I'm going home!

It's 1:30am here in Delhi. The taxi's here, so I'm shutting down. My plane leaves at 4:45am. I'll arrive in Atlanta after 28 hours of traveling (Delhi, India to Doha, Qatar to JFK, NYC to Atlanta - 22 hours of flight time plus 6 hours of layovers). Whoever said business travel was fun!

Looking forward to seeing my hubby, spending the holidays with family and being back in the US!

More Humayun Tomb

Finally made it to Humayun Tomb

This is like Delhi's Taj Mahal. Very beautiful buildings and gardens. I've been trying to get here for the longest time and finally did it on my way home from work today. It's so amazing to find these things right in the heart of the city. I love history and old buildings. You just can't get this old in California! The details on these buildings are amazing, especially when you consider when they were built, during the Mughal time.

Food Redux Part 3

Well, this story is getting old! I ate some restaurant leftovers on Wed night and everything tasted great. Started to feel "queasy" on my way to lunch, but had a soda with lunch and everything seemed to settle down. Lunch was fabulous, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, once we started walking back to the office I started feeling queasy again. Barely got back to the office when I "lost" everything, so I went home a couple of hours early. I am rethinking my entire food strategy...or lack thereof.

Christmas Program on Sunday

We had a wonderful Christmas program at church this week. It's so nice to know that no matter where I travel around the world I'll be singing the same hymns!

Eco-friendly manpower on with job site

It's the job of one of our team to visit the venues to see how they're progressing. He came across this new "eco-friendly" workforce at one of them:

Our Christmas Party

We had a fabulous Christmas Party with our team last week. We all went to a wonderful restaurant, The Smokehouse Grill. I had beef (a perfectly cooked tenderloin steak) for the first time in over 7 weeks. Not that I eat a lot of beef, but you just don't see that much of it here (cows are considered "holy" animals here). We were all given fun little gifts - most were wind up toys that we proceeded to send all around the table. Another fun item was a rolled up streamer that we used to whack each other with - amazing how these things entertained a group of adults for hours! I was the best shot - of course! We also passed around a glowing ball and a "russian hat." Sadly, I broke the "whoopee cushion."


All our toys - a fly, ladybug, car, girl in bumper car, and crab were the wind-up toys. There was also the "glows when you bounce it" ball, whoopee cushion and "pop-up" doll.

Me in the hat holding the glowing ball!

Food Redux Part II

Okay, this officially stinks now. I ordered a Papa John's cheese pizza today for lunch, something I've ordered several times before during this trip with no negative issues. Not so much today! I am to the point where I am going to bring almost all my own food on my next trip and only purchase very few items, like milk, bread, cheese and yogurt, made by well established international companies like Nestle. I am tired of feeling like crap after I eat. Sheesh. I'm starting to wonder when my body will feel "normal" again! I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow; probably shouldn't be venting in my blog. Grateful I'll be going home soon. Everybody please pray for me that my flights don't get delayed in Doha, Qatar or JFK on the way home Christmas Eve. It would totally 'bite the big one' if I had to spend Christmas in an airport.

Cheryl at Church

Just in case you had any doubts, here's me on the street in front of the house where I go to church. Good signage, eh? The other picture is of the really pretty former main entrance to the house that is used as our chapel. Sadly, we don't go in that way, but in the very utilitarian side entrance that is not pretty at all, which is why there is no picture of it. The talks today at church were very good. Two were given by newer members who had never spoken in church before. One gave a very excellent talk; the other one, a middle age woman, just couldn't handle the stress, so one of the missionaries read her talk for her. Even though she didn't verbalize it herself, it was still a good talk. The concluding speaker was one of the full-time elders, Elder Puri. He based his talk on an address given by President Uchtdorf on staying hopeful and faithful during hard times. And, I loved singing the Christmas hymns!

Merry Christmas!

Here's my Christmas tree! It's one foot tall, and I decorated it all by myself at one of the Christmas bazaars I attended. I'm also very happy to have Christmas music in my iTunes library to help keep me in the spirit of the holidays. I am getting excited about going home. I only have to wake up 10 more days before I get on the plane. I am now to the point in my wardrobe where I pack my clothes in the suitcase each night when I get home from work and change into my "relaxing clothes." Takes all the stress out of packing on my last day!

