I've added to the slide show, so click this link again and see the latest. If you've already looked at the pictures, you can jump to picture # 22 (I believe) to see just the new ones.
ENJOY!
Link to a slide-show of my pictures.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
A day at the office
To answer my aunt's question, yes a day at the S1 office in Pune is eerily similar to a day at the S1 office in Atlanta. One big difference is the work day doesn't begin until 10a. Starting so late is partly a function of the Indians trying to overlap as many business hours with their co-workers in Europe and the US as possible, and it has become a technology company standard in Pune. That late arrival time fits my normal body clock perfectly!
Another HUGE difference is the presence of "office boys." That term sounds rather derogatory, but it is the standard term for young men (older teenagers, really, I would guess) who are employed (presumably for a pittance) to bring coffee, tea, soda, biscuits (aka cookies to us Americans) and bottled water to guests of the office. My office boy's name is Santosh, and he's great! My fellow travellers from the US and Europe are jealous (and merciless!) because apparently Santosh has taken quite a liking to me, and I am never without 2 cans of Coke (regular, not diet... just ask Santosh, he knows), two bottles of water, a hot cup of coffee, and a plate of biscuits on my desk. And the fact that Santosh introduced himself to me is more cause for mirth among my co-workers. I call it establishing good international relations!
Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual here. The employees sit in cubicles, very similar to those in most office buildings in the US, with one main difference being the height of the cube wall is only about 3 ft; whereas in the US S1 offices, they are 5ft. There are no traditional offices but we have all been placed in a small extra conference rooms for the duration of our stay. We even all have printed signs taped to our doors. Mine reads BOOKED FOR JENNIFER DELMERICO FROM 26TH FEB TO 2ND MARCH.
Another HUGE difference is the presence of "office boys." That term sounds rather derogatory, but it is the standard term for young men (older teenagers, really, I would guess) who are employed (presumably for a pittance) to bring coffee, tea, soda, biscuits (aka cookies to us Americans) and bottled water to guests of the office. My office boy's name is Santosh, and he's great! My fellow travellers from the US and Europe are jealous (and merciless!) because apparently Santosh has taken quite a liking to me, and I am never without 2 cans of Coke (regular, not diet... just ask Santosh, he knows), two bottles of water, a hot cup of coffee, and a plate of biscuits on my desk. And the fact that Santosh introduced himself to me is more cause for mirth among my co-workers. I call it establishing good international relations!
Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual here. The employees sit in cubicles, very similar to those in most office buildings in the US, with one main difference being the height of the cube wall is only about 3 ft; whereas in the US S1 offices, they are 5ft. There are no traditional offices but we have all been placed in a small extra conference rooms for the duration of our stay. We even all have printed signs taped to our doors. Mine reads BOOKED FOR JENNIFER DELMERICO FROM 26TH FEB TO 2ND MARCH.
Laxmi Road
Last evening we ventured into the heart of Pune, the city center, Laxmi Road. You can find anything at all on Laxmi Road. We specifically went there looking for inexpensive (by US standards) gold for the guys to take home to their wives. I was just along for the ride and to shake my head when they picked up something too gaudy. What an incredible place, this Laxmi Road. It is bustling with old-world business. Hundreds of tiny store fronts, some of which are barely a few paces deep, full to overflowing (some literally!) with fabric, tools, automobile parts, jewelry, food, fresh produce, photocopies, electronics, stationary, anything and everything that you would ever need. Ritesh informed us that on the weekends, you can not even walk down the road, it is so crowded with thousands of Pune residents doing their shopping. This is the city market, far from the more Westernized areas where malls and shopping centers are springing up. Not far from Laxmi Road, we pass the old fort which marks a famous battle in Pune early in the 19th century.
After our adventures in the city market, we were invited to dine with Ritesh's family who live in Pune. We stopped at their flat where his mom provided platters of sweets for us. Delicious! Then off to Mainland China for some Chinese food, Indian style... YUM! I do love Indian food, but it was good to have something different for dinner tonight.
