I used to speak English... but now I speak Hindi :-)
Mayn khana khata tha aab mayn ni kathee hun.
I used to eat... but now I don't eat.
Okay, that's an exaggeration. But my Hindi vocabulary is still pretty limited!
This week has been a blur of quizzes and group projects. I am not a fan of group projects here, but we seemed to have had the last of group presentations this week! At least until October...
No new adventures to really report on, because my life has been sitting in a classroom for 6-8 hours and then sitting in the hostel for the rest of the waking hours. I did get a package in the mail this week with more food! So yeah for that! It took a while to get here... the Indian regular mail service is not very reliable. But it came, and that's all that matters. Thanks so much to all of you that have been sending cards. They are VERY much appreciated and brighten up my day. I hope everyone doesn't get tired of sending cards so that by the time November/December rolls around I have no mail calls. The guards know my name now and promptly hand me my mail as I walk back into the hostel! All the other girls are jealous.
Health wise... no updates. Which is unfortunate. But I am still surviving, so I can't ask for much more.
Funny story of the week. The dates here follow the European format. Example, today, August 31st would be written 31/8/07. One of my classmates, Colin, wrote his birthday down in American style as 3/8/??. Well this was misinterpreted as his birthday being August 3rd. Well the professors at Welingkar felt horrible for missing his birthday! They sent him a belated birthday ecard that was pretty precious and then celebrated his birthday two days ago with a impromptu ceremony and birthday cake. It was ironic because it was Stella's birthday (for real), so they had a cake made that said "Happy Birthday Stella and Colin." Of course, at this point you can't correct them. Colin had tried to tell Sucheeta (our coordinator) that his birthday was March 8th... but the message didn't stick. Needless to say, we told Colin we are officially not recognizing his birthday in March. So tomorrow night we are going out to celebrate Stella (and Colin's apparently) birthday!
The monsoon seemed like it had eased up for a few days, but is now back with a passion. We have three more weeks of classes then exams and then my much anticipated beach resort stay in Goa.
Check out the picture website, I added some pictures to "Mumbai Moments" of my favorite neighborhood cow :-) http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld.
Hopefully something worthwhile will happen that I can write about later. For now I just continue to count down the days 'til Mom (42) and Home (110). I continue to look for food to eat and ways to combat my growing rash. What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger :-)
Visitors and Cards Welcome!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
And the world keeps turning...
Not much new to report. I have been feeling very ill for the last two days so I have had to take it easy. I might have overdone it on Sunday with all my physical activity balanced with low caloric intake. Hopefully I get through this and find some things to eat again.
Classes are very busy this week, with an assignment or test in every single class. We also have class on Saturday again, and a test. No fair!
I booked a hotel for Goa at the end of September, and have opted to stay at the Marriott Beach Resort. No one else wanted to spend the money to stay there, but I think I'll look forward to having some alone time pool side with a good book! And this can be another experience to add to my independence... eating alone at a restaurant, and soon, staying alone at a lovely beach resort.
There's no shortage of lessons to be learned from India. I just wish they weren't such painful lessons.
Will write more when the body cooperates.
Classes are very busy this week, with an assignment or test in every single class. We also have class on Saturday again, and a test. No fair!
I booked a hotel for Goa at the end of September, and have opted to stay at the Marriott Beach Resort. No one else wanted to spend the money to stay there, but I think I'll look forward to having some alone time pool side with a good book! And this can be another experience to add to my independence... eating alone at a restaurant, and soon, staying alone at a lovely beach resort.
There's no shortage of lessons to be learned from India. I just wish they weren't such painful lessons.
Will write more when the body cooperates.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sanjay Gandhi National Park... A land of possibility?
My adventure today was a trip to Sanjay Gandhi National Park with fellow IMBA-ers, Rachel, Mike, Mark, and Nicholai. Our morning started early at 7:45 am. After a quick bite to eat we headed to the train station to embark on our first ever Indian train ride. An experience in and of itself. We opted for 2nd Class instead of 1st Class tickets (not my choice) because of a Rps 50 price difference. Luckily for Rachel and I we were able to take advantage of the Ladies Only car. This didn't make much of a difference. The trains here in Mumbai are packed! Even on a Sunday (which is the "not crowded" day in locals' eyes). The train stops at each station for approximately 5 seconds, long enough for a huge crowd to hop off and another to shove itself on. I have never been in such a crowded train... with people hanging off the side of the car. The trains are responsible for 1,000 deaths a year.
We finally did arrive! At the train station we attempted to catch a taxi to The Kharini Caves. All the taxis wanted to charge us Rps 600!! No thank you. We caught an auto rickshaw (a three wheeled glorified bike that runs on a diesel lawn mower engine) to the gate of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and then from inside got on a bus that took us to the caves. The caves dated back to 1 B.C. and there are 109 caves that were once occupied by monks. The caves rest high above Mumbai and are amazing feats of architecture. But talk about a lot of hiking!! We kept going up and up and up... and it was humid, so we kept sweating and sweating and sweating. A lot of locals inhabit the National Park and use the natural springs for bathing. The park is absolutely covered in trash, which is a shame, because with a few strategically placed trash cans and some natural preservation, the park could be breathtaking. Instead I found it filthy, muddy, and hot (well the heat wasn't its fault... it was Mumbai's). In fact, at one point Nic tried to find a trash can and one of the guards offered to take his trash, and promptly threw it on the ground outside these historical caves. So sad. After a few hours of hiking and exploring caves, we were off to find the Lion and Tiger Safari.
We discovered we had an hour to kill before the next Safari we opted to ride the "mini train" through the park. We missed the first train because there was no way we would all fit, so we sat around the station people watching for a little bit. Rachel took some pictures of some really cute kids, who were very excited to see their picture on the back of her camera afterwards. At this point in the day we were truly exhausted. After the train ride we headed back to the Safari but opted to skip out due to crowds. We were also pretty sure their version of a Safari was a glorified ride through a poorly constructed and maintained zoo (based on the conditions we found the leopard in... pretty sure the leopard wanted to end its misery).
We then made our way back to the entrance of the park via auto rickshaw... there were 7 of us in the auto rickshaw (the driver and driver's friend plus all 5 of us). Mark sat on my lap so he could fit, and I'm pretty sure it's a hilarious picture... I am trying to track it down. We then took another auto rickshaw into Sion (that's as far South as they are allowed, they are not allowed in the city) and it was a pretty wretched drive. Not only does an auto rickshaw not have much protection from the pollution without doors or windows, it also is a bumpy ride (kind of like an un-oiled old wooden coaster). Once we hit Sion, we took a cab back to Matunga. As soon as I got back to the hostel, I enjoyed a cold shower and actually looked forward to the bathroom here. You'll have to check out the pictures to see why.
The park was pretty crowded, and at various points we had a lot of little kids following us around trying to sell us chips, water, or unsanitary fruits and vegetables. We also had a lot of people calling out to us and trying to talk to us. I'm kind of miss the anonymity of walking down the street... with no one noticing your presence. Granted, I might have been asking for it, cause shortly after the cave hiking I took my cardigan off and did have a tank top on... but there were still a handful of westerners with less clothing on than me. But it's pretty exhausting and gives me a headache to deal with. Even at the train station, I felt surrounded at one point by a group of men just staring at Rachel and I. I am guessing no tourists ride the trains... and now I know why.
The highlight of the day was the monkeys!! Granted at one time I thought the monkeys were ganging up on me and going to attack me. I did have a protein bar with me (since I knew food would be hard to come by)... but I don't think the monkeys knew that. They were all over the caves and pretty precious. I'll post a video of a cute little monkey couple... couldn't decide if they were best friends or just courting... but one jumped in the water! I have a lot of monkey pictures actually... but I couldn't help it, they kept doing cute stuff.
Lots of new pictures are up from the day! http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld and more will be added in the week as I get pictures from others. So check back :-)
Train ride to Boliveri: Rps 10
Auto rickshaw ride for 1 km: Rps 10
Entrance Fee at Park: Rps 20
Ride up to Cave: Rps 20
Admit Fee to Caves: Rps 100
Cold bottle of water: Rps 15
Mini Train Ride: Rps 15
Auto rickshaw ride down from Mini Train: Rps 40
Auto rickshaw ride to Sion: Rps 100
Taxi ride to Matunga: Rps 35
Spending a sweaty humid day with a moment of peace at the top of a mountain: Priceless
(All in all, the day cost Rps 365... so... less than $10.00)
We finally did arrive! At the train station we attempted to catch a taxi to The Kharini Caves. All the taxis wanted to charge us Rps 600!! No thank you. We caught an auto rickshaw (a three wheeled glorified bike that runs on a diesel lawn mower engine) to the gate of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and then from inside got on a bus that took us to the caves. The caves dated back to 1 B.C. and there are 109 caves that were once occupied by monks. The caves rest high above Mumbai and are amazing feats of architecture. But talk about a lot of hiking!! We kept going up and up and up... and it was humid, so we kept sweating and sweating and sweating. A lot of locals inhabit the National Park and use the natural springs for bathing. The park is absolutely covered in trash, which is a shame, because with a few strategically placed trash cans and some natural preservation, the park could be breathtaking. Instead I found it filthy, muddy, and hot (well the heat wasn't its fault... it was Mumbai's). In fact, at one point Nic tried to find a trash can and one of the guards offered to take his trash, and promptly threw it on the ground outside these historical caves. So sad. After a few hours of hiking and exploring caves, we were off to find the Lion and Tiger Safari.
We discovered we had an hour to kill before the next Safari we opted to ride the "mini train" through the park. We missed the first train because there was no way we would all fit, so we sat around the station people watching for a little bit. Rachel took some pictures of some really cute kids, who were very excited to see their picture on the back of her camera afterwards. At this point in the day we were truly exhausted. After the train ride we headed back to the Safari but opted to skip out due to crowds. We were also pretty sure their version of a Safari was a glorified ride through a poorly constructed and maintained zoo (based on the conditions we found the leopard in... pretty sure the leopard wanted to end its misery).
We then made our way back to the entrance of the park via auto rickshaw... there were 7 of us in the auto rickshaw (the driver and driver's friend plus all 5 of us). Mark sat on my lap so he could fit, and I'm pretty sure it's a hilarious picture... I am trying to track it down. We then took another auto rickshaw into Sion (that's as far South as they are allowed, they are not allowed in the city) and it was a pretty wretched drive. Not only does an auto rickshaw not have much protection from the pollution without doors or windows, it also is a bumpy ride (kind of like an un-oiled old wooden coaster). Once we hit Sion, we took a cab back to Matunga. As soon as I got back to the hostel, I enjoyed a cold shower and actually looked forward to the bathroom here. You'll have to check out the pictures to see why.
The park was pretty crowded, and at various points we had a lot of little kids following us around trying to sell us chips, water, or unsanitary fruits and vegetables. We also had a lot of people calling out to us and trying to talk to us. I'm kind of miss the anonymity of walking down the street... with no one noticing your presence. Granted, I might have been asking for it, cause shortly after the cave hiking I took my cardigan off and did have a tank top on... but there were still a handful of westerners with less clothing on than me. But it's pretty exhausting and gives me a headache to deal with. Even at the train station, I felt surrounded at one point by a group of men just staring at Rachel and I. I am guessing no tourists ride the trains... and now I know why.
The highlight of the day was the monkeys!! Granted at one time I thought the monkeys were ganging up on me and going to attack me. I did have a protein bar with me (since I knew food would be hard to come by)... but I don't think the monkeys knew that. They were all over the caves and pretty precious. I'll post a video of a cute little monkey couple... couldn't decide if they were best friends or just courting... but one jumped in the water! I have a lot of monkey pictures actually... but I couldn't help it, they kept doing cute stuff.
Lots of new pictures are up from the day! http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld and more will be added in the week as I get pictures from others. So check back :-)
Train ride to Boliveri: Rps 10
Auto rickshaw ride for 1 km: Rps 10
Entrance Fee at Park: Rps 20
Ride up to Cave: Rps 20
Admit Fee to Caves: Rps 100
Cold bottle of water: Rps 15
Mini Train Ride: Rps 15
Auto rickshaw ride down from Mini Train: Rps 40
Auto rickshaw ride to Sion: Rps 100
Taxi ride to Matunga: Rps 35
Spending a sweaty humid day with a moment of peace at the top of a mountain: Priceless
(All in all, the day cost Rps 365... so... less than $10.00)
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A night of mixed emotions...
