Baby India

I am HE-MAN

2006-12-28T01:09:00.000-08:00

Vinay attempting to show off his muscles in his oh so manly sweater.

Going All Out

2005-12-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

Meet the Expats...Strike a PoseStrike a Pose Take II - John wasn't ready the first timeFrom left to right: The freak, me, Reg, and Rohit
Hyderabad's AngelsHyderabad's Clowns?The Ugandan's kickin' it. From left to right: Bennet, Me, Ahmed, Marlo, Muxat, and CarolAfter 17 years...they still got it! (Ignore the freaky onlooker in the background...)

Holiday Party!!

2005-12-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

It actually felt a little like Christmas even though I wasn't home. Santa Claus giving gifts to the kidsLeft to Right: Reg, me, Saams, and Leigh Anne. Saams and I actually tango'd on stage - it was a dare. We got 10 bucks and I got a new name...10 rupee Bali.
Sheetal looking adorable...she's one of Santa's helpers this year. Sathy all decked out for the holiday season.

Lauren's Leaving...!!

2005-12-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

Folks gathering around to bid Lauren farewell and a safe journey home. Say Cheese! I think this was one of a million pictures taken of Lauren and co. that day.
We'll all miss you Lauren...!

Jump Jump Jump

2005-12-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows how to have fun! This party/event was put together by fellow co-workers. Folks actually won prizes for winning games over the weekends prior (cricket, basketball, table tennis, soccer, carrom, etc). Here's me and the freak
Left to Right: Regina, Lauren, Josh, Nicolette, and Heather. Josh is literally surrounded by the ladies tonight. From left to right: Jogi (who is so CUTE), me, Sujatha, and Sathy
Everybody's having a good time...from left to right: Sachin, Sathy, Jogi, Uma, Ashok (in green), and Chetan

Happy Birthday Chetan!!

2005-12-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Chetan took us out to dinner at one of his favorite places. Thank you Chetan!
From left to right: Sonam, Sathy, Chetan, Veera, Me, Ashok

Madhumita's Wedding

2005-11-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

From left to right: Rupa, Kuheli (who's getting married on Jan 22), Madhumita, and Jayatri (who is also getting marred on Jan 22).
Attendees at the wedding

My Birthday

2005-11-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

Karaoke Night

2005-11-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

We went to B&C for a fun night out. Who knew that many of the folks can actually sing, and sing incredibly well?! Please note, I did not include myself in this comment. I cannot sing.

Aksay above, who reminds me of Charlie Brown.

Myself, Ruksha and Uma.

Ujjani in the center looking super cute.

Uma singing Karaoke for the first time! We coerced her into it.

From left to right: Aprajita (our Ambassador), Rohit, Satarupa, Sathy and 1/3 of Kiran Kumar

A Night Out @ Coco's

2005-11-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

On a Friday night after work...just a few of us hanging out.

Matt and Sara's Farewell...=(

2005-10-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Matt and Sara cutting their cake. We had a party at our apartment to bid them farewell.

Here are mother and father (aka Holly and John, my adopted parents)...matching matching.

From left to right: GQ (aks Stephen), Sparkles (aka Sara), Subz (aka Lauren), and Lauren mam sir (Josh).

The original four roomies!!!

Golconda by Day

2005-10-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

We ventured out and went to the top of Golconda where there is a gorgeous view of the city of Hyderabad. From left to right: Nikhil, Deseree, Nick, Sara, Neel and Jessie.

This is a painting on a rock which is next to the temple in Golcoda.

A guy carrying coca cola bottles around.

I just really liked this picture.

Dandia

2005-10-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Navaratri: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/navaratri/index.shtml Tonight, many of us went out to celebrate and dance.

People really knew how to have a good time! Things didn't get going until close to 1am. This was on until 5 but we had to cut out at 3am since we had to work the following morning.

This is my friend, Maya. She's singer in a rock band when she's not working. She's one of the most big-hearted people I know.

These are all friends from work.

Matt, Akshay and Matt. 2 Matt's mean twice the fun!

Matthew and myself on our way out of happening scene.

In the center, in lime green, we have Holly and to her right, John. They are better known as 'Jolly.' They are such wonderful people - love them expats.