Even though the jet lag has not been bad, I am completely unaccustomed to eating dinner as late as is typical in Pune. Whether eating out or eating in, most evening meals don't begin before 8p and often as late as 10p. That is awfully late for this girl! One thing I realized yesterday is there are a lot of hours between lunch at 1p and dinner at 9p. I was STARVING to the point of feeling queasy and nauseous by the time we finally sat down to dinner. I won't make that mistake again - I'm carrying American snacks with me from now on.
After our adventures in the city market, we were invited to dine with Ritesh's family who live in Pune. We stopped at their flat where his mom provided platters of sweets for us. Delicious! Then off to Mainland China for some Chinese food, Indian style... YUM! I do love Indian food, but it was good to have something different for dinner tonight.
Even though the jet lag has not been bad, I am completely unaccustomed to eating dinner as late as is typical in Pune. Whether eating out or eating in, most evening meals don't begin before 8p and often as late as 10p. That is awfully late for this girl! One thing I realized yesterday is there are a lot of hours between lunch at 1p and dinner at 9p. I was STARVING to the point of feeling queasy and nauseous by the time we finally sat down to dinner. I won't make that mistake again - I'm carrying American snacks with me from now on.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A land of dichotomy
I'm beginning to recognize some of the geography as we drive around Pune. I know we turn right after the HSBC building to get to our hotel. I know the S1 office is on the right after we cross the big bridge over the Mula Mutha River. So now instead of looking at the buildings, I find myself looking between the buildings. And what a different world it is between the buildings and under the bridges and on the banks of the river.
The middle class lives and works in the buildings. The poor strive for sustenance between the buildings. I see mothers with babies in arms sitting on curbs, digging through trash bins, walking barefoot along the thoroughfares. This morning I saw two barely clothed children playing in the garbage dump while a woman, presumably their mother, searched nearby, presumably for food. The banks of the Mula Mutha, which is very low beneath the banks in February a month or two before the monsoons begin, are packed with tents, make-shift homes of cardboard and fabric. However, during the rainy season, the Mula Mutha will fill its basin and has the potential to overflow its banks, completlely flooding this shanty-town. Even if the banks don't overflow, the mud caused by the rains must make the area unlivable.
Just over the bridge from these shanties are relatively new, high-rise condos, which are selling for $100 - $200 USD per square foot. That price puts them out of reach even for the educated high-tech company workers, which comprise a majority of the emerging middle class.
The gap between rich and poor is an international one, but it is very noticeable here in Pune.
The middle class lives and works in the buildings. The poor strive for sustenance between the buildings. I see mothers with babies in arms sitting on curbs, digging through trash bins, walking barefoot along the thoroughfares. This morning I saw two barely clothed children playing in the garbage dump while a woman, presumably their mother, searched nearby, presumably for food. The banks of the Mula Mutha, which is very low beneath the banks in February a month or two before the monsoons begin, are packed with tents, make-shift homes of cardboard and fabric. However, during the rainy season, the Mula Mutha will fill its basin and has the potential to overflow its banks, completlely flooding this shanty-town. Even if the banks don't overflow, the mud caused by the rains must make the area unlivable.
Just over the bridge from these shanties are relatively new, high-rise condos, which are selling for $100 - $200 USD per square foot. That price puts them out of reach even for the educated high-tech company workers, which comprise a majority of the emerging middle class.
The gap between rich and poor is an international one, but it is very noticeable here in Pune.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Pictures
There's got to be a better way to view these pictures, but I'm having trouble figuring it out. Not to mention my body thinks it's 4:57am, but the clock says it's the middle of the working day!!
Link to a slide-show of my pictures.
Link to a slide-show of my pictures.
Getting to know Pune
Thankfully we have a local travelling with us. Ritesh now lives in Charlotte, but he grew up and attended university in Pune, and his family still lives here. Therefore, we are able to experience more local flavor than I, for one, would have had the courage to do alone. For lunch, Ritesh took us to a lovely little cafe know for its Southern Indian veggie dishes. We sat outdoors and enjoyed Dosa and Tomato-Onion Uttappa and some vegetable soup. Uttappa is the size, shape, consistency and flavor of a pancake. I had mine topped with fresh tomato, onion and shredded goat cheese. It was delicious and very filling; I only finished half.