By now you have gathered that the sights, sounds, and smells of Mumbai are often overwhelming and unpleasant. But Mumbai by moonlight is even more disheartening. You pass through slums which are the equivalent of tarps covering portions of sidewalk a family has claimed as their own in a society where space is limited and proper homes coveted. It is not an uncommon sight to see small, half clothed children curled up in the mother's lap underneath a busy highway overpass. They don't even know better, and have no idea that they've lost their dignity, since they never had it. I complain about my rock hard mattress... they spread newspaper down on the sidewalk and sleep peacefully at the edge of uncoming chaotic traffic.
But tonight, I experienced the violent side of Mumbai. I was on my way to a restaurant in Bandra in search of some edible food that my digestive system would allow (I have the digestive system of a skeleton). I was on the main road, right here in Matunga, Napuu and we witnessed a fist fight. This fist fight ended with a man being pushed to the ground, in front of traffic. Luckily traffic stopped in time for his life to be spared, but the conflict was not over. There was some sort of disagreement between a taxi driver and this same, fallen man. The taxi started to drive off as the man got up to his feet. He grabbed on to the side of the taxi, as the taxi sped off. It was the most horrific sight as this man was dragged by the taxi for fifty yards. Finally the man could hold on no longer and dropped to the ground. Once again, luckily traffic stopped in time... we think. He was lifeless on the ground, but after a few moments sat up with the help of some onlookers. But we did not see him move his legs. The worst part of this whole ordeal, which left me feeling ill in a way not caused by bad food, was no one reacted. No one ran up to this man, shocked and horrified the way that I was. They just leisurely walked up and watched. Is it that Mumbai is too crowded, a single life has lost its value?
Needless to say, this was an unpleasant trip off to Bandra, and the taxi ride void of any conversation. Our taxi then got a flat tire, so we had to find another cab in the midst of a busy intersection. Every time I cross the road here, I feel as if I am taking my own life in my hands and just pray to make it to the other side. Because of the chaos, you often have to stop in the middle to wait for the other side to stop. The feeling of cars coming within inches of you on both sides is unsettling to say the least.
We made it to the restaurant. I was quiet all through dinner, but despite the events earlier in the evening I had a very pleasant meal. It was a Far Eastern restaurant, but had a very well rounded menu. A really fun atmosphere with the bathrooms located in giant wooden eggs (pictures to come). I had a wonderful appetizer of asparagus wrapped in wonton dough and drizzled with a creamy lemon cheese sauce, and for my main course a zuchinni and parmesan encrusted chicken with rice pilaf and vegetables. Dinner was great.... but didn't last long :-/
I'm hoping to quiet my mind now, and get the ugly image of Mumbai that was burned into my head tonight out of my mind. I have an early morning to head to Sanjay Gandhi National Park tomorrow for some cave exploring and safaring.
But tonight, I experienced the violent side of Mumbai. I was on my way to a restaurant in Bandra in search of some edible food that my digestive system would allow (I have the digestive system of a skeleton). I was on the main road, right here in Matunga, Napuu and we witnessed a fist fight. This fist fight ended with a man being pushed to the ground, in front of traffic. Luckily traffic stopped in time for his life to be spared, but the conflict was not over. There was some sort of disagreement between a taxi driver and this same, fallen man. The taxi started to drive off as the man got up to his feet. He grabbed on to the side of the taxi, as the taxi sped off. It was the most horrific sight as this man was dragged by the taxi for fifty yards. Finally the man could hold on no longer and dropped to the ground. Once again, luckily traffic stopped in time... we think. He was lifeless on the ground, but after a few moments sat up with the help of some onlookers. But we did not see him move his legs. The worst part of this whole ordeal, which left me feeling ill in a way not caused by bad food, was no one reacted. No one ran up to this man, shocked and horrified the way that I was. They just leisurely walked up and watched. Is it that Mumbai is too crowded, a single life has lost its value?
Needless to say, this was an unpleasant trip off to Bandra, and the taxi ride void of any conversation. Our taxi then got a flat tire, so we had to find another cab in the midst of a busy intersection. Every time I cross the road here, I feel as if I am taking my own life in my hands and just pray to make it to the other side. Because of the chaos, you often have to stop in the middle to wait for the other side to stop. The feeling of cars coming within inches of you on both sides is unsettling to say the least.
We made it to the restaurant. I was quiet all through dinner, but despite the events earlier in the evening I had a very pleasant meal. It was a Far Eastern restaurant, but had a very well rounded menu. A really fun atmosphere with the bathrooms located in giant wooden eggs (pictures to come). I had a wonderful appetizer of asparagus wrapped in wonton dough and drizzled with a creamy lemon cheese sauce, and for my main course a zuchinni and parmesan encrusted chicken with rice pilaf and vegetables. Dinner was great.... but didn't last long :-/
I'm hoping to quiet my mind now, and get the ugly image of Mumbai that was burned into my head tonight out of my mind. I have an early morning to head to Sanjay Gandhi National Park tomorrow for some cave exploring and safaring.
Ouch!
So today while waiting for my group to meet over at school, I was passing time on FaceBook. One of my group members came in and said "Whoa!! Is that you?".... ouch.
Apparently India is not treating me well. I don't think there's a HUGE difference. See for yourself. Above, on the left is my FaceBook profile picture (taken the weekend before I left for India mind you)... the other two pictures are from a week ago, and from a few days ago.
(The haircut/color is the same in all three pictures... but for some reason looks totally different in each picture)
So ouch :-(
Grammar Disclaimer
Some people (coughDadcough) have commented on the spelling and grammar of this blog. I would just like to say that my musings as captured by this blog are not reflective of my writing abilitity or grasp of the grammatical conventions of the english language.
So excuse the grammar and spelling :-)
So excuse the grammar and spelling :-)
Thank Goodness it's Friday!
So during an otherwise uneventful class... we started hearing firecrackers and loud drumming out on the street. It was the college. I ran up to the roof and captured some pictures, but still have NO idea what they were celebrating, but they sure looked like they were having fun dancing! And this partly explains why traffic is so bad in Mumbai... I also took a picture of two women in the park across the way cutting the grass. It is yet to be determined whether they were in leiu of a lawn mower, or just cutting some grass to sell to passerbyers to feed their rented cows.
Better yet, I also captured some video!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Do you know the Tiffin man?
Well not too much has happened since Monday... well, more stomach problems, but no one really wants to hear about that. On Tuesday I had class all day, and then Hindi in the evening. The day was pretty uneventful. Tuesday night I worked on a marketing class assignment (a class which has proven least useful... not because marketing is irrelevant, but because the professor is continually ill prepared for class and gives us operations or logistics case studies that we have to spend 3 hours writing down since he won't type up any assignment), and had a pretty home sick day, as usual.
Yesterday we once again had class all day. In between classes I went to pick up my shirts. I'm not sure how great my first tailoring experience was. They were copying a button down shirt I had... but I'm pretty sure they didn't exactly copy the measurements, because these new shirts are large and boxy. But for the price, and for the fact that I do not care what I look like these days (it's really low on my priority list, I'm not trying to win anyone over with my good looks or charm these days), I will still wear them. They are really pretty colors, just not very flattering. Although most clothes just hang off me these days.
After class, we headed over to Phoenix Mills to do some shopping and eat. I tried out the Spaghetti Kitchen again and had a repeat of the last experience. Excellent food... horrible side effects. I think that my body is not used to eating, nor is it used to any kind of rich food. I was so excited to have Canneloni Floretine... how refreshing to see a "safe" leafy green. Afterwards? Not so good. Not good at all. Oh well, it was nice to feel full, if only for a moment. Thanks to stomach problems, I didn't sleep well last night... and I had to wake up early to study for a Finance test. I did get my first Tiffin delivery (a type of meal that comes in a metal cannister and is often delivered to residences or offices... see my photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld for details)
Today we had our first "quiz" here in India. I'm not sure how it went, it was a little different than we all were expecting. But I have a degree in Finance... so I figured if I don't do really well, maybe I need me degree re-evaluated. I'm sure I did fine. After Finance, we had another pointless marketing class that frustrated the bejesus out of everyone. Oh wait, in between classes I had an adventure. My digital camera went kaput on me (Alex managed to fix it this summer... but he wasn't around to fix it now). So I went off to the Sony store to purchase a new digital camera. Mine was 3 years old... I seem to be pretty hard on technology. I'm pretty sure it's a conspiracy though, because I feel as a society we have accepted the fact that most technology only lasts for 2 or 3 years. Partly so we can keep up with trends (my digital camera was starting to look like the equivalent of an 80's cell phone)... but also because we just don't expect high quality I guess. So alas. I have a new camera. It took FOREVER. The old man typing on the computer had to hunt and peck for every letter, and what should have been a 10 minute transaction, took an hour. Luckily all the professors here work on Indian time, so I was not late for class.
After marketing, I had Hindi again. Our Hindi teacher is convinced the 6 of us will be conversational within a month. It's still quite overwhelming, and my brain is starting to feel a little bit fried. But slowly I am catching on, and look forward to being able to practice with the few of us taking the class, before trying too much in public.
I came home from Hindi to find a box from home! How exciting!!! With a rush of delight, I carried the box up to my room like a kid on Christmas morning. The box was filled with tasty goodies, and goodies that will provide me with the protein that I have been lacking for exactly 3 weeks today. It was so nice, and it was such an overwhelming feeling to know that I wouldn't feel hungry now. I'll have to ration the food out so it will last until Mom personally delivers some food in October :-) The box, however, did make me very homesick! How insane that something as simple as gingersnaps and cans of baked beans could bring me to tears!
I am going to enjoy my evening of prime time television and maybe an episode or two of Will & Grace. No class tomorrow morning, so I am free until 12:30 when I have an accounting test (won't be studying for that... accounting and I are great buddies). Then I am off to enjoy a weekend filled with group work and pseudo-studying. I did learn today that after September my class schedule will easy up to only 12 or so hours a week... how nice that will be!
Yesterday we once again had class all day. In between classes I went to pick up my shirts. I'm not sure how great my first tailoring experience was. They were copying a button down shirt I had... but I'm pretty sure they didn't exactly copy the measurements, because these new shirts are large and boxy. But for the price, and for the fact that I do not care what I look like these days (it's really low on my priority list, I'm not trying to win anyone over with my good looks or charm these days), I will still wear them. They are really pretty colors, just not very flattering. Although most clothes just hang off me these days.
After class, we headed over to Phoenix Mills to do some shopping and eat. I tried out the Spaghetti Kitchen again and had a repeat of the last experience. Excellent food... horrible side effects. I think that my body is not used to eating, nor is it used to any kind of rich food. I was so excited to have Canneloni Floretine... how refreshing to see a "safe" leafy green. Afterwards? Not so good. Not good at all. Oh well, it was nice to feel full, if only for a moment. Thanks to stomach problems, I didn't sleep well last night... and I had to wake up early to study for a Finance test. I did get my first Tiffin delivery (a type of meal that comes in a metal cannister and is often delivered to residences or offices... see my photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld for details)
Today we had our first "quiz" here in India. I'm not sure how it went, it was a little different than we all were expecting. But I have a degree in Finance... so I figured if I don't do really well, maybe I need me degree re-evaluated. I'm sure I did fine. After Finance, we had another pointless marketing class that frustrated the bejesus out of everyone. Oh wait, in between classes I had an adventure. My digital camera went kaput on me (Alex managed to fix it this summer... but he wasn't around to fix it now). So I went off to the Sony store to purchase a new digital camera. Mine was 3 years old... I seem to be pretty hard on technology. I'm pretty sure it's a conspiracy though, because I feel as a society we have accepted the fact that most technology only lasts for 2 or 3 years. Partly so we can keep up with trends (my digital camera was starting to look like the equivalent of an 80's cell phone)... but also because we just don't expect high quality I guess. So alas. I have a new camera. It took FOREVER. The old man typing on the computer had to hunt and peck for every letter, and what should have been a 10 minute transaction, took an hour. Luckily all the professors here work on Indian time, so I was not late for class.
