Bike Trip

Going on a bike trip to the country today to visit an ancient Buddhist temple.
   o, now it is later and plans have changed.  we are going to see LUmbini Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumbini_Park and take a little  boat out to the Buddha statue.

I Love To Use Parenthasis

Not much to report today.  Drove around on a bunch of errands and traffic was cray-zay (the way Brittney would sing the word).  Went by the office, got gas, drove to bookstore (met another American there and talked a bit), went to grocery store for deli meat and hair color (don't gimme that look, what the hell do YOU buy at the grocery store?), went to the dollar store (that's funny, get it, a dollar store in India), went back to the office for a couple hours, went by KFC for a bucket then came home to watch manball on the tv.    At the gas station there were tons of people standing near the exits thumbing for rides.  Since we'd only been to the gas station once on my visit I had not noticed this before but what a good place to look for a ride!  Most people drive motorcycles and Indians are thin so you can smoosh like 4 people onto one bike.  There were a lot of schoolkids hitch hiking (about 10-13 years maybe) and at first I thought WTF, but then realized they were at every gas station we passed.  It must be safe or they wouldn't do it.  We were out around the time that all the schoolbuses were dropping kids off everywhere ( 6 days a week) so all the kids were out in their nice school uniforms, and the ones who weren't young enough to get picked up by mom were thumbing rides. The little school girls all wear their hair in two braids on the sides  that are looped back up and put into huge ribbon bows like something out of a 1930's greeting card.  The really little ones were met by their moms and there were a lot of brother/sister or neighbor pairs holding hands walking together.  It's wholesome looking, but remember that India does not have sidewalks (not one in the whole sub-con, I've checked) so you see these super adorable children in uniforms walking down the side of a dusty road.  What I don't understand is how sometimes you will see a water buffalo stuck on the inside lane of a road up against the median kinda saying to himself "o damn, traffic isn't going to slow down like ever , now what do I do, Ill take up like 3 lanes if I turn around".  Here are some random pictures from the last couple days.  1) I love this outfit despite the fact that it makes me look even more chubby and shiney than before.  I love the scarf and the fact that 2 very ugly colors came together to make something pretty.  2) I am o, so modest 3) now that I have my Indian clothing, I wrap the scarf around my head before the helmet so that my hair doesn't go everywhere and the scarf isn't as long.  Oh, boy, if you want your head to sweat, this is how to do it.  4)  Someone left their moo-cows (or water buffalo or Marc Ruffalo or whatever) in the median again!  5) it's gecko-tastic!

 

Kukatpally

The part of Hyderabad I'm staying in is called Kukatpally.  If you wiki it  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukatpally  the 2nd photo down is the apt complex where I am staying.

Buildings

Here are some photos of buildings I thought were interesting.  Most of these were taken on the trip to the temple on Monday.   The photos may be crappy, but the point is just to show the painting and design used. Some are in the Muslim areas which have slightly different designs and lettering.  Hey, how did that billy goat get in here?

Random Photos

photos! 1) tiny cups of chai are served at the office

 2) buying okra vs. a 500 kilojiggy weight 3)if you need a haircut, there are 'saloons' everywhere!

4) piglets! 5) you know how in The Odyssey and the Bible they are always going on about 'goatherds"? Well these are some goatherds...with their goats! 6) MONKEY!  And a statue thing on the left 7) tried to use my panoramic feature at the dam.  8)hillside village on opposite side of dam. 9) restaurant net full of kittens and flowers  10) the top of my sari from the back - the back is fancier because it is more exposed and it secures 

in the front.

Office

The opening event of the companies was at the office tonight.  The main guest was the speaker of the house.  There were 4 other guests and I can't spell any of their names.  I got to wear my pretty new outfit and walk around with a huge badass camera all night.  He did ribbon cutting and then there were speeches, then everyone went up tot he roof for a huge buffet.  I ate a jillion fried mutton balls - not 'mutton balls'  but balls of fried stuff of which a lot was mutton. Have I mentioned that deep fried baby corn is huge here as an appetizer?  these people are wacky for corn.  I even saw a movie on a tv in a restaurant where a love scene took place in a corn husking barn atop of a pile of corn silk.  I am sleepy.  Good night!
    I'm editing this the next morning.  I put in a bunch of pictures of the ladies' clothing (my favorite part of India).  I didn't feel comfortable asking strangers and wives of ceo's if I could take pictures of their clothing, so the photos are not great.  I think you can tell that the women who work in the office are wearing cotton saris or less elaborate top/pants/scarf outfits that are easier to run around in because they had a very long day.  The fancy wives have saris with a lot more metalic thread and the fabric stands out stiffer. This is very beautiful but I'm not sure how comfortable it is.  The woman in the green top had  probably the nicest outfit though not the shinyest. (sp?)  The front of her wrap looked like startched linen that was pleated into a fan from her waist to the floor.  The 3rd photo is of the cleaning ladies at the office and they wear saris that are very thin cotton and easy to move around it.  The 2nd to last photo is the lobby of the office (those white garlands are ALL orchids and there were orchid wreaths everywhere) where the office ladies (I WILL learn their names.   ok the one on the right is Rosalind) built an altar with an oil lamp that the speaker of the house lit after cutting the ribbon.

I CAN HAS SPARKLES!

So, today was the day to pick up my clothing from the tailor.  We drove over at about 2 or 3 p.m. and were told to come back at 7.  Whatevs, no problem.  I just need to have some nice clothing by Thursday morning for a big press event at the office.  We went across the street to what looked like a run down Florida strip mall cantina  that might be littered with dead geckos and Mafia rape.  There were no lights (most businesses and restaurants are open on the sides) and there were lots of creepy looking men eating lunch.  The food FREAKIN RAWKED and they will deliver as long as you spend at least $6.  ok :)  Also, there were nets attatched to the rooftops to keep debris from the trees getting into the food, so it was sort of like eating under a hammock under a pretty pink flowering tree.  It took me a while to realize that the nets were FULL OF KITTENS having a super adorable nap in the piles of dropped flowers! So then we went to buy produce from the stalls and spent about $2-3 for 2 heaving bags of stuff.  I've had plenty of fruit around but not raw veg, so I got carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, more fruit and stuff for stews.  So we went back at 7 and my stuff was ready.  I came back and tried things on - everything fits super well and is REALLY comfortable.  I was super surprised how comfy the sari top is - it looks like it might feel awkward especially since I'm so big.  It hooks in the front and it took some wiggling around, but once it was on I almost couldn't feel that it was there.  I want a billion more of these tops.  I watched a youtube video on how to wear a sari, but I wan't very good at it, so maybe the office ladies will help me.