Week 2

So, I realize that I have yet to come up with interesting names for my blog posts, but hey, at least I'm writing them. This blog is dedicated to Jen Stone, for "subtly implying" that I should blog a little more often than once a week :) What can I say, I take action on feedback.

Alright, enough with the Targetisms. Week 2 was a good one. First full week in the office was good and very productive. I went to our 2nd facility which is where I will spend the majority of my time this summer. Unfortunately, it also adds about 45 -60 minutes onto my drive time (that's each way folks) which brings the one way total to about 1.25 - 1.5 hours. The facilities are really nice though and it reminds me a lot of the building I work in in Minneapolis. Actually, with that sentence, I have to tell this story. There were two executives on a visit today (no names to protect the innocent) and were just stopping through on their way to Hong Kong. They had spent the morning at our RJU facility and were getting a tour of Manyata (the building i was in) in the afternoon. I could hear American voices behind my cube so I popped up to see the three of them standing there (2 visitors and their TI executive tour guide). Being a natural introvert, I walked over and introduced myself. The man looked confused and the woman looked frightened (not actually by my presence but more in general) and so I started asking them about their trip. The man responded with "the cubes are so small here, I just don't understand..." and when I looked to the woman for clarification, she looked at me and said "I'm sorry, I'm still not quite over the ride here. I had to keep my eyes closed the whole time, it was frightening." I took this as a cue that they had not quite adjusted to India. The remainder of the conversation was a little less awkward but needless to say I spent my car ride home feeling pretty proud of myself. Despite the grocery store incident, I have yet to be that thrown off by India. I'm not feeling like a citizen yet or anything but after less than two weeks I'm way better off than those two :)

Something really cool about last week was getting the opportunity to go to Vikram's wedding. Vikram is a team member who had come to Minneapolis to train, went back to work in India and now is working with me to train the new hires this summer. He is just the nicest person and I was so excited to get the opportunity to go!! Obviously going to this wedding meant I would have to "sari up". While it may not sound like the most complicated garment (just wrap yourself right?) it actually is insanely intricate. Now try and follow this: My roommates drivers wife is the one who came to "dress me in the morning". And what that meant was that I stood in the middle of the living room with my arms straight up in the air while she circled around me and stuck me with safety pins (she didn't trust me to keep it in place myself...good call Geetha). When she was done, it really did look amazing (despite the awkward person inside it) and regardless of having trouble walking it was surprisingly comfortable and airy (which when you're going to a wedding hall with no AC and broken fans is rather important).

From there I joined Will, and two of his Indian team members for the 2 hour ride down. Minus the 1 hour "detour" his driver took, it was a lovely drive. We got there just in time to see Vikram put the necklace on his new wife, which was the actual point of marriage (think ring exchanging in the U.S.). The actual ceremony had been going on for 3 days. We were there for the third day and only about 2-3 hours (had to get back to work). In the hours we were there, it was obvious that we, not the bride and groom, were the main attraction. You know how i talked about the pictures before? Well this was a small town wedding, so most people didn't speak English. So instead of asking for a picture, they just walked up and stood and looked at us and asked why we didn't speak Karnataka (the local dialect). I had no reply...

But in all seriousness, the wedding was beautiful. Vikram was so excited to see us, and that we made it in the traditional clothing. It was really heartwarming. His wife is very pretty, and although they looked a little hot and tired (so would anyone after that much ceremony in that heat). They also seemed very excited. Both families couldn't have been nicer. Vikram's brother went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable and his parents made a point to meet us and make us feel welcome. Of the time we were there, we watched about 2 hours of the ceremony. Most of it was a little confusing, obviously, but to sum it up, the bride and groom sit on a stage at the front of the wedding hall (a big room) under a beautifully decorated canopy and a priest sits beside them. During the ceremony he basically gives them directions on what to do. Exp. He tells them to feed each other a certain dish or sprinkle water on the other person's head. You can't really hear what's going on, there's lots of music and it isn't like there's a microphone, so you just watch. It's so interesting and I really enjoyed it. After that we ate in a big room. Of course, they put us in the middle, which was really a great honor, but it also meant that everyone watched us eat. Overall, an incredible experience. I only got a few pictures (Vikram's brother is a professional so I'm waiting to see his...) but I'll make sure to post them...somewhere.

It's getting late and I've got another day ahead. So that's all for now. Good night!