Traveling Lakes

I'm going home!

2009-12-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Finally made it to Humayun Tomb

2009-12-23T07:21:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-13T02:34:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-12-13T02:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-12-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T09:46:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-30T09:14:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

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?!?

2009-11-29T08:58:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-29T08:53:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-27T06:23:00.002-08:00

Too funny!

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

2009-11-27T06:23:00.001-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Did Somebody Say Monkeys?

2009-11-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-27T05:56:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-24T05:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-24T05:19:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-24T05:11:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-11-24T05:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-15T01:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T01:12:00.001-07:00

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!!

Jun 30 - On my way home

2008-06-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Mon, Jun 30 - It's with mixed emotions that I post my final blog (for now) from Delhi. I have enjoyed this experience so much. Even though I miss my husband, family, friends and home very much, I am still very sad to leave. Thanks for sharing this exciting journey with me!

Jun 30 - Finally made it on time to church

2008-06-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sun, Jun 30 - woohoo! Third times a charm! I actually made it to church 5 minutes early this week. Now that I've finally figured out how to get there on time I'm leaving. My counterpart, Jamie, arrived tonight and I leave for home tomorrow (Monday) night. I can't believe it's already over. Despite some of the "colorful" things I've seen here, I have loved this whole experience. I really hope I get to come back again and again. I have learned so much from being here. The people I've met have been so friendly and very kind. They've also been very tolerant of my attempts to speak Hindi, too! They want so much to make their country better. It's overwhelming to think of 1.2 BILLION people in one country. They have so much work to do on their government and infrastructure. Hopefully the Games will help them achieve those goals. I hope you've enjoyed my blog. I've liked doing it so much I'm going to keep it up, so watch for pictures of my adorable grandchildren from my upcoming trip to Utah.

Jun 28 - Some very interesting observations

2008-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

My trip to Agra started early. The car was supposed to pick me up at 5am. They came at 4:30am. I quickly finished getting ready then met my driver and his two assistants. Didn't know it took that many people to get me to the train station. We got to the station an hour early. Sheesh! The two assistants kept me company and saw me safely on the train. As the train is moving along I'm watching out the window and seeing all these people squatting on the tracks and off the side of the tracks and I'm thinking, hmm, that's so odd and dangerous. Then I realize what everyone is doing as I notice all their pants are down around their ankles. Yes, it's true. Apparently the train tracks are India's version of a biffy (bathroom in forest for you) only it's right in the middle of everything and everyone can see everyone. Goes right along with not having missed a day of seeing a man taking a leak on the roadside.

I was supposed to get breakfast on the train, so when they brought me crackers and tea I thought, great, I'm going to starve. However, breakfast was brought about 30 minutes later - I got the "non-veg" (all the meals here are either "veg" or "non-veg.") The train ride was 2 hours, and I was met by three more people in Agra (a driver, a guide, and an assistant). I toured the Taj, Agra Fort and Baby Taj, as well as visited a rug factory, a marble in-lay factory, a jewelry store and a leather store. I also had lunch at a 5 star hotel, which was made more interesting when the restaurant flooded during the monsoon rains that had started up. However, the buffet was excellent. I tried a little bit of almost everything they had. I really like all the Indian food I've had, and that's been a lot! When I get tired of Indian food there's plenty of other options - McDonald's delivers here, as well as Domino's and Subway. I've even been to TGIFriday's and Ruby Tuesday, and had some good Chinese food, too.

The train ride home was supposed to leave at 8:30pm, but it was late and didn't leave until 9:30pm. While I was waiting for the train I watched a mother take her 3 yr old daughter over to the edge of the track, pull her pants down, and let her do her business. Even after all I'd seen on the train ride there that morning that was still a shocker!

When I finally got on the train I sat next to an adorable 5 yr old and her mom. She taught me to count 1 to 10 in Hindi and I taught her to count 1 to 10 in Spanish. She also sang me a very long song. Very cute and very well behaved. I got the "non-veg" dinner, which was very good - chicken curry, chana masala (garbanzo beans - really good), rice and nan (kind of like their version of a big tortilla). You're supposed to tear the nan (using only your right hand) and use it to pick up the other food. I've actually gotten pretty good at this.

I had to use the "facilities" on the train ride home. This was a "squat" not a "sit" experience with a hole that was open to the ground. The prior user had left a "long distance delivery" that missed the hole. Needless to say I balanced very carefully. Thankfully all went well - pun intended!

I was met by my same driver and two assistants from the morning run and had a very speedy ride home. After taking a wonderfully cleansing shower I collapsed into bed - very tired from my very full day.

