USA! USA! USA!

Hello All!

We are back in the good ole USofA! Our last few days in India were incredible. We spent one night in Jaipur, one night in Agra, and two nights in Delhi before heading to Mumbai. In Jaipur we road elephants, toured pink palaces, and were invited to eat lunch at the Royal Family's private club. In Agra we saw the beautiful Taj Mahal. Even though it was overcast the mausoleum was stunning. The marble carvings blew my mind. I think J took at least 100 pictures of the architecture. We decided to be a bit touristy in Delhi and signed up for a hop-on, hop-off bus service. It was cheap, fast, and best of all air conditioned! Delhi is the capital of India. It was the most crazy city I have ever been to. It made Manhattan seem like suburbia. In Mumbai we stayed with our landlord and his wife. We spent our days relaxing at a coffee shop called Leaping Windows. We met their friends, ate cupcakes, and went sightseeing. Our flight back to the US was nice even though we barely slept.

While on our week long vacation we traveled by train, bus, subway, elephant, rickshaw, bicycle rickshaw, and taxi. I think by now the only mode of transportation we missed was by boat. It was an incredible adventure, one neither J or I will ever forget. Being thrust into a completely different culture changes a person's outlook forever. I know J and I are both happily different because of our trip. We are thankful to be back at home safe and sound but are missing our new friends in India. We wish everyone the best of luck and stay tuned for our next adventure, whatever that may be.

Sorry for the delay

Wow! It has been 13 days since the last update. I'm super sorry about that! John and I have been incredibly busy the past two weeks. John has healed very well, almost all of his skin has grown back!

So what has happened the past few weeks? On July 7th we went to the Agakahn Palace. This was the palace in which Gandhi was imprisoned for two years. His wife and secretary both died while being imprisoned in Pune. After the palace we went to the biggest mall I have ever been to in my life called Phoenix Mall. It took us the rest of the day to walk through the mall. We found a spa and I have been wanting to get a pedicure for a while. I got the fish pedicure! As gross as it sounds it was the most wonderful experience ever. You place your feet in a huge glass case of fish and they nibble everything off your feet for about 20 minutes then you get a 20 minute foot massage. It was the best $3 I have ever spent. I wish pedicures were that cheap in the US.

On July 8th we went to Parvati Hill, the highest point in Pune. There are 108 stairs that leads to four Hindu temples and a museum with a bunch of artifacts from Pune. We spent a few hours walking around and looking at the places on top of the hill. It was a great way to spend our Sunday afternoon.

This past weekend John and I, along with the two other girls from Johns university, traveled to Ahmedabad to visit his professor and see the campus of the National Institute of Design (NID). The campus was beautiful, NID is the number one design school in India and one of the best design schools in the world. The work that the students produce is unbelievable. On Friday the 13th we flew very early in the morning and ate breakfast with some of J's professors students. We got a tour of the campus and then went to see another campus of NID where the graduate students take their classes which was 45 minutes away. We toured that facility and then went by rickshaw to the Akshardham Temple. It was the most beautifully carved temple we have seen in India. In 2002 it was bombed so since then nobody is allowed to bring their phones or cameras inside. I'm sad we didn't get to take pictures. Everything was carved out of marble. It was incredible. We went shopping in an open air market and I bargained a 500 rupees purse down to 115 rupees. I was quite pleased! After we got back we met up with some friends of J's professor and they cooked us dinner. They food was delicious, they cooked us chicken that tasted like chicken adobo, rice, vegetable patties, and curd. 

The next morning (Saturday the 14th) we took a bus, then a rickshaw to the Adalaj Step Well located around 1 hour from Ahmedabad. The step well was again carved from marble and was the only source of water for the area. It was massive inside. The people who carved the well were very talented. It was breathtakingly beautiful, which is strange to say about a well. We took a bunch of pictures, I'll upload them to Facebook soon. We spend the rest of the afternoon going around the old city looking at architecture. In the past, wood carving was very popular in the city. We saw a huge window that had been carved to look like a tree and then to a school that was decorated for three stories in very fine detailed wood carvings. The head of the school let us go inside. The inside was just as ornate as the outside. It was very cool to see the two examples of traditional woodcarvings. In the early evening we went to a popular store to purchase fabrics and stuff. Instead of buying things I got Mehndi on my hands, which is often called Henna in the US. The design was traditional for the state we were located in. I have been wanting to get it done for a few weeks now. There are pictures on Facebook so you can see them. Pauline, another student from J's university, got it done as well. When both of us were finished we picked up our bags from NID and went to the airport. We barely made our plane (it left 30 minutes early) and then flew back to Pune. 

