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.
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Hi, I'm starting to feel like the people in the movie "you've got mail". I get to work each morning and the first thing I log into is this site to see what you're up to. I don't know what I'll do next week when you're back home. I guess Santosh will have to keep me distracted with all the diet Coke and water I can drink. You are bringing him home , right? I think he would be very happy in Asheville.
Not to be outdone by my older sister, I felt the need to try this blogger thing and add my coments as well. Fist I will say that I am quite jealous of your adventure not only for the excitement of a foreign land but for the warm as well. Good ol' PA is covered in snow! Enjoy yourself and just inform Santosh that you have 2 women now fighting over him! He sounds wonderful!!
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