To My Friends & Family Enjoying Turkey, Pumpkin Pie, Cranberries, Stuffing & Sweet Potatoes Today...

...ok I better stop now before I make myself drool. I, unfortunately, will most probably dine tonight on rice (sigh!) and chicken from the office canteen. So, please do spare a thought for me as you are stuffing yourselves with your feasts. :) Wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving-may you realize you have a lot to be thankful for!

The Night of Thanksgiving

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING, BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS, I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.
***
THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED - THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION WITH ALL MY MIGHT
***
TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION
***
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
***
I GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.
***
I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
***
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
***
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES...
HAPPY EATING TO ALL PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.
***
MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
***
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF YOUR THIGHS.
***
HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!

Jaan-E-Mann

So I went to see a Hindi movie in the theater today-the new Salman Khan movie, Jaan-E-Mann(Sweetheart): Let's Fall In Love...Again. I feel that I should state right here that I am not a Salman Khan fan. I think this is due, in a large part, to the opinion of one of my friends who had a large influence on my Hindi movie-watching experiences. ["What's this movie?" "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke."* "Who's in this movie?" "Salman Khan. *disgustedly* I wonder if he'll take his shirt off in this movie too?"**] But, from my own personal opinion, if you look at his eyes in many of his movies he looks like he's on some sort of drugs.

Anyway, despite the fact that it was a Salman Khan movie, one of my friends convinced me to see it. He adores Salman Khan, and he's already seen the movie like 4 times, so I didn't feel too bad about asking him to translate it all for me. It was a typical Hindi movie-love triangle, family interference in true love, lots of singing & dancing (though no wet saree scene). And, it was a typical Salman Khan movie because not even a half hour into the movie, he rips his shirt off.

However, the part I found most interesting was the Indian movie representation of New York City and of New Yorkers. (I think that having the characters visit NYC is the new trend in Indian movies-see also Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu). In this movie, the two heroes get out of a cab in NYC to find the address of the heroine. They meet a guy (an American) coming out of her apartment building and they ask him if they are at the right address and he starts giving out all sorts of personal details about her: "Oh, you must mean the sweet and pretty girl that lives right next to me" etc to these two strangers! And she lives alone! Plus, the dialogue for all the Americans was rather stilted, not the way we speak at all! Then, there is a fight scene where Salman Khan single-handedly trounces six tough guys...in the middle of Times Square! I mean, come on, do people really think it's like India where you can pay everyone to look the other way while you beat someone in public?

I don't mean to sound negative, though, because I really did enjoy the experience altogether. I do have a certain love for Hindi movies, no matter how bad they are!

*Secretly, Quietly
**Of course he does.

In case you missed my voice...

I've been waiting to leak this for quite a while now, but I had to check it out while I was in the US...

"If you are calling about N***** Anti-virus 2007,

please press 1"

Over the past month or so, I have been recording the new IVR menus for one of our clients. (I'm being a little vague about it cuz I'm not sure if I am allowed to share this, but I figure, hey, I didn't get paid any extra for it, so why not get some enjoyment out of sharing it!)

"If you are calling about N***** Anti-virus 2006 or

N***** Anti-virus 2005, please press 2"

It was kind of fun...especially since they chose my voice over Tim's after the first recording! :) But, I have to admit, after listening to the recordings, I can now recognize that I definitely have a regional accent...and a Rochester accent on top of a Pittsburgh accent is not necessarily a good combination...

"If you are calling about N***** Anti-virus 2004 or earlier,

please press 3"

I was actually kind of disappointed when I checked it out at home and found that you have to pay to even hear the menu options; however, when I got back to India, I recorded another one, which anyone can hear. 1 800 927 3991 or 1 800 441 7234.*


*Please note that, at this time, the first voice is not me, but the second voice is....in case it has been that long since you've heard my voice. :)

Choices

As I was going through training for my first mission trip to Gaza, I remember the person leading it telling us that we would probably, at some point in time, when we least expected it, be overwhelmed by how much we have here in the West. She said it came to her one day when picking out laundry detergent in Wegmans-she was overwhelmed by the choices available. I've often wondered if I would ever have a similar experience, but, until now, I hadn't had one.