Yesterday, our landlord (Aditya) and his wife (Sthubanta) hung out with us all day. They have been visiting Pune since Wednesday night. They live in Mumbai. It is a lot of fun to hang out with them, they have spent a lot of time explaining certain things about the Indian culture that we did not understand. We spent the afternoon talking with them, then went to Sthubanta's parents house for dinner. The food was excellence. We learned a lot about Indian politics and the history of what happened after the British left India. Adithya and Sthubanta are in Pune for one more night so we will get to see them one more time before they leave. We are trying to make it to Mumbai for Stu's birthday in two weekends before we leave to come home.

This is our last week of work before we begin our Northern India journey. We will leave Pune sometime this weekend and travel to Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur before going back to Mumbai to fly back to Atlanta. Hope everyone can see our pictures on Facebook :)  

Not our weekend

The past few days have not been our best. Daniel kept saying that "it wasn't if you were going to get sick, it was when you were going to get sick." I finally got sick Friday morning around 3 AM. I stayed up the rest of the night throwing up every hour or so. I don't think I've ever felt so sick in my life before. I tried to convince myself I was better but then I would throw up again. John left for work and the wedding while I stayed at home. He had a lot of fun at the wedding. I will upload some pictures of him dressed up in a traditional Indian outfit on Facebook. I went to the doctor after he got home from the wedding because I still had not stopped throwing up. I couldn't even keep water down. I got a shot from the doctor and four medications. She said it was virus and put me on bedrest for the rest of the weekend. Later that night everyone (but us) got together to say goodbye to Daniel. John and I are really sad we didn't get the chance to say goodbye. But it's okay, because hopefully we will get to see him when we have a layover in Germany!

On Saturday John and I just laid around the house and literally did nothing. I only threw up once but the medicine they made me take makes me feel dizzy. Some friends came over on Saturday night and brought me my birthday presents which was very sweet. I got a fact book! It was perfect reading material for Sunday when I couldn't lay down (because of the dizzyness.)

John went hiking with some friends on Sunday. He was gone all day. The hike was really hard but at least he got to see some monkeys. I spent most of my day propped in chair reading my fact book. Yay, bedrest! On the way home from the hike the driver of the motorbike that John was on hit an uneven patch of pavement and skid. Luckily, John was wearing a helmet so his head did not hit the concrete. He has quite a lot of roadrash and some cuts all over his body. Nothing is deep enough to get stitches. He is in a lot of pain, even two days later. He has to take a sleeping pill at night because no matter how he lays he will be on some roadrash. He says the pain has gone down and it only hurts when I put the antibacterial ointment on (I'm not "gentle.") Everything is still oozing but that should stop sometime today or tomorrow. He hopefully will be able to go back to work tomorrow although his right hand is the worst. I'm not sure how he is going to be able to click a mouse.

Yesterday I had to let someone borrow the hard drive I save all of my videos to so he could drop them on his computer. He still isn't in the office today so there is literally nothing I can do until he comes into the office. I'm not sure if anyone knows why he is so late today. I'm crossing my fingers he is here by lunch so I can finally finish the first set of videos and get started on my second set.

A Birthday Present from Me to You :)

I know, I know... it has been a week since I updated. Let me tell you, this week has been crazy!

Last Friday we went out with some friends to an Iranian restaurant and ate delish beef kabobs. The rice at the place was killer too. Every day we eat rice, so it is something special when rice is better than normal.

Saturday J and I went shopping with two of our coworkers to find suitable attire for another coworkers wedding tomorrow. We went to a place called Honeybees which sells women's wear first. I purchased the most beautiful sari to wear. It is orange and purple handwoven silk. The design is traditional for the state that we are living in, Maharashtra. The girls that we went shopping with had a lot of fun making me try on different styles and colors of saris. I purchased matching bangles and earrings. It is very improper to not have either of them during a wedding. The bangles are SO SMALL, they barely fit over my hands. In the US everyone tells me I have super small hands. Let me tell you, Indian women have extremely tiny hands. I'm going to have to put soap all over my hands in order to get the 18 bangles over each hand. Yup, thats right. 18 on each side! I'm going to be clinking all over the place on Friday.

We got lost trying to find the tailor, but eventually we found the place. Under the sari girls wear a half shirt. The fabric to make the shirt comes with the sari, all you have to do is take it to a tailor. The tailor took my measurements and a few hours later my shirt was created. The sleeves are hand embroidered and match the orange part of my sari. I can't wait to wear it!

After all of my extensive shopping it was John's turn. We went to a place across from Honeybees which sold only menswear. He purchased a kurta, which is a long traditional Indian shirt. Underneath you wear pants called pajamas. John said the pants are the most comfortable pants he's ever worn. His kurta is also silk and hand embroidered. His is darker green with gold stitching. He had to purchase some shoes as well so we went to a cobbler down the street and he got matching open toed leather shoes.