We worked until 9:30pm on Friday, and I had to work again on Saturday, but thankfully for only 5 hours. I was very tired when I came home and took a lovely 3 hours nap. Bliss.

The Weekend

I had to work part of Saturday. Bummer. But, it was good I did, because we were checking the layout and process for one of the most important parts of the project I'm working on and it was done all wrong, in my humble opinion...but backed up by the other two consultants.

I went to another Christmas bazaar and found the perfect gift for my husband. No pressure, babe!

I had arranged for an in-home massage by someone who was recommended to me. The woman shows up - no table, no "cover up" and no massage oil/lotion. What's up with that?!? I just did not see how this was going to work out, so I said, thanks, but no thanks and showed her out the door.

Fast Sunday in my branch I attend here was really good. A cute little 8 year old girl from Afghanistan bore her testimony. A very pure, sweet and simple testimony. I can't even imagine what her family might have suffered to get from her home country to India. The members here are up against huge odds. Did you know that 1/6 of the world's population lives in India? And more than 1/6 of the world's population lives in China? Combined, India and China account for more than 1/3 of the world's population!! We should all learn Hindi and/or Mandarin/Catonese Chinese. Learn Spanish and along with our native English and we've probably got it all covered!

Fast Food in Delhi

My two favorite fast food places! You probably can't see the "Non-Veg Pizzas" or the "Tandoor Delights" headings on the Papa John's menu. McDonald's has the McVeggie, the Chicken Maharaja Mac, and the Paneer Salsa Wrap that are unique to India. Needless to say, no beef is on the menu!! Chicken or pork is used to simulate meat products, like pepperoni or salami.




Thank goodness for cheese and margherita pizzas and McChickens and Filet-O-Fish!! Probably not the healthiest meals, but at least I know what I'm getting....I think!

The Delhi Way

Took both of these pictures on my way to work on Friday. This was taken on what is basically a large street in the city, considered a major thoroughfare. They are ripping out all the old sidewalks and putting in new ones, so they were moving some equipment around.

The workers actually live on-site (on the sidewalks) with their families while this work is being done. This is a very typical example of what they live in. They cook their meals over an open fire. The whole family will help with the work, including little kids who help move dirt or bricks.

What's Wrong With These Pictures?

You are looking at the cabinet under my bathroom sink. Can you tell what's missing? That's right, the bottom of the cabinet!! No shelf on which to put my stuff.

This is the other side of my bathroom cabinet. Can you see the problem? That's right, the counter extends past the maximum pull out of the drawer! Again, no place to put my stuff. I have just enough room in the small cupboard under the drawer to keep two 4 packs of TP...and I count my blessings for that. TP is sometimes a rare item in this country!!

More of What I See When I Look Out My Bedroom Window

This is a very typical sight to see, all around the city. The house servants (literally called "peons") live all crammed together in a little one room apartment on the roof. It is usually a family, or extended family. They do their wash, typically in a bucket, and then hang their clothes all over the place to dry. No exactly a pretty sight but it works out fairly well, except during the rainy season! I must say I am getting a bit spoiled by having someone make my bed, wash my dishes, and clean the apartment every day. Oh, and I get a fresh towel every day and they change my sheets each week. Too bad with all that cleaning the soles of my white socks are still black if I wear them around the apartment. Dirty Delhi!

On Monday morning I was woken up by a flock of birds. I opened my curtain and saw over 10 lime/green parrots sitting on my balcony railing chirping loudly. They all just looked at me as if to say, "finally." I closed the curtain to get my camera for a picture and they all flew away before I could get back to the window. It was almost like they knew I was supposed to get up, so it was their job to wake me up and once the job was done it was time to go.

Some of My Work Friends

Somya is in traditional dress. Vivek, Uma and Majushree are in western wear. It's always a mix of styles at the office . I keep trying to find some traditional Indian clothing to bring home, but no luck yet. I will probably have to have something custom made, which is what most people do for the traditional styles - it's usually less expensive than "off the rack" clothes.