After marketing, I had Hindi again. Our Hindi teacher is convinced the 6 of us will be conversational within a month. It's still quite overwhelming, and my brain is starting to feel a little bit fried. But slowly I am catching on, and look forward to being able to practice with the few of us taking the class, before trying too much in public.
I came home from Hindi to find a box from home! How exciting!!! With a rush of delight, I carried the box up to my room like a kid on Christmas morning. The box was filled with tasty goodies, and goodies that will provide me with the protein that I have been lacking for exactly 3 weeks today. It was so nice, and it was such an overwhelming feeling to know that I wouldn't feel hungry now. I'll have to ration the food out so it will last until Mom personally delivers some food in October :-) The box, however, did make me very homesick! How insane that something as simple as gingersnaps and cans of baked beans could bring me to tears!
I am going to enjoy my evening of prime time television and maybe an episode or two of Will & Grace. No class tomorrow morning, so I am free until 12:30 when I have an accounting test (won't be studying for that... accounting and I are great buddies). Then I am off to enjoy a weekend filled with group work and pseudo-studying. I did learn today that after September my class schedule will easy up to only 12 or so hours a week... how nice that will be!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Don't eat the omelet...
Well the world continues to turn, and the rain continues to fall here in Mumbai.
Last night I worked on a group project for a financial statement analysis of Johnson & Johnson (figured I had a bonified expert to call up if I needed her) on campus for quite a bit. I went over to campus in lavender yoga pants, a t-shirt, and my signature rain boots. Little did I know campus would be bustling with activity and students (on a Sunday, who would have thought?!). Oh well, good thing I am used to being stared at. At least I could think that they were staring at me because of my wacky outfit, rather than the fact that I am a foreigner.
After group work, I came back to the hostel and got some work accomplished in the room. That's partly a lie. I really haven't done any school work since arriving here. I did, however, read up on a blog from a student from last year's IMBA program, so that was quite insightful. My roommate and I then switched beds and discovered that my mattress was almost 6 inches longer than her. So we did not switch mattresses, my roommate is 6' at least... so I am sure she appreciated the extra mattress.
I was able to sleep last night, but still had some trouble falling asleep. The mattress on this side of the room is even harder than my old one (who would have thought this was possible), but at least I was cool all evening. After a few episodes of Will & Grace, I fell asleep and slept until my alarm clock this morning.
Class today was actually interesting, because I did work and learned something. This is a positive step in the right direction. We did probability in Statistics, so I actually took notes, and we worked on ratio analysis in Financial Management. I have a degree in Finance, so I'm not too worried except for the fact that our professor is going to insist we memorize a lot of formulas and ratios and we will have to use tables to solve TVM problems rather than a financial calculator like the rest of the world. This seems rather archaic to me in the day and age of excel. She made the comment that we won't always have a computer at our finger tips... but will we have our Finance textbook with NPIV tables?? Really now.
During the break from class, I had the omelet sandwich. I would NOT recommend. It was delicious... but has been anything but delicious since. Therefore, after my last class I came home and sought refuge curled up under the blanket on my rock hard bed.
We had quite the adventure today trying to convince Welingkar that it was not acceptable to have bugs in our hostel rooms. Our expectations and living standards may have lowered since arriving here a few weeks ago, but we still do not allow roaches in our beds! Luckily Rachel is the only one to have encountered unwelcomed bedfellows... twice. But I know the feeling, as this summer I had ticks in my bed thanks to Ken and Sophie (and Mom and Dad wonder why I don't like them to sleep with me). Welingkar didn't understand the problem, but Rachel insisted if it wasn't addressed she would be sending them the bill for the hotel she stayed in until it was fix. That got their attention. But still, all that happened is we were each given bug killer to be our own exterminator. We tried to also complain about our windows that won't close, because that is letting a number of flying bugs into our room, and I do not appreciate being eaten by Indian mosquitoes (or any mosquitoes for that matter). Needless to say, this was a frustrating battle for the day.
We did, however, finalize our September break plans. Looks like despite the fact that we spend 24/7 we have, for the most part, decided to also spend our holiday together. We are planning on traveling down to Goa for a few days. Goa is in South India right on the Indian Ocean, and actually was recently featured on the Travel & Living Channel here as one of the Top 20 Romantic Spots... you'll be able to find me alone on the beach with a good book. The break comes after the exams of our "Foundation Semester" so it will be a welcomed relief. Looks like a friend of a friend of a friend is going to get us a great deal for an all inclusive beach side resort for about $50 a night. That, coupled with the $90 roundtrip airfare, sounds like a nice cheap getaway.
I just finished writing my first two papers (summary of our corporate visits from last week) and I feel about tapped out. I go to pick up my shirts tomorrow... wish me luck.
I have posted some more pictures of Welingkar.
Check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld
Last night I worked on a group project for a financial statement analysis of Johnson & Johnson (figured I had a bonified expert to call up if I needed her) on campus for quite a bit. I went over to campus in lavender yoga pants, a t-shirt, and my signature rain boots. Little did I know campus would be bustling with activity and students (on a Sunday, who would have thought?!). Oh well, good thing I am used to being stared at. At least I could think that they were staring at me because of my wacky outfit, rather than the fact that I am a foreigner.
After group work, I came back to the hostel and got some work accomplished in the room. That's partly a lie. I really haven't done any school work since arriving here. I did, however, read up on a blog from a student from last year's IMBA program, so that was quite insightful. My roommate and I then switched beds and discovered that my mattress was almost 6 inches longer than her. So we did not switch mattresses, my roommate is 6' at least... so I am sure she appreciated the extra mattress.
I was able to sleep last night, but still had some trouble falling asleep. The mattress on this side of the room is even harder than my old one (who would have thought this was possible), but at least I was cool all evening. After a few episodes of Will & Grace, I fell asleep and slept until my alarm clock this morning.
Class today was actually interesting, because I did work and learned something. This is a positive step in the right direction. We did probability in Statistics, so I actually took notes, and we worked on ratio analysis in Financial Management. I have a degree in Finance, so I'm not too worried except for the fact that our professor is going to insist we memorize a lot of formulas and ratios and we will have to use tables to solve TVM problems rather than a financial calculator like the rest of the world. This seems rather archaic to me in the day and age of excel. She made the comment that we won't always have a computer at our finger tips... but will we have our Finance textbook with NPIV tables?? Really now.
During the break from class, I had the omelet sandwich. I would NOT recommend. It was delicious... but has been anything but delicious since. Therefore, after my last class I came home and sought refuge curled up under the blanket on my rock hard bed.
We had quite the adventure today trying to convince Welingkar that it was not acceptable to have bugs in our hostel rooms. Our expectations and living standards may have lowered since arriving here a few weeks ago, but we still do not allow roaches in our beds! Luckily Rachel is the only one to have encountered unwelcomed bedfellows... twice. But I know the feeling, as this summer I had ticks in my bed thanks to Ken and Sophie (and Mom and Dad wonder why I don't like them to sleep with me). Welingkar didn't understand the problem, but Rachel insisted if it wasn't addressed she would be sending them the bill for the hotel she stayed in until it was fix. That got their attention. But still, all that happened is we were each given bug killer to be our own exterminator. We tried to also complain about our windows that won't close, because that is letting a number of flying bugs into our room, and I do not appreciate being eaten by Indian mosquitoes (or any mosquitoes for that matter). Needless to say, this was a frustrating battle for the day.
We did, however, finalize our September break plans. Looks like despite the fact that we spend 24/7 we have, for the most part, decided to also spend our holiday together. We are planning on traveling down to Goa for a few days. Goa is in South India right on the Indian Ocean, and actually was recently featured on the Travel & Living Channel here as one of the Top 20 Romantic Spots... you'll be able to find me alone on the beach with a good book. The break comes after the exams of our "Foundation Semester" so it will be a welcomed relief. Looks like a friend of a friend of a friend is going to get us a great deal for an all inclusive beach side resort for about $50 a night. That, coupled with the $90 roundtrip airfare, sounds like a nice cheap getaway.
I just finished writing my first two papers (summary of our corporate visits from last week) and I feel about tapped out. I go to pick up my shirts tomorrow... wish me luck.
I have posted some more pictures of Welingkar.
Check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Kya aap IMBA kaksha mai hai? Jee haa. Mai Leah Hu.
I've started Hindi class (as evidenced by the title of this blog entry!). Hindi class was really interesting, six out of the 15 of us here decided to take the class (of course two of the students already know Hindi since they are Indian, so decided not to take the class for obvious reasons). It was nice to have such a small class to learn a language in, although Hindi will probably wind up being my most challenging course here. For the first time since I've been here, I was on brain overload from learning too much. The problem could also be that Hindi took place during hours 33-36 of learning time for the week, so it didn't really stand a chance :-) The Hindi instructor was really helpful and is really excited that we are trying to learn Hindi. The challenge of Hindi is that we can't read the written Hindi yet, but they also spell out everything in western characters, and they spell it phonetically (so everything has a slight variation on spelling depending on who you ask). The sounds are so foreign, that I had a hard time getting the words to sound the same as our instructor. By the end of our time together, however, I was comfortable with a few phrases and was even able to use some of my newly earned Hindi on my cab ride to Scion.
Yesterday morning we had our first Macro Economics class, and it was pretty boring and long winded. In between Economics and Hindi, I took some classmates on a tour to the post office (no one else had found it, so this was the second tour I lead to it) to mail off another post card, and the girls and I wound up eating lunch at The New Yorker in King Circle. I attempted, but failed, to order a plate of steamed fresh vegetables that I had enjoyed as part of my Italian Sizzler... they did not understand and it was not worth the argument. Instead, for lunch I had a plate of french fries with an unidentified spice (my guess is Saffron).
Then we had Hindi class. During Hindi class I ventured up to the roof of Welingkar and found my favorite, and most peaceful, spot in Mumbai. From the roof I could see some mountains and the Arabian Sea. I will go back up at some point with my camera and take some shots of Mumbai.
After Hindi, I went on a taxi adventured to Scion Circle to run some errands. This was the most polluted cab ride I've had here yet... a fact my lungs did not appreciate it. However, during my taxi ride I had a very Sound of Music moment... someone was wearing our curtains from home. Granted, our curtains were made from Sari fabric, but it was still pretty humorous to see someone wearing our curtains! Sari fabric is everywhere, and absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I wish I had a house so I knew what color schemes of Saris I should be buying. I will probably have a Sari made before I leave, even if I never wear it, I know it will be a memorable experience and a great Halloween costume if nothing else.
Last night I was not feeling well, so decided to skip out on the social events for the evening (going out to eat, bowl, and bar hop) and was glad for my decision. There is a bit of a battle in the room for power of the AC. It is incredibly humid in the room, I am, therefore, the proponent of the AC. If the AC is on, it dries and cools the room off into a pleasant Oasis. My roommate disagrees. This is factor is part of the reason for my lack of sleep I believe. Last night when I had the room to myself, I kept the AC on and was able to sleep peacefully until 2 am, when the roommate came home and turned the lights on and the AC off. But this means that the lack AC is probably to blame for me being unable to fall asleep. I have offered a compromise and am hoping that by offering to switch beds (I am on the bottom bunk... no one is on the top... but the presence of the top bunk greatly restricts the air flow over my bed), and me sleeping on the freestanding twin will solve at least one of my many problems.
This morning I got up in time to head over to the salon for my head massage. Well, what I thought I had scheduled was a head massage. Instead, I got a full fledged Hair Spa (including a head/neck/shoulder massage), at $30 it was more money than I had anticipated in spending, and also took 1.5 hours instead of the 1/2 hour I thought it would take. But it was very pleasant and my hair finally feels moisturized and it was nice to have my hair blow dried. The place was really busy though, so I think the treatment would have been even more relaxing in a quiet environment (which does not exist here in Mumbai). The only catch was, the minute I walked outside the rain started. Luckily my umbrella is my best friend, but this was the first day since I arrived 2 1/2 weeks ago that I didn't wear my rainboots out. Poor sneakers. Hopefully they will dry out before December.