Happy Birthday Deeps

2005-10-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Today's one of my good friends birthday....Deepti.
If you're reading this, I hope you have a super day!

Sara's Farewell Dinner (2 weeks ahead of schedule)

2005-09-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is Sara. I am SO SAD to see her leave. She's my co-worker, friend, roommate, and personal comedian. She actually graduated clown school. I'm kidding, but not far from the truth!

Folks enjoying their dinner at Angeethi.

All of us crammed in an elevator. How many people can you fit on a small elevator not meant for more than 4 people?
Karthik smiling as Vineet and Sonic toast to ....??
Matthew - my favorite Irish friend - well that's Patrick, Matthew is my favorite Irish friend from Dublin.

Sara and her collegues/friends who set up this lovely dinner for her.

Winner? I think not.

2005-09-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

This is Nick, my buddy. If you look closely at this picture I posted, you'll see a headband that says 'Winner' on it. Here's a winner drinking his juicebox.
I like to call him Sonic. His hair reminds me of Sonic the Hedgehog: http://www.revolution.lv/i/art/2731-vgh_sonic_the_hedgehog_1991.jpg. Although you can't tell as much from this picture -- there's a striking similarity.

My Buddy Left Me!!

2005-09-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

This are a few pictures from Kirti's Farewell Party. Kirti, my buddy, while I was in India is leaving to go back home after being here for over a year. This was Kirti's last night out. =(

Our very own dancing queen: Ruksha showing us her moves!

Sachin and myself posing for the camera.

Sunny is a poser!

Kirti (in the middle) surrounded by boys. The boys wanted to make her the center of attention, literally.

Being Silly on Anuradha's Last Day

2005-09-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

From Left to Right: Ruksha, Anuradha and me. This was Anuradha's last day at work. She was granted her Visa to Germany where she will go to be with her husband.

Sand Dunes and Camels

2005-09-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

My first camel ride ever. Our guide had the camels run...it was a bumpy ride.

Welcome to India

2005-09-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Jen and Mike...my two friends who came to visit me in India. Actually, they came to visit India and I happened to be here.

Kochi

2005-08-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

My sister (cousin-sister) and my adorable nephew with me on a yacht on the backwaters in Kochi.

La La La

2005-08-21T01:36:00.000-07:00

MAtt and I went out to buy DVDs and we saw this very random picture of a baby with headphones on the garage on our way to the store. Matt just have to have a picture with the baby.

Tug-A-War

2005-08-11T03:31:00.000-07:00

I had a tug-a-war battle over my water bottle with a monkey! She WON! Well, I let her...

Frenchie

2005-08-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the French couple I met in Bali. We had two meals together during my trip. They are such nice people. Loved the accent.

Scuba Buddies

2005-08-08T03:34:00.000-07:00

My diving buddies in Tulamben, Bali. Black SAND! I brought some back home with me.

Bali in Bali

2005-08-06T03:06:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I took at the Singapore airport. I was SO excited because I was heading to BALI for a week!!

I Luv My Mum

2005-07-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is the greatest picture. This is after a night of celebrating 6 July-Aug birthdays.

Say Cheese

2005-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Me, Holly, Sara, Lauren, Heather. We're about to head out to the bar to celebrate birthdays.

Some of our Friends

2005-07-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

This is Shankar, Kistaya, Ismail and Gopal in order of appearance (from left to right). They are all wonderful folks that I have met out here. Shankar helps with the guesthouses and the other 3 are our loyal drivers.

Disco

2005-07-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

All in uniform. Girls in Blue, Boy in Pink. Picture taken after our dance.

Dance Troop

2005-07-12T02:01:00.000-07:00

From Left to Right: Regina, Ruksha, Maya, Sushmita, Me, Uma
This is a picture after our last dance practice session. We performed for Thomas's goodbye party later that evening. We danced to 'It's time to Disco.'

Gorgeous & His Birthday Cake

2005-07-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

Me and Gorgeous posing for the camera.

How do you spell Chris? When I asked to have Chris written the way it appears on the cake above, I was asked where I was from? I said 'America' and got this look like it all makes sense. Apparently the dude didn't think I could write. He didn't realize that I wanted Chris to be spelled like that intentionally.