It took us a longgg while to finish shopping and we were hungry and exhausted by the time we were done. We stopped by Pizza Hut on the way home, then took a nap until our friends called us.

We met Daniel and Jonas (the Germans) and one of Jonas' friends at a place called CO2 later and hung out with them for a few hours before the soccer match started. It was a really lazy hang out session, we sat on the bench style seating and just lounged around. It was nice ending to a busy day. John watched the whole match, but I fell asleep at half time. Oops.

It rained again Sunday. Everyone was excited thinking that the monsoons had finally started. By the afternoon all of the rain had stopped and the monsoons had stalled again. This rain keeps pulling on my heartstrings! We were lazy most of the day Sunday. I took a couple of naps throughout the day, I still blame it on the rain.

Sunday night we went out to dinner with quite a large group of friends; Daniel & Jonas (Germans), Michelle & Pauline (John's classmates), and Prathiush & Arup (Indians). We ate at a place called Nebula which is across the street from the place J and I work. They serve Indian and Chinese food. The food was delicious, I ordered Chinese food and J ordered Indian food. After dinner we went upstairs to a lounge called Buzzzzzz. Yes, there are six z's in Buzzzzzz. The music was a bit too loud for a lounge but we all gathered around a table and chatted for a few hours. Everyone kept playing musical chairs so everyone got to speak to everyone for a while. It was a perfect Sunday night.

For my birthday eve we went to a lounge called Apache with three of our coworkers to celebrate one of the Interns last week. Jonas and Daniel came and eventually one of Daniels coworkers Ashish stopped by. Jonas, Daniel, Ashish, and Michelle all came to dinner with J and I at a place called D Palace. We walk past it every day on our way to work and have wanted to try it but never got the chance. We stayed out until after midnight. Daniel kept checking his phone and yelled out "Happy Birthday" at midnight. It was a great start to my birthday.

On my birthday J and I had lunch at a place close to the office. We had Indian style burritos (yes, you read that correctly) and they were actually quite good. In India people shake your hand and wish you "Many, Many Returns" instead of "Happy Birthday." It took me a couple of times to understand that people were wishing me Happy Birthday. I had dinner at the Hard Rock and ordered a juicy steak! Yum! J had a burger and we split an order of cheddar mashed potatoes. Let me tell you, the mashed potatoes at the Pune Hard Rock are the best I've ever had. Not just at Hard Rock but anywhere. They are cheesy and creamy and perfect.

We met up with another huge group of people at High Spirits which is down the road. The same people from Sunday came along with a guy named Rudi who is a director at the German language school that Daniel and Jonas volunteer at, a friend named Paritosh who works with Daniel and Prathiush but has never met Prathiush, and a bunch of Indians who are Rudi's German students. We had a huge table. They music was ironically a lot of Southern Rock. The band even played Sweet Home Alabama at one point.

J finished a project at work this week and won't get another project until Monday. I have a deadline tomorrow at noon. I will be done with my first batch of videos tomorrow so I'll upload the YouTube links soon after. Tonight a bunch of friends are coming over to our place to exchange pictures.

Tomorrow is a happy and sad day. J and I are very excited to attend Apurva's wedding ceremony at noon. Tomorrow night is our last night with Daniel. He leaves early early earlyyy (2 AM) Saturday morning to move back to Germany. His internship is finally finished! We're going to go eat dinner somewhere close to the airport and send him off. We're going to miss you Daniel! :( :( :(

I promise I'll update this weekend after the wedding with pictures and the long awaited list of things we've encountered :)

PS- My finalized thesis was sent to the Graduate Division yesterday! I am finally 100% finished with Grad School!! It was a wonderful birthday present!

I batted at 4!

Since the last update a few things have happened. J and I enjoyed some delicious KFC. The chicken was spicy and yummy. It was served with salsa, which is a little out of place for India but it tasted great as well. We did find it odd that two meals cost more than a family sized meal. Oh well, good food is worth it?

We also went on a quest for lunch meat. We found lamb brain instead. Ew. Needless to say, we still are searching for sandwiches. Maybe we will finally look up the closest Subway. Our lunch food is still spicy, although we eat out on Wednesday when they serve chicken. Although it sounds counterintuitive, the chicken dishes that they serve here are some of the spiciest. Some Indians don't even eat at work on Wednesdays. Yesterday we had more pizza..this time with actual pepperoni! The comforts of home are very nice sometimes.