A Visitor in a Small Branch

They had a regional Young Adult Conference this past weekend which extended into Sunday afternoon. Therefore, hardly anyone was at church. I was the first person to arrive (my husband would be so proud - 10 minutes early because I took a taxi instead of a tuk-tuk). As soon as I arrived the Branch President came out of his office, greeted me, and asked me to say the opening prayer. I passed the time until church started chatting with the full time elders. I even commented to one of them that I had thought the Branch President was going to ask me to speak instead of asking me to say the prayer. Less than 2 minutes after I said that he came and asked me if I had my scriptures with me (which I did) and then asked me to speak for 5 minutes. I had to smile!

But no worries; I talked about the sons of Helaman and what kind of mothers/parents/example they must have had to raise such great sons; and compared the sons of Helaman to Laman and Lemuel, who saw angels on numerous occasions and still managed to make all the wrong choices for them and their families, even though they had a prophet for a father. I added that not all of us have great parents/families, which is why it's so important to come to church each week to feel the love and support of the other members.

One of the full time elders also spoke, along with one of the local sisters. It was a pretty good meeting considering all the talks were extemporaneous.

Is this why the power keeps going out?!?

This is a picture of the power pole outside my family room window. Living here is so interesting. If you want a very realistic viewpoint of what it's like to come here for the first time, watch the movie "Outsourced." I saw it here on TV a few nights ago and laughed almost the whole way through it; even my Indian friends think it's a really funny movie!

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe

Everyone was too busy at work to celebrate Thanksgiving with me on Thursday, so we all met up at the Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday night - me, the lone American; one Greek and three Aussies. I brought along a pumpkin pie I ordered from a Canadian bakery - go figure! It was pretty good; actually much better than I expected to get here. It was really nice to go out with the team and have a group meal. I was able to chat with my extended family over the holiday, except for a few I had to just leave messages for. I am very grateful for Skype and a husband who has an international blackberry!!

A Wedding

One of the top guys at work had a daughter getting married and we all got invitations - well, actually, I didn't but I got to tag along with the rest of the group. Unfortunately, things were so busy at work we didn't leave until late, so we missed all the fun stuff, and barely got there in time for food. Still, it was interesting to go and see how it was all set up. This gate was decorated with flowers (the orange part) and greenery. Lots of times you'll see cars and trucks decorated like this as well - it's "good luck" decor.

This is a picture of less than half the food tables they had set up!

Goat in a Tuk Tuk

Too funny!

No Wonder I Can't Get the Internet at the Office

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Did Somebody Say Monkeys?

Does anybody else work in an office building where occasionally a troop of monkeys comes to visit? There were over a dozen of them, including a little baby hanging onto its mama. That's the good side - watching them cavorting around the balcony. The bad side is sometimes they get inside the building (not while I've been there, thank goodness). However, I did discover a little blessing they left behind: their poop in the stairwell! The other thing I found out about the stairwells is that the red stain in the corners is where the men spit out their tobacco juice. All together - GROSS!

What I Am Thankful For

Yesterday I thought I'd had a pretty lousy Thanksgiving here in Delhi, for reasons which I won't go into since they are pretty trivial. Today I am counting my blessings after hearing about the death of a young father who leaves behind a young wife who is just 4 weeks pregnant and a 13 month old.

I am thankful for:

My God and My Religion - I am so grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the fullness of his Gospel on the earth today and all that it means to me.

My Family - I'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband and such a great extended family, and I'm really excited to welcome grandchild #6.

My Friends - I have a stellar set of friends.

My Country - I've been fortunate to travel to many places, and as much as I love visiting them all I love my country and am proud to be an American.

Chocolate - 'nuff said!

I could go on and on, but those are the highlights. I hope to continue focusing more on my blessings and less on my "growth opportunities."

Alone Again

Bummer. Jamie has to go back to the US three weeks earlier than I expected. SIGH. I will really miss her. Now I don't have anyone to hang out with on the weekends. I shall have to cultivate 'local' friends.

More Shopping

Jamie and I went to Khan market on Saturday. The weather was perfect and I finally felt like eating again. Didn't buy much, but it was fun to be feeling 100% again and get outside.