I am going to "roco" (stop in Hindi) for now, and head off to campus to work on some group projects and prepare for my week of solid classes (only 30 hours this week, not the 36 of last week). The mysterious rash may be trying to challenge me to battle again, that would be unfortunate. My body continues to fall apart, but I am hoping to eventual identify and eliminate (probably impossible, I'm fully aware of this) all the triggers for all my various allergic reactions. I sure am high maintenance when it comes to maintaining my health!
Yesterday morning we had our first Macro Economics class, and it was pretty boring and long winded. In between Economics and Hindi, I took some classmates on a tour to the post office (no one else had found it, so this was the second tour I lead to it) to mail off another post card, and the girls and I wound up eating lunch at The New Yorker in King Circle. I attempted, but failed, to order a plate of steamed fresh vegetables that I had enjoyed as part of my Italian Sizzler... they did not understand and it was not worth the argument. Instead, for lunch I had a plate of french fries with an unidentified spice (my guess is Saffron).
Then we had Hindi class. During Hindi class I ventured up to the roof of Welingkar and found my favorite, and most peaceful, spot in Mumbai. From the roof I could see some mountains and the Arabian Sea. I will go back up at some point with my camera and take some shots of Mumbai.
After Hindi, I went on a taxi adventured to Scion Circle to run some errands. This was the most polluted cab ride I've had here yet... a fact my lungs did not appreciate it. However, during my taxi ride I had a very Sound of Music moment... someone was wearing our curtains from home. Granted, our curtains were made from Sari fabric, but it was still pretty humorous to see someone wearing our curtains! Sari fabric is everywhere, and absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I wish I had a house so I knew what color schemes of Saris I should be buying. I will probably have a Sari made before I leave, even if I never wear it, I know it will be a memorable experience and a great Halloween costume if nothing else.
Last night I was not feeling well, so decided to skip out on the social events for the evening (going out to eat, bowl, and bar hop) and was glad for my decision. There is a bit of a battle in the room for power of the AC. It is incredibly humid in the room, I am, therefore, the proponent of the AC. If the AC is on, it dries and cools the room off into a pleasant Oasis. My roommate disagrees. This is factor is part of the reason for my lack of sleep I believe. Last night when I had the room to myself, I kept the AC on and was able to sleep peacefully until 2 am, when the roommate came home and turned the lights on and the AC off. But this means that the lack AC is probably to blame for me being unable to fall asleep. I have offered a compromise and am hoping that by offering to switch beds (I am on the bottom bunk... no one is on the top... but the presence of the top bunk greatly restricts the air flow over my bed), and me sleeping on the freestanding twin will solve at least one of my many problems.
This morning I got up in time to head over to the salon for my head massage. Well, what I thought I had scheduled was a head massage. Instead, I got a full fledged Hair Spa (including a head/neck/shoulder massage), at $30 it was more money than I had anticipated in spending, and also took 1.5 hours instead of the 1/2 hour I thought it would take. But it was very pleasant and my hair finally feels moisturized and it was nice to have my hair blow dried. The place was really busy though, so I think the treatment would have been even more relaxing in a quiet environment (which does not exist here in Mumbai). The only catch was, the minute I walked outside the rain started. Luckily my umbrella is my best friend, but this was the first day since I arrived 2 1/2 weeks ago that I didn't wear my rainboots out. Poor sneakers. Hopefully they will dry out before December.
I am going to "roco" (stop in Hindi) for now, and head off to campus to work on some group projects and prepare for my week of solid classes (only 30 hours this week, not the 36 of last week). The mysterious rash may be trying to challenge me to battle again, that would be unfortunate. My body continues to fall apart, but I am hoping to eventual identify and eliminate (probably impossible, I'm fully aware of this) all the triggers for all my various allergic reactions. I sure am high maintenance when it comes to maintaining my health!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Bollywood meets B-list Hollywood
There was nothing remarkable about yesterday, so I didn't write. I felt ill most of the day, which may paying attention in boring classes even more of a challenge. I had my usual 6 hours of class, and then headed back to the hostel for a few hours to soothe my aching stomach and attempt to keep some food down. I am on a weekly Malaria Pill, which should be taken on a full stomach. The catch is, seldom is my stomah full these days... therefore my body did not appreciate the pill resting in near empty stomach. But I recovered by evening. I don't really remember what else I did last night, besides laying in bed, chatting to friends. I slept for about 5 hours last night, so slowly my sleep schedule is improving, I just have a horrible time getting to sleep here!
Today was a pretty long, humid day. We had class all day, as usual... and during our lunch break I finally ventured out to the post office and hopefully, Enchalla, mailed post cards! I managed to buy stamps and was old to drop it in the box outside the post office. There were 3 boxes, blue, green, and red. There was no English to be found on any of the boxes except "Metro, Local" and the red one was blank. Well... your post cards are in the red box, wish them luck. I also walked to King Circle to check out a salon, and Rachel and I booked appointments for head massages this Sunday, I'll let you know how that goes. We got back to school in time to have a quick lunch, that I ate a bite of, before returning up to the 5th floor in time for Micro Economics. It was really nice going out and doing something during our hour long lunch time, instead of sitting in the canteen. But it was really hot and humid, so I felt pretty gross.
Micro Economics was a hoot... and it wasn't supposed to be. The professor is really passionate about teaching, but his facial expressions and unique grasp on the english language is hilarious! We were all laughing out loud, but he seemed to be laughing along with us. He also has some great way to relate Economics to Mangos... it'll be a long semester (he moves realllllly slow, we wanted to ask him, "If you had a mango for every year you've been alive. How many mangos would you need?" because we are thinking he's 80). During our break, I went down to the canteen to get my famous buttered toast (which ironically takes 15 minutes... everyone laughs at me), to act as "lunch" after my "breakfast" of a strawberry PediaSure bar (I also get laughed at for this... but only because they are jealous I've gotten packages and cards and no one else has).
After class, I headed out to get a microphone headset for my computer, a single DVD-R, and then went to the tailor. The tailor was a little more complicated than expected, they aren't using to making western shirts. I will go back to, hopefully, collect 3 short sleeve shirts next Tuesday (for less than 20 dollars).
I then went back to the hostel to enjoy my nightly Simpsons episodes (it was the same episode as last night. Did I mention one of the first nights I was here, they played the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to India? Watch it on YouTube... they aren't exagerrating) before heading out to the movies with Carey and Rachel.
We wanted to go see a Bollywood film... even though we would not be able to understand it, we figured it would be an unmatched experience. And that it was! We just the "foreigner's" Bollywoo film- Marigold. It had an American actress, Ali Larter, in it along with numerous Bollywood stars (who? I have no idea). It was HILARIOUS! And no one else was laughing. Before I went in, I got some hummus and pita and settled into the 9/10 empty theater. The premise of the story was that Marigold (Ali Larter) went to Goa (south India) to film a movie that winds up being canceled. She falls upon a Bollywood set of a movie and gets cast into the film, and falls in love with the choreogrpher. It was ridiculous. I haven't laughed that hard since I've been here. But don't you worry. I will order this movie on DVD and make sure that everyone can enjoy this delectable treat... it's an experience. I'll make sure to pause the movie, so you can enjoy the same intermission we did.
After our unforgettable Bollywood experience... we once again risked our lives in an exhilerating taxi ride back from Fort to Matunga. It's Friday night, but unfortunately for us tomorrow is a school day! This is quite unfortunate, your pity is appreciated. Not only do I have class tomorrow... but I've figured I'm in class between 30-36 hours a week. That's a lot. So I am off to pretend to go to sleep so I can "learn" my weekend away.
Looking forward to watching Marigold with you all.
Today was a pretty long, humid day. We had class all day, as usual... and during our lunch break I finally ventured out to the post office and hopefully, Enchalla, mailed post cards! I managed to buy stamps and was old to drop it in the box outside the post office. There were 3 boxes, blue, green, and red. There was no English to be found on any of the boxes except "Metro, Local" and the red one was blank. Well... your post cards are in the red box, wish them luck. I also walked to King Circle to check out a salon, and Rachel and I booked appointments for head massages this Sunday, I'll let you know how that goes. We got back to school in time to have a quick lunch, that I ate a bite of, before returning up to the 5th floor in time for Micro Economics. It was really nice going out and doing something during our hour long lunch time, instead of sitting in the canteen. But it was really hot and humid, so I felt pretty gross.
Micro Economics was a hoot... and it wasn't supposed to be. The professor is really passionate about teaching, but his facial expressions and unique grasp on the english language is hilarious! We were all laughing out loud, but he seemed to be laughing along with us. He also has some great way to relate Economics to Mangos... it'll be a long semester (he moves realllllly slow, we wanted to ask him, "If you had a mango for every year you've been alive. How many mangos would you need?" because we are thinking he's 80). During our break, I went down to the canteen to get my famous buttered toast (which ironically takes 15 minutes... everyone laughs at me), to act as "lunch" after my "breakfast" of a strawberry PediaSure bar (I also get laughed at for this... but only because they are jealous I've gotten packages and cards and no one else has).
After class, I headed out to get a microphone headset for my computer, a single DVD-R, and then went to the tailor. The tailor was a little more complicated than expected, they aren't using to making western shirts. I will go back to, hopefully, collect 3 short sleeve shirts next Tuesday (for less than 20 dollars).
I then went back to the hostel to enjoy my nightly Simpsons episodes (it was the same episode as last night. Did I mention one of the first nights I was here, they played the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to India? Watch it on YouTube... they aren't exagerrating) before heading out to the movies with Carey and Rachel.
We wanted to go see a Bollywood film... even though we would not be able to understand it, we figured it would be an unmatched experience. And that it was! We just the "foreigner's" Bollywoo film- Marigold. It had an American actress, Ali Larter, in it along with numerous Bollywood stars (who? I have no idea). It was HILARIOUS! And no one else was laughing. Before I went in, I got some hummus and pita and settled into the 9/10 empty theater. The premise of the story was that Marigold (Ali Larter) went to Goa (south India) to film a movie that winds up being canceled. She falls upon a Bollywood set of a movie and gets cast into the film, and falls in love with the choreogrpher. It was ridiculous. I haven't laughed that hard since I've been here. But don't you worry. I will order this movie on DVD and make sure that everyone can enjoy this delectable treat... it's an experience. I'll make sure to pause the movie, so you can enjoy the same intermission we did.
After our unforgettable Bollywood experience... we once again risked our lives in an exhilerating taxi ride back from Fort to Matunga. It's Friday night, but unfortunately for us tomorrow is a school day! This is quite unfortunate, your pity is appreciated. Not only do I have class tomorrow... but I've figured I'm in class between 30-36 hours a week. That's a lot. So I am off to pretend to go to sleep so I can "learn" my weekend away.
Looking forward to watching Marigold with you all.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
There are some good days... and some bad
So I didn't sleep again last night. This is getting old, because I think it's affecting my attitude as well as, of course, my body. I am dragging butt. Totally exhausted. To add insult to injury of not sleeping last night, this morning was our earliest "call time" of the year. Class began at 8 am this morning, instead of the usual 10 am. I begrudgingly got out of bed in time to make it over to campus to see some of the festivities held in honor of Indian Independence Day.
The flag raising occured at about 7:45 am, and all the students sang the Indian National Anthem (well this is what I assumed, obviously it was not in english) and then I headed up the five flights of stairs to our classroom (Room 504- My Home Away from Home). I love walking the stairs since sometimes I feel like it's the only true exercise I get during the day. There is a gym at Welingkar complete with one treadmill and a set of weights... but there's no AC and it's in the basement with no ventilation (no thank you). I figure with not eating, it's probably best that I haven't kept up my exercise regiment. I have purchased a yoga mat and plan to start stretching in an effort to rescue my back from the hard mattress. But back to school. So we had to bring our laptops so that we could work on statistics in excel (funny side note: the wireless network at Welingkar is called Tsunami... somehow I just don't trust it). So statistics was super boring... and just drug on and on and on and on. We only had a brief 20 minute lunch as opposed to our hour long lunch... so I didn't make the trip down the stairs to the canteen to get my customary piece of toast or plain rice. I think the workers in the canteen know me, and I'm sure they chuckle at me behind my back because of my bland taste buds... but it's not my fault that the Indians have killed their taste buds so they need to load half a kilo of spice into everything.