Today at work I played my final cricket game. We lost, therefore we are in 4th place. I did get the chance to bat today and I batted a 4! That means in one hit (like baseball) I scored 4 points. They are trying to get two teams together of coworkers who did not get the chance to play and let them play each other. Hopefully J will get a chance to show everyone his skills then ;)

We are starting to plan a trip to NID (National Institute of Design) in July so we can meet up with J's professor and see one of the top design schools in the world. I think we are going near the middle of July so that is something to look forward too.

Besides that nothing new is on the home front. We are both pretty exhausted when we get off work. I don't think we can handle 9 1/2 hour days much longer. I'm not a morning person (neither is J) and it takes a lot for me to move when my alarm goes off at 7:40 AM. It takes even more to walk to work so early. 

Some people keep asking about the YouTube videos that I am working on. The company hasn't uploaded them yet and I am not allowed to show anyone without their consent. Maybe they will be available before I leave so I can share the link. J is working on a new package, he finds out soon if his creative director likes his ideas. Cross your fingers!

I know I promised a list of odd things we've seen, but the list isn't complete yet. Maybe next post!

It's been a while...

I promise I haven't been avoiding writing or anything, the Internet at our flat is spotty and it never connects when I want to upload a post. Work has been crazy busy the past few days as well.

Sorry for the delay!

Anyways,
This past weekend was nice. On Friday we went back to High Spirits (we went there for the Bob Dylan cover band) and watched another cover band. The band members were 19-21 years old BUT much much much better than the older Bob Dylan wannabe. The food was delicious, like before.

On Saturday we all slept in, then Daniel, J and I went into the city. Everyone else had to work. If I haven't mentioned it before most companies here work 6 days a week. Our company only works 5 but we have to work 9.5 hours each day. When we got in the city we went to a store called FabIndia. You can get a ton of really nice hand woven Indian things from there. I got my Mom a present but I'm not going to say what. The three of us then went to Pizza Hut, which was delicious. It really is an upscale restaurant unlike the ones in America. Daniel wanted to spend some money so we went to MG Road where there is a ton of smaller shops spread out kind of like a maze. We bought J's niece a sari and saw a random pet store with huge fish.

Later Saturday night we met up with Michelle (from J's school), Jonas (the other German) and Prathiush (Daniels Indian Colleague) and went to Area 51. It looks like it sounds. It's a huge lit up flying saucer with three floors. The bottom floor is a dance floor, the middle floor has tables and revolves around the dance floor, and the top floor is for private parties. We got there a little early to get a table (the place fills up quickly) and ate some food. We then proceeded to dance the night away to American/Hindi electro and Bollywood. It was quite entertaining.

Sunday was a very lazy day. Nobody felt like waking up. I don't think I woke up fully until a little before 2. We thought the monsoons started yesterday because it rained all day. J and I stayed inside all day. We washed clothes, cooked some food, and watched a lot of TV. It was nice to take a day off to rest. We both got the chance to Skype our families and say Happy Fathers Day to our Dads. That was a treat.

Next post J and I will share some of the oddities we've experienced in India, maybe I can even get him to guest blog! Stay tuned to find out about the length of a piece of toilet paper...dun dun dunnnnnn

McDonalds and other American foods

Yesterday was a glorious day! J and I had a good day at work. Nothing special. J's team played their first game but lost by two. His team plays again today and he will most likely get to play in this game. The monsoons haven't started yet...maybe tomorrow.

After work yesterday we headed out to a place called Camp in search of Dorabjees, a mecca of all things imported! Before we arrived at the grocery we stopped for dinner at MCDONALDS! Oh how wonderful and beautiful and delicious it was! Of course they did not have beef burgers but their McChicken tastes the same. They have mustard sauce here which blows American Honey Mustard sauce out.of.the.park!

We crossed the street and entered Dorabjees and immediately began filling our cart. We purchased REAL cheese, REAL chicken, and all sort of snacks. I think we purchased enough to hold us over for a few weeks. If I haven't mentioned here before India has a sorry excuse for cheese. No matter where we looked we ended up with odd tasting cheese. It didn't even melt correctly for our grilled cheese sandwiches. No worries, we have Kraft Swiss and Sharp Cheddar now! The only thing we are lacking is sandwich meat which we were informed of a place 9 km away from our work. We will have to check that out. No worries though, we still are eating Indian food every day for lunch at work (yay, free!) and at least once over the weekend when we go out to eat. I don't think J and I were cut out to eat spicy food for every meal.

After we finished our glorious shopping extravaganza at Dorabjees we met with with our friends and some of their co-workers at a place nearby to watch the soccer game. It is nice that J met some friends who are just as excited about soccer as he is here. Can't wait for the Germany game tonight, everyone is coming over to our place to watch it. Hope they bring ice cream or dessert ;)

Weekend is weekend

The last three days have been pretty jam packed. After work on Friday we met up with some friends and headed to Hard Rock Cafe which is located around 45 minutes away from our new flat. We had cheeseburgers! It was glorious! J had a bacon cheeseburger and I had a cheesy cheddar burger. There is only one area in Pune where you can eat beef. Thankfully we have found it!