Jun 28 - Baby Taj

2008-06-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - "Baby Taj" was actually built first. It's smaller, but very beautiful as well. The pictures are from the floor, ceiling and outside.

Jun 28 - After the rains

2008-06-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - The monsoons came while I was in Agra and practically shut the place down. The hotel where I had lunch flooded and there was over a foot of standing water on most of the roads. It made for a very interesting afternoon. Here's another video I shot while we were driving in the car - you can see how a lot of people live. Very very poor. Some unique things are that you can get your hair but by a sidewalk barber. They just set up a chair and a mirror and people some for haircuts. Costs about ten rupees (a quarter!).

Jun 28 - Agra Fort

2008-06-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - Here are some pictures of a huge fort built out of red sandstone and marble. This is where the shah who built the Taj in memory of his wife who died during childbirth was imprisoned by his oldest son because he was bankrupting the country. Very interesting and beautiful.

Jun 28 - Animals of Agra

2008-06-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - It's amazing how many ways you can get around in India - here are a couple of horse drawn carts and one by a camel, along with a herd of buffalo that were just wandering around the roads. I also saw an elephant and a monkey, not to mention many goats and cattle, but we went by too fast for me to take pictures. I really like the picture of my "kissing" chipmunks.

Jun 28 - The Taj Mahal

2008-06-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - The Taj Mahal - My visit to the Taj Mahal was everything I hoped it would be. So beautiful. Such wonderful detail with marble and stone in-lays. I can't put all the pictures I took here, so I just selected my favorites that give the best feeling for what I saw. Enjoy!

Jun 28 - I looked out my window and what did I see

2008-06-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - I shot this video while we were driving around. Certainly gives you a taste of life in India. It's like this everywhere I drive (well, I never do the driving, but I'm in the car!).

Jun 28 - Indian Lawn Mower

2008-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 28 - I saw this while on my trip to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Classic!

Jun 23 - Another comment on how work is done

2008-06-23T05:46:00.001-07:00

Mon, Jun 23 - First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!! I arrived at work today to see a man using what amounts to a large pair of scissors (edging shears) to cut the four grass plots outside our office - they're about 6x6 in size each. He pretty much took the whole day to do only one of the four plots. Amazing. Two of the guys needed the car and driver to visit a competition venue to see how the work was progressing. I was supposed to get a ride home with Bill. However, his car and driver failed to show up, so we had to take a tuk tuk the whole way home. A bit unnerving to be in one during rush hour, and of course the beggars had direct access when we stopped. One little boy folded his arms and laid his head down on my knee like he was praying as he begged me for money. I would have given him some but everyone says not to because it doesn't really go to the kids. It's kind of like Oliver Twist - all these kids work for some adult and they have to turn all the money over to him. In return he gives them a little food and protection. Very distressing.

Jun 22 - Made it to church, but not yet on time

2008-06-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sun, Jun 22 - It only took one tuk-tuk and 30 minutes to get to church today, so I'm getting better at this. I can even say go (sounds like jello), left (sounds like bye) and right (sounds like die). I can also give my address of 218 (doe, eck, ought) and the address of the other company apartment 321 (tin, doe, eck). By the way, that's in Hindi! Everyone laughs at my "accent" but then I teach them spanish and they find it just as hard to pronounce. I did get better directions from a woman at church. They name housing areas here like they do in the south, so I live in Defence Colony and the church building (basically a house) is in Amar Colony. It is my hope that I actually make it on time next week (my last sunday) and that it's NOT raining!!

Jun 21 - Shop Til I Drop

2008-06-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 21 - I went shopping at Kahn Market (mostly for ex-pats (non-indians)) and Lajpat Nagar marketplace today. Kahn Market is pretty small and very high-priced, but I found a great store last time I went there and just had to buy some things to bring home to family and friends. Lajpat Nagar is HUGE and very much a "local yokel" marketplace. It's like 4x the size of the big Costa Mesa swapmeet, totally crowded and it was about 100 degrees, so I was sweating profusely. However, I found some more wonderful things to bring home as gifts. In fact, I wish I had time to go back again - maybe next trip, if there is one. I've attached the video I took while I was waiting for my driver to pick me up after shopping. Thank goodness for cell phones, because it turned out I was waiting on the wrong side of the marketplace! What's really funny is that I didn't realize that I left the camera going. You can hear me call my driver, Pankaj, to try to figure out where he is, and you can see him come find me. Too funny! It's a few minutes long, so don't feel as if you have to watch the whole thing. Tuk tuks are the little yellow and green 3 wheeled golf cart looking vehicles.