So after statistics, we had marketing. The beginning of marketing was spent working on the company list for the rest of our time here for corporate visits, and then some discussions on possible travel plans for some of our class holidays. We also learned that we will probably have the opportunity to learn Hindi Saturday afternoons, so I am pretty excited about that. The rest of marketing was a complex marginal pricing problem for which you either got 0 or 10 points for... luckliy I got 10, but the problem made a lot of people made in class because they didn't understand why we were doing accounting in marketing, but there's no use arguing. We got out of class early becuase they decided to shut the electricity off at Welingkar from 1-10 pm. We didn't actually get out of class until 1:30, and it was funny because the instant we walked outside, the electricity of the building was shut off... good thing I take the stairs anyway.
After an unsuccessful attempt to find construction paper and a headset with a microphone so people stop complaining that they can't hear me very well on skype/msn... I headed back to the hostel to nap. The nap did not happen, but two loads of laundry did, so yay for clean clothes! (even though they don't smell laundry fresh like I am used to... at least they don't smell :-)) I am currently surrounded by hanging clothes, and I almost feel as if I am camping on my bed, it sort of looks like the dobi kots I took pictures of on my tour of Mumbai... I'll have to take a picture and post it as Leah's Dobi Kot.
While watching my laundry dry, I did some catching up online, watched three episodes of Will & Grace (I have the first 5 seasons on DVD with me!) and helped the girls upstairs with a Finance problem... but it's been a long afternoon since we got out of class so early and since my nap was so unsuccessful. I did have one meal today though (I know many of you are keeping close track of my eating habits these days)... I had subway. But before you get excited, it was pretty unfortunate since you can't have any vegetables on it (not safe because of being washed in local water) and their cheese here is very processed, almost creamy cheese... But hey, it had turkey on it (and that's protein, right?) and a nice big roll. So there you go, between my PediaSures Bar (don't laugh, Mom is making me :-)) and three pieces of turkey, slice of cheese and a roll... that's about, what, 600 calories today... I am on a roll...
I still haven't made it to the post office as promised (I thought it would be closed for Independence Day, as many of the shops were), but I hope to do that before the end of the week because I want to drop off a shirt at the fabric shop I found to see about having a few blouses made so I can limit my laundry. For those of you who know my closet, you know I don't often repeat outfits (in fact I worked a 90-day legislative session in Annapolis with no repeats of exact outfits!)... but I think here I am going to go to a system where you will be able to tell the day of the week based on my outfit. It will make life easier, and laundry even easier.
I am off to pretend to do some school work and maybe snack on some raisins and pita before bed! Soon I hope to be posting more pictures, for those who haven't seen them yet:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld
I have some ideas for some really fun "feature" albums... like "Signs of India" and my favorite pet project idea which will remain a secret until I can see if I can accomplish it. So stay tuned!
The flag raising occured at about 7:45 am, and all the students sang the Indian National Anthem (well this is what I assumed, obviously it was not in english) and then I headed up the five flights of stairs to our classroom (Room 504- My Home Away from Home). I love walking the stairs since sometimes I feel like it's the only true exercise I get during the day. There is a gym at Welingkar complete with one treadmill and a set of weights... but there's no AC and it's in the basement with no ventilation (no thank you). I figure with not eating, it's probably best that I haven't kept up my exercise regiment. I have purchased a yoga mat and plan to start stretching in an effort to rescue my back from the hard mattress. But back to school. So we had to bring our laptops so that we could work on statistics in excel (funny side note: the wireless network at Welingkar is called Tsunami... somehow I just don't trust it). So statistics was super boring... and just drug on and on and on and on. We only had a brief 20 minute lunch as opposed to our hour long lunch... so I didn't make the trip down the stairs to the canteen to get my customary piece of toast or plain rice. I think the workers in the canteen know me, and I'm sure they chuckle at me behind my back because of my bland taste buds... but it's not my fault that the Indians have killed their taste buds so they need to load half a kilo of spice into everything.
So after statistics, we had marketing. The beginning of marketing was spent working on the company list for the rest of our time here for corporate visits, and then some discussions on possible travel plans for some of our class holidays. We also learned that we will probably have the opportunity to learn Hindi Saturday afternoons, so I am pretty excited about that. The rest of marketing was a complex marginal pricing problem for which you either got 0 or 10 points for... luckliy I got 10, but the problem made a lot of people made in class because they didn't understand why we were doing accounting in marketing, but there's no use arguing. We got out of class early becuase they decided to shut the electricity off at Welingkar from 1-10 pm. We didn't actually get out of class until 1:30, and it was funny because the instant we walked outside, the electricity of the building was shut off... good thing I take the stairs anyway.
After an unsuccessful attempt to find construction paper and a headset with a microphone so people stop complaining that they can't hear me very well on skype/msn... I headed back to the hostel to nap. The nap did not happen, but two loads of laundry did, so yay for clean clothes! (even though they don't smell laundry fresh like I am used to... at least they don't smell :-)) I am currently surrounded by hanging clothes, and I almost feel as if I am camping on my bed, it sort of looks like the dobi kots I took pictures of on my tour of Mumbai... I'll have to take a picture and post it as Leah's Dobi Kot.
While watching my laundry dry, I did some catching up online, watched three episodes of Will & Grace (I have the first 5 seasons on DVD with me!) and helped the girls upstairs with a Finance problem... but it's been a long afternoon since we got out of class so early and since my nap was so unsuccessful. I did have one meal today though (I know many of you are keeping close track of my eating habits these days)... I had subway. But before you get excited, it was pretty unfortunate since you can't have any vegetables on it (not safe because of being washed in local water) and their cheese here is very processed, almost creamy cheese... But hey, it had turkey on it (and that's protein, right?) and a nice big roll. So there you go, between my PediaSures Bar (don't laugh, Mom is making me :-)) and three pieces of turkey, slice of cheese and a roll... that's about, what, 600 calories today... I am on a roll...
I still haven't made it to the post office as promised (I thought it would be closed for Independence Day, as many of the shops were), but I hope to do that before the end of the week because I want to drop off a shirt at the fabric shop I found to see about having a few blouses made so I can limit my laundry. For those of you who know my closet, you know I don't often repeat outfits (in fact I worked a 90-day legislative session in Annapolis with no repeats of exact outfits!)... but I think here I am going to go to a system where you will be able to tell the day of the week based on my outfit. It will make life easier, and laundry even easier.
I am off to pretend to do some school work and maybe snack on some raisins and pita before bed! Soon I hope to be posting more pictures, for those who haven't seen them yet:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld
I have some ideas for some really fun "feature" albums... like "Signs of India" and my favorite pet project idea which will remain a secret until I can see if I can accomplish it. So stay tuned!
Valuable lessons outside the classroom
I decided to take advantage of this sleepless night to discuss my first day of company visits. We learned yesterday that classes today were canceled due to a conflict with a meeting our professors had with the accrediting body that is currently auditing Welingkar. In leiu of class, we had two company visits scheduled, Reliance Mutual Fund and Mecklai Research and Analysis (a risk management company). The visits were originally scheduled to start early in the morning, with our pick up time at the hostel 9:30, but in typical Indian fashion, we were reschedule at last minute. Our new pick up time was 12:30 pm, which gave me a nice leisurely morning.
I woke up relatively early (from a very restless night of sleep), and had a wonderful morning for undisclosed reasons :-) At almost exactly 12:30 pm, we were picked up by the Welingkar van and headed to the boys hostel to collect them. Our meeting at Reliance began at 2 pm (we made it there just in time, traffic is ridiculous). We were shuffled into a back conference room, where we had almost a 30 minute wait (but were served coffee, tea and water). We met with the President and Director of Human Resources. They both spoke at length about the background of Reliance, and how it is starting to revolutionize the Indian Economy.
The President continued to stress on how India is "in its time" with the economy growing at 8% (a feat matched only by China), but that this was a "cash society" in which less than 2% of the population invests in mutual funds and less than 2% of household savings entering the capital markets. But through consumer education, Reliance is trying to capitalize on their presence in the community through telecom holdings and encourage Indians to trust in their company enough to invest in their mutual funds. They have one of the "best open ended schemes" in the world according to Lipitz, and they pride themselves on building relationships and taking a hands on approach to management. In fact, their funds invest in 400-500 Indian companies, and they make personal visits to all companies before deciding to invest in them. It is this hands on approach that has allowed Reliance to identify some huge growth opportunities... and they continue to see huge growth in India. India constitutes 1.4% of the global GDP but yet only .4% of the world capital market.
I may have lost some of you in the last paragraph, as I glazed over a little during all this talk... but I thought the most interesting aspect was the hands on approach they took to mutual fund management. They chose to invest in companies they think havea hunger for growth, with ambitious plans and quality management and business in place. They go so far as to know a company before they invest in them, that they shared a story of camping outside an office building to get to know all the employees, to booking a plane ticket to sit next to a managing director to gain 11 hours of his uninterupted time. Indians, as a population, tends to be rely heavily on trust, and it is by its clients trusting Reliance that they have grown to be the largest mutual fund in India. Most Indians do not use banks... or use the post office as a bank (as the post office is the most wide spread network that reaches to the far corners of the country)... so to get Indians to use capital markets and equity/debt instruments is pretty impressive.
Our time at Reliance was information intensive (as can be gleaned from the above analysis), but our time at the second company, Mecklai was much more of a holistic approach to differences in business in Indian versus business in America. We arrived at the second company, and were escorted inside only to find that almost all the employees were asked to leave their desks and give up their chairs so that we could sit around and listen to the CEO and (didn't catch the other guy's title)... I felt bad, but the employees seemed relieved to have a break. (There are very few people that have a private work space in the offices I have seen thus far (including the professors at Welingkar) there is simply not space... the cubicle is even rarely seen. I can not imagine keeping such intimate work quarters with my fellow employees, talk about getting on each other's nerves!). The CEO spoke with us first (it was great, he had a bright fuschia shirt with a flamingo/palm tree tie!) about how business is essentially the same everywhere--you want to make money and have fun! His observation as to the big difference (although he was noncommital as to how this played out in the actual mechanics of day to day business) was that everyone in India believes in god and takes great pride in their religion--often displaying some icon/depiction of their religious beliefs on their desk. I have noticed this similiar pride in religion found in the "taxi bling" I refer to. He then went on to explain to us about the commute to South Mumbai "The City" from the suburbs and how his commute is roughly 2 hours each way, but some employees travel 4 hours each way... I don't feel so bad about having an hour commute one way last summer!
After this, the other gentleman spoke with us more about Mecklai's role in risk management (mostly currency and interest rate risk) and the use of forwards, options, futures in India and how that market is growing. I unfortunately got a little restless during this discussion because I had a difficult time understanding/hearing the man. His accent was very thick and it was taking too much energy to hear him, considering he was soft spoken to begin with.
But both visits were still very interesting and started to reveal a little of some of the idiosyncracies of Indian business. It was also nice to get a day out of the classroom, although I fear we'll have to make up today's missed class on an upcoming Saturday (might as well, not like I have other plans!).
I spent the evening catching up on some emails, and listening to my new favorite playlist of some great classical music that I've found particularly soothing lately. I was also able to catch both Friends and the Simpsons on StarWorld, so that's always exciting. However, after numerous failed attempts to sleep, I'm a little discouraged and may have to turn to reading my statistics book to lull me to sleep. (Or maybe I could just read this entry again and it would put me to sleep... not the most glamorous nor adventurous days, my apologies)
I better try and sleep. We have class 2 hours earlier than usual tomorrow, so that our professors have the rest of the day off to celebrate Indian Independence Day!
I woke up relatively early (from a very restless night of sleep), and had a wonderful morning for undisclosed reasons :-) At almost exactly 12:30 pm, we were picked up by the Welingkar van and headed to the boys hostel to collect them. Our meeting at Reliance began at 2 pm (we made it there just in time, traffic is ridiculous). We were shuffled into a back conference room, where we had almost a 30 minute wait (but were served coffee, tea and water). We met with the President and Director of Human Resources. They both spoke at length about the background of Reliance, and how it is starting to revolutionize the Indian Economy.
