My first week in Bangalore...

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My second day in the office was much better than my first. I had a better night sleep and I was no longer nauseous. After I was able to keep down a few meals in a row I felt like I was finally well.

I ate the veg Indian lunch in the office most of the week. It was surprisingly good. For about 60 cents you get as much rice as you want, vegetables, bread, and a "sweet". Drinks are separate - you can buy a liter of water for about 25 cents. Most of the people do not drink any liquids while they are eating lunch - even though the food is very spicy. They also do not use napkins. Instead they eat most of their meals with one hand (the right one - it is rude to eat with your left hand unless you are left handed). Then they go to the "wash" after they are done eating - a corridor with about 5 sinks, soap, and paper towels. They wash their hands and face. Sometimes they drink water from their hands out of the faucet. Otherwise they get tiny cup of water from a water filter machine. I would not be able to swallow a pill with that small amount of water!

One day I made the mistake of getting the non - veg meal. It was some sort of chicken - but it was not the meaty chicken breast we are used to eating in the US. Instead it was miscellaneous chicken parts - it looked like knuckles and grilse. I think I even saw a couple of feathers mixed into the sauce. I think that I will stick with the veg meals from now on.

I am feeling much more connected - my blackberry is working again. Now there is no escape from work! I think that I worked about seventy hours this week. I am sure that work will slow down after a few weeks. At least I hope that it will...

Interesting observations:
Showering: There is no hot running water in my apartment even though it was built less than 2 years ago and caters to the upper middle class. In order to shower with hot water you must turn on your "geyser" (pronounced as geezer) 30 minutes beforehand. Then when you shower you have to keep turning the water gauge because the shower will start off hot and then get very cold until you run out of water. In my first room I could not get the hot water to last more than 5 minutes because water was leaking out of the lower faucet. I switcher rooms and now I am able to shower for about 7 to 8 minutes.
When my Indian team asked me what I missed most about home I mentioned hot running water among other things. I had to explain to them that in the U.S. we have a water heater so that you can get hot water out of any sink at any time. This was a foreign concept to them and as I explained it to them I realized that this seems very wasteful. Even so, I miss being able to take a hot bath in my giant bathtub that I have at home!

Traffic: I am still fascinated by the traffic here. Entire families ride across town on a single motorcycle. Public buses are overflowing with people. Auto rickshaws and motorcycles are everywhere and are more common that automobiles. Some roads actually have traffic lanes but they are merely a recommendation - not a requirement. The drivers do not hesitate to pull out into oncoming traffic if the oncoming vehicles are smaller than our vehicle. When there is a traffic light drivers tend to pull out into the intersections before the light turns green. I tend to be a backseat driver in the US, that urge has completely left me here in India because I cannot begin to comprehend the best way to drive in this place. The drivers here in India are much more alert and brave than most of the drivers in the US.

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Photos

Family of 5 on a motorcycle
Most families in Bangalore do not own an automobile so they use a motorcycle for transportation.

Comments

[Pa]

Traffic
I'm not sure that I could survive driving the streets in India. I'd either be in continuous road rage mode or a quivering blob of jello. I still think of Shannon's experience in India and her "accident". It will give you a new perspective of the traffic in Atlanta when you get back.

[Holly]

Creature Comforts
Hot water is something we take for granted indeed! I can't imagine getting up for work everyday and having to take a cold shower...guess you no longer need coffee though....lol. Talk about a morning wake up call!