Jun 20 - Friday Night and I Ain't Got Nobody

2008-06-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Fri, Jun 20 - Once again I am all alone for the weekend, but I've got plans to go shopping tomorrow. Our driver is going to take me around to some "local" shopping places. I can't believe I've only got one more weekend after this and only one more week of work here. I'm spending next Saturday taking the Taj express railway from Delhi to the Taj Mahal and some other places in that area - the Red Fort in Agra with the beautiful Pearl Mosque and Fatehpursikri, a city that turned into a ghost town when all the water inexplicably dried up.

I wanted to show you how they do construction work here. This is the building right next to ours that I can see out my bedroom window. They knock buildings of all sizes down with a 5 - 10 pound hammer and a big chisel - seriously. No wrecking balls; no bull dozers. Just a bunch of men. Again, there is no urgency to improve efficiency because there are many people who need work.

There's also a picture of our "apartment size" fridge, and the door/window locks. Here the screen is on the inside, the glass is on the outside, and both sets have these locks top and bottom. I quite like them! We had a big storm yesterday and today. It's not raining quite as much as predicted, but when it comes down it REALLY pours!!

Jun 16 - On the other hand

2008-06-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

Mon, Jun 16 - If you recall, in an earlier post I mentioned that I felt like I was the only person who used TP. I found out today at lunch that is a fact. How can that be, you may well ask? Well, without getting too graphic, the right hand is for eating, and the left hand is for cleaning. Puts a whole new meaning on "sitting on the right hand." There are faucets and cups in each bathroom and these are used to help with the cleaning process. Really quite "refreshing" when you think about it. However, there is nothing with which to dry oneself, so I remain somewhat mystified by the entire process. I do know that you don't want to EVER shake hands as a lefty!

Jun 15 - Get me to the church on time!

2008-06-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sun, Jun 15 - The monsoon rains were storming heavily when I left the apartment to find a tuk-tuk (autorickshaw) to take me to church. Usually they are all over the place, swarming you, begging you to "let me give you a ride somehow." Could I find one to get me to church? NO! So I went to the next best thing, a pedal rickshaw. The guy was half my size, couldn't read or speak English, and apparently couldn't locate the church after 40 minutes. After paying him 50rs for his troubles (almost double the usual, and he didn't even get me there, but hey, he pedaled in earnest for 40 minutes - FYI 50 rupees is about $1.25), I left him and got into a tuk-tuk that he had stopped by to ask for advice. This guy took another 20 minutes to find the place, and then tried to tell me it was more expensive in this part of town - so he wanted 100rs. By this time I was completely soaked to the skin - no kidding - I could have wrung the water out of my skirt - so I paid him his $2.50 and made it to church in time to hear the speakers in Sacrament and go to SS and RS. SS was taught by a U.S. "older couple" missionary guy, and RS was mostly in Hindi, but I had the manual to follow along in. The trip home only took 7 minutes and 50rs. Next week I'm calling a taxi...and making sure they know how to get there!!

Jun 13 - Cooking with Gas

2008-06-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 13 - The rains have started. The monsoon weather is predicted to start earlier this year, so I guess I'll be able to experience some of it. I did come prepared with umbrella and raincoat. It's not cold. Just wet.

Today I cooked my first meal - yep, scrambled eggs. This might not seem like much, but take a look at the stove/oven. Yes, that is a propane tank attached to it. There are no gas lines here, so any appliance that needs gas has it's own propane tank. And I had to find the matches to light the burner. Not hard, but not expected, either!

Still struggling with my "Delhi Belly" as they call it here, but the medicine is helping.

Jun 12 - The Doctor Makes a House Call

2008-06-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

So, even though I'm feeling better, I'm still having "issues." I do believe a Delhi "bug" decided I would make a great host, but my body keeps trying to evict it, without any luck. Since it's been 4 days now I felt it was time to call in the Doctor--who made a house call for the grand sum of $25. My medicine was only $1.25. Such a deal! And no billing of the insurance, etc. You just pay in cash (1,050 rupees) at the time. Insurance here doesn't cover "regular" doctor office visits, only hospitalization. I have high hopes I will have said goodbye to this bug soon. Meanwhile, some more random thoughts:

-Apparently I'm the only one who really wants/needs TP as we are down to one roll shared between the men's and women's rooms on my floor at work. I'm bringing in my own roll!