The boys watched the first game of the Euro Cup over dinner and Michelle and I just hung out and talked. After dinner we went to a place close to our flat called CO2 to watch the second game of the cup then fell asleep after the game.

It was so nice to sleep in saturday morning, nobody woke up until after 11. J, Daniel, Michelle and I went to eat lunch then met Jonas downtown and walked around looking for a cave temple. It took us over two hours and 10 Indians to finally find the temple. It was really cool, everything in the temple was carved from rock. There were some people meditating inside. After we left the temple we went to a coffee shop and had something cold to drink and relax. Jonas left to go to a work meeting but the rest of us walked to a Western mall close by. I think it was one of the nicest malls I've ever been to in my life. There was an orchid garden in the middle of the mall. We went to a German store called Spar and found another place that sells American food. J and I are craving REAL cheese, not the gross paneer cheese that is sold in India.

Everyone watched the first game of the cup at our flat and we ordered pizza. After the game everyone left and J and I watched the Germany v. Portugal game together before going to bed. 

Yesterday, Sunday, everyone slept in again then met up to go to a fort called Sinhagad that houses a village on top. We split up into two rickshaws and headed 50km away. We experienced our first proper traffic jam. It was so bad that even the Indians thought it was a terrible traffic jam. We inched along the side of a lake for a few hours. At least the views were pretty!

When we finally reached the village at the bottom we hired a jeep to get us up the side of the VERY windy mountain. After 6km we reached the top! It was incredibly beautiful from the fort. We spent a little over an hour just walking around the top of the fort and seeing all the views. We took the jeep back to the rickshaws and headed home. Thankfully the traffic jam was cleared by the time we reached the lake. Daniel, Jonas, J and I ate dinner across the street from the guest house we stayed in and then all headed home. J watched the two EuroCup games while I relaxed. 

Now its Monday morning and we just finished our Monday morning meeting with the entire company. Hope today goes well :) Happy Monday!

Also, A big hello to Daniel and Jonas! They finally got the URL to our blog. Hope you enjoy!

About Us

Tonight is night two in our new flat. We went grocery shopping and purchased cheese and chocolate ice cream. I think we are both craving grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream so that is what we are having for dinner tonight. We have started watching Big Bang Theory and Junior Masterchef Australia every night.

A little bit about us, incase you only know one of us:

My name is Heather. I'm a recent graduate of University of Hawaii at Manoa and I hold a degree in communications. I was born and raised outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I like to read, swim, and watch comedians (live or on TV). I'm pretty outgoing and love to meet new people. I am also somewhat of a cricket prodigy. I batted one run the first time I played! ;) India is a stepping stone for me, hopefully this internship will open many doors so I can find a suitable job.

John is a recent graduate of Georgia Southern University and holds a degree in Graphic Design. He was born in Maine but moved all over the world because his family was in the military. His family settled down in Central Georgia. He likes to play soccer, watch movies, and play golf. He also likes to meet new people, as long as they aren't annoying. He gets to play cricket for the first time tomorrow, but so far he seems like he will be really good thanks to his golf lessons. India, for John, is a way to break into the packaging industry that is very competitive. This internship will give him vital experience working with clients and on a team and hopefully will translate to a good job wherever we move next!

New Flat

We moved into our new flat tonight. It is really nice, we even have our own kitchen. We are planning on going grocery shopping after work tomorrow. Not much else it happening, we will update more when we unpack and get settled.

Team Oceans!

Today was a lot cooler outside than normal. The monsoons are scheduled to start around the 14th. It rained for a few minutes today. J and I are working on a project together. We found out the project this afternoon.

Today marked the first day of the Elephant Premier League (EPL) cricket tournament for work. I am on team Oceans. After a quick five minute crash course, I played in the first game against team DaBung. We lost by three BUT I scored a run! It was super exciting, even though I only batted once. I get to play again on Thursday. J's team will begin playing next week after my side of the bracket finishes.

After the game we all received milkshakes called CAD B for one of the owners birthdays. It was pretty delicious. It was the closest tasting thing that we have had to American food since being here.

We are heading to a place with D to eat dinner called Smokin Joes. It is right down the road and apparently has really good food. Yum! The motto is "I am going to give you an offer....that you can not refuse." That makes me laugh. Lost in translation...