Ramsey's Goodbye Dinner

2005-07-10T02:56:00.000-07:00

We all went out to dinner at Fusion 9 for Ramsey's farewell dinner. After many months in Hyderabad he left us for his fiancé back home. Ramsey's the one in the blue t-shirt.

I'm famous!

2005-06-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

This is the day I became famous. We came to a place called Bottles & Chimney to learn how to make cocktails. A mini bartending class. Well the lady in the middle of the picture is a famous bartender apparently. She's quite well known. Anyhow, there were some photographers from the newspapers present and I made it in the paper along with some other expats. If I wasn't going to be in a movie, I at least had my moment of glory. It made my week. I actually made it another paper too but that's a funny story. If any of you have seen Monsters, Inc. - remember the scene where the magazine came out and Mike was dying to see his picture on the cover? His picture was there alright, but he was totally covered up with the UPC symbol. Well, this other picture I mentioned...it was the same deal with me.

Walk to Work Day - June 14th

2005-06-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

The 6 of us decided to walk to work this morning. It was about a 20 minute walk and the most exercise I've gotten since I've been here!! It was great, we saw a pig, chickens, dogs, cows, water buffalos...what more can you ask for??

Hangin' Out

2005-06-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Friends hanging out at 10D. What a wonderful bunch of people.

Batter Up! Cricket June 2005

2005-06-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Shadie posing for the camera. She's up to bat next...(actually that's not true). We're waiting for the game to begin.

Sushmita eagerly awaiting the game to start.

A crowd of onlookers patiently waiting for the game to start....We waited 3 hours before the other team showed up!

Shadie, myself and Ashok - waiting for the game to start.

Say Cheese!

2005-06-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

Biji and Jogi looking adorable.

Night Out at Taj K

2005-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Jay (far left) showing us his muscles while Chetan (middle) is showing off his dance skills.

Ashwini's Shower

2005-05-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

Dinner and drinks. Girls night out. Ashwini the second from the left is the bride-to-be. She's getting married to long time boyfriend. The sad thing about the night was that the DJ wouldn't play our requests.

My FAVORITE Expats

2005-05-14T03:15:00.000-07:00

Shadie and Chris are my FAVORITES. I just love them, adore them, and everything in between. Shadie and Chris more commonly known as Shad Shad and Gorgeous respectively. They were here well before I came to India.

Charminar

2005-05-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

My pictures of Charminar - http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=8z3ijw0n.7r4m6tiz&Uy=7gz2mw&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

I learned my lesson

2005-05-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

You guys...that was so close. I hit publish again and I lost the post below. Fortunately, from my last experience I copied and pasted it just in case. Phew!

Milestone

2005-05-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

It's officially been 1 month since I've been here. I can't believe how fast time flies. I feel like I just got here. Well let me jump right into a full month's update. I'll try to go in chronological order as much as I can.

Week 1

I have to say, the way I felt stepping into the office the first day is indescribable. I was so impressed with it. None of the full-time employees were in the office when we got there early Monday morning. Everything to me seemed shiny and new. It was amazingly clean and very well kept. Besides the snacks that were virtually the first thing you see when you enter the room, the cube separators caught my attention. They are much shorter than the office I'm used to back home. It made me feel really tall. ;) I can't complain about that. The office itself is set up really well. My very favorite part about work is that I have a 5 minute commute to work as opposed to the 35-45min drive. During the week, I was just busy with work. We don't really do much during the weekdays anyhow. Typical weekday is to go into work, catch up on email and then jump right into the day. We're there anywhere from ~8am-??. I think we genearlly stay anywhere between 7:30pm-11pm. The first weekend following the week was my trip to Delhi to visit my family and see my nephew (my first cousin's baby but she's essentially like a sister to me) for the first time. After introducing myself to the team on Friday I left for Delhi. Delhi has changed quite a bit since I was last there. My aunt has moved since the last time I was out there so the area is new to me. What's absolutely CRAZY is that there is a huge mall craze going on where there are malls popping up everywhere. They are literally right across the street from each other. I think where I was there were maybe 10 within 1 mile from each other. Seeing the family was great but unfortunately it was such a short trip. AND my nephew is soooooo cute. Did I mention I went for a ride with my cousin's husband on his bike?? We went 130mph!! On Indian roads...scary.