This week, while shopping with my girl friend (in Target, actually, not Wegmans) I decided I needed to pick up some lotion to combat the dryness in my skin from the crisp fall air. As we walked into the lotion aisle and saw all of the different options available, I started to wonder how people are even able to choose between brands. Because I've been out of the country for a year and a half now, I didn't have a specific brand or type of lotion that I wanted to purchase. As I tried to pick out the best one, I actually became so overwhelmed by the amount of choices there are, I started to panic and, had my friend not been there with me, I think I would have left the store without buying anything!

I think that we in the West are lucky because of how much choice we do have, and I think it is something that we typically don't even realize. I'm reminded again about this topic after my arrival back in Chennai. Everyone here always asks if I like Indian food. My standard reply has lately been, "Yes, but not every day." I do like Indian food, but the idea of eating the same sort of meal day after day makes me loose my taste for it. And when I compare it to all of the different kinds of food I ate during my short visit to the US, I can't help but marvel again at the overabundance of choices: Mexican, steak, sushi, pasta, BBQ, seafood (that's not in a curry sauce) to name a few. People laughed when they asked me what I wanted to eat while I was home and my reply was always "anything that's not rice". But when rice is a staple food and often the most appetizing option, you can easily get tired of it when you are used to having more choices available.

Sometimes, I think this is one of the hardest things to adjust to here (at least for me) and as I am starting to get back into the swing of things here, it is something I am not looking forward to giving up. I guess I will always be an American in that respect, no matter how hard I try to fit in India.

In comparison...

It's hard to miss living in western NY when you hear stories like this: Western NY Digs Out After Record Snow. I mean, first of all, it's middle of October, not even winter yet. Second of all, it's Buffalo; think how creative you have to get to have RECORD snowfalls in Buffalo! *Sigh*

I think it seems especially cruel when I realize that a mere two weeks ago, I was here

at a beach resort in Kovallum.

My roommates and I decided to make the most of our recent four-day weekend and headed out to soak up some sun on beaches of Kerala. It was so relaxing and uncrowded-and because it wasn't quite high season, we were able to swing some good deals on food, shelter and taxis. This was our view from our balconies:

And a few other random shots of the area:

Ethnic Day

Whew! I have much to catch you all up on. I have been running around like crazy for the past couple weeks, vacationing (in India) and preparing for my vacation back to the US. However, now that I have landed stateside, I have plenty of time to relax and catch you up on life in India.

I originally planned to head back on October 5th, but was asked to postpone my trip so that I could finish the batch I had started. However, the batch start got delayed, and when I asked what was going to happen, they told me they would find someone to cover my batch. Um, wait, doesn't that completely INVALIDATE the reason I delayed my trip? Sigh. Although I am not sure whether to ascribe this to an Indian thing or a general management thing...

Luckily, it was a great batch and made me actually want to return to training in India. (Something I was heavily doubting during a previous bad batch.) Here is a picture of us on "Traditional Dress Day" (to celebrate Dusshera-a day to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, ascribed to two different stories). (Yes, I know a saree is not my traditional dress, but I was instructed to wear it!)

Here' s another one with some trainees from a former [good] batch (who are now in process training):

Girl's Night Out!

Sunday was my friend Crystal's birthday and since her husband was out of town, she decided she wanted to celebrate by having a girl's night out. She rented a car (& driver) and we headed out on the town. It was a fun night overall, despite the fact that at one of the pubs, Havana, we had what was possibly the worst drink ever conceived. If you ever go-don't try the Zippy Zapper. It is a concoction containing Jal Jeera, lime juice, ginger, either white rum or vodka, and some other stuff (I don't remember-I don't WANT to remember!)

