If I Can Peel It, I Can Eat It...

...even if I have absolutely no idea what it is. That's what I told myself at breakfast this morning. We got to breakfast a bit early and were sitting at the table waiting for everything to be ready. The table with a bunch of fruit was right there. It all looked delicious - watermelon, pineapple, mango and...um...I'm not really sure what that last thing was. We sat pondering what the mystery fruit was for quite a while. Then we decided to get a closer look. Anyone know what this is?

No one? If you think this is the point where I tell you what the mystery fruit is, you're out of luck. I have absolutely no idea. It was a fruit unlike anything I had ever seen. The strange, red peel popped off to reveal what looked like a large, skinless grape. I tried to cut into it because I wasn't going to pop that thing in my mouth without knowing what the center looked like. It was pretty tough to get through with the butter knife. Once I got through, I saw that there was a nut of some sort in the middle. But I tried it anyway. It had a very interesting flavor. I can't even begin to describe it. I don't know if I'll eat it again or not. But it was an adventure.

The Reason I'm Here

Work. I suppose I shouldn't complain because work is what got me a trip to a place I wouldn't visit on my own. And if the first 2 days are any indication, it won't be bad at all. At least it doesn't involve walking across any streets. We left our hotel at 7 pm on Monday evening to head to the office. We told our driver that we needed to go to the MetLife office. After an extremely terrifying drive through rush hour traffic, we pull up to the building. But the minute we pulled up, I knew it wasn't right. The office had moved recently and I had seen pictures. This was not the new building. Our driver was really nice and talked to one of our co-workers here to get the correct address. After an additional 20 minute, not as scary drive, we pull up to the building and Shruti and Ashish are waiting for us. We check in with security and go up to meet the team. By the looks on their faces, it was obvious they all knew we went to the wrong building first.


It was great meeting everyone on the team. There were a couple of guys that I had worked with when they were in Iowa in January and it was nice to see them again. I had been talking to several people over email, sametime and the phone for a couple of months and it was great to put a face with the name. Now the trick is going to be matching the right face with the right name. We had a map with everyone's names and where they were sitting. The problem is that they don't sit in the same seats each day. But like I said, I'm a smart girl. I'm sure I'll have the names down soon.


The first day was a bit stressful. By the time we got back to the hotel, all we wanted to do was finish up a bit of work, get breakfast and go to bed. After trying unsuccessfully for 20 minutes to get our computers and systems working, we got the giggles. I'm pretty sure I started it, surprise surprise, but Shelly jumped right in. I don't think there is anyone in the room next to me but if there is, I should probably apologize.

Since we were awake, we decided to get breakfast. Problem was they didn't start serving for another 20 minutes. After looking out the window and not seeing anyone on the streets, we thought that would be a good time to do a little exploring. There wouldn't be people everywhere or cars to run us over. From the time it took us to get from the 3rd floor to the lobby, it had started pouring rain and was very windy. It was about that time that we decided we would just hang out in the lobby for 20 minutes. We were hoping that the rain would help cool down the temperature. Definitely not the case. It just made it more humid. White girl fro is starting to make an appearance...

Appreciation

This is the front of our hotel. Its a beautiful hotel with lots of green plants and trees. Everyone makes sure you are happy and have everything you need. The hotel is gated and there are security guards at every entrance. It makes you feel safe and at times you forget where you are. The picture below is a couple of steps outside the gate.



It's a completely different world that is heartbreaking. We walked just down the street to a couple of shops. Along the way, there was a young boy who followed us asking for money. He didn't speak English but just kept saying "Ma'am, please." At the corner there was a group of children playing in the shade of a small, thin tree. They were sitting in the dirt with torn, dirty clothes. Sitting at a stoplight on the drive to the office, a boy came up to the window holding a monkey asking for money. At the next stoplight, a woman carrying a baby knocks on the car window. In a field, there are tents and shacks set up in every available space.

I haven't been here long but its definitely an eye-opening experience and makes me appreciate everything that I have. I don't have to worry about having a roof over my head, a meal on the table, clothes on my back. Before I left they told me I would feel this way. I knew it would be tough to see all the poverty but didn't think it would be this tough.

Not From Here

Apparently its very obvious that I'm not from here. I could be wrong but I think the blond hair might have something to do with it. But everywhere we went, every head turned to look at us. When we were walking outside, people would stick their heads out the window to look at us. I think it will take a while to get used to that. However since its very obvious I'm not from here, I can get away with taking pictures sitting next to random statues. This was in front of a restaurant at one of the malls. My favorite part of the picture is the expression of the guy behind me. Pretty sure he is thinking something along the lines of "Huh?"