Week 2

I can't recall much from this week! But let me add that after work we go home to a really great meal prepared for us by our chef, Ranjit. We are totally spoiled over here. We have the drivers who take us everywhere we want to go. (Sounds like a Visa commerical). We also have someone to cook for us and people to clean up after us (i.e. make our beds, do our laundry if we want, etc). It's ridiculous. It took a little getting used to. I'm still not comfortable with it just yet. On the weeknights we play Carom. It's an Indian board game. I'd say the concept is similar to pool but it's a square board with 4 holes and actually, Google it. I don't feel like explaining it. Adam mam, as I like to call him bought the board and we played almost every night with the house help. It's seriously a comedy hour when we play. Good fun.

The following weekend Adam, Regina and I went to Charminar. It's one of the 7 wonders of Hyderabad. Charminar is a beautiful mosque located in the old city. It is by far the most crowded place in all of Hyderabad. There are people everywhere. The area is full of colors which makes it so vibrant and it's also so full of life. Oh we also saw the movie Hitch at the IMAX on friday night. The theaters here have assigned seating. Pretty neat.

Week 3

More work. Friday was AWESOME...about 50+ people from the team went to an open area to play cricket!! I don't understand the game at all but I'm learning. It was so much fun. We played in a field with flood lights and people from our team were commenting during the whole match. There was a mike and a PA system for the area. We had four teams and the best of the two played against each other. (My team won!). When I was in the outfield I actually was hit in the face by the ball. It was more funny than anything else.

This was a weekend that I was really looking forward to. Weekend in Goa...or so I thought. Adam, Regina, and Aldo left for Goa on Friday. Matt and I were leaving on Saturday to meet up with them. Turns out the flight was cancelled so our trip was abruptly ended. I was at the airline counter in disbelief but also found it hilarious at the same time. Matt and I never made it to Goa but we nonetheless had a good weekend. I have yet to go to a pub here or out dancing. So much to explore. I did manage to get myself a bed cover so now my room is not so sterile. It makes me happy when I come in my room.

Week 4

This week flew by. The weekend is still pending so i'll have to write about that at a later time.

I do want to tell you about the mad traffic here. First of all, there are no rules. People don't stop when the traffic signal is red. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way and are seen more of as an annoyance. There are also people who will drive againt the flow of traffic. Seat belts are optional. Oh the mopeds are insane. I've seen as many as 6 people on a moped. I've seen families of 4 with a baby too.

Did I also mention that I virtually have an orange bar EVERYDAY?! I managed to stock up my freezer with them. Saamra, Brian, Heather, Adam, Matt, Lauren, Sara have now tried this delictable popsicle and have lived to talk about it. All I can say is that I don't think I can get sick of it. I really think India and orange bar are snonymous terms. It's sad but true.

Alright, I am going to get to bed. I promise to update this blog more often!!

Batter Up!

2005-04-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

What a great night! We all went out after work to play cricket. Some watched, some played, some announced. We had 4 teams total that played this night. My team won -- but I was of no help. I actually was hit smack dab in the face with the ball...knocked my glasses off. Fun times.

THIS SUCKS

2005-04-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

I just wrote a long @SS update for my blog since I've been slacking and I hit the publish button and it disappeared!! =(

I will have to write it again another time...I'm tired now.

Pretty in Pink

2005-04-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous and Shad Shad looking 'Oh SO Lovely' in Pink. It was a coincidence they dressed alike...so they say.

The Silly Bet

2005-04-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

So Matt's friends sent him this darling hat from Dublin. If I wore it for an entire hour, he promised to wear it for an entire hour at work. We couldn't take it off, and if we did, we'd have to wear it longer. I was laughed at, ridiculed, etc. but it was all worth it for Matt to go through it too. It's too bad he didn't sit in the middle of the office!

Just hanging out

2005-04-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

We just finished dinner at Roy's favorite restaurant in Hyderabad and we're waiting for our cars. I just love this picture...there's so much going on. Regina just tried some paan. As you can tell from the picture, it wasn't very tastey. Varro is holding it up for Brian to smell. He's questioning weather he should take a bite.

Adam Mam in Black

2005-04-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is Adam mam trying on his tailor-made suit. He looks GOOOOOOD.

