Happy Easter!

Easter usually signifies that Spring has arrived or should be arriving shortly. So, hopefully that means the Midwest will soon be over the cold that seems to be lingering. It was in the 90s again today, so the thought of the cold is hard to imagine. I am sure after a few more weeks of heat I will be begging for some snow or at least a pool.

I have actually never been too found of Easter. It must be the pale colors and felt decorations. Over the last few years, I haven't really celebrated Easter. In fact, the most recent Easter that I remember celebrating was in college as a Freshman with Jen. We ate at Fazolis. I had baked Spaghetti and about 10-15 bread sticks. This probably comes to mind first because I would kill for a buttery garlicy bread stick right about now. I am sure there have been Easter celebrations since, which I apologize for forgetting at this moment.

Today, I was actually invited to Easter Brunch with three other American families that work at Target and are living in Bangalore. Since I have never been overly thrilled about Easter, I was somewhat hesitant, but I a really had a nice time with great food and company. We went to a restaurant about thirty minutes (probably not a far distance, but traffic always leads to long commutes) from my apartment. You would think we had stepped into a nice American restaurant when we arrived. Not only did they have a buffet, with a full three tables of desserts, but they also served a main course of your choice. I ate enough to cover me for three days, but it was worth it.

Over the last two weeks, I have been so focused on adjusting to my new surroundings and life in India, that I had somewhat forgotten how nice it is to sit down with family and enjoy a meal. After the meal, I went with one family to do a little shopping, which included a stop at a liquor store. Thank god India has Vodka.

On the way home, one of the ladies asked if I would like to stop by her house and raid her pantry for American food. I obviously agreed.

And guess what I found....MAC & CHEESE.

If I can find Diet Coke, Mac & Cheese, and Vodka I will surely make it 5 months in India.

Overall, I had a really good Easter Sunday, and was very thankful for the families who included me in their celebration. I wish you all a fabulous Easter!

Hey, who turned the lights off?

I am learning very quickly how much I rely on electricity as India seems to have periodic blackouts. In last few days, there have been three at work and one at my apartment. At work, people just continue on as if nothing has happened. I have learned to do the same, but I am sure when I tried to run from the building during the first blackout I reinforced that Americans are crazy. At home, my apartment actually has a back up generator, but as my luck would have it, that goes out too. (I am sure this surprises no one)

The blackouts come as a huge inconvenience especially at home when all three, yes all three, of my computers are not charged. As my luck would also have it, the blackout at home happened to be when it was dark and during a down pour. Awesome. I was basically trapped in a little bat cave, which should have been fine due to my obsession with vampires, however I have come to find out I actually don't care for darkness when I can get out of it.

Might I also ask, who forgot to unclog the street drains? As the last few days have brought blackouts, they have also brought numerous rounds of rain, which cools down the temperature, but floods the sewers and streets. Again, awesome.

I find myself asking quite frequently, "Is this really happening?" I keep thinking Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out from behind a rickshaw and tell me I am being punked.

Oh India, how you amazing me.

A little adventure I like to call Delhi.

Last weekend, I made my first journey across India. Although I was still somewhat jet-lagged, a few co-workers/friends from Minneapolis were headed to Delhi (देहली), so I decided to tag along.

I spent the full weekend in Delhi while few of the others headed to Agra for a day to see the Taj Mahal. I am sure you are wondering why I didn't jump at the chance to see the Taj, as I am semi-obsessed, but I will be returning to Delhi and Agra in August and will see the Taj, also known as the love of my Indian life.

Delhi has beautiful architecture and a rich history, so overall being able to see and experience India's capital was great. However, my two days in Delhi can only be described as an adventure Indiana Jones would be proud of, minus snakes, plus street dogs and aggressive shop owners.

The first day of my Delhi adventure, I saw quite a bit through out the city. I did have a friend to view the city with, so that was nice. We started the day at Coronation Park, which contains old British statues from India's past. Unfortunately, many of the statues have been stolen, so there were only a few to view. Also in the park were a few young boys playing cricket, which were very excited to see me based on their hooting and hollering. Viewing important statues is always much more exciting while accompanied by inappropriate pre-teen boys.

After safely leaving Coronation park, without having to attack a young boy, we headed towards the center of the city (Old Delhi) where the Kashmiri Gate is located. Near the Kashmiri gate, we stopped to visit St. James Church, one of the oldest churches in Delhi. The church was gorgeous. As I stepped into the church with old bibles, pews, and stained glass windows, I couldn't help but think about the meaning of religion. This church was small with no amenities, not even A/C in the 100 degree Delhi weather, and you could feel the passion and following that the church had. It was unbelievable.

