conversation with the girl sitting next to me and I guess there was some sort of international Mary Kay convention in Dallas last week.
So now I'm just sitting here in the lounge with another 30 minutes to kill. My next flight will be another 9 or 10 hours from here to Hyderabad. Once I land in Hyderabad around 11 pm local time, a driver will be taking me to my hotel, the Taj Krishna. I'm not too worried about jet lag. I don't have to be in the office until 2 pm on Monday. And I have Ambien!
Sorry there are no pictures yet....
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Gluttony: A Pug's Favorite Deadly Sin
The problem with our automatic pet feeders is that occasionally the pugs hit the jackpot. This happens when they push the unit around enough until it bumps the timer on the wall. If they bump it just right, they can change the button from "auto" to "on" ("auto" allows the timer to run, whereas "on" will allow food to dispense continually until you hit the button again to "off").
Today I can home to discover what pigs my pugs are. They gorged themselves until they could eat no more. And the darn feeder just kept dispensing more food!
Time to reconfigure the set-up.
Today I can home to discover what pigs my pugs are. They gorged themselves until they could eat no more. And the darn feeder just kept dispensing more food!
Time to reconfigure the set-up.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Countdown to the big trip...
Only 5 days left until I leave. I am excited and also a little nervous. Among the random advice I've gotten from my colleagues who have been to Hyderabad...
- Bring chocolate for your training sessions - they love American chocolate. (So I bought $100 of chocolates and Halloween candy at Costco this weekend.)
- Don't calculate tips by converting what you'd normally tip in USD to rupees, because you will probably wind up "tipping" in the amount of someone's weekly salary (I say why not? I like to be liked!)
- Bring any clothes you like because "they can make any clothes that you want here if they have an example." (Hmm. I will have to think about what clothes I want cloned.)
- Be careful about eating fruits & vegetables. (This is going to be the hard part. I'm not sure if I'll like Indian food, so if I can't default to eating plain fruits and vegetables, what am I going to eat?? I have a huge box of Zone Perfect bars packed just in case.)
Anyway, I think I have all the last-minute things in order. On Friday I got my second round of hepatitis shots. This weekend I shopped for all the medication I could possibly need. My visa is coming in today's mail. I am starting my anti-malarial medication on Thursday. I still have to finish putting all of my powerpoint slides together, but I'm going to save some of that work for the 20ish hours I'll be stuck on a plane.
Let's hope I'm not forgetting anything!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
More Waves to Wine photos!
Here are some more photos from the Waves to Wine bike tour last weekend. Also notice that I put a Hyderabad clock on the left side of the page! I am leaving in just 1 week & 2 days. The time difference (from Dallas) is 10.5 hours. After daylight savings time ends in the US, the difference will be 11.5 hours. Why the extra 30 minutes? I have no idea.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Duets with God
I am a Christian and so I appreciate Godly messages in the filthy world we live in. But I am also a firm believer in the power of the spell checker, especially before you pay for custom printing that you intend to display to the entire Metroplex.
You have to click the picture to see it. It says "One God - Duet 6:4".
You have to click the picture to see it. It says "One God - Duet 6:4".
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Weekend in San Francisco
Yesterday I got back from the Waves to Wine MS 150 cycling tour. What an amazing weekend! I almost didn't go, because I had been sick for about 2 weeks with a bad cough. I hardly trained for the event at all, so I knew it would be tough. (Good thing that I didn't know just how tough!)
On day 1, we rode 77 very difficult miles. We started in San Francisco at AT&T Park, headed over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito, which was painfully hilly. Then we rode out HWY 1 to Stinson Beach. The views of the Pacific were amazing!! The day ended at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park. What a day - I was exhausted! We climbed over 7500 vertical feet!
On day 2, we left from Rohnert Park with the temperatures in the mid-40's. My fingers and toes were numb for about the first 45 minutes, but once the sun came out, it was warm and beautiful. We wound around to Healdsburg on gentle hills through beautiful rural countryside and vineyards. We finished near Lake Sonoma, at the end of Dry Creek Road in the heart of wine country. We covered about 73 miles.
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