Many times when I've felt that things here were out of control, I've found myself resorting to what I'm now calling "the Diva stage." "When exactly will it be finished?"; "How can you assure me that it won't happen again?"; "Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?" are questions that I find myself asking in vain attempts to reassert control over my surroundings. Most of the Indians around me usually tell me to just relax and everything will work out ok.
Therefore, I had to laugh when one of our friends who we hang out with a lot related his story of dealing with the car dealership here. He had given his car to the dealership to repair a dent in his hood. In the process they had to repaint it; however, when he went to pick it up, they had painted it a lighter color than the rest of car. The workmen claimed that there were many shades of 'satin gray'. My friend said, "That's why I gave it to you guys-I wanted it to match exactly. If I had wanted some variation, I would have given it to the shop down the street." They then said that would repaint it. I was so amazed when I heard his reply was, "How are you sure that this time you are going to get the right color of 'satin gray'?" It sounded so much like any phrase that I would have used in that situation. :)
26 August 2005
Kidnapping
I was watching the show Six Degrees on Discovery Travel & Living the other day. (We don't have a set-top box, so we only get about 6 English language channels, so there aren't always a lot of choices for programming!) Basically, the host of the show travels to a city and his or her goal is to walk around, meet 6 people there and learn about what they do there. Anyway, this one was set in New York City and the host was (I think) British. One of the people (actually it was a group of people) that he met had a business where people in the city paid him to break into their apartment, kidnap them, and rough them up a bit. People PAY him for this service? It seems like it was a fairly lucrative business-he has several employees to help him undertake his "missions." Does this seem odd to anyone else??????????? One of the "victims" that the host interviewed was saying how a service like this helps people learn to deal with their fears. Talk about niche marketing...
19 August 2005
We've got to get out of this place
Since Monday's holiday (India's Independence Day) gave us a three day weekend, we decided we needed to celebrate by traveling somewhere outside of the city. There were two problems with this decision: 1.) we didn't decide to actually start planning anything until Thursday, and 2.) many other people in India shared our same idea...
Our first idea was to go to Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India. I've heard it is beautiful as you can see the meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The sunrises there are supposed to be magnificent. (Some of my trainees have sent me absolutely gorgeous pictures of it, reinforcing my desire to go.) However, by the time we booked the train tickets (on Thursday to leave Friday evening) , the train was full and we ended up on the waiting list somewhere around numbers 12 & 13. (I thought Indians didn't like to plan things???) :) We went to the station Friday evening and waited to see if we would get on...our numbers kept jumping up on the list-11 & 12...then all the way to 2 & 3...but, unfortunately, that's as far as we got. We didn't get on the train. :( :( :(
So, disappointed, we came home and began to consider our other options. We decided that it would be fun to go to Pondicherry with a couple of our friends. We started calling around to find a hotel...we made many calls, but all the hotels in Pondicherry are booked-WHAT? Not only was it a holiday weekend, but it was also the birthday of one of the founders of the ashram. WHAT LUCK! *sigh*
We all decided to stay in Chennai for the night and try to come up with something to do for the weekend. No good ideas, though. By Saturday evening, however, Liz & I were desperate to get out of the city-ANYWHERE out of the city for a change of pace. One of our friends said that we should head to Pondicherry anyway-if we were there in person, they wouldn't turn us away. We decided to head out, even though it was already 8:00 PM. We stopped at several hotels along ECR (East Coast Road) to inquire about rooms, but they were all booked.
This was a sign to us that we were not going to get a room here-there were already people sleeping in the reception area! :)
We eventually ended up in Mahabalipuram where we found a guest house with one A/C room and one non-A/C room. With the permission of the owner, we moved the beds from the non-A/C room into the A/C room and all piled in. (It was a bit cozy, but at least we were all able to sleep without sweating!)