After walking around Old Delhi and taking in the side streets and shops, we went to visit Humayun's Tomb, which was the first garden-tomb in India. The tomb is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the kind of stuff I live for. It was a beautiful tomb, with rich colors. The tomb is well known for its Mughal architecture, which is very similar to the Taj Mahal. Sadly, on the way to the tomb we walked through quite a bit of poverty. The downside to such a large city, is the large amount of poverty, especially children facing poverty. Very difficult to see.

At this point, I had already had a long day, but it wasn't over. We went from the tomb to shopping in the Khan market. The market was filled with various shops from clothes, to jewelry, to books. After shopping, we met up with our fellow travelers for dinner, since they had returned from Agra. After drinks and dinner, I was exhausted! and dirty. We headed back to our hotel, which was located in Connaught Place.

One thing I should note about Delhi is that the heat is unreal, reaching close to 100 degrees, and believe it or not this produces quite a bit of sweat, which then allows the dust and dirt in the air to stick to your skin, causing a small layer of grim. Hence, you become very dirty after wandering around the city.

After a shower and a sound night of sleep, I was ready for Day 2. We had to leave for the airport by 3 pm, so the day was abbreviated. We began the day by traveling to Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest markets in Delhi. Insert street dogs and aggressive shop owners here. The market was comprised of connected streets lined with shops selling anything you could want or think of.

We spent some time walking through the market, while we dodged moving vehicles, street dogs, and mud puddles. (At least I think it was mud.) We barely survived being attached by the monkeys that roam the electrical wires that run across the alleys. I got extremely good at saying NO, as it seems the natives think Americans will buy and pay for anything. Getting haggled, was quite annoying and would have become unsafe for the shop owners. Towards the end of it, I was at the end of my rope and debating a physical altercation. Luckily, I kept myself in check knowing that the shop owners need to make a living too.

Through all of the chaos in the market, there were still some very interesting and beautiful sights to take in.

After leaving the market in Chandni Chowk, we stopped by one more market near our hotel. As we left for the airport, I was glad I came to Delhi and experienced the city, but I was also glad I was living in Bangalore and headed home. After getting harassed by pre-teen boys, surviving 100 degree heat, not killing a shop owner, and avoiding a monkey attack I thought my adventure in Delhi was coming to a close. However, I was wrong.

Our flight back to Bangalore was the worse flight I have ever been on. I was 99% sure I wasn't going to make it through the flight. I was extremely motion sick because the turbulence was so awful. It was the kind of turbulence where the plane feels like it is about to fall out of the sky, and your stomach goes with it. I thought for sure I was going to get sick, and when I wasn't concentrating on being sick, I was certain the place was going to crash. So... wait for it, wait for it.. naturally, I had a melt down mid-air. It lasted for about 30 minutes. After being tired, hot, dirty, and sick.. it just happened. I am proud to say that it took almost getting sick and thinking I was going to die to crack me. India just might calm be down a bit. Imagine that.

As I am sure you've gathered, I survived the flight and landed safely in Bangalore. I was glad to be back, but I was also glad I was able to have my first successful adventure in India.

First Explorations!

Over the last few days, I have been able to start exploring my neighborhood. The street where my apartment is located is lined with clothing shops, food shops, restaurants, and lots of and lots of honking vehicles.

Let me start with the honking and traffic. For those of you that are familiar with Indian traffic, you know exactly what I talking about! The streets are packed with cars, buses, motorcycles, rickshaws, bikes, and any other mode of transportation you can think of. I have learned very quickly that the lines in the street mean very little, maneuvering around car after car is a true skill, and there can never be enough honking. It's Chicago on steroids. I mean lots of steroids. I've also noticed that use of traffic signs and signals are basically non-existent. This means that crossing the street can be very difficult. It is exactly like the game Frogger dodging vehicle after vehicle to safely get from one side of the street to another. So, imagine me semi-screaming and semi-running from street corner to street corner. I bet my Mom feels much better about getting me that Nintendo years ago. See, video games can be useful.

Aside from the traffic, traveling on foot isn't entirely easy because there aren't many paved sidewalks. You have to watch very carefully as you walk or you risk taking a tumble into the dirt. Luckily, I have avoided a complete face plant, but have had a few close calls. I am learning quickly. I am sure the people that watch me cross the street, then proceed to fall walking are very impressed by my American ways.