After lunch, we stopped at a local mall, which is quite westernized. I was the only one who wanted to shop, so Ritesh put the others in rick-shaws back to the hotel, and he went to visit with his parents. The mall is 5 stories with a grocery on the top level. I enjoyed wandering the different departments and noted that for every patron in the mall there were at least 2 - 3 employees; therefore, I was bombarded by folks asking if I needed help. I finally decided, for self-preservation, to stop speaking and just shake my head when questioned and keep walking. After I wandered around all 5 floors, I made my way down the lower level where a couple guys were putting on a mini-concert. They made a big production of wanting to sing for the audience one of their favorite songs, written and performed by a classic American country music star! Turns out the song was Country Roads by John Denver!! I thought of piping up and saying that no one in the US considers John Denver country or a star, but I thought better of it.
I managed to take in a short nap after shopping before leaving for dinner. We headed out to MG Road (who knows what MG stands for? I'll give you a hint: every major Indian metropolis has one. Think MLK Drive in US citites.) for some shopping and a taste of the commercial life before dinner. On the weekends, they close this major thoroughfare to motorized vehicles, and it becomes a Walking Plaza. It was great to walk along without having to dodge rick-shaws and cars, but there were still an amazing number of people walking with us. Pune is a small city by Indian standards, but still 3-4 million individuals live here. For dinner, Ritesh recommended a fantastic Indian restaurant high atop a small hotel on MG Road. It was excellent, and we all left full and satisfied and ready for bed.
I slept wonderfully and awoke with the most intense migraine I've had in years. I blame the wine. A couple excedrin, a steaming hot shower, and a good Western breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee at the hotel restaurant, and I was feeling fine and ready to head to the offices of S1 Pune.
After lunch, we stopped at a local mall, which is quite westernized. I was the only one who wanted to shop, so Ritesh put the others in rick-shaws back to the hotel, and he went to visit with his parents. The mall is 5 stories with a grocery on the top level. I enjoyed wandering the different departments and noted that for every patron in the mall there were at least 2 - 3 employees; therefore, I was bombarded by folks asking if I needed help. I finally decided, for self-preservation, to stop speaking and just shake my head when questioned and keep walking. After I wandered around all 5 floors, I made my way down the lower level where a couple guys were putting on a mini-concert. They made a big production of wanting to sing for the audience one of their favorite songs, written and performed by a classic American country music star! Turns out the song was Country Roads by John Denver!! I thought of piping up and saying that no one in the US considers John Denver country or a star, but I thought better of it.
I managed to take in a short nap after shopping before leaving for dinner. We headed out to MG Road (who knows what MG stands for? I'll give you a hint: every major Indian metropolis has one. Think MLK Drive in US citites.) for some shopping and a taste of the commercial life before dinner. On the weekends, they close this major thoroughfare to motorized vehicles, and it becomes a Walking Plaza. It was great to walk along without having to dodge rick-shaws and cars, but there were still an amazing number of people walking with us. Pune is a small city by Indian standards, but still 3-4 million individuals live here. For dinner, Ritesh recommended a fantastic Indian restaurant high atop a small hotel on MG Road. It was excellent, and we all left full and satisfied and ready for bed.
I slept wonderfully and awoke with the most intense migraine I've had in years. I blame the wine. A couple excedrin, a steaming hot shower, and a good Western breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee at the hotel restaurant, and I was feeling fine and ready to head to the offices of S1 Pune.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Arrived in Pune
After a good sleep in Mumbai, we were up at 6:30a for the very short (20 minute) flight to Pune. The domestic airport in Mumbai is smaller than the international airport, but security is just as important. Each passenger's bags are scanned and each passenger is scanned with a hand-held detection device. The men & women queue up separately at one end of the large waiting room. The men are instructed to put their bags on the conveyor and then stand on a small box at the front of the line while a male security guard scans them with the metal detector. We all watch. It seems rather unnerving for the guy with his arms and legs spread wide on the box. As a woman, however, I put my bags on the conveyor, but then I enter a small curtained-off space, where I stand on a low box and a female security guard very respectfully scans me and then bows her head ever so slightly to indicate that I am secure and free to go. It's a pleasant experience. The difference in treatment sets us off on an animated discussion of women's rights and the way things "should" be. Women "should" be scanned in private with respect; however we should not take that respect so far as to say that women "should" be unable to be seen in public, nor the opposite way to say that women "should" be treated exactly the same as men, with no regard for gender. Different cultures obviously have swung their pendulum either far right or far left of center.