We dragged ourselves out of bed the next morning...but Liz and I discovered that we were going to need to make several stops to the bathrooms throughout the day. After breakfast (which is hard to find after noon) we headed on our way for Pondicherry. We again stopped by several hotels and resorts along the way, but again they were all booked. We even stopped by Auroville to see if any of their guest houses were free. After driving around in search of many different people, we were told that they were all full-not surprising since it was The Mother's birthday. It was not late afternoon and we were starting to worry a bit about finding a place. One of the hotels we stopped at was able to "hold" rooms (non-A/C) for us at another hotel; however, by the time we found it, they had already released the rooms. Fortunately, they had two A/C rooms coming available at 8:00-about 45 minutes away (which seemed an eternity because we were all hungry and wanted to go somewhere to eat!) We did check in with no problems...except that we couldn't get any towels until the next morning. :) What luck!
We slept in late the next day (aaaahhh...restful sleep), got up and went shopping in the afternoon. We started back to Chennai a bit later than planned and I just barely scooted into work in time for my midnight shift.
I don't know; I think that if Pete has an anti-science zone around him, I might have an anti-hotel or anti-vacation zone around me. :)
Our first idea was to go to Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India. I've heard it is beautiful as you can see the meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The sunrises there are supposed to be magnificent. (Some of my trainees have sent me absolutely gorgeous pictures of it, reinforcing my desire to go.) However, by the time we booked the train tickets (on Thursday to leave Friday evening) , the train was full and we ended up on the waiting list somewhere around numbers 12 & 13. (I thought Indians didn't like to plan things???) :) We went to the station Friday evening and waited to see if we would get on...our numbers kept jumping up on the list-11 & 12...then all the way to 2 & 3...but, unfortunately, that's as far as we got. We didn't get on the train. :( :( :(
So, disappointed, we came home and began to consider our other options. We decided that it would be fun to go to Pondicherry with a couple of our friends. We started calling around to find a hotel...we made many calls, but all the hotels in Pondicherry are booked-WHAT? Not only was it a holiday weekend, but it was also the birthday of one of the founders of the ashram. WHAT LUCK! *sigh*
We all decided to stay in Chennai for the night and try to come up with something to do for the weekend. No good ideas, though. By Saturday evening, however, Liz & I were desperate to get out of the city-ANYWHERE out of the city for a change of pace. One of our friends said that we should head to Pondicherry anyway-if we were there in person, they wouldn't turn us away. We decided to head out, even though it was already 8:00 PM. We stopped at several hotels along ECR (East Coast Road) to inquire about rooms, but they were all booked.
This was a sign to us that we were not going to get a room here-there were already people sleeping in the reception area! :)
We eventually ended up in Mahabalipuram where we found a guest house with one A/C room and one non-A/C room. With the permission of the owner, we moved the beds from the non-A/C room into the A/C room and all piled in. (It was a bit cozy, but at least we were all able to sleep without sweating!)
We dragged ourselves out of bed the next morning...but Liz and I discovered that we were going to need to make several stops to the bathrooms throughout the day. After breakfast (which is hard to find after noon) we headed on our way for Pondicherry. We again stopped by several hotels and resorts along the way, but again they were all booked. We even stopped by Auroville to see if any of their guest houses were free. After driving around in search of many different people, we were told that they were all full-not surprising since it was The Mother's birthday. It was not late afternoon and we were starting to worry a bit about finding a place. One of the hotels we stopped at was able to "hold" rooms (non-A/C) for us at another hotel; however, by the time we found it, they had already released the rooms. Fortunately, they had two A/C rooms coming available at 8:00-about 45 minutes away (which seemed an eternity because we were all hungry and wanted to go somewhere to eat!) We did check in with no problems...except that we couldn't get any towels until the next morning. :) What luck!
We slept in late the next day (aaaahhh...restful sleep), got up and went shopping in the afternoon. We started back to Chennai a bit later than planned and I just barely scooted into work in time for my midnight shift.
I don't know; I think that if Pete has an anti-science zone around him, I might have an anti-hotel or anti-vacation zone around me. :)
10 August 2005
Just when I thought I'd begun to settle in...