I have wandered into a few of the clothing shops, which are very similar to American clothing stores. Guess, Wrangler, Levi, and United Colors of Benetton. The Food shops on the other hand are not very similar to American stores. I say food shop, because I am not sure exactly what to call them, possibly a convenient store. They are much smaller than the Super Targets I am used to and don't necessarily prioritize organization or instocks. I am still able to get a few things at these shops, but they carry very different types of grocery products, which will take some time to get used to.

I have only eaten at one of the restaurants, but plan to try quite a few more. As I continue to explore my neighborhood and Bangalore, I am sure I will have much more to share.

My Home

I will be staying in an apartment/hotel located in Indiranagar, which is somewhat of a suburb of Bangalore. There are various shops, restaurants, and street vendors located on the street in front of my apartment, which is really convenient. From my apartment, I will have a 40 minute drive to work, due to traffic.

My apartment is pretty spacious and has a kitchenette, my own bathroom and of course a bedroom.

After settling into my apartment, I met a few Target co-workers for dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Shiro. My first dinner out in India! It was located in what is called UB city in Bangalore, which has high end retail shopping (Louis Vuitton, Burberry, etc.) and restaurants. UB city was absolutely gorgeous. At dinner, we were able to sit outside in the 70 degree weather. Absolutely amazing! The food was equally as amazing. It was really nice to meet a few of the other Target employees living in the city. Below is a picture of the UB tower at UB city.

I am finally starting to feel the impact of 24 hours of traveling half way around the world. I slept for about 10 hours last night, and am still tired. I am hoping that after another good night of sleep and I will start to feel much better.

I wasn't scheduled to go into work until next Monday, but am excited to meet my team and get started on our project, so I may go to work towards the end of this week. I also think I could use some insight on what to take advantage of while I am in India. I know my co-workers at the office will have plenty to share!

I've arrived!

I landed in Bangalore at about Midnight and then arrived at my new apartment around 1:30 am on April 9th. The commute from the Airport was a little long- about an hour, but I barely noticed as I was taking in all of the sights and sounds as I whipped past things on the streets.

I haven't slept much yet, as I was anxious to unpack and get somewhat familiar with my surroundings. So, needless to say I am pretty sleepy, but I should be able to get on a regular sleeping pattern starting tonight. Hopefully :)

The flights in general were LONG. I spent about 8 and a half hours on the first leg to Paris and another 8 and half on the second leg, which I mostly slept on. (Luckily) As I was preparing to leave for India and then on the first leg of the flight, I had a few learnings. Insightful revelations, if you will.

1. You can live without a lot of things. I thought packing my life into three suitcases for five months would be tough, but in all reality there are quite a few things you can live without. On the other hand, there are quite a few people you can't live without. Leaving things behind and packing = easy, Leaving the family and friends that you love and knowing you won't be able to see them for five months is a lot tougher. At the end of they day, five months will zoom by, it really puts into perspective what is important in life and who you truly care about.

2. Wearing sunglasses is always a good idea. First, per the primary use of sunglasses, they keep the sun from blinding you, which in India is bright. Second, it can hide puffy eyes (due to tears. I can cannot confirm or deny if I used sunglasses to conceal my eyes for this reason, but for those of you that know me very well- you know that a few tears were inevitable. I will say there were no hysterics!) Third, they make you look famous. Sunglasses have many purposes and I was really glad I had mine.

3. It is not as comforting as you might think sitting close to the pilots of the plane. From Mpls to Paris, I could see into the cockpit, which was fine until I saw all of the buttons and nobs. It looked a lot like a keyboard, but much bigger. Then I thought to myself- I make plenty of mistakes typing on my keyboard by hitting the wrong key. I sure hope the pilots paid more attention in flight school than I apparently did during my 5th grade typing class. Please don't let me go down over the ocean, please let me make it to India and taste real curry.

4. All you can eat food and all you can drink wine seems like a fabulous idea on the plane until you are so full you are ready to burst. However, will very quickly realize that you might have just put down a bottle of wine and three pieces of cheesecake and you have no where to go. Meaning you are stuck on an Airplane with a miniature bathroom, and miniature personal space. Not ideal.

Overall, the experience was not nearly as bad as it could have been traveling for 24 hours. Although, I was happy to be on solid ground after that last leg. I will share more about my apartment and my first few days in Bangalore very soon!