-The cleaning crew sweeps the carpet with twig brooms. I don't feel it's very effective. There's 5 or 6 people who work in the office who are simply there to do things for everyone - turn on the lights, bring them coffee or tea from the machine that's 50 feet away, etc. The theory is there are so many people here that they try to find enough work for everyone by hiring people to do minutiae. It's a very weird concept for someone like me who's been a VP and Director and didn't even have my own secretary.

Jun 11 - Random Observations

2008-06-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

Wed, Jun 11 - So, I'm feeling very much better now, thank you! Almost back to normal. As I've read the comments I figured I'd reply to them all at once in a posting, rather than individually.

- the thing over the toilet is the hot water heater for my bath room. Yep, I get really hot water really fast - much better than in my home in Oceanside, which takes about 3 minutes to get the hot water going to the shower!

- I am definitely staying in a very nice place. There are three "en suite" rooms here, with a shared family room, dining room and kitchen. We even have our own dishwasher and washing machine (no dryer though). True luxury. On top of that, our houseboy comes every day to bring us fresh towels, make the bed, clean the kitchen, and change the sheets 2-3 times per week. Unfortunately, he doesn't mop the floors! I always wear either "peds" or shoes. You should see my peds (footie socks) when I take them off after only wearing them for a couple of hours at home. Virtually black on the bottom. However, I have already done a load of whites and they came out clean.

-Yes, it's true, there are cows wandering all over the place. They are still considered holy animals in India. In fact, you can't eat beef anywhere here. Even McDonald's only sells chicken and veggie burgers. The cows tend to stay in "their" place, so we see the same ones every day as we drive to and from work.

-I've seen a man urinating by the side of the road at least once a day since I've been here, usually when I'm driving to and from work (we have a car and a driver - more on that later). Apparently some men think it's quite all right to just whip it out and pee against whatever wall/tree/edifice is handy at the time. Thankfully I haven't seen anything "graphic" yet!

-I can't even explain to you about the driving, even with a car and a driver. Ours is a really good one, too. Hardly honks his hown at all, which in Delhi is considered somewhat of a national sport. It's kind of like, "honk, honk - get out of my way," "honk, honk - just want to let you know I'm here," "honk, honk - go ahead in front of me." The lines in the road are the mearest of suggestions as to where people should be driving their cars, up to an including which direction they should be going. I heard that 80,000 people die each year in traffic accidents. However, when your population is over 1 Billion people that's hardly even statistically significant!! Harsh, but true, which is why no one changes their behavior. You can be sure I will never drive a car here!!

Jun 10 - Getting better

2008-06-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Tue, Jun 10 - Made it through yesterday even though I felt horrible. However, I was definitely feeling better and actually had a great night's sleep. Had a good day at work, and ordered my first real Indian cuisine from a restaurant who then delivered it to me. Judging by how much they gave me and how much I ate the food will last at least a week! Feeling much better now, but not fully recovered. Sure hope I don't pay for enjoying this wonderful meal!!

Jun 9 - Still sick

2008-06-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

Mon, Jun 9 - Theo and Mick left for Pune today and I won't see them again. They were very nice to me and I enjoyed getting to know them. I'm still feeling quite ill, but better than last night. Sure hope I'm over this intense intestinal distress by tomorrow! If not, I'll call the doctor - they make house calls here!!

Jun 8 - Sites of Delhi

2008-06-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

Sun, Jun 8 - Theo and Mick invited me to go with them to visit some of the temples in the city, so I got dressed to go to church (just not my church!). We went to the Baha'i House of Worship, more commonly called the Lotus temple; the Red Fort, a former Imperial citadel; the India Gate, their monument to the the soldier who died in WWI; and Lodi Gardens, one of Delhi's most picturesque parks. It was hot, hot, hot, and somewhere along the way I ate or drank something that didn't agree with me, so I spent the entire night on the porcelain throne.

Jun 7 - Trip to the Market

2008-06-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Sat, Jun 7 - We all went to the market today. That was quite the experience. It's hot here, but not any hotter than it was in Cancun two weeks ago; probably because I'm mostly in air conditioned places. The noise is amazing, and so many people. The beggars crowd around us everywhere we go, even when we're in the car stopped at a red light. They totally target the visitors/vacationers. Everywhere I've driven since arriving here Thursday night I've seen people living in the street median, on the roadside, in the barest of shacks, cooking on an open fire in all those places. It's what I remember when I first went to Tijuana about 40 years ago - just awful. I'm glad I was prepared, but I don't think you ever get over the extremes that are so glaringly evident here because it's everywhere you go. It's not like in the U.S. where there might be a "bad" part of town. You are literally surrounded at all times by this extreme poverty - at one point we had at least a dozen beggars circling our group as we walked through the marketplace last night to get to the restaurant, all of them imploring us for money, including a mother with a baby holding an empty bottle. It breaks your heart, but you can't possibly give money to them all. In fact, if you give it to even one of them even more will descend upon you. Matthew (one of the guys, who speaks Hindi and has lived here awhile), says he only gives to people who are missing limbs. Probably a good guideline for me to remember.

