Friday, February 29, 2008

Freak out number 592

Oh my word! I just found out that in India I need to dress extremely conservatively. I had planned on dressing modestly but I didn't realize that meant no capri's no sleeveless tops etc... I have no idea what I'm going to wear! I just browsed some travel sites and even they say you'll feel most comfortable covered neck to toes and long sleeves. Hello, its hot there! So I'm just praying I find some clothes in my wardrobe that will do, and I definitely need to buy some loose long pants to wear. I asked someone at work who went recently to let me know what she wore. Apparently the first day there she was stared at so much she totally changed her wardrobe for the rest of the weeks she was there. Sigh... I'm not looking forward to this. Apparently everyone in the US is half dressed according to Indians. Oh and I didn't dress this way in Singapore where there were about 15 Indian men and now I wonder what they thought of me?!

On a happy note... I bought a new camera today and hopefully I'll be taking some better pictures now. The last trip my camera just drove me nuts!

Friday, February 22, 2008

India Plans

Since I'll be in India for two weeks I've been trying to plan a side trip to see the Taj Mahal one weekend. I figure what else have I got to do, hang out in the hotel? I'm going with a co-worker for just a quick trip. Its been interesting planning our travels there. We've been told repeatedly that its best to hire a private driver as opposed to a taxi in India. So we contacted a co-worker recommended to us who lives in New Delhi and asked for some help with our plans and they totally offered for us to use their personal driver for the day when we are in town for free! Seriously amazing to have a private driver take us the 2-3 hours to Agra from Delhi and not have to pay for a train ticket or out of our own pockets. How cool is that? This guy doesn't even know us! He also offered to kick his kids out of their rooms so we could stay at their house if we couldn't get a hotel. Not too mention another person in our Bangalore office has already said they could help us go to a nearby city for a sight seeing tour on their day off. Again someone we've never even met.

It's just one more way I've noticed how hospitable people are when we come to visit them. Random strangers who only know your name are willing to take you places and drive you around. It makes me realize how inhospitable I can be. Especially here on the West Coast at times. When I was in Memphis I was treated extremely well. We can be pretty aloof, and protective of our off work time. Its made me realize that when people come to visit the US I need to go to out of my way to offer my help if they need it.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Communication Joy of the Day

Today I was helping someone via email who's an ESL (english as a second language) speaker. Most of the time I can figure out what people are trying to tell me via email, but at times the words just don't come out right. I'm never sure if its that they sound similiar or it was just a typo but they can be pretty funny. After going back and forth on an issue I got this as a reply "I am sorry for lagging you. But you are super woman of all solution". You can't help but smile! I assume lagging was really nagging, which they weren't doing. And yes quite frankly I AM a super woman of solutions! These emails really make my day.

I really don't mind the funny grammar and vocabulary, because honestly I'm sure if I was trying to speak in their language it would be WAY worse and they'd be laughing at my sad attempts. Though I really do need to attempt to get familiar with at least some of the other languages in my region. I'm taking a very basic mandarin class with some other people in my area in the next month. We'll see how that goes because its an entirely different alphabet on top of it being a different language for me to sort out. I want to build a little familiarity though.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Next Tour

So I found out this week I have two new trips on the docket. I'll be going to China since I had to cancel last time (early March) for just a week. I'm glad it will be a one week trip. So tune in again in a month and you'll hopefully see some info on China!

In April I am off to India for two weeks for our big project's implementation and since we fly through Frankfurt I'm stopping on the way home to see my friend Laurel's home in Germany for a few days. So I'll be gone for three weeks probably, but I get a bonus trip out of it to see a friend! My biggest worry right now is the accomodations in India and the food. I was warned to not drink the water, don't even brush your teeth with, it oh and don't eat things like salad (because its washed in the said water). AGH! Two weeks of this vigiliance! Also the infrastructure in India still is being developed, so electricity goes out randomly and quite frankly I've been warned it pretty much smells everywhere all the time (probably just because we so aren't used to it). BUT, I am excited to see cool Indian architecture (my favorite way to take in a culture) and buy some awesome sari fabrics.