The President continued to stress on how India is "in its time" with the economy growing at 8% (a feat matched only by China), but that this was a "cash society" in which less than 2% of the population invests in mutual funds and less than 2% of household savings entering the capital markets. But through consumer education, Reliance is trying to capitalize on their presence in the community through telecom holdings and encourage Indians to trust in their company enough to invest in their mutual funds. They have one of the "best open ended schemes" in the world according to Lipitz, and they pride themselves on building relationships and taking a hands on approach to management. In fact, their funds invest in 400-500 Indian companies, and they make personal visits to all companies before deciding to invest in them. It is this hands on approach that has allowed Reliance to identify some huge growth opportunities... and they continue to see huge growth in India. India constitutes 1.4% of the global GDP but yet only .4% of the world capital market.
I may have lost some of you in the last paragraph, as I glazed over a little during all this talk... but I thought the most interesting aspect was the hands on approach they took to mutual fund management. They chose to invest in companies they think havea hunger for growth, with ambitious plans and quality management and business in place. They go so far as to know a company before they invest in them, that they shared a story of camping outside an office building to get to know all the employees, to booking a plane ticket to sit next to a managing director to gain 11 hours of his uninterupted time. Indians, as a population, tends to be rely heavily on trust, and it is by its clients trusting Reliance that they have grown to be the largest mutual fund in India. Most Indians do not use banks... or use the post office as a bank (as the post office is the most wide spread network that reaches to the far corners of the country)... so to get Indians to use capital markets and equity/debt instruments is pretty impressive.
Our time at Reliance was information intensive (as can be gleaned from the above analysis), but our time at the second company, Mecklai was much more of a holistic approach to differences in business in Indian versus business in America. We arrived at the second company, and were escorted inside only to find that almost all the employees were asked to leave their desks and give up their chairs so that we could sit around and listen to the CEO and (didn't catch the other guy's title)... I felt bad, but the employees seemed relieved to have a break. (There are very few people that have a private work space in the offices I have seen thus far (including the professors at Welingkar) there is simply not space... the cubicle is even rarely seen. I can not imagine keeping such intimate work quarters with my fellow employees, talk about getting on each other's nerves!). The CEO spoke with us first (it was great, he had a bright fuschia shirt with a flamingo/palm tree tie!) about how business is essentially the same everywhere--you want to make money and have fun! His observation as to the big difference (although he was noncommital as to how this played out in the actual mechanics of day to day business) was that everyone in India believes in god and takes great pride in their religion--often displaying some icon/depiction of their religious beliefs on their desk. I have noticed this similiar pride in religion found in the "taxi bling" I refer to. He then went on to explain to us about the commute to South Mumbai "The City" from the suburbs and how his commute is roughly 2 hours each way, but some employees travel 4 hours each way... I don't feel so bad about having an hour commute one way last summer!
After this, the other gentleman spoke with us more about Mecklai's role in risk management (mostly currency and interest rate risk) and the use of forwards, options, futures in India and how that market is growing. I unfortunately got a little restless during this discussion because I had a difficult time understanding/hearing the man. His accent was very thick and it was taking too much energy to hear him, considering he was soft spoken to begin with.
But both visits were still very interesting and started to reveal a little of some of the idiosyncracies of Indian business. It was also nice to get a day out of the classroom, although I fear we'll have to make up today's missed class on an upcoming Saturday (might as well, not like I have other plans!).
I spent the evening catching up on some emails, and listening to my new favorite playlist of some great classical music that I've found particularly soothing lately. I was also able to catch both Friends and the Simpsons on StarWorld, so that's always exciting. However, after numerous failed attempts to sleep, I'm a little discouraged and may have to turn to reading my statistics book to lull me to sleep. (Or maybe I could just read this entry again and it would put me to sleep... not the most glamorous nor adventurous days, my apologies)
I better try and sleep. We have class 2 hours earlier than usual tomorrow, so that our professors have the rest of the day off to celebrate Indian Independence Day!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Snake Charmer
P.S.- I saw my first genuine snake charmer the other day!!! We were all so taken aback (and walking briskly in the opposite direction) that there are no pictures... but they do exist. Here on the street. Randomly. Keep it in your basket buddy.
Putting my big girl panties on!
On Sunday (yesterday) thanks to some encouragement and prompting from Alex (without him even realizing) I embarked on one of my biggest independent ventures in Mumbai to date! My scariest adventure would probably still be locating the dermotologist office and filling a few indescript prescriptions... but this adventure was my most successful and led me to become even more familiar with my neighborhood.
I ventured down Napuu Road (the "main street" I've highlighted in some of my photos) to seek out King's Circle... I had heard rumors about a restaurant there that may just serve something bland enough for me to finally get some food besides rice and bread. I was also on a quest to find a few shops including a tailor and the post office. As per my usual routine, I pulled on my rain boots... grabbed my umbrella (never leave home without it) and set on down the street. I reached the invisible line that I had not yet crossed, and boldly stepped over. The streets were of course packed (as usual) and one kind hearted Indian woman who spoke english started increduously at me while asking "Are you looking for something?"... I said "No, just exploring." I walked into quite a few shops in an effort to find a tailor to make blouses (so I don't have to ruin my good clothes by wearing/washing them here), and after numerous rejections I found a shop "The Matching Shop" that had the entire rainbow of fabrics represented and I can purchase fabric and have a shirt copied for a little bit less than $5.00. So success! I also located the post office, so I can send off those hard to find post cards... and I found a little book shop and a sweet shop. I ended my adventure at King's Circle. I had quite the adventure crossing the streets to get around the circle, but it was worth my effort when I found The New Yorker restaurant!
I excited went inside after reading that they served continental, lebanese, italian, and indian cuisine!! And for the first time in my life I sat at a restaurant table by myself and enjoyed lunch. And by enjoying lunch I mean at a few forkfuls of fresh steamed vegetables when my shrinking stomach decided it was full (I did get the rest of my meal packed up). But the service was excellent, and the experience energizing. After my quick independent lunch, I continued to make my way around the circle, stopping at the cyber cafe on my way home to pick up the longer ethernet cord I ordered so I could lay in bed and still have the internet. I also found a dry cleaners... but I'm pretty sure it is not the same we are used to in the states (although looked better than the dobi kots I visited on Saturday). I plan to bring a shirt to be copied to the tailor, and hopefully the experience goes well enough that I can have five shirts made to rotate through the week, and I don't have to worry about washing my clothes from the states.
That evening I had to meet up with my marketing group to complete an assignment, and we met up at The New Yorker per my suggestion. I decided to take a new route (a back residential road where there are far far less people, so a much easier trek) and discovered a short cut. Ironically along the way I ran into another classmate, and was able to chat about his discovery of a local yoga studio and then when I arrived at The New Yorker I ran into another group from class. Interesting how "small" the neighborhood is appearing to be (this is probably only because it is much easier to spot a classmate, than a neighbor I may pass every day). We were seated on the second floor of the restaurant admist a little girl's crazy birthday party (they were served cake, brownies and ice cream FIRST) that made for a pretty loud work environment. But it was a successful end to a good adventurous day. And I have to give all credit to Alex for the fact that I didn't stay in my room for the day moping about how much I wanted to go home. So that adventure is dedicated to him.
Now today I had yet another adventure! My friend Rachel and I decided to run over to Phoenix Mills (the western-like mall) in search of a calculator for her and some food for me (I did try a steamed rice cake with yogurt for lunch... pretty agreeable, but still only consuming about 400-500 calories I did... I'm working on it). On our way there we decided to check out this little massage place that Rachel had discovered on one of her walks, a place that did acupressure and acupuncture. We walked in and spoke with the owner, who was very excited to meet us and who was fairly well versed in English. She offered to give us a trial (only in India)! It was actually this table that did all the work... almost like a horizontal chair massage, if that makes any sense? So it was unable to be personalized, but it felt pretty good... and then there were acupuncture pads that simulated the needles with electric shocks (that was a little less enjoyable). But I enjoyed the acupressure and will probably go back (in fact, I will make a point to go back so she doesn't think that we weren't grateful for the free trial). It will cost about $4.00 for an 1.5 hour session. Can't beat those prices. They were extremely kind there, and it was only about a 2 minute walk to get there.
We then hopped a taxi over to Phoenix Mills and after an unsuccessful attempt to buy a financial calculator (I'm glad I carry mine with me everywhere... you never know when you might need to calculate the NPV of a capital budgeting project) we settled on "The Spaghetti Place" for dinner. This was QUITE succesful! I had a delicious italian meal complete with garlic bread... and we were placed in the front window (I'm pretty sure as free advertising. My friends and I were at one place called DPs last week and they took pictures of us for the owner... I think we'll be featured in the next advertising campaign, "Even the Americans eat here!") and also asked to try out some of their new recipes.
All in all a successful two days! Class today was boring as usual. Statistics is like pulling teeth, and I'm pretty sure our Stats Professor does not appreciate our American sense of humor or sarcasm... I think we're growing on her though. Classes got cancelled tomorrow, but instead we have two company visits so that is pretty exciting. We are going to Reliance, one of the largest mutual funds in India, and another place whose name escapes me.
We only had a little rain today (which happen to come down in sheets the moment I dared to defy nature and walk half a block without my umbrella) and besides the pungent odor that has settled on our street... it was almost pleasant outside.
Hopefully I can continue to climb over this "hurdle" between vacation and living. All of us mentioned that after being here for a week, we feel like it's been long enough... but I'm trying to adjust and settle in, and each day is a tad bit better. There's hope... but there's no chance I'm staying a second longer than I have to :-)
I ventured down Napuu Road (the "main street" I've highlighted in some of my photos) to seek out King's Circle... I had heard rumors about a restaurant there that may just serve something bland enough for me to finally get some food besides rice and bread. I was also on a quest to find a few shops including a tailor and the post office. As per my usual routine, I pulled on my rain boots... grabbed my umbrella (never leave home without it) and set on down the street. I reached the invisible line that I had not yet crossed, and boldly stepped over. The streets were of course packed (as usual) and one kind hearted Indian woman who spoke english started increduously at me while asking "Are you looking for something?"... I said "No, just exploring." I walked into quite a few shops in an effort to find a tailor to make blouses (so I don't have to ruin my good clothes by wearing/washing them here), and after numerous rejections I found a shop "The Matching Shop" that had the entire rainbow of fabrics represented and I can purchase fabric and have a shirt copied for a little bit less than $5.00. So success! I also located the post office, so I can send off those hard to find post cards... and I found a little book shop and a sweet shop. I ended my adventure at King's Circle. I had quite the adventure crossing the streets to get around the circle, but it was worth my effort when I found The New Yorker restaurant!
I excited went inside after reading that they served continental, lebanese, italian, and indian cuisine!! And for the first time in my life I sat at a restaurant table by myself and enjoyed lunch. And by enjoying lunch I mean at a few forkfuls of fresh steamed vegetables when my shrinking stomach decided it was full (I did get the rest of my meal packed up). But the service was excellent, and the experience energizing. After my quick independent lunch, I continued to make my way around the circle, stopping at the cyber cafe on my way home to pick up the longer ethernet cord I ordered so I could lay in bed and still have the internet. I also found a dry cleaners... but I'm pretty sure it is not the same we are used to in the states (although looked better than the dobi kots I visited on Saturday). I plan to bring a shirt to be copied to the tailor, and hopefully the experience goes well enough that I can have five shirts made to rotate through the week, and I don't have to worry about washing my clothes from the states.
That evening I had to meet up with my marketing group to complete an assignment, and we met up at The New Yorker per my suggestion. I decided to take a new route (a back residential road where there are far far less people, so a much easier trek) and discovered a short cut. Ironically along the way I ran into another classmate, and was able to chat about his discovery of a local yoga studio and then when I arrived at The New Yorker I ran into another group from class. Interesting how "small" the neighborhood is appearing to be (this is probably only because it is much easier to spot a classmate, than a neighbor I may pass every day). We were seated on the second floor of the restaurant admist a little girl's crazy birthday party (they were served cake, brownies and ice cream FIRST) that made for a pretty loud work environment. But it was a successful end to a good adventurous day. And I have to give all credit to Alex for the fact that I didn't stay in my room for the day moping about how much I wanted to go home. So that adventure is dedicated to him.