Most of the definitions I found on line describe Jal Jeera like this: Jal Jeera or Jaljeera is a very common, spicy and tangy cold drink made from Cumin seeds. "Jal" means water in Hindi and "Jeera" means cumin in Hindi. Jal Jeera is the Indian version of the American summer drink "Lemonade". And just like the lemonade it makes for a refreshing drink in summer. or Jal Jeera can be best described as Indian spiced and salty lemonade. It is different at first but [for] those who like it, it is absolutely refreshing.* These definitions were obviously not written by an American, as who takes their lemonade SALTY? And without any lemon flavor?

It must have been quite funny to the outside observer to watch all of our faces simultaneously contort after the first sip...quickly followed by puzzled glances at the contents of our glasses. We all had similar thoughts: "What the heck did we order?" ; "Who thought up this drink?" and "How are we going to finish the pitcher?" Oh, well, so much for being adventurous...

*One recipe I found even included this line about Jal Jeera: Before serving, Add Boondi to each separate serving. ( Boondi floats on top making the drink more crispy.) Cuz you know that always what I look for, a nice CRISPY drink...

The Flora and Fauna of India...well, at least the fauna

We discovered that we had a rat living in our apartment last week, after finding half-eaten bananas (peel and all!) on top of our refrigerator. I was a little concerned because the rats that I have seen so far (outside of one of our offices) were probably the inspiration for the R.O.U.S.es in The Princess Bride. Seriously, they are at least as big as a good-sized cat...and I definitely did not want to think about where something that size was hiding in our apartment.

Anyway, Ralph and I came home from a lo-ong day of shopping and decided to watch one of our (newly purchased!) movies. As we were sorting through, trying to decide which one to watch, a rat comes scurrying out of the kitchen, jumps on the window screen and hides behind the curtain. (Luckily, he (she?) seems to be pretty normal-sized!) Ralph and I jump up and decide we're going to chase him out onto the balcony. Armed with a broom and a mop, at first we only succeed in chasing him back & forth between the curtains. Finally, he takes a leap and runs...no, not outside, but back in the kitchen. Sigh...the chase continues through the laundry baskets, under the washing machine and behind the fridge...all to have him end up on the screen again. We hastily blocked off the kitchen with the ironing board. During this process, Ralph intelligently shut and latched the door to his bedroom, but I merely shut mine, so our next leg of the chase took us into and around my room. Finally, though, we managed to herd him outside. We shut the balcony door firmly then sat down and had a good laugh at the whole proceeding.

We selected and began to watch the movie we abandoned earlier. About 10 minutes into the movie, a rat comes running out of the kitchen, jumps on the window screen and hides behind the curtain. Ralph and I look at each other, wondering if we are experiencing deja-vu. However, we quickly ascertain that, no, this is a second rat, who is slightly larger than the last one. Luckily we are now pros at this. We opened the balcony door, sealed off the kitchen, latched the bedroom doors, picked up our 'weapons', and had the second rat out the door in less than half the time it took to get the first one out. Again, we close the balcony door and broke into peals of laughter at the whole experience.

As we started the movie once again, I know I was wondering how many more times we were going to have to repeat the procedure. Luckily, though, we were able to make it through the rest of the movie without any further rodent interruptions!

Denim

Now that there has been some time, I feel I can finally write about an event that happened that nearly sent me over the edge-and back to the US, with no thoughts of return. Not that the event in itself was so big, just that it hit at a time when I was already frustrated with work and generally being in India. I guess I can call it: THE CASE OF THE MISSING JEANS!
In an earlier post, I mentioned the trauma of having to shop for new jeans, which I try not to repeat very often. I thought I was set with the couple of pairs I had. However, a couple of weeks ago I did some laundry and hung it upstairs on the roof to dry. A couple of days later, I noticed that one pair of jeans had never returned from the rooftop. I searched all over and discovered that I was missing two other pairs of pants-one trouser and another pair of jeans. I checked with my roommates, I checked with the maid, I checked with the ironing lady-all to no avail. They were gone.!

It sent me over the edge. I can't believe I'm living in a place where people steal clothes (keep in mind that my jeans are tailored to my size too!) right off the line. People tried to suggest that they flew off the line and disappeared, but I had a lot of trouble thinking that it all happened in one day, with items that are so heavy...

