It's sad...

when I turn on the TV and am looking for wrestling! That's what kind of TV options I have here. It's either really cheesy Hindi movies that I don't understand, HBO showing old American movies (but with commercials), laaaame music videos, cricket, or wrestling. I was actually pretty excited to watch some woman's badminton doubles last night!

Monsoon Season

I haven't really been able to get out and do much the past few days for a couple of reasons:

1. I've been working like crazy (very unfortunate)
2. It's POURED down rain almost everyday

You think traffic is bad when it rains in the US? WOW...you can't get around at all here between all the traffic and flooding roads, so I've spent a lot of time at the Guest House with Money Money this weekend.

India Outpatient Care

Well, you know me...I can't go too long without having some kind of injury. Last Sunday I ended up pulling a tendon in the bottom of my foot running, and by Monday morning, I couldn't put any weight on it. After 3 days of that, Jaydeep (big wig at FGS) insisted that Maneesh take me to the outpatient part of the local hospital. Most of our morning was spent experiencing health care in India, which was really about the same as in the US. We waited forever, spent a total of 10 minutes with the doctor, etc etc. They did have me go to 3 mornings of physiotherapy which really helped a lot. As of now, I'm walking around fine with minor pain...much better than last weekend!

Sunday Brunch

Money Money decided to make me a typical meal from southern India today for lunch. I was shocked - I'm not a fan of Indian food flavors for the most part but this was very good!!

Mr. Brave - My Driver

My driver's name means "brave" in english, so I call him Mr. Brave.

Baby On Board!!

I think the safety rules are a little different here...and we gave Britney Spears a hard time!

Google Maps...

I created a custom map that shows some of the places that I frequent when I'm over here. I hope you can get some sense of where I am!

Successful Shopping Day

I spent most of my Saturday shopping in downtown Delhi. My first stop was the Cottage Emporium, a place I know well from the last time I was here. It's a government-run market where everything is fixed priced. I wasn't going to really buy anything, but I wanted to scope it out to prepare for Jennie to be here. :-)

After about an hour there, I went to Connaught Place to pay a visit to Vedi Tailors of Rangoon (where I got my tailored suits/shirts last time). We chatted it up for a while, and I ordered 3 more shirts. I'm planning on picking up a couple pairs of dress pants while I'm here, but I'm waiting for Jennie so we can have the fabric-shopping experience together.

From Vedi's, I walked across the street to the Embassy Restaurant for an Indian lunch. I had been there before and really liked the food last time, so I paid it a return visit. All the same waiters were still working there, and we shot the breeze for a while after I ate. A lot of tourists come to this area because it's the most famous shopping joint in Delhi, so I saw a lot of Europeans and a couple Americans eating as well.

The most exciting thing I discovered while eating was a place that makes custom dress shoes! One of the waiters told me about it, so I went there straight from lunch. I've never been able to wear shoes with no laces because my feet are so weird, so I was looking forward to making that small dream a reality. :-) There are a ton of different styled shoes there, and if they don't have what you want, you can bring in a picture of something you like and they will make it. I found a loafer I wanted, so here's how it works:

You take off your shoes and stand (one foot at a time) on a piece of paper. The guy traces an outline of your foot and then takes a couple key measurements around different parts of each foot. After that's done, they give you a big book that has a ton of different styles/colors of leather. You pick that out and that's it! My first shoe fitting is in 3 weeks, and they will alter them accordingly after that. Pretty cool huh?

Can Someone Explain This?

I noticed an interesting nuance in the culture here with regards to taxes. You can order beer, wine, cocktails, etc just like home. There are also virgin drinks, and they call them "mocktails" (still makes me laugh). All alcoholic beverages here have a 12.5% tax on them, but it also applies to mocktails...what up with that??

The India Movie-Going Experience

I saw a matinee of The Dark Knight yesterday at the Spice World mall in Noida and noticed some key differences in the movie-going experience compared to the US. There is a security check to get into the mall itself (metal detector/pat down/etc) which is standard style over here. What I didn't know is that there is another security check to get into the theater, and there are absolutely no cameras allowed. I had to call Mr. Brave (my driver), run out there, give my camera to him, and run back up (5th floor).

There are two different prices for matinees. It took me a second to realize why...all movies here are assigned seating! The funny part is the price difference in US dollars is less than 25 cents for the different seat locations, so I asked for the best seat they had...it set me back a whoppin' $2.50.

The theater itself is extremely nice - great sound, the seats recline waaaaay back, people are courteous. The biggest difference to back home came about 90 minutes in, where, right after a scene ended, the movie stopped! Everyone got up, went outside, used the restroom, hit the concession stand etc. I found out later that movies here are typically very long, so they all have an intermission. I followed suit and rolled to the concession stand to get a snack...