On Sunday we went to church at the local branch. I've gone enough in the past two years that most of the members remember me, and whether they know me or not, I must have at least 10 people each week say hi to me and shake my hand, and tell me how happy they are to have me there. Definitely a great example, and something I wish we did more of in my home ward.

Visit from a fellow SLOCer

Due to the delicate state of my digestive system, I stayed home from work today. However, I was feeling slightly better by Wed night, which is a good thing because one of my former co-workers from SLOC (Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games) was in town. We never hook up when I visit Utah, but he was in Delhi for about 9 hours, so Jamie and I went out to dinner with him - well, he and Jamie ate dinner; I slowly sipped on a virgin Mojito. I wanted nothing to do with food still!! It was great to see him and catch up on all that's happened in our lives.

Food Redux

The translation of that title would be Food Again, as in food I thought I ate but it decided to revisit me, in a rather violent manner. Yes, I spent all night last Tue, 11/17 getting well acquainted with the porcelain throne. I believe the "fresh baked" chicken quiche I purchased on Saturday and ate on Monday night was the culprit. I think it's fair to say I will NEVER think of quiche in quite the same way again, nor will I ever order butter chicken and nan from Swagarth's again (which is what I had for dinner on Tuesday night, just before Monday night's dinner decided to visit me again). Enough said about that.

What Did I Buy?

Anyone who knows me well also knows that I'm not much of a shopper, but I did find some cool stuff, the most important item of which was a new pair of pants shoes. I brought over a pair of Doc Martens I've had for over 7 years. Do you KNOW how heavy those shoes are? I'm not joking that each shoe weighs at least 3-4 pounds. When you can only have 50lbs in your suitcase, that's a lot of weight for just one pair of shows. My new pair fits PERFECTLY, has just the right height heel, is all leather, and only cost $15. I am going to leave my Doc Martens here as a donation. I'm sure there is at least one person in Delhi who needs them.

Shop 'Til You Drop and More Random Thoughts

This has been a great weekend. My team member, Jamie, who worked with me during the Winter Olympics in SLC, and I went shopping. While on our way to a local mall, which is pretty much like any indoor mall in the U.S., we saw a wedding party with an elephant leading the way, then a couple of bands, then the bride being carried in a "litter." Very cool. Next we went to a "Holiday Mela" put on by the American Women's Association, which was also a fund raiser for various charities. We had breakfast at a little cafe, and then lunch at another place. Very nice, very relaxing. We took taxis instead of auto tuk-tuks. Much nicer! And it was a lot of fun to hang out with Jamie.

We went to the Embassy church branch today. The District President was there and did most of the speaking. He (and his family) have lived in 7 countries over the past 20 years. (Can you imagine all the packing and unpacking?!?) We figured he was either military, or the military that protects the embassy, or working for the State Department. He spoke of when they were in the Phillipines, there was a guy who had stopped going to church. He was a butcher and only made about $70/week working 7 days per week (an average working wage). Then he decided to stop working on Sunday, go back to church and pay his tithing, and he found he was making almost $150/week. Faith PRECEDES the miracle, but Heavenly Father will ALWAYS bless us if we keep his commandments.

More Random Thoughts

14. Having to soak all your fruits and vegetables (the ones that aren't peeled before you eat them) for 20 minutes in a special solution to kill the parasites - yuck!

15. The tailor with his sewing machine on the sidewalk.

16. The clothes presser with his fire to heat his irons, also on the sidewalk.

17. The barber with his chair open for business, also on the sidewalk!

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!" Top Ten+ List

Every day I'm confronted by things that are just not the same as back home and thought I'd share some of my observations with you:

1. Getting woken up early in the morning by the fruit vendor pushing his cart along the street and shouting out what he has for sale that day. I have no idea what he has for sell because it's all in Hindi, which I don't speak (of course!).

2. Spraying my sheets with mosquito repellent each night before I go to bed so the "mosies" don't get me during the night - back, back you dreaded Dengue fever and malaria!!

3. Wearing black footies so my feet don't turn black by walking around barefoot, a lesson I didn't learn until after the first couple of days during my first trip.