Tonight is our last night in the guest house, tomorrow we get move to the new flat. Hope it is as nice as the guest house. I can't wait to start cooking again :)

Case of the Mondays

Ehh, Mondays in India aren't better than Mondays in the US. Work was okay today. The lunch was incredibly spicy so J and I didn't finish. We went in early so we got off at 6 and just relaxed until dinner.

Dinner was good, we ate at the guesthouse. Only 2 more days until we move to our flat. I can't wait, I need to do laundry. I only have 2 shirts left!

Pune Zoo & Snake Park

Happy Sunday everyone! Today a group of us went to the Pune Zoo & Snake park. Michelle, J and I met up with the two Germans and their two Indian friends. We took a large six person rickshaw to the zoo. There were a TONNNN of people at the zoo today, everyone was outside enjoying the last weekend before monsoons start. The snake park was cool. There were cobras and pythons, among other snakes. There was also a giant iguana that must have been at least 100 pounds.

In the zoo section was the largest tiger I've ever seen. It crouched down and pounced on some food which was really cool to see. The habitats for the animals were a lot nicer than they are in zoos at the US. The fences and things were huge with more than enough room for the animals to walk around. They also kept the habitats really natural. Sometimes it was harder to see the animals but I am sure it is better for them to be in more natural environments.

When we left the zoo a little girl kept trying to steal J's soda. In India there is a brand of Coke called Thumbs Up. It taste just like Pepsi. Super ironic.

After the zoo everyone went home and took showers. Daniel, J and I ate pizza and watched the Diamond Jubilee on BBC. It was a very relaxing evening. We even got to Skype J's parents. Tomorrow I have to be at work super early to finish a project. Good night everyone!

Old City

Yay! It's the weekend! Today we went to Dominos for lunch and got some good pizza. Then we went to the Old City to sightsee. It was exactly like someone would picture India. There were cows in the street, people everywhere, and chaos. It was super fun! I'll upload some pictures later.

Tonight we met up with Jonas, Daniel, and two of their friends. We went to a really loud "American" restaurant that was playing 90s music. It wasn't very American looking, but the food was good.

Tomorrow we're going to the zoo! Can't wait!!

Bob Dylan

Happy Friday! Today was a crazy busy day at work for both J and I. J started a new project today and I was trying to finish one.

After work we met up with Jonas and Daniel to head to Korregan Park which is where a lot of ex-pats live. We went to a place called High Spirits to watch a Bob Dylan cover band. On the way there the 4 of us split a rickshaw. It was super uncomfortable because I had to sit on J's lap.

We met up with some of the Germans' friends who are from Pune. They reserved a table and ordered a ton of starters for everyone. I ate the spicest thing I've ever put in my mouth...and it was a chimichanga. I could barely swollow it. Needless to say I didn't take another bite. J ordered beef tonight, luckily they have beef in the area. It was sooo good...or maybe we are just craving beef.

The cover band was okay. The guy was wearing incredibly short shorts. At the end he invited another local musician up to sing with him. The second guy was much better than the first. The four of us split a cab home and then skyped J's parents.

Tomorrow we are going to the old city to see a more traditional side of Pune.

End of Week 1

PICTURES ARE UP ON FACEBOOK! I finally had the time and the Internet was quick enough to upload pictures. (J says don't be too excited, its only 10 of them)

Today completed the end of our first week in Pune. Work was fine. We both got assigned secondary projects that we will start working on tomorrow. J created a vision board at work today and I finished a video. All in all, we were pretty productive.

I don't remember if I explained our work day in a previous post. We arrive to work anytime between 8:30 AM and 10 AM. Morning tea time is from 11 AM- 11:30 AM. Lunch is from 1:30 PM-2 PM and afternoon tea is from 4 PM- 4:30 PM. We can leave anytime after 6:30 PM depending on how late we arrived. You must work at least 9.5 hours a day, but 1.5 hours is tea and lunch. I don't think either of us are used to such long work days.

The best part of the day was 4 PM tea time when we chose teams for the EPL (Elephant Premier League) cricket tournament that begins next week at work. J and I are not on the same team. The company went all out for the bidding today. Each person in the company was placed on a team with five people. The three owners of the company and three vice presidents got to bid for two teams each. Indians are serious about their cricket matches. J and I are pretty excited for next week.

Thats about all that happened today. I'm super sleepy so I'm sure J is as well. Goodnight!!

Paulines birthday!

It's very late, almost 1 AM so I will keep this short. Work is going well. Nothing new to report on the work front.

Today was Paulines 23rd birthday so her boss picked everyone up from the guest house and took us out. Pauline is one of the two girls who went to Georgia Southern with John. Her boss took us out for starters at a pirate themed American place then took us to dinner on a rooftop of a hotel overlooking Pune. We had a ton of fun and it was all in all a very enjoyable time. It was nice to eat some American food for starters then follow with more traditional food for dinner. Goodnight everyone!!