It's set up just like an american theater, but it's all veg (double "burgers", fake hot dogs spinning on the heated rollers like at a 7-eleven, nachos, candy, etc). I ordered a small popcorn for 45 rupees (about a dollar). She offered me to upsize it for "only 10 rupees more". I shook my head "no" but forgot that that means "yes" here, so they got me a large! This was a typical confusing experience but very entertaining. I told her I only wanted a small, and she turned around and yelled at the guy for doing the wrong thing! Very funny stuff...

A Sense of Normalcy

After the recent passing of our dog Kobi, I felt it necessary for me to try and find some sort of comfort level while in India. I decided to have the most all-american afternoon that I could. Here were the highlights (I think I did alright):

• Wandered around the mall
• Ate lunch at Pizza Hut - Bon Jovi's greatest hits was playing on the loudspeakers
  
• Had a vanilla ice cream cone
• Watched "The Dark Knight" and had a bag of popcorn

Not bad for being in Noida huh? :-)

A Dinner Date

Sorry these posts are becoming all about eating...about all I'm doing is working, eating, and sleeping at this point. Today was my second day in a row eating the Indian Cafeteria food, and I'm surprised that I'm not hating life yet. I'm getting a steady dose of flat bread, lentils, and rice. Tonight Money Money surprised me with a little home cooked meal. He made a big spicy noodle dish that was really tasty and will be my lunch tomorrow (a break from lentils). I'm hoping to get over to the mall after work and get some gift buying and preliminary fabric shopping in. I hope tomorrow brings a more interesting post!

"Hungry Kya?"

I finally (after 4 days) bit the bullet and ordered Domino's delivery at the guest house - "real pork" pepperoni and mushrooms. That, a glass of wine, and a side of WWE wrestling...not a bad night in India.

A Common Bond

Maneesh, Dalvir and I went to a place called Pearls Regency for lunch today. Most of our conversation centered around WWE wrestling because it was playing on the big flat screen TV in the restaurant. Dalvir knew more about it than me!

Everyone Needs a Superhero

After reading the Sunday paper, I discovered where the Indian Superman lives (I can't believe this isn't a joke)

View From the Balcony

Here's a view of the complex from the Guest House balcony

Jet Lag

Today has been pretty rough...I'm really struggling to get used to the time change. I powered through yesterday but ended up staying awake most of last night and have slept off and on all afternoon. It could be ugly at work tomorrow. On a positive note, the bowels are holding steady so far. Is 5 weeks without a case of Delhi Belly too much to ask? We'll see...

Important Business Meeting

So when a couple of business guys get together for an important meeting and order a drink, I expect something like scotch, bourbon, whiskey, etc (a real "man's" drink). Well, these 2 Indian guys roll into the restaurant and look like they're going over some important business. Here's what they ordered: chocolate milk with a straw.

The Electrified Tennis Racket

For those of you who don't know this, in the Radisson Hotel restaurant, there's an employee who's only task is to walk around with this mini electrified tennis racket and try to kill flies if he sees them. Last year, I stayed in that hotel for a month and never saw him kill anything (he must've been doing a good job). I stopped in for a drink today and saw him actually kill something in the first 5 minutes!! Amazing...

They knew I was coming

As soon as I walked into a department store today, "Heaven" by Warrant came on the loudspeakers...fantastic!

Sbarro

There's a Sbarro in the mall that I went to today. There's a huge sign right outside the restaurant that says "Come to Sbarro - located on the third floor". So odd...

Comment from the Driver

We're driving into the main shopping area in Noida (Sector 18) today. My driver asks me what country I'm from, and I tell him the United States. His comment:

"Oh, so the traffic there is the same as here..." (as we pass 5 motorized rickshaws, a herd of cattle, 3 goats, and completely run a red light)

Random Tidbit

The power went off 4 times in 2 hours at the Guest House today...this is very familiar to the last time I was here.

Servants...

After the gym, I head back up to the Guest House. Money Money had unpacked and put away all my things and was ironing all my work clothes! Uhh...huh huh...servants are cool. :-)

I Need Water

I hit the gym this afternoon for a quick workout. There wasn't AC and it was humid as all hell. I asked the guy if there was a water cooler or fountain, and he pointed outside and around the corner. I go out there and see a standard water cooler but no cups. I head back inside and ask the guy if there are cups, and he says "no, you're supposed to use your hands". Love it...

The Pool - Wish I Was There

So it's really hot and humid here...perfect for an afternoon at the pool. I go work out and am ready to cool off and get some sun. One problem - the pool is closed from noon until 6pm on weekends! WTF!!

"It's Different"

Here was my first breakfast at the Guest House:

Cereal & Milk
Coffee
2 Spring Rolls
Ketchup

The slogan of the Maggi brand ketchup here is "It's Different"...that would sum things up so far.

Welcome back to India!