It’s been a few days again… but during the week there isn’t much I feel I should write about on a day to day basis here. Work, sleep, eat, work again… and the cycle continues. I’m used to that part on work travel. We’ve been fitting a few things in here and there, and work has been interesting these past few days as well, but overall not much new information to share about my experiences in India.
Interestingly, it’s become more-common for us to see cows on the road. I think we see between one to two a trip in the morning now. I’m not sure if it’s just the time of year or a different route we are taking, and sometimes it’s the same cow, but it’s fun… something to spice up the drive!
Speaking of spicing things up… Tuesday I had an interview with my company for an internal promotion. I don’t know that I’ll get it, there are some politics involved and there are really a great deal of good candidates, but I’m hoping so. My interview portion could not have gone better from where I was sitting, even if it was halfway around the world in a borrowed office where I was told to be sure the actual occupant wouldn’t be able to tell I was there. Tuesday night heralded more good news… while in California last month I made friends with some of the customer-facing education team and they’re having trouble finding a representative for a live interaction with hundreds of customers that they already have scheduled. They reached out directly to my manager and asked specifically if I might be available to help them, and I feel very honored! Work is going very well, even if I am very far away!
But this blog isn’t about work exactly… so back to India. Last night (Wednesday morning in the US) we went to a celebratory dinner for those who are leaving for the US this Friday. Right now there are five mentors from the US who have come, and by Monday I’ll be the only one again more fly in next week. The celebratory dinner meant waking up early, and taking a trip to Barbeque Nation, a local chain that resembles a Brazilian Steakhouse with some small tweaks.
On the way to the restaurant we had one of Brian and I’s most interactive sessions with the begging that goes on in the streets in Bangalore. Most times if you are walking people will come up to you, potentially touch you, grab you, and attempt to ask for money by mimicking eating food. Once you have said no and shaken your head, they will just get more persistent, sometimes stepping in front of you and other times following you for blocks and blocks at an uncomfortably close distance. All of this, of course, is catered to people from countries where pressure is not normal and this type of action is either hostile or uncomfortable. Give them money, and they might go away, one might think… easier to shell out a dollar or two than deal with the personal-space invading shadow for blocks. We’ve been told giving in will only make it worse, and it’s easy to see why. When sitting in the van at a stoplight, a small girl in a grey dress saw me, and pointed while screaming something. We were about four lanes in from the turn (ha! lanes… that’s not actually a thing here!), and soon an elderly woman walked over, picked up the child, and made a beeline for the van. Ignoring every other car for the white Americans, the woman came over and pounded on my window before mimicking eating food. I looked at her, shook my head no, and went back to talking with Brian.
The pounding became louder, the movements more exaggerated while they continued to try to get my attention back. I again turned to them, shook my head, and mouthed “no.” The pounding increased again, and our driver had to waive them off around the same time I started wondering just how much abuse the window could take. They barely stepped back and barely decreased their pounding when the van started moving again and we were on our way. During rush out I suppose that’s a normal experience here. It’s disheartening, but there are just too many here to help one by one.
We did make it to the restaurant, though, and had a good time. Most surprisingly, there was a man there singing covers of songs from Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, and many 80’s bands… and really he was very good. I was extremely impressed! I actually looked to tip him somehow, but I was told he is paid by the restaurant and that they don’t do that type of thing here. Just another oddity from culture to culture. The food was very similar to Texas De Brazil if they removed beef and had a lot more fish and chicken. The spices were absolutely amazing and it fell somewhere between barbecue as Americans know it, and the Korean barbecue I eat pretty regularly back home. It was tasty, hot to the point it almost burnt your tongue… and I couldn’t get enough. When one of my coworkers asked to have the spices toned down a bit (this is something the restaurant is used to hearing) I was actually a little disappointed!
We finished up dinner, and headed into another night of work after ensuring the restaurant knew it was Brian’s birthday (it wasn’t, but they sing a song!) and we got a bit of embarrassment and entertainment in. Work proceeded pretty normally, though I did find out we have an espresso bar upstairs with a guy who serves espresso all day and all night. I’ve never been happier. The coffee at work tastes a bit like metal here, which is both concerning and not exactly delicious. I’ve been drinking it anyway, but it’s nowhere near what I would hope to enjoy. Of all the creature-comforts in the world… I would miss my coffee the most (was considering buying a coffee maker and some coffee and having it shipped, not even joking!). Now that I’ve found our coffee bar, I think tonight will be my most productive night here yet!
I’m headed to the Hard Rock Cafe in Bangalore here in about fifteen minutes tonight… because it’s impossible to pass that opportunity up! I need to pick up a few shirts for some friends who collect them, and enjoy a nice dinner while we’re there! I don’t have any weekend plans yet, might just do laundry and catch up on things at the hotel. More to come on that.