H's first day of work

Today was my first day at work. I got all set up with HR and met my two co-workers. The girls are both students from a local liberal arts college. We have to produce a three minute movie each week for the YouTube page. The other two girls are in charge of content and I am in charge of production and editing. Pretty much, after they come up with the storyboard for the movie it is up to me to look over all of their film, edit it, and then tell them if I am missing anything.

Everything went semi-smooth today, it took us a few hours to figure out how to properly convert the files so that they would work in Final Cut. Ends up that the three cameras the company owns are not super high quality and the iPhone 4 actually shot more clear video. Guess we're going to be shooting with an iPhone until further notice.

J's day consisted of brainstorming sessions, more brainstorming session, and even more brainstorming sessions. His boss is going to be out of the office tomorrow so he has to brainstorm even more! He really likes his position though. He signed a confidentiality agreement so I don't even know what he is working on. On another note, he seems to be liking all the vegetables! Hopefully he will keep eating them even after we leave India. ;)

We ate dinner at the guest house and now we are relaxing watching a Bollywood movie with D and an older Indian gentleman who has been staying in the hotel for the past two days. We are going to watch a comedian that was recommended by D after the movie then go to bed. Hope everyone has a nice day!

J's first day of work

Today was J's first day of work at his internship. He participated in 10 AM staff meeting, met his co-workers, and got assigned his first project. He is going to be working on a packaging project which is what he really wanted to do.

I got a call saying to come in for my presentation around 1:30. The office provides lunch everyday so J and I got to eat lunch together then I did my presentation. J got to sit in my presentation, which was nice. The owner, president, and head of the research team all attended my presentation. It went well, and 30 minutes later I received a phone call saying that I had gotten the job! I start in the morning! J and I are both very excited that we get to work together for the next few months.

J worked until 6:30 and right after he came home we found out that the flat we are staying in will be ready on June 6th. When we were leaving to go for a walk the owner of the hotel we are staying at was in the lobby and he said it was no problem for us to continue staying in our room until the 6th. What a relief! It seems like everything finally fell into place today. 

We met our German friend D for dinner at a vegetarian place across the street from our hotel called "Relax." We each ordered the rice plate. We are still learning the name of the food, but most meals we have some kind of cooked vegetables in a sauce (not curry) with naan, which is a flat bread, and a yellow gravy with lentils over rice. You only eat with your right hand while in India. Your left hand is reserved for "dirty" tasks and your right hand is reserved for "clean" tasks. A glass bottle of Coke came with our meals, it was nice to have something from home so far away. Coke always tastes better from a glass bottle.

No big plans for tonight, it seems like Mondays aren't much better in India. Everyone at the guest house seems really tired, just like in America. I, personally, could fall asleep right now (10:15PM) but considering I keep waking up before 5AM I think I need to stick tonight out and not go to bed for at least one or two more hours. J slept like a baby last night. I fell asleep before the cricket game ended, but J stayed up and watched the ending. He slept until his alarm went off, hours after I had already woken up.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the US!

Cafe Coffee Day- What the Fun?

Another eventful day in India. J and I headed out to find a part of Pune called Korogan Park. The rickshaw driver wanted 300 rupees which was incredibly overpriced. After he wouldn't negotiate J and I waked away and asked some Indians who work at the hotel what the price should have been. The most expensive it should have been was 180. Glad we realized it was too much!

Instead we waited for our new German friends, Daniel and Jonas, and they took us to a "real" coffee shop that they like called Cafe Coffee Day. They serve a brand of products called WTF? that stands for What the Fun. J and I split a drink, got tandorri chicken sandwiches, and FUDGE BROWNIES! Although the brownies weren't like our moms they sure satisfied our sweet teeth. J has been craving Dr. Pepper, Reeses, and ice cream. So far I'm not craving anything in particular, just getting used to the food here. Both of us are really enjoying Indian food. A man at the hotel cooks breakfast and dinner every night and it sure is delicious! We've very lucky to have traditional Indian food included with our stay.

On the way to the coffee shop we got our first glance at camels and a slum. The camels were being walked on the street. The men kept asking if we wanted our picture but we are saving our rupees to ride an elephant later this month. Next weekend we are planning a trip to the Pune Zoo and Snake Park. Were going to also try to make it to the old city of Pune which is still very traditional.

Tonight we went to a place to watch the IPL cricket match between the Super Kings an the Knight Riders. Tonight was the equivalent of the Superbowl for India. People here are very passionate about the game. We learned a lot more about the game by watching the match tonight. It's like a more exciting form of baseball!