Now today I had yet another adventure! My friend Rachel and I decided to run over to Phoenix Mills (the western-like mall) in search of a calculator for her and some food for me (I did try a steamed rice cake with yogurt for lunch... pretty agreeable, but still only consuming about 400-500 calories I did... I'm working on it). On our way there we decided to check out this little massage place that Rachel had discovered on one of her walks, a place that did acupressure and acupuncture. We walked in and spoke with the owner, who was very excited to meet us and who was fairly well versed in English. She offered to give us a trial (only in India)! It was actually this table that did all the work... almost like a horizontal chair massage, if that makes any sense? So it was unable to be personalized, but it felt pretty good... and then there were acupuncture pads that simulated the needles with electric shocks (that was a little less enjoyable). But I enjoyed the acupressure and will probably go back (in fact, I will make a point to go back so she doesn't think that we weren't grateful for the free trial). It will cost about $4.00 for an 1.5 hour session. Can't beat those prices. They were extremely kind there, and it was only about a 2 minute walk to get there.
We then hopped a taxi over to Phoenix Mills and after an unsuccessful attempt to buy a financial calculator (I'm glad I carry mine with me everywhere... you never know when you might need to calculate the NPV of a capital budgeting project) we settled on "The Spaghetti Place" for dinner. This was QUITE succesful! I had a delicious italian meal complete with garlic bread... and we were placed in the front window (I'm pretty sure as free advertising. My friends and I were at one place called DPs last week and they took pictures of us for the owner... I think we'll be featured in the next advertising campaign, "Even the Americans eat here!") and also asked to try out some of their new recipes.
All in all a successful two days! Class today was boring as usual. Statistics is like pulling teeth, and I'm pretty sure our Stats Professor does not appreciate our American sense of humor or sarcasm... I think we're growing on her though. Classes got cancelled tomorrow, but instead we have two company visits so that is pretty exciting. We are going to Reliance, one of the largest mutual funds in India, and another place whose name escapes me.
We only had a little rain today (which happen to come down in sheets the moment I dared to defy nature and walk half a block without my umbrella) and besides the pungent odor that has settled on our street... it was almost pleasant outside.
Hopefully I can continue to climb over this "hurdle" between vacation and living. All of us mentioned that after being here for a week, we feel like it's been long enough... but I'm trying to adjust and settle in, and each day is a tad bit better. There's hope... but there's no chance I'm staying a second longer than I have to :-)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
My Fan Club
Being called out to on the street here is not uncommon! Being one of the only westerners in town (myself and the 3 other girls from the Temple program complete the demographic), the Indians are anxious to sell to us or exchange a kind word "Welcome to the India!" "What's up?" "Yes, Ma'am" "You buy?" "Please Yes, Thank You" and yesterday I got a new one "Yes, Darling." It's as if they have been saving up their single english word (usually "Hello") all their lives for someone to shout it out to! It's actually more like they think they can take advantage of a tourist by charging extra high prices and therefore are begging to do business with you.
Most Indians in this village have not seen a fair skinned person before, and therefore stare unabashedly. So the shoutouts, coupled with the stares and pack of children who follow me down the street... I'm starting to feel a bit like a community celebrity being hounded by the paparazi (minus the cameras of course).
When I return to the States I may feel as if I've lost all my popularity or am having a really bad hair day if I don't get called out at everywhere I go :-) I'll be demoted to a C-list celebrity at best!
Most Indians in this village have not seen a fair skinned person before, and therefore stare unabashedly. So the shoutouts, coupled with the stares and pack of children who follow me down the street... I'm starting to feel a bit like a community celebrity being hounded by the paparazi (minus the cameras of course).
When I return to the States I may feel as if I've lost all my popularity or am having a really bad hair day if I don't get called out at everywhere I go :-) I'll be demoted to a C-list celebrity at best!
Taxi Bling
There are about 70,000 taxis in Mumbai. Taxis are everywhere. But when choosing a taxi here, I always look for one with a lot of "Taxi Bling," as I have fondly dubbed it. A lot of taxi drivers take a lot of pride in their cabs, decorating them with various idols that they worship, but not just ordinary idols, idols that light up in a colorful display. Bling might be in the form of an idol of the elephant god that turns from green, to yellow, to red, to (you get the picture)... or maybe they just have a blue light, or a red light inside of the cab. Or perhaps a string of christmas lights running off the battery. Or a new "pimped" out stereo system to go in their decrepid cab. So it's important to not get into a cab that's boring--no fun vinyl or tacky flashy lights... because as you are sitting in traffic, at least it will give you something entertaining to look at!
All the taxis sound as if they are about a thousand years old and on their very last breath. In fact a taxi ride I took yesterday involved the taxi stalling out at every single light... and I was sure we wouldn't make it up the slight incline of the many causeways... "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." The taxis are also in poor shape because they are severely banged up (thanks to the bumper to bumper traffic) or the humidity has rusted away the very floor board of the cab... seeing little glimpses of the road below you as you sit inside the taxi is not uncommon!
Taxis here will take you anywhere! Even if they aren't sure where they are going. It's important to know the biggest landmark closest to your destination (a little challenging if you've never been to your destination before), but the extent of my conservation with most cabbies here is "Podar College, Matunga Central"... this will get me close enough to the hostel to be able to shout out a couple of "Right, Here" and "Stop." However, even if they don't know what any of this means, they will gladly invite you into the cab, and will stop multiple times along the way in search of a translator or someone that can tell them how to get me to my destination.
Cabs here are metered, and extremely cheap. They get a little more expensive after midnight though (after MIDnight is the key word)...some taxi drivers see "tourist" and want to charge much more money. Luckily all taxis should be equipped with a fare card that does the fare translation from what the meter reads. The other day I was in a taxi, and upon my arrival at my destination "Bombay Dyeing Mill" was told 150 Rupis. I said "fare card," looked at it, and said "No. 100" ... Hey buddy, I'm no tourist. I live here.
All the taxis sound as if they are about a thousand years old and on their very last breath. In fact a taxi ride I took yesterday involved the taxi stalling out at every single light... and I was sure we wouldn't make it up the slight incline of the many causeways... "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." The taxis are also in poor shape because they are severely banged up (thanks to the bumper to bumper traffic) or the humidity has rusted away the very floor board of the cab... seeing little glimpses of the road below you as you sit inside the taxi is not uncommon!
Taxis here will take you anywhere! Even if they aren't sure where they are going. It's important to know the biggest landmark closest to your destination (a little challenging if you've never been to your destination before), but the extent of my conservation with most cabbies here is "Podar College, Matunga Central"... this will get me close enough to the hostel to be able to shout out a couple of "Right, Here" and "Stop." However, even if they don't know what any of this means, they will gladly invite you into the cab, and will stop multiple times along the way in search of a translator or someone that can tell them how to get me to my destination.
Cabs here are metered, and extremely cheap. They get a little more expensive after midnight though (after MIDnight is the key word)...some taxi drivers see "tourist" and want to charge much more money. Luckily all taxis should be equipped with a fare card that does the fare translation from what the meter reads. The other day I was in a taxi, and upon my arrival at my destination "Bombay Dyeing Mill" was told 150 Rupis. I said "fare card," looked at it, and said "No. 100" ... Hey buddy, I'm no tourist. I live here.
A little context for a very complex story
Okay. Updating this blog regularly may prove to be a little challenging as far as motivation purposes. But I will try. I wanted to start by giving some background as to why I find myself in Mumbai, India for the next roughly 4 months. I am in the process of earning my International Masters of Business Administration (IMBA) through Temple University. The one year program (modeled after the more intensive Executive MBA) will bring me to 3 continents in one year, and I will graduate this August (2008). I am studying in Mumbai until mid December, will be in Philadelphia until June, and then spend the final month or so of the program in Japan, Tokyo. The hope is that I then land an amazing job that allows me to use my new found expertise in global management!
So far, Mumbai, has been overwhelming and fascinating all at once. I'm not sure that I've ever felt so many emotions or have had so many senses stimulated at once, and it is, I fear, a big exhausting! As with any move, it is a challenge to adjust to a new environment. I think the challenge becomes particularly cumbersome when it is faced without your family as I have been accustomed to. I have been here for little over a week and am still having trouble adjusting to the time change (that, or just not sleeping at all... could be either since jet lag usually does not bother me), the climate (my skin reacted poorly to the humidity and maybe water?), and of course the cousine. I have a very sensitive stomach and have never acquired a taste for spicy food. This has left me very hungry. Luckily I am drinking enough water a day to satisfy a camel, and they say you can surive a lot longer without food than water. Therefore, I am fully hydrated and munching away on about 400 calories worth of bread and rice a day. I did manage to find Pop-Tarts, and that is my morning snack!
The first few days were plagued with homesickness and sleep deprivation, but things have slowly been improving since. There are so many sights and sounds to take in! The ladies hostel that I am currently residing is called S.P. Mandali Quarters. It is the equivalent of a US "dormitory" without perhaps the "luxury" of a US dorm. Luxury? Dorm?... Comparitively? Yes. The first few nights were very prison-like, but now, thanks to a set of sheets shipped in from home and a little splash of color, the room is looking (but not feeling) a little more livable. I also finally mastered the shower, although it is still not a part of my day I look forward to because afterwards I fear I smell worse than before!!
I have mastered the local market of Matunga (the neighborhood our hostel is found in). We are the only westerners in this part of Mumbai (perhaps in ALL of Mumbai??) so I am slowly getting used to the constant stares and learning how to speak "Indian English" to get my goods bought at of course the best price. I've already adjusted to the prices here and seem to be unwilling now to pay more than $2.50 for a meal! I had an adventure to visit the doctor here in an effort to combat the rash that took residence on my face, and the adventure only cost me $20 (this included the cost of the entire doctor visit and having three prescriptions "filled" by the Chemist). I have purchased some fruit from the market and dry goods, but it's important that I can be sure of the safety of the food. The water here is not safe to drink, nor to wash your fruits or veggies in. Therefore I stick to fruit that can be pealed, and for the next 130 days I will be brushing my teeth with bottled water. Sort of like camping, for a realllly long time.
All of our classes take place at Welingkar Institute of Managemnet in Classroom 504. There are 15 of us in the IMBA Program here in India (and roughly another 15 currently in Paris who will join us in Philadelphia). I have class 5-6 days a week (we have class maybe every other Saturda), with two 3 hour sessions (10-1 pm and 2-5 pm) with a break for lunch. It's a long time to sit still in relatively uncomfortable chairs, luckily it is an AC'd classroom. The first part of our courses are basic foundation business courses (hence my current boredom) in Financial Accounting, Financial Management, Economic Analysis, Statistics, and Marketing. At the end of September we will finish with these classes (that do not count for any credit) and hopefully enter into more challenging coursework. This is lucky for me, since I can feel comfortable with the material with little to no effort, and it gives me adequate time to adjust to Mumbai and regain control of my health (a slow process).
I have had many mini adventures since arriving, and almost all adventures require a taxi ride. Taxis here are very cheap cheap! The current exchange rate is roughly 40 Rupis to the US Dollar. This means that my 100 Rupi taxi ride is just $2.50! Driving here, is another nightmare though! The Indians have the British road system, but never have I seen more chaos on the road. Not all the roads have lines on them, and those that do seem to be ineffective. There are often only 3 marked lanes, but up to 6 lanes of vehicles... going whichever direction they want to go with no regard for the other cars on the road. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents or people with really high blood pressure! There are some 19 million people estimated to be in Mumbai, with the number rising every day thanks to migration to Mumbai for purposes of employment. Mumbai also has the largest slums in Asia (it is the second most populus country in the world), with 50% of its population residing in "slums" scattered on the sides of road, or hugging train tracks (the number of people killed by trains each year is in the thousands).
I finally took a comprehensive tour of Mumbai (well actually mostly South Mumbai, the slightly more "touristy" area... still not westerners) and was able to take some nicer photographs of some of the sites that Mumbai has to offer. I have been posting my pictures on http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld so please visit for my adventures as shown in pictures.
