Indian Commute

Things I saw along the drive home this afternoon. The obligatory cow in the street shot.

Ok. So this isn't working so well. I had a few more pictures to upload, but that's not happening right now. Instead you'll get some little anecdotes from the day. First of all, I didn't last the day. Shortly after lunch I started getting really sleepy. The head guy I'm working with (Partha) set me up in a room where I could take a nap. Shortly after that my stomach went south on me. There was a meeting with my boss back in the states at 5:30 I was trying to hold out for. Didn't make it. I caught a cab back to my apartment and took these pictures I can't upload. Back at the apartment, I slept. Sleep was good, but my stomach was still messed up. Dinner was really starting to make me nervous. I didn't want any. Didn't think I'd be able to stomach it, but knew I had to eat. At nine I finally sat down with another Indian visiting from Mumbai. He could speak English, so the conversation was nice. He also gave me the spicy food secret - Curd. I noticed it at lunch and here it was at dinner. I was told by my Drs. back in the states not to consume milk or milk products while I was here. The Indian said you have to. You don't really have a choice. It soothes your stomach from all the spice and acid of the food. Sure enough from the first spoonful, I was in heaven. My stomach quited down and all was good again. The conversation was also very nice.

Whistle Blowers - Outside my building at each door and driveway there are guards. There at least 5 or 7 for my building alone. Across the street there's another complex, so that's at least 5 or 7 more. Anyway when the power goes out (3 or 4 times last night, so far twice tonight) the guards start blowing their whistles. The power is usually out for a minute at most. Apparently the power in this area is all privately owned and run. It actually shuts off and switches private services randomly through the day. The guards blow their whistles in special patterns to identify themselves and their locations to each other. It's kind of weird and kind of neat. The whistle and horn are constant sounds around here, though they've quited a bit now that it's late.

The disparity between the haves and have-nots is crazy around here. If all you ever did was watch Indian TV and never looked outside, you'd think you were in the US. Everything on TV looks so plush, chic and cool. Outside it's all under construction, dirty and dirty. Then there are the many many mega malls. They advertise things like 1km of stores on each floor. They look like amusement parks on the side of the dirty road.

Last thing. Something I'm doing/taking is making my skin warm. It's weird. I just have this warmth in my arms, hands and neck. Coincidently I'm wearing time release bug repellent on those parts. I suppose it's that. It's kind of unnerving (like I need more of that right now). I asked the guy I had dinner with if the mosquito thing was really that bad. Unfortunately it is. So warm skin it is.

-b