The Jet Lag Kicked In & My First Weekend

2005-04-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

I woke up quite early the next morning (Saturday). I tried to get back to bed but it didn’t work. I decided to explore my place. The pics from the previous post were taken Saturday morning. That’s when I got a chance to explore my place.Well first let me start with the fact that our kitchen is insane. It’s fully stocked. You may have seen the pictures I posted but in case you didn’t we have 2 refrigerators and they are both full to the brim. We have tons of snacks and a big plate of fruit that seems to be replenished every day. The food is coming out of our ears. After exploring a bit, I ate breakfast (a bowl full of cereal with soy milk – bad idea according to me – soy milk is not my favorite) outside on the balcony/patio/verandah. I really enjoyed the serenity outside. There were a few people off in the far distance but it was so peaceful. There was some faint music in the background and I couldn’t make out what it was exactly. The area surrounding our complex is all under construction. There’s a lot of land being worked on. In fact, the outside of our building is still being worked on. In the distance, you can see a gorgeous white temple of some sort. I can’t make out what it is but it looks less than an inch tall from where I was.

It wasn’t too hot out yet since it was still quite early. I believe it gets to about 104* F on average with a max of 116* F. Right now it’s not that hot and we’re indoors for most of the day anyway. After breakfast and poking around the house my roomies and I went over to Thomas’s apartment for breakfast (yes I ate again!). Thomas wasn’t up but Brian and Adam who were staying there as well were. Breakfast used to be served there for everyone but now it’s not limited to just their place (more details about food in the next post). After chatting and eating we all decided to head out to get some basic necessities (ie shampoo, Kleenex, etc.). We went to a place called Q-mart. They have so many things available and most of the things they have are imported from other countries mainly the US. After spending a lot of time there we headed over to an indoor mall called Hyderabad Central. OH I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION - I FINALLY HAD MY FIRST **ORANGE BAR** SINCE I ARRIVED. IT WAS SO SO SO GOOD. BRIAN WAS THE ONE WHO POINTED IT OUT TO ME ON OUR WAY OUT. IT MADE MY DAY. I TOTALLY OWE HIM. But back to my story. Hyderabad Central - I went there in search of a pillow and they didn’t have any. We did buy a few board games to play when we have time. I’m looking forward to game nights; it will be so much fun. While Heather and Lauren were finishing up shopping, Adam, Brian and I played some arcade games. We all had lunch at a noodle bar and then headed off to Meena Baazar. This is where everyone here goes to buy fabric in order to make clothes. believe you can get suits made for $30. I haven’t verified that statement yet but I don’t think it is that far from the truth though. These fabric stores have such vibrant colors. Meena Baazar has a lot of little shops that together make up this bazaar. We were only there for a little bit before we left for yet another store, Lifestyles. This is where I found my pillow! Let me tell you, by the end of the day, we had tons of bags between the six of us (Heather, Lauren, Adam, Brian, Chris and myself). We had a chance to finally rest a little and unwind before we all headed out to dinner. Now this is really pathetic – we ate dinner at this restaurant – a post Happy Birthday dinner for Thomas – and everyone there was devouring their food while I was drinking tons of water since I (yes, ONLY me) thought the food was SO spicy. This is sad. After dinner we all went out separate ways…I went to go meet my mom.

OK that was Saturday. Sunday was yet another day when I woke up way too early. Apparently every Sunday everyone gets together and goes out to Brunch at this hotel called Taj Krishna. It’s an all you can eat buffet and they make whatever you request. The food was really good and we even had a samba band play for us. It was so sweet. The first song was ‘Welcome to India.’ I think Shadie and Chris have their CD. They were singing along with the band since they’ve heard the song 15 different times. I left the group to spend the day with my family. It was nice to see them all. Towards the end of the day I brought my mom back to my place to check it out. Everyone (Saamra, Brian, Kirti, HAL, Thomas, Chris, and Shadie) was at my place so I had a chance to introduce my mom to everyone. Sunday I went to bed hoping to get lots of sleep. And sadly it didn’t happen. I woke up Monday at 5 AM!!!