We are currently in monsoon season, until the end of September. This means there is a ridiculous amount of rain daily. I wear my rain boots every single day, because you never know when the rains will start. Matunga is in a low lying area of Mumbai because of the fact that much of the sea has been dredged to flesh out Mumbai (that was originally a series of islands)... leaving Matunga to collect the nastiest floods. So far we have not had flooding as bad as my first day (talk about a welcome party). The floods are bad because it brings in a lot of the sea water, which is the dumping point for Mumbai's sewage system. This brings in a lot of bacteria and sickness (so glad for the rainboots) because the streets are filthy here anyway, with elephants, cattle, goats, cats, dogs, and people roaming freely and using the street as not only a bathroom, but as a trash bin! We reside on a very nice street (perhaps one of the nicer I've seen) and only have one or two cattle to call my own... in fact I am disapointed when I don't see them on my morning walk to school. We also have neighborhood crows that serve as my alarm clock, and the friendly neighborhood goat whose excessive bah-ing is also a good wake up call.
This is all the update I have for now. I would recommend checking out my pictures because I have a lot of interesting information about Mumbai that I picked up along my way on the tour yesterday included in the picture captions. It is Sunday here (I am 9.5 hours ahead of EST (yes .5... this is so that all of India can share the same time zone) and while I have nothing to do, I may try to do more exploring in the neighborhood rather than take the nap I so badly want to take, but know will in the end hurt my sleep schedule even worse.
I will continue to post stories here, particularly as I finally adjust to Mumbai and can share all my exciting adventures when I have a rested, well fed, and healthy body. In the meanwhile, I send my love to all of you in the States as I embark on this lesson of a lifetime! Keep in touch and be sure to email me the happenings of your life. After much searching I finally find postcards (but no post office yet) so be sure to let me know if you'd like to be a lucky recipient of a post card from good ol' India.
So far, Mumbai, has been overwhelming and fascinating all at once. I'm not sure that I've ever felt so many emotions or have had so many senses stimulated at once, and it is, I fear, a big exhausting! As with any move, it is a challenge to adjust to a new environment. I think the challenge becomes particularly cumbersome when it is faced without your family as I have been accustomed to. I have been here for little over a week and am still having trouble adjusting to the time change (that, or just not sleeping at all... could be either since jet lag usually does not bother me), the climate (my skin reacted poorly to the humidity and maybe water?), and of course the cousine. I have a very sensitive stomach and have never acquired a taste for spicy food. This has left me very hungry. Luckily I am drinking enough water a day to satisfy a camel, and they say you can surive a lot longer without food than water. Therefore, I am fully hydrated and munching away on about 400 calories worth of bread and rice a day. I did manage to find Pop-Tarts, and that is my morning snack!
The first few days were plagued with homesickness and sleep deprivation, but things have slowly been improving since. There are so many sights and sounds to take in! The ladies hostel that I am currently residing is called S.P. Mandali Quarters. It is the equivalent of a US "dormitory" without perhaps the "luxury" of a US dorm. Luxury? Dorm?... Comparitively? Yes. The first few nights were very prison-like, but now, thanks to a set of sheets shipped in from home and a little splash of color, the room is looking (but not feeling) a little more livable. I also finally mastered the shower, although it is still not a part of my day I look forward to because afterwards I fear I smell worse than before!!
I have mastered the local market of Matunga (the neighborhood our hostel is found in). We are the only westerners in this part of Mumbai (perhaps in ALL of Mumbai??) so I am slowly getting used to the constant stares and learning how to speak "Indian English" to get my goods bought at of course the best price. I've already adjusted to the prices here and seem to be unwilling now to pay more than $2.50 for a meal! I had an adventure to visit the doctor here in an effort to combat the rash that took residence on my face, and the adventure only cost me $20 (this included the cost of the entire doctor visit and having three prescriptions "filled" by the Chemist). I have purchased some fruit from the market and dry goods, but it's important that I can be sure of the safety of the food. The water here is not safe to drink, nor to wash your fruits or veggies in. Therefore I stick to fruit that can be pealed, and for the next 130 days I will be brushing my teeth with bottled water. Sort of like camping, for a realllly long time.
All of our classes take place at Welingkar Institute of Managemnet in Classroom 504. There are 15 of us in the IMBA Program here in India (and roughly another 15 currently in Paris who will join us in Philadelphia). I have class 5-6 days a week (we have class maybe every other Saturda), with two 3 hour sessions (10-1 pm and 2-5 pm) with a break for lunch. It's a long time to sit still in relatively uncomfortable chairs, luckily it is an AC'd classroom. The first part of our courses are basic foundation business courses (hence my current boredom) in Financial Accounting, Financial Management, Economic Analysis, Statistics, and Marketing. At the end of September we will finish with these classes (that do not count for any credit) and hopefully enter into more challenging coursework. This is lucky for me, since I can feel comfortable with the material with little to no effort, and it gives me adequate time to adjust to Mumbai and regain control of my health (a slow process).
I have had many mini adventures since arriving, and almost all adventures require a taxi ride. Taxis here are very cheap cheap! The current exchange rate is roughly 40 Rupis to the US Dollar. This means that my 100 Rupi taxi ride is just $2.50! Driving here, is another nightmare though! The Indians have the British road system, but never have I seen more chaos on the road. Not all the roads have lines on them, and those that do seem to be ineffective. There are often only 3 marked lanes, but up to 6 lanes of vehicles... going whichever direction they want to go with no regard for the other cars on the road. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents or people with really high blood pressure! There are some 19 million people estimated to be in Mumbai, with the number rising every day thanks to migration to Mumbai for purposes of employment. Mumbai also has the largest slums in Asia (it is the second most populus country in the world), with 50% of its population residing in "slums" scattered on the sides of road, or hugging train tracks (the number of people killed by trains each year is in the thousands).
I finally took a comprehensive tour of Mumbai (well actually mostly South Mumbai, the slightly more "touristy" area... still not westerners) and was able to take some nicer photographs of some of the sites that Mumbai has to offer. I have been posting my pictures on http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld so please visit for my adventures as shown in pictures.
We are currently in monsoon season, until the end of September. This means there is a ridiculous amount of rain daily. I wear my rain boots every single day, because you never know when the rains will start. Matunga is in a low lying area of Mumbai because of the fact that much of the sea has been dredged to flesh out Mumbai (that was originally a series of islands)... leaving Matunga to collect the nastiest floods. So far we have not had flooding as bad as my first day (talk about a welcome party). The floods are bad because it brings in a lot of the sea water, which is the dumping point for Mumbai's sewage system. This brings in a lot of bacteria and sickness (so glad for the rainboots) because the streets are filthy here anyway, with elephants, cattle, goats, cats, dogs, and people roaming freely and using the street as not only a bathroom, but as a trash bin! We reside on a very nice street (perhaps one of the nicer I've seen) and only have one or two cattle to call my own... in fact I am disapointed when I don't see them on my morning walk to school. We also have neighborhood crows that serve as my alarm clock, and the friendly neighborhood goat whose excessive bah-ing is also a good wake up call.
This is all the update I have for now. I would recommend checking out my pictures because I have a lot of interesting information about Mumbai that I picked up along my way on the tour yesterday included in the picture captions. It is Sunday here (I am 9.5 hours ahead of EST (yes .5... this is so that all of India can share the same time zone) and while I have nothing to do, I may try to do more exploring in the neighborhood rather than take the nap I so badly want to take, but know will in the end hurt my sleep schedule even worse.
I will continue to post stories here, particularly as I finally adjust to Mumbai and can share all my exciting adventures when I have a rested, well fed, and healthy body. In the meanwhile, I send my love to all of you in the States as I embark on this lesson of a lifetime! Keep in touch and be sure to email me the happenings of your life. After much searching I finally find postcards (but no post office yet) so be sure to let me know if you'd like to be a lucky recipient of a post card from good ol' India.
Friday, August 10, 2007
"Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" Poem, Rewritten
Hello mud-dah, hello fad-dah
Here I am at Mumbai, In-diah
India’s very overwhelming
But they say we may have sun if it stops raining.
I went walking through the street
Beyond repair, are my feet
You remember, it's like Karama
But, it's ten times worse, I miss Dad and Mama
All the smells are naus-e-ating
And the crowds are suff-o-cating
The stray cattle, they block me mooing
And for the dogs it’s fruitless shooing
I am, in head nod training
Did I mention, it was raining?
Water her-re, water there
In fact water’s filling every-whe-re
Mandali Hostel is close to school
But one may go insane with crazy rule-s
You would think with all this water
I would find a, nice hot shower.
My room is humid, my bed is hard
Oh won’t you please, send me a card
My windows won’t shut, the crows are loud
If you saw my shower then knew I took one, you’d be proud
Just remember, the water don’t drink
My patience for this, is filled to the brink
At least today, we got the web
Hopefully with it, homesickness will e-bb
And the taxis are very frightening
They drive faster than even lightening
Three lane highway but six lanes traffic
If a car should hit us, that’d be tragic
Oh wait that happened just this morning
To our driver it served as good warning
Driving closely, driving crazy
Move out of way? No, people are lazy
Roads are flooded and all drivers men
To think they say the crazy are the women
Blinkers optional, side mirrors gone
I think I’ll close my eyes so I get brawn
I am hungry, I am tired
I just hope in a year I get hired
It just has to—It’ll get better
I’ll just have to get a little wetter
St-ill learning, still exploring
If only it’d stop pouring
But don’t you worry, it’s not so bad
To leave here, I could be sad
How many more days do I stay here
I’m not sure I, have much cheer
Peace and quiet will be a treasure
And some good food for my stomach just a pleasure
I send my love, I send my heart
This from home I can tell apart
Please don’t leave me and don’t forget me
In the meanwhile, I will muster up some glee
Just be patient, just keep waiting
Soon you’ll hear of tales that are scintillating
Here I am at Mumbai, In-diah
India’s very overwhelming
But they say we may have sun if it stops raining.
I went walking through the street
Beyond repair, are my feet
You remember, it's like Karama
But, it's ten times worse, I miss Dad and Mama
All the smells are naus-e-ating
And the crowds are suff-o-cating
The stray cattle, they block me mooing
And for the dogs it’s fruitless shooing
I am, in head nod training
Did I mention, it was raining?
Water her-re, water there
In fact water’s filling every-whe-re
Mandali Hostel is close to school
But one may go insane with crazy rule-s
You would think with all this water
I would find a, nice hot shower.
My room is humid, my bed is hard
Oh won’t you please, send me a card
My windows won’t shut, the crows are loud
If you saw my shower then knew I took one, you’d be proud
Just remember, the water don’t drink
My patience for this, is filled to the brink
At least today, we got the web
Hopefully with it, homesickness will e-bb
And the taxis are very frightening
They drive faster than even lightening
Three lane highway but six lanes traffic
If a car should hit us, that’d be tragic
Oh wait that happened just this morning
To our driver it served as good warning
Driving closely, driving crazy
Move out of way? No, people are lazy
Roads are flooded and all drivers men
To think they say the crazy are the women
Blinkers optional, side mirrors gone
I think I’ll close my eyes so I get brawn
I am hungry, I am tired
I just hope in a year I get hired
It just has to—It’ll get better
I’ll just have to get a little wetter
St-ill learning, still exploring
If only it’d stop pouring
But don’t you worry, it’s not so bad
To leave here, I could be sad
How many more days do I stay here
I’m not sure I, have much cheer
Peace and quiet will be a treasure
And some good food for my stomach just a pleasure
I send my love, I send my heart
This from home I can tell apart
Please don’t leave me and don’t forget me
In the meanwhile, I will muster up some glee
Just be patient, just keep waiting
Soon you’ll hear of tales that are scintillating
The Mumbai Scratch
After numerous promptings to start a journal, and curious inquiries as to my adventures in Mumbai, I have decided to start a Mumbai Blog so that you can check in with me along the way, and hear about my crazy stories. I will post some information from the first few days (I have just crossed the one week mark) and then post when I get the chance.
Looking forward to catching up in person upon my return to the States in December.
Looking forward to catching up in person upon my return to the States in December.
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