...I woke up Saturday morning around 10 AM to find that the power was out. Judging from the temperature in my room (very hot!), I'm guessing it went off around 9 or so. Actually, it wasn't just hot, it was stifling. UGH! And, by 10 AM, I had only been asleep for about 4 hours, after getting home from work sometime around 5:30. Grumpily, I pulled the couch directly under the fan in the living room (it runs on the generator) and managed to doze on and off for the next couple of hours. *sigh*
By 4 PM I'd had enough of that (the couch isn't really that comfortable for sleeping!) and the power still wasn't back on. "That's it!" I decided, "I can't take this-I'm going to stay at a hotel." I felt a bit of pampering was in order to restore my world back to some balance. After calling around to a few hotels and on the recommendation of one of my friends, I chose the Quality Inn Aruna. Not a 5 star hotel, but with A/C, room service and more than just basic cable (Star Movies here I come!), I figured it met all of my needs. And, it even had a bathtub! I checked in and then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant.
When I got back from dinner, I asked the front desk for bubble bath and they said they would send some right up. Oh, heaven!!!! :) While I was waiting for them to deliver it, I turned on the TV to see what movies were available. Wait a minute-Star Movies is not at all clear!!! This is so not a good sign! A call down to the desk to see if they could do anything about it. "We'll send someone right up." "Ok. And don't forget about the bubble bath." "No problem."
10 minutes go by and no one comes. Another call to front desk. "Yes, yes, we're sending someone." I decided to start filling the tub. The person comes to tell me that they have no bubble bath and offers shampoo instead (so not the same). :( Then, I notice that the bottom of my pant leg is wet-on top of everything else, the bathtub is now leaking. Now, I'm demanding a new room. They offer me the one next door, but the first thing that I check out is the TV-no Star Movies at all and the rest of the English channels are fuzzy. *Sigh* At this point, I decide I just want to leave. It's already midnight and I need to get up for church the next morning. The power is back on at my apartment and I can at least watch VH1 there at no additional cost. After a minor discussion with the management, who wanted me to look at yet another room, I was on my way home. So much for pampering myself.
But, after all that, there's something to be said for falling asleep in your own bed. Or, maybe I was just too tired at that point to think about anything else-either way I slept wonderfully!
By 4 PM I'd had enough of that (the couch isn't really that comfortable for sleeping!) and the power still wasn't back on. "That's it!" I decided, "I can't take this-I'm going to stay at a hotel." I felt a bit of pampering was in order to restore my world back to some balance. After calling around to a few hotels and on the recommendation of one of my friends, I chose the Quality Inn Aruna. Not a 5 star hotel, but with A/C, room service and more than just basic cable (Star Movies here I come!), I figured it met all of my needs. And, it even had a bathtub! I checked in and then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant.
When I got back from dinner, I asked the front desk for bubble bath and they said they would send some right up. Oh, heaven!!!! :) While I was waiting for them to deliver it, I turned on the TV to see what movies were available. Wait a minute-Star Movies is not at all clear!!! This is so not a good sign! A call down to the desk to see if they could do anything about it. "We'll send someone right up." "Ok. And don't forget about the bubble bath." "No problem."
10 minutes go by and no one comes. Another call to front desk. "Yes, yes, we're sending someone." I decided to start filling the tub. The person comes to tell me that they have no bubble bath and offers shampoo instead (so not the same). :( Then, I notice that the bottom of my pant leg is wet-on top of everything else, the bathtub is now leaking. Now, I'm demanding a new room. They offer me the one next door, but the first thing that I check out is the TV-no Star Movies at all and the rest of the English channels are fuzzy. *Sigh* At this point, I decide I just want to leave. It's already midnight and I need to get up for church the next morning. The power is back on at my apartment and I can at least watch VH1 there at no additional cost. After a minor discussion with the management, who wanted me to look at yet another room, I was on my way home. So much for pampering myself.
But, after all that, there's something to be said for falling asleep in your own bed. Or, maybe I was just too tired at that point to think about anything else-either way I slept wonderfully!