4. Having a houseboy who makes my bed and does the dishes for me every day!! He's also supposed to clean the floors, but that consists of getting on his hands and knees and using a nasty dirty rag every day to move the dust around. Hence the need for the black footies noted in item 3.

5. The ability to have ANYTHING delivered from ANY of the restaurants or stores, including fast food for about $1.

6. What the Indian's call a McDonald's burger is what we call a McChicken sandwich. After all, cows are sacred in India - you don't eat them here!

7. Delhi Belly - maybe I have it (again, 3rd times a charm!), maybe I don't. Who knows? I will, in about a week. This time I brought antibiotics with me.

8. Doctor's make house calls! The last time I got Delhi Belly really bad the doctor came to the apartment, did the exam while I was on my own bed, and gave me the medicine. Total cost USD: $25

9. Milk in asceptic packaging - think a quart size juice box. It doesn't need to be refrigerated until you open it and has about a six month shelf life.

10. Almost everything you get in a restaurant is flavored by India. For example, I ordered Chinese (lemon chicken and veggie spring rolls to be exact) yesterday for lunch. I got the Chindian version. It's not McDonald's, it's McIndian; KFC has an Indian flavor to it, as do Subway sandwiches, Domino's, Papa John's and Pizza Hut pizzas. So far the only thing I've ordered that doesn't have an Indian flavor to it is Robbins ice cream.

11. Road lanes have no meaning here, and sometimes neither does "directionality!"

12. Not a day goes by that I don't see a man taking a leak against a wall somewhere. "What's that smell?"

13. How beautiful the majority of the women are here! They truly are gorgeous. I especially like it when they are dressed in the more formal "saris." Stunning, really. I'd be totally intimidated if I didn't have such a healthy sense of self-worth not dependent upon my looks!!

Catching you up

It's been two weeks since I arrived and it feels like I never left. Hmmm, don't know if that's good or bad. I'll have to think on that. I'm very lucky to work with such a great group of people. You really have to maintain your sense of humor here. There's one other U.S., one Greek and four Aussies. You meet lots of Aussies in this business because they did such a fantastic job with the Sydney Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games that everyone tries to hit that standard.

About the most exciting thing I've done since I got here was go to church. I attended the small Delhi branch near my apartment. It was their Primary program! How sweet this small little group of children (not more than a dozen) were as they sang familiar Primary songs and gave their talks. It was a blessing for me to experience that and know how lucky I am that the gospel of Jesus Christ is taught the same throughout the world in my church.

We were supposed to go to a party tonight with local entertainment, but the traffic was so horrible that by the time we made it home, due in part to a light rain that was unexpected, that we said forget it - we're too tired now. Bummer, since I was looking forward to seeing some local culture.

This weekend they are having the semi-annual Holiday Mela (think big shopping bazaar) at the American Embassy School put on by the American Worker's Abroad (AWA). Who know's what I'll come home with? If you want to put in an order, send me a quick e-mail and I'll keep a lookout for whatever!

The office moved location since my last trip, so we take a very different route to work. I hardly ever see any cows or other livestock, but one day I saw an elephant being ridden by his owner. Can you imagine driving in any city in the U.S. and seeing an elephant walking along the road? That's what it's like. One day we took a different way home and saw over a dozen cows; no pigs, sheep or goats yet this trip.

They are "beautifying" the city in preparation for the games, so they are doing all kinds of work on the roadside, putting in new curbing, sidewalks, etc. If you can imagine, the workers live right there with their families while they are doing this work. So for those of you in Oceanside, image people living on the sidewalks of College or Oceanside Boulevards? Sleeping, cooking and even washing up right there on the side of the road. You just can't grasp it unless you see it with your own eyes. I'll try to capture some pictures for posting.