Jun 6 - First Day at Work

2008-06-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

Fri, Jun 6 - My first day at work was pretty typical - spent most of it getting set up on various computer systems, getting to know everyone, and reviewing my "to do" lists. I did go to my first meeting - all about the proposed employee policies. The guys took me out to lunch for pizza (very thin crust - very italian), and then we went out with the EY consultants for dinner. They were very curious about our political primaries and the Obama/Clinton run-off. Everyone is really nice to me as the new kid on the block.

Jun 5 - Arriving in Delhi

2008-06-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

Thu Jun 5 - The good news about missing my flight on Tuesday was that I got to fly First Class! Wow, it was amazing!! When you fly First Class on an international flight you get your own little cubicle. It had a big arm chair that had inflatable lumbar supports and when it swiveled around it went completely flat into a bed. I got a full size pillow and quilted blanket to boot, plus Bose headsets and all the movies and food I wanted, whenever I wanted them. It will be a darn shame when I have to go back to flying like the poor person that I really am!! I arrived in Delhi tired but not exhausted, but of course my luggage was about the last ones out. Next came Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the apartment. Lane lines are just "suggestions" here - everyone pretty much drives wherever they feel like it, even on the wrong side of the road, constantly honking their horns to tell other people to get out of their way. Buses, trucks, cars, autoshaws (think rickshaws run by CNG (compressed natural gas) engines, pedalshaws, motorcycles, and bicycles all jostle for position and squeeze through impossible narrow spaces. I was so proud I only "yelped" once!!

Jun 4 - Delayed in Chicago

2008-06-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wed Jun 4 - Well, this is a bummer. My flight out of SLC on Tuesday night was delayed by almost 2 hours due to bad weather in Chicago. The result was that I missed my connection to Delhi by 10 minutes. I actually saw the plane pulling out of the gate as we were pulling into ours. I was quite peeved. I barely caught the shuttle bus to the hotel the airline gave me a discounted coupon for (wasn't free because they claim it's not their fault!). It wasn't too bad, just very disappointed by the delay in my trip. I did, however, get the best fresh fruit tray I've ever received for dinner that night!!

Jun 3 - Visiting with Taylors in SLC

2008-06-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Tue, Jun 3 - I got up early and said goodbye to all the Beus' so I could spend time with Sandi, Austin and see my newest granddaughter, Savannah. Savannah is so sweet and beautiful, and I loved playing with Austin! I was very sad to have to leave them, but very happy that I've already made plans to visit them as soon as I get back from Delhi.

Jun 2 - SLC Time

2008-06-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Mon, June 2 - I met with Jamie , my company colleague, so she could update me on my assignment and give me background on all the people I'll be working with during my time in Delhi. Jamie and I worked together at Anderson Lumber Company and the 2002 Winter Olympics in SLC. It was really good to see her! There's so much work to be done before the Games start in 2010. I'm nervously excited about everything! Later tonight the extended family came over to the Beus' to hang out: Greg, Deena, Shellie, Jeff, Brinton, Kaleb, Stacy and Dustin from the Strongs and Erin, Tyler, Jaime and Scott from the Binghams. It was so great to have everyone there!

Jun 1 - The Journey Begins

2008-06-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 1 - For those of you that might not know, I've been doing some consulting work over the past year for a company in Delhi. This came through my former Olympic co-workers. The opportunity came up to spend the month of June working onsite. Sadly, Frank had to stay behind and keep working his job! My flight to SLC leaves at 6:55pm, so of course Frank wants to leave at 2:30pm for the 45 minute drive because he really freaks out about being late. However, I'm quite sure we'll get there in plenty of time if we leave a little before 5pm, so that's what we do, and of course, everything works out just fine. I'm sad to say goodbye to my granddaughter, Lauren, who's been staying with us for a week. We've had a wonderful time with her, and can't wait until her next visit. The flight to SLC is fine, and I get to my sister's house without any problem. I hang out with her and the two oldest girls, Kayla and Ashley, for a little while, then go to bed.