Tomorrow is J's first day of work. He's really excited. His company is only two doors down from where we are staying this week. Hopefully we will know by tomrrow night when we can move into the flat. I also have an exciting day. I'll be presenting my past work in hopes that I'll be hired. It would be nice because J an I will be working in separate building, in complete different departments but we can still have lunch together and split a rickshaw when we move. Keep me in your prayers tonight, I'll be presenting most likely at 9:30 Indian time.

Riding the Rickshaw

Today was an eventful day. After waking up at 4AM due to jet lag John and I grabbed breakfast at the main lobby. The person in charge made us toast and jam. He said he was scared we didn't like Indian food. We told him this was not the case, hopefully he cooks us a proper Indian breakfast tomorrow.

We spent until 10AM watching TV with our German friends and a younger guy from Calcutta. Apparently The Big Bang Theory is very popular here. India is only on the first season of the show. How I Met Your Mother is another very popular show here. I guess I wasn't that surprised that over half of the channels play American TV shows or movies all day.

We met up with Sagar, J's coworker and he showed us how to ride the Rickshaw. We rode for 8 km to a large shopping mall in Pune. I purchased a few traditional tops to wear at work. They were pretty cheap. Sagar showed us around Pune a little bit more and then we headed back to the hotel. We were exhausted by then.

I thought the rickshaws were going to be faster. If you don't know what one is, it's sort of like an enclosed motorbike with a bench seat. The drivers weave around everything! I thought our driver was going to run someone over a few times. I definitely had white knuckles. We saw a ton of cows today in a smaller slum like area. I thought traffic was pretty congested when we were riding but Samar said it wasn't even close to being busy. Can't wait to see what "busy" looks like. We stopped in a smaller town to look at some places. It was cool to see how other people live.

We are going to get J's phone in 30 or so minutes. Hopefully everything will be okay and we will finally have a SIM card. I have to wait until at least Monday to get mine. Tomorrow I have to work on a presentation. I am applying to work at the same company that J is interning at. Cross your fingers that I get the job! It would be a lot easier to get to work if I worked at Elephant Design. John is working at Elephant doing packaging. He has also been assigned creating all of the client presentations. That's a big deal, but he will be fine. I will hopefully work in their research and content department doing market research and writing case studies or briefs.

Although it is only 8:35 PM here we are both exhausted. I think a shower and bedtime is in order after we get J's phone. Got to rest up for the biggest cricket match of the season tomorrow night. It's like Superbowl Sunday all over again!! Pictures are coming as soon as I upload them to my computer.

Day 1

Today was our first full day in Pune. Breakfast is included in our stay. We had some sort of potato curry with naan (bread). A man from J's  work walked over and showed us where Elephant is, its only two doors down from the hotel. We met with the boss of the company and he showed us around the buildings. I am going to make a presentation on Monday. Hopefully I will be hired, which would mean J and I would work at the same company. We purchased a sim card for J and were shown where an Internet cafe is located. Thankfully we could email our parents and let them know that we are safe and sound in Pune. 

We skipped lunch and both took a nap until late afternoon. We walked into the main building of the hotel for dinner. We met two German students who are interning at a nearby IT company. They were watching a cricket game and explained the riles to us. It is NOTHING like baseball. One of the guys is staying in the main building. He showed us the proper way to eat Indian food (with your right hand only) and explained the dishes to us. Dinner was great, not too spicy either. We had two courses, one with bread and one with rice. Afterwords we finished watching the cricket game and headed back to our building. Thankfully the water heater was working so we got hot showers! 

We have arrived!

J & I have arrived in India! Our plane to Newark from Atlanta was delayed almost 2 hours. When we arrived in Newark we had to run to catch our flight to India. Luckily we made it in time and so did our luggage. The plane was very nice, we each had our own TV's. The flight to Mumbai was a little over 15 hours. We arrived at 9:45 Thursday night. J spent most of the time either reading or sleeping. I watched a few TV shows and read. It is always hard to sleep in a middle seat. Customs was a breeze and we were very relieved to see our luggage. Our driver was waiting outside with a sign for J. 

Our over three our cab ride was an experience. I am amazed at how many cars there are, traffic is intense even at midnight! After that drive we are well aware that using your horn is the norm. Big trucks have "Horn OK Please" on the back on them, I think you use a horn (and flashing your lights) to make known that you are in a lane. No driver stays in one lane for too long, we were amazed at how much cars weave in and out of bigger trucks. We couldn't see much, it was pitch black outside for most of the ride. 

We made it to our hotel around 2:30. It is very clean and well kept. J & I are both happy with our temporary housing. We find out today when we move into our flat. There is no shower here, just a faucet and a large bucket. Nobody took a shower last night, we were too tired. Guess we will have to share that experience later.