I was inconsolable. I kept telling everyone that I was going home in October and not coming back to India. It was the last straw! Everything that I hate about India is consolidated into this one event. It outweighed everything I like about India. I want to go back where things make sense...

Anyway, that was what I was going through for the past couple of weeks. Now, however, I seem to have stabilized (well, as much as I was before!). I bought new jeans and, as of right now, am planning on returning after my vacation to the US in October.

Yea! Liz finally has her own blog!!!!

Check it out....

In celebration, I thought I would post a few fun pictures of Liz that didn't make it to the blog yet!



Look at those bare legs! You won't see a picture like this coming from where she is now!







The question at Christmas was "Does this clash with my new hair color?"




Liz shows of some fancy footwork with her trainees at the cultural
show!








More shots from our Bollywood experience in Ramoji Film Studios!

And, last but not least, the goodbye scene...

Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu

I went to see my first Tamil movie in the theater today. Now normally I don't go see Indian movies in the theater because, obviously, I'd either have to have someone translate (not fun for either one of us) or it would have to be subtitled (which I believe only happens in the US) or I would sit there only grasping a portion of what was going on on the screen. However, since many of my friends were going and one of my students (who saw the movie on it's opening night) told me that it had a lot of English dialogues since it was set in NYC, I decided to try it out. ..

First, let me tell you that the definition of "a lot of English dialogues" is completely relative. I should have known better. In fact, maybe 10 lines were completely in English (even the NYC scenes!), plus a couple of randomly-sprinkled English words in the midst of a Tamil dialogue. After discussing this with people afterwards, apparently that DOES constitute a lot of English for a Tamil movie-usually there is zero English! :)

Everyone, however, has been talking about this movie-I didn't want to be left out! And, I have been hearing the soundtrack (though I didn't know it!) blaring during many of my cab rides to and from work. The movie stars Kamal Hassan, one of the reigning legends of Tamil cinema. He plays a police officer searching for a serial killer (actually two), the pursuit of whom takes him around Tamil Nadu, to NYC, and back to Chennai.

My friends warned me that I was in for an experience, seeing a Tamil movie in the theaters. I understood why right from the beginning as people started clapping, cheering & whistling when Kamal Hassan appeared on the screen. It was reminiscent of my DaVinci Code experience (although I still think that crowd was just being obnoxious!) It died down, mostly, as people got absorbed into the movie.

All in all it was a fun experience and I did like the movie, despite some wacky upside down camera shots during some of the chase scenes. Southern movies seem a bit more realistic than their Bollywood relatives (though there are still the musical interludes in exotic locations!) Now all I have to do is learn Tamil so that I can enjoy them even more....

Moo?

Check this out!

I wonder if they have trouble understanding each other when one cow gets sold and moved to a different part of the country. And if the cows in the existing herd make fun of the new cow with the different accent. Do you think that American cows have a different accent all together from the British ones? Do Indian cows moo a different language all together or do they just have a different accent? And is there some sort of "neutral moo" that, theoretically, any of them can understand?

Introducing....

....TIM

Isn't he sexy, ladies? :)

Since he has complained that he hasn't gotten enough face time on my blog, I have decided to remedy the situation and give him a whole post here just to introduce his new blog! :) I encourage you to visit and enjoy his unusual thoughts on India.

Finally, I have convinced one of my roommates to get their own blog instead of living vicariously through mine! :)

Hey! That's my food!

Have you ever had take-out food delivered to your door that you didn't order? Ok, maybe. (though thanks to a standardized address system in the US, it's probably not likely!)

However, have you ever taken said food, pretended that you did order it, pay for it and greedily consume it*? Nope, I didn't think so.

But, yes, that is what happened when Ralph and I attempted to order food from Wang's Kitchen for lunch yesterday. Now last year I ordered quite a bit from them, but this was my first time to order from my new apartment. I was a bit concerned about changing the address, but they seemed*** to understand. So when an hour had passed with no sign of them, I made the (first) call to them. "On it's way, 10 minutes madam." (The standard reply.) 20 more minutes pass. I phone again (because, really, they are closing in 5 minutes!)

Me: "I'm calling about the food I ordered for delivery."