As we leave the Mumbai airport, heading west out over the Arabian Sea before turning left to head south-east to Pune, we pass "shanty-town," with its hundreds of cardboard boxes, which function as homes of many hundreds of people. This is the part of India that is very hard to bear.
The flight to Pune lands at my fifth airport in 2 days. We disembark, collect our bags, find our names on the signs held by the drivers from our hotel, clamber into small SUVs and head into Pune. The Central Park hotel is quite nice. We get our room assignments and I exchange some currency (about 42 Rupees to the US dollar). Then we head into the town for some lunch.
As we leave the Mumbai airport, heading west out over the Arabian Sea before turning left to head south-east to Pune, we pass "shanty-town," with its hundreds of cardboard boxes, which function as homes of many hundreds of people. This is the part of India that is very hard to bear.
The flight to Pune lands at my fifth airport in 2 days. We disembark, collect our bags, find our names on the signs held by the drivers from our hotel, clamber into small SUVs and head into Pune. The Central Park hotel is quite nice. We get our room assignments and I exchange some currency (about 42 Rupees to the US dollar). Then we head into the town for some lunch.
Internet access is hard to come by
Friday, February 23, 9:20p EDT: Immediately after pushing back from the gate in New York to begin the 13.5 hour trip to Mumbai, the piolot came over the PA system and stated that a passenger had become ill and chose not to make the flight, so due to FAA regulations, her luggage needed to be found and removed from the plane before we could take off. Two hours later, we were finally airborne. It was an uneventful flight and not as long as one would think a 13.5 hour flight would seem.
One nice thing I noted about international flights is that passengers have more freedoms to stand up, walk around, chat with other passengers in the aisles, and help themselves to beverages and snacks at the flight-attendant stands. For a couple of hours, I stood and talked with my fellow S1 travellers. I listened to the Delta-provided musci selections, watched The Queen, and even watched an episode of House. I then took 1/2 an Ambien and took a nice 4 hour nap, waking up just in time to be served breakfast.
We landed in Mumbai on Saturday, about 11:30pm local time, went through customs with no problems and waited for our luggage. My bag was one of the last to fall through the chute, and I was becoming nervous that it had gotten removed from the plane in New York in the airlines' quest to remove the ill passenger's bag. But finally it came through, and we were off into city of Mumbai. My first sight when I left the doors of the airport was a mass of humanity milling about, many of whom were carrying signs with people's names. We found our names on the signs carried by memebers of the Hyatt Hotel where we were booked for the night. They were extremely polite and friendly and helpful.
I met a "friend" on my way to the car. A little girl, not older than 10, dressed in a pretty but rather dingy, dirty dress, wearing a headscarf. She tapped my forearm and when I looked at her, she motioned toward her mouth with her hand to indicate hunger. I smiled at her and shook my head no. Big mistake. She followed me until we got to our car, tapping my arm very gently and motioning toward her mouth. After I got into the car, she continued her tapping, now on the window of the car. She persisted until we backed away.
The drive to the hotel was very short but already I got a small taste of driving in India. Indians drive on the right, fast, with frequent use of the horn as an absolutly necessary precautionary tool. Cars share the road with motorized rick-shaws, pedestrians, bicycles, dogs, goats, and motorcycles, with or without side-cars. Lanes are painted but seem to be more recommendation than rule.
The Hyatt Regency Mumbai is an exquisite hotel. We were there for a very short stay, awaiting our flight to Pune on Sunday morning.