08 August 2005
Pondicherry
Yea! So I've been here 3 months now and I've finally made my first trip out of Chennai. (Well, I suppose I could count the trips to Mahabalipuram, but that's too close! :) ) Pondicherry is about 2 1/2 hours south of Chennai. It is noteworthy because it was originally a French colony and still retains some of the French influence there. (Malinda, when you come to visit, we'll have to take a trip there! :) ) It's not actually part of Tamil Nadu, but, along with a couple of other French colonies makes up a Union Territory. Pondicherry also famous for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and nearby Auroville (the vision for international peace)-neither of which I visited on my trip. :)
I made the trip down with two of my co-workers-Raghu and Jeff (another American trainer). We conveniently took Raghu since he has family there and we could crash with them! :) Raghu's family lives in this traditional style family house-something that looks (to me!) like it would fit in at Dakshina Chitra (see my post on the same from April). There are two levels-with the family living on both, a big atrium-like place in the center, and a swing hanging from the ceiling on the lower floor. Staying with his family was nice-they stuffed us full with good South Indian food! The only bad part was the lack of A/C (can't imagine trying to A/C the house-too open air) and the mosquitoes that ate us alive! Oh, well, the price you pay for a vacation... :)
Like I said, I didn't visit either the ashram or Auroville-we just couldn't really seem to get our butts in gear in order to get there on time, but we did visit Sri Manakula Vinayager Temple, a temple dedicated to Ganesha (the elephant god). Jeff and I both tried to back away when the priest came around to put the ash blessing on our foreheads, but he very determinedly marked us anyway saying "Best of luck." I guess that's not too bad of a blessing. :)
Other than that, I spent most of my time shopping (much to Jeff's chagrin!) :) Yea! More salwars-and even I think they match! :) :) All in all it was a great trip and I hope to go back again soon!
I made the trip down with two of my co-workers-Raghu and Jeff (another American trainer). We conveniently took Raghu since he has family there and we could crash with them! :) Raghu's family lives in this traditional style family house-something that looks (to me!) like it would fit in at Dakshina Chitra (see my post on the same from April). There are two levels-with the family living on both, a big atrium-like place in the center, and a swing hanging from the ceiling on the lower floor. Staying with his family was nice-they stuffed us full with good South Indian food! The only bad part was the lack of A/C (can't imagine trying to A/C the house-too open air) and the mosquitoes that ate us alive! Oh, well, the price you pay for a vacation... :)
Like I said, I didn't visit either the ashram or Auroville-we just couldn't really seem to get our butts in gear in order to get there on time, but we did visit Sri Manakula Vinayager Temple, a temple dedicated to Ganesha (the elephant god). Jeff and I both tried to back away when the priest came around to put the ash blessing on our foreheads, but he very determinedly marked us anyway saying "Best of luck." I guess that's not too bad of a blessing. :)
Other than that, I spent most of my time shopping (much to Jeff's chagrin!) :) Yea! More salwars-and even I think they match! :) :) All in all it was a great trip and I hope to go back again soon!
01 August 2005
Catching up
I know I've gotten a lot of worried emails lately, so I wanted to quickly let everyone know that I was ok. (And yes-will catch up with those emails soon.) Yes, there is severe flooding, but it is mostly concentrated around Mumbai (Bombay)-in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Here in Chennai, there has been some rain, but not torrential monsoon as there. In fact, here they are actually worried because the rains have not raised the water levels enough, which could make problems later on.
Other than that-just finished a hectic training session at work. Hopefully things will be calm for a couple of days so that I can recouperate-though there is a chance that I will have to change to days and do classroom training full-time. I have mixed feeling about that...
Be on the lookout for new posts, though, I will update you all on my weekend trip to Pondicherry! :) :) :)
Other than that-just finished a hectic training session at work. Hopefully things will be calm for a couple of days so that I can recouperate-though there is a chance that I will have to change to days and do classroom training full-time. I have mixed feeling about that...
Be on the lookout for new posts, though, I will update you all on my weekend trip to Pondicherry! :) :) :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