Mall Adventure

Sitting at the hotel lounge last night, we met a couple of guys and started chatting with them. They asked what our plans for today were. We said go to the mall. (It sort of made me want to sing the song from How I Met Your Mother that Robin Sparkles sings...Let's Go to the Mall. Don't worry, I didn't sing. I'll save that for week 2) They looked at us a little funny but didn't say anything. We knew the malls were close so we figured it would be a fairly easy trip and get us out of the hotel for a bit. So this afternoon after breakfast/lunch, we took off.

Problem #1. We saw one mall as we were driving to our hotel last night and were told the other one was right across the street but we didn't actually know where it was. We're smart girls, we can figure it out, right? We venture out of the safety of the hotel, turn the corner and realize that there aren't any sidewalks.

Problem #2. Well, there are plenty of other people walking on the street and the road doesn't look too busy. We'll be fine. Turn the next corner. There are sidewalks now but there are a few parts where we had to jump down a couple of feet and walk on the street. But we made it to Mall #1. We wander around for a while and then decide to venture to Mall #2. I had seen the sign on the front of the building when we were walking into the first mall so I knew it couldn't be far. When we leave the mall, we go the way that we think we should go. We wander down a street filled with people, cars and shops, the whole time wondering if we made a wrong turn. But then we saw the mall. But we had to cross the street pictured below and we didn't see any crosswalks (although I'm thinking that even if there were, people wouldn't follow them).

Problem #3. After following someone who looked like they knew what they were doing, narrowly avoiding motorcycles and cars driving all over the road, we made it. We wandered around Mall #2 for a while and then decide to head back to the hotel. We go to the entrance we think we came in.

Problem #4. Nothing looks familiar. So we do another loop of the mall and pick an entrance that seems close to where we came in. Good news, it was actually closer to the hotel than the first one. So now we just needed to get across the street again. After telling several taxi drivers that we were walking, we took a deep breath and stepped off the curb. Thankfully this crossing didn't involve any close calls and we made it back to the hotel.

Later in the evening, we ran into the guys at the lounge again. They ask what we did today and we told them about our adventure. After problem #2, they stopped being polite and laughed at us. Well I guess it was more laughing with us. That makes me feel better. At least it does when I tell myself that when people laugh at me back home.

I Made It

After 24 hours of being in an airport or on a plane, I made it!! There were no problems with any of our flights unless you count having to spend 15 hours on a flight a problem. But the flight wasn't bad. I got caught up on some good quality movies like Bride Wars and Confessions of a Shopalohic. Pretty sure my favorite part of the trip was when the flight attendant was serving dinner to Shelly and I and said "I have to ask, how did you girls get in business class?" To this we responded "Is it that obvious?" Oh and I guess flying business class was pretty great too. That might have actually been my favorite part with the flight attendant comment a close second. We landed in the Delhi airport around 8:15 pm local time (9:45 am central time) and made it through customs quickly. Then after waiting for what seemed like an unbelievably long time for our luggage, it was off to the hotel. Ashish, who works at the India MetLife office and was in Iowa in May, met us at the airport with our driver. They even had a sign with our name on it. It was 105 F (I'm going to need to learn the Celisus to Farenheight conversion) when we landed. I thought Iowa was hot.

This is Ashish and I waiting for the car.

I had been warned about the traffic in India but I was not prepared for it. There are approximately a gagillion people on the road and no lines and the gagillion only includes those in cars. It doesn't factor in the ones walking along the street, parked on the street or on bicycles. There were a few times where I stopped breathing because I was certain we were going to get into an accident. But we made it safely. We're all checked into the hotel and since we still think its 12:30 pm, we're going to go explore the hotel and get something to eat. We should probably unpack but whats the fun in that?

India...Here I come!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...Well all my bags are packed at least. I think I'm ready to go but it hasn't fully hit me yet that I'm going to India for 3 weeks. I'm assuming it will at some point during the 15 hour flight. Or when I step out into the heat and humidity...my hair is going to go crazy! (Who doesn't love white girl fro though?)

This is primarily a business trip but I've been told that there will be plenty of time for "vacation." We will be working during the evening hours and will have the daytime and weekends for adventures. The first weekend we are there we are planning on going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I'm bummed that I'll be missing the 4th of July but seeing the Taj Mahal makes up for it. One other place that I've been told to go to is Ghandi's Memorial in Delhi. And I will be doing plenty of shopping. There are 2 malls right by our hotel...that could be where I spend my days. I made sure to pack light so I had plenty of room to bring things back.

Check back for pictures and stories of all my adventures. My goal is to ride an elephant.