My Typical Day

Ah, the life of a big-time, big games events consultant:

7:45am Get up, take shower, get ready for work
8:15am Fix breakfast - 1 packet of instant oatmeal brought here from the U.S. and two slices of toast (don't think about our big slices of bread; think 1/4 inch wide, 3 x 3.
8:30am Call my husband and find out how his day was and what mail we got - highlight of the day!
9:00am Load into the car for "Mr Toad's Wild Ride" to work and hope we don't get into an accident.
9:35am Arrive at office, unload my computer, et al and cross my fingers that I will have internet service for the day. Then work, work, work; if I'm lucky we'll go somewhere for lunch; if not, I always bring nuts, yogurt and muesli to get me through the day. Yum.
6:00pm If I'm lucky we're ready to go by now. If not, it could be hours more.
7:00pm Traffic is always worse going home, so we're lucky to get home in an hour. Grab a bowl of muesli for dinner, or if I'm lucky someone cooks a meal (we all know what a rare occurrence that is for me!). Sometimes we order a meal delivered. They deliver EVERYTHING here, even ice cream! Set my computer back up to do some more work, read my eVersion of the San Diego Union Tribune (you gotta love being able to keep up on all the local news!), read books, watch a little TV.
10:30pm Call my husband again to find out how his evening went (I use skype to do this; if you don't know about it, check it out! Only 2 cents per minute using VOIP. I have good speakers on my laptop; don't even have to use a headphone).
11:00pm An end to another exciting day; time for bed!

Comment on last year's trip

Before I talk more about this year's experience, I have to write a bit about my second trip last year. I had been here one week when the bombings in Mumbai occurred. It was the day before Thanksgiving (Delhi time). To say I was scared is an understatement. I was working for the Salt Lake Olympics in 2001 when 9/11 happened (which most of you know is my birthday). It was so surreal to be watching these TV images all day, just like then. It really took the "fun" out of the trip.

But, I work with a great bunch of people here, and they wanted to cheer me up, so one of them got everyone together and we celebrated Thanksgiving - one American, one Brit, and six Aussies eating delivered Italian food! It was so great of them to do that for me as I was feeling VERY down. This group has literally worked all around the world putting on large "games events," so the night was spent listening to everyone's stories, which I found fascinating. I'm truly very lucky to have this experience.

Back in Delhi - 3rd times a charm

Fri, Oct 30 PST - I got up at 4am so we could leave for the airport by 4:30pm. Got there in PLENTY of time. The flight from San Diego to JFK was very interesting. Since I was taking medication for my severe bronchitis, I had used frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class. A very interesting woman was in the seat next to me. She engaged me in conversation and told me all about her head injury from a horseriding accident and warned me she might have "issues" during the flight. She sure did! About half-way through the flight she had an "attack." I had to quickly get her food tray out of the way and call for the flight attendants. Very interesting experience.

Fri, Oct 30 EST - After arriving at JFK I was able to use the Oasis lounge. The nice thing about traveling First/Business Class is all these amenities that make the journey more comfortable. Like the showers in the lounge. Makes a huge difference if you can shower in between your flights when it's a really long journey like from San Diego to Delhi. My medication was making me a bit ill on it's own (gotta love what a strong antibiotic does for your GI tract), so I wasn't really that interested in the free food, but sure glad I was really close to a nice, semi private bathroom during my 7 hour layover.

Sat, Oct 31 Qatar - Can I just tell you how much I loved flying on Qatar Airways? Oh my goodness! First, the food was fabulous! How often can you say that about airline food? Second, the seats had a MASSAGER in them - no "numb bum" on this flight AND they lay completely flat. Third, they gave me jammies! That's right - a pullover and bottoms that I got to take home with me. So cozy! After dinner I slept almost the entire remaining 9 hours of the flight. Then, during our layover in Doha, Qatar, I got to take another shower and relax until the final leg of my trip.

Sun, Nov 1 Delhi - Arrived in Delhi about 4am after more fabulous food and some good movies on the final leg of my flight. My luggage was practically first off; I breezed through immigration; and my driver was right there waiting for me. Bliss. Get to the apartment and find out I'm the only one here until tomorrow, and that's a holiday so I won't be going into work until Tuesday. Sheesh. Information that would have been nice to know when I was booking my flights. Oh well, I will be very rested for work on Tuesday. Of course, I immediately unpacked everything and made it feel like "home," then finally went to sleep about 7am. I will be glad when someone else is here tomorrow to tell me how to work the TV!!