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