One nice thing I noted about international flights is that passengers have more freedoms to stand up, walk around, chat with other passengers in the aisles, and help themselves to beverages and snacks at the flight-attendant stands. For a couple of hours, I stood and talked with my fellow S1 travellers. I listened to the Delta-provided musci selections, watched The Queen, and even watched an episode of House. I then took 1/2 an Ambien and took a nice 4 hour nap, waking up just in time to be served breakfast.
We landed in Mumbai on Saturday, about 11:30pm local time, went through customs with no problems and waited for our luggage. My bag was one of the last to fall through the chute, and I was becoming nervous that it had gotten removed from the plane in New York in the airlines' quest to remove the ill passenger's bag. But finally it came through, and we were off into city of Mumbai. My first sight when I left the doors of the airport was a mass of humanity milling about, many of whom were carrying signs with people's names. We found our names on the signs carried by memebers of the Hyatt Hotel where we were booked for the night. They were extremely polite and friendly and helpful.
I met a "friend" on my way to the car. A little girl, not older than 10, dressed in a pretty but rather dingy, dirty dress, wearing a headscarf. She tapped my forearm and when I looked at her, she motioned toward her mouth with her hand to indicate hunger. I smiled at her and shook my head no. Big mistake. She followed me until we got to our car, tapping my arm very gently and motioning toward her mouth. After I got into the car, she continued her tapping, now on the window of the car. She persisted until we backed away.
The drive to the hotel was very short but already I got a small taste of driving in India. Indians drive on the right, fast, with frequent use of the horn as an absolutly necessary precautionary tool. Cars share the road with motorized rick-shaws, pedestrians, bicycles, dogs, goats, and motorcycles, with or without side-cars. Lanes are painted but seem to be more recommendation than rule.
The Hyatt Regency Mumbai is an exquisite hotel. We were there for a very short stay, awaiting our flight to Pune on Sunday morning.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
T-1 day
This time tomorrow I'll be sitting on my plane @ JFK waiting to take off on the 16 hour flight to Mumbai. I'm all packed and ready to go! I'm taking along my camera (OK, Mia's camera) so hopefully I'll be able to upload some pictures here in the next few days. I also got some great advice about sleep pills and time change from a couple experienced world travelers, so have Ambien, will travel and sleep (with any luck!). Wish me luck!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Preparing for my trip to Pune
Since I'm leaving the Western hemisphere for the first time in my life, I decided to try another first... blogging. So I'm using my first blog to record my first trip to India.
The adventure began about 3 weeks ago when all the begging and pleading I'd been throwing at my employer finally paid off and they offered me the opportunity to visit our office in Pune, India. I am thrilled and excited at the opportunity to meet some of the people that I've been working with for many months, not to mention the opportunity to see and experience their culture first-hand. I've found that a typical response when I tell someone that I'm going to India is trepidation; people are nervous on my behalf. And when they find out I'm not that nervous, they want to tell me all the reasons I should be! I appreciate their concern but what I appreciate more is their advice of what I might want to be taking, doing to prepare, or excited about!
Some of the best advice I've received so far is to:
The adventure began about 3 weeks ago when all the begging and pleading I'd been throwing at my employer finally paid off and they offered me the opportunity to visit our office in Pune, India. I am thrilled and excited at the opportunity to meet some of the people that I've been working with for many months, not to mention the opportunity to see and experience their culture first-hand. I've found that a typical response when I tell someone that I'm going to India is trepidation; people are nervous on my behalf. And when they find out I'm not that nervous, they want to tell me all the reasons I should be! I appreciate their concern but what I appreciate more is their advice of what I might want to be taking, doing to prepare, or excited about!
Some of the best advice I've received so far is to:
- take along my own "fat" (to eat if my malaria pills make me queasy). I'm thinking bags of potato chips.
- take slippers for the plane (so my feet don't get cold and I'm more comfortable).
- take noise-cancelling headphones (so the drone of the aircraft engines don't drive me insane).
- get my shots (Thanks Jessie Mullins at Peachtree Travel Clinic!)
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