My Send Off…popping pills…roller coaster ride…30+ hours travel time…and finally INDIA

2005-04-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

Oh man, where do I start?! I left for Hyderabad with a wonderful send off. It started off with many goodbyes at work. It was the first time I felt like I was going for a while. I left work early to pack my bags, do my laundry, my taxes, etc…and all the last minute stuff that I had left to the very last day. An hour before I left for the airport my high school friends came over to say goodbye. It was soooooooooo sweet. They went through a thorough list to ensure that I had not missed a thing and left for home as I left for the airport. My grandmother, uncle and brother all came to the airport to drop me off. My cousin and nephew were at the airport about 10 minutes before I got there to bid me farewell as well. Just as I got to the airport…Emel and her husband landed up there to say bye to me. I feel SO loved.

I was a bit under the weather so I was taking as much as I could so I wouldn’t feel horrible on the plane. I never take medicine unless it’s a last resort! Man o man, the amount of pills I took was more than I’ve taken over the span of a few years. Anyhow, the first segment of the flight was by far the longest. There was a lot of turbulence – one of the airline hosts was saying that it was a ‘roller coaster’ ride. That comment made me laugh because it wasn’t far from the truth.

Long story short – after arriving in HK, Heather, Adam and Lauren (HAL – I like the acronym) all left me for their connecting flight. Oh yeah, did I mention that HAL (co-workers) were on the same flight as me? Well, after waiting in HK for hours, I flew to Singapore and after some more hours I met up with HAL and we embarked on the final segment of our trip – Singapore to Hyderabad. Once we landed we went through immigration and then customs where they singled me out and took me aside to question. Kirti has a theory that they only single out the Indian people. Who knows. Anyhow, after several hours of traveling we finally landed in Hyderabad. We had the warmest welcoming EVER. Gorgeous (aka Chris), Kirti, Saamra, Brian, and Shadie all came to greet us at the airport. They had these huge garlands that they welcomed us with. Mine almost hit the floor. My aunt and uncle were also there to greet me which was so nice. It was the nicest warmest greeting I could have ever imagined. (My mom’s sister and brother-in-law flew from Delhi to meet me at the airport but their flight was delayed. Instead they stopped by apartment to say hi.)

We all arrived at our apartment complex soon after. DUDE, our apartment is awesome. I thought they would be really nice but it exceeded all my expectations and some. I believe we have the nicest apartment out of all the folks that are here. It’s huge. We all have out own rooms and bathrooms. It’s a 4 bedroom place. Heather, Lauren and I will be sharing a place and Regina will too when she comes out here. I have a few pics to show you guys. I’ll have to post them all somewhere so you can see them w/o getting this blog cluttered. I have MUCH more to add...but I'm tired.

2005-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my KING size bed in my room. I should have made the bed...but I didn't. Anyway, here's a link to see more pics of my apartment. You don't have to sign in to view them. I went a little overboard with the pics. http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Uc=8z3ijw0n.6dtmjh2z&Uy=-28ac4o&Upost_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp%3FshowSlide%3Dtrue&Ux=0

Less than two weeks away...

2005-03-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

My first real entry.

I have less than two weeks now to prepare for my trip to Hyderabad, India. I don't know where to start. I am very excited for this opportunity and am looking forward for what lies ahead. I have only heard wonderful things from the people who have returned and those that are currently there. I am eager to meet the team in India.

Oh! For those of you who I haven't had the chance to speak with (which I'm terribly sorry about), I am leaving on April 6th night/7th morning for India with work. I will be gone for approximately 3-6 months. A short leave of absense from the country.

My family is really excited for me and very supportive. I think my grandmother is actually happy because she has this crazy idea that I'll find a boy in India. I think not! But it is quite amusing. haha. On another note, my mom is actually already in India and she'll be flying out to Hyderabad with my aunt to visit me the first week I'm out there. I haven't seen her in almost 4 months.

I'll end this post with this: Anyone want to come visit me?? (I haven't even left and am trying to recruit visitors). I think I have two takers...anyone else?

THE PERFECT ADDRESS

2005-03-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

I've got the *PERFECT* address for my Blog. Orange Bar.

This may not make sense to most of you, but for those of you who have heard me talk about the BEST popsicle in India, it's an 'orange bar.' I've insisted that everyone visiting India try it but to no avail. It seems that the people I do try to coax to try it (ahhhem Kevin *evil eyes*) think I'm obsessed. I'm not obsessed. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to eating many many orange bars in India.

www.orangebar.blogspot.com