Wang's guy: "But it's been delivered madam..."

Me: "Um [stomach growls], no?"

Wang's guy: "But yes madam and the money is coming...the money has come back"

Me (pitifully-remember I have been waiting for food for an hour and half here!): "But I have no food!"

Wang's guy: Delivery to [reads out address-with incorrect number]?

Me: No, [corrects numbers]

Wang's guy: "Ok madam. I am sending food again there 20 minutes."****

Me (desperately): "20 minutes or no payment!"

Wang's guy: "For sure***** 20 minutes madam."

When the delivery guy showed up (about 22 minutes later, but I paid him anyway), he explained that he had delivered it to the house 3 houses down from us. Now, I don't know my neighbors here, but I have heard that at least one Tamil actress, plus possibly a few other people associated with the film industry, live on our street. Not exactly the people that you would think would need to steal food from a couple of poor, hungry, foreign language trainers, but I guess you never know....

...I only hope they were veg!!!!!! Would serve them right...


*I am only speculating about the greedy consumption part of the story, though I think it is a safe bet**

**asterisk comments inspired by Pete and Tiffany

***this is always the problem

****If it only takes 20 minutes, why did it take an hour the first time?

*****Always a dangerous phrase (means, most likely, never, similarity to definitely) ******

******Hey these comments are kinda fun!

Random Quiz

Ok so I don't usually go for all of these quizzes, but this one was kind of funny.
Especially the fact that it used the word "shady" in my obituary. :) Jeff, I blame you.

Actually, come to think of it, doesn't this obit fit him a lot better?

'What" will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

The Da Vinci Code-the movie

I finally went to see The Da Vinci Code at Sathyam Theater last night. What a waste of time and money. I guess I can try to comfort myself with the fact that I only spend about Rs. 100 ($2.50) instead of the $8+ I would have had to pay if I had seen it in the US. I guess that’s what you get when you take an average (at best) book and try to turn it into a blockbuster movie.

Of course, my opinion of the movie was also influenced by the crowd around me. In case you didn’t know, the movie has only been open here for a little while now; Tamil Nadu was one of the states that had originally banned its release. I can’t imagine why the censors here were worried-if the crowd that was at Sathyam last night was any indication, no one is actually going to pay enough attention to the movie to understand what the movie is about! Even before intermission, the crowd had already given up paying attention to the plot and would randomly shout, whistle and clap at what was going on on the screen. It was so obnoxious!

Personally, I think that the movie had too much dialogue and monologues for the average Indian viewer-and not enough action. It brings to mind a quote from a Hindi movie I have seen recently, Rang de Basanti. A father says about his son, “SMS generation. Speak 4 lines and they think you’re giving them a lecture.”

As for me, I think I will do all my movie viewing at Maayajal-the crowd has been much less obnoxious in my trips there.

Censored!

Well, I'm posting this new post, even though I won't be able to see it due to this. Pete's friend Dave had this problem a couple of days ago, but I've only been blocked starting today. Gives you a new appreciation for the guarantees of free speech, I guess. Keep posted, I may have to move my site.

Events

Here are some random pictures of various events that I've celebrated here...



This is the wedding and reception hall of Deepa and Jude. Deepa is a friend from church-doesn't she look stunning as a bride?







Another wedding, this time for the daughter of our co-worker. The decorations in the background are all made out of vegetables.

My roommates (Tim and Ralph) and I went to the German Food Festival to celebrate Ralph's birthday. Tim (the one on the left, in profile) has been harassing me that he hasn't been mentioned on my blog, so here's his first mention. :)

This is my former student's sister's wedding. One interesting thing is that each person in the family gets their own invitations to the wedding. So this one invited me specifically to the wedding "of my sister". But it was good to see these guys from my batch. They were from my batch that finished in the middle of November last year and they still keep in touch with me.

I'm fine, but this is what's going on in Mumbai.

The Descent of the Accent

This article appeared in the Chennai version of The Hindu today. I thought it was pretty interesting, plus someone from my company was quoted. I wonder if this is why I can't get a job at any of other companies here...