Shamefully Overdue

I know, I know... So it has been awhile since my last post. Sorry!!! I do have 2 excuses, wanna hear?

1. I was sick. I got a bad sore throat that turned into a cold which turned into a lovely flu. I'm the only person who moves to India, avoids the whole "Bangalore Belly" and gets a cold. Honestly...
2. Arik was here last week and blogging just wasn't a priority

So I hope those quiet the wrath of those who wanted more blogs. I apologize.

Anywho. So there have been lots of adventures. The first week I'll skip, just because it consisted or training (which is going really well!!!) and sleeping (illness tends to take the pep out of you). But luckily after a needed day off of sleeping for oh...about 9 hours, Arik arrived promptly at 5am (and by promptly I mean 1 hour later) while I waited outside at the airport with about 100 of my closest Indian friends who were jostling me to be closer to the railing. Apparently my "back off I'm tired" face was not enough to get a little personal space. Oh India... But needless to say, it was all worth it when he came out. It was really nice to have a visitor and especially nice to see Arik!!

Truly his trip was broken into 2 parts: North India trip and Bangalore. Let's start with North India.

Not 8 hours after landing from 30 hours of traveling, I naturally had Arik back on a plane. I know, I'm so sweet and thoughtful (it's just how I am). We flew 2.5 hours to Delhi and landed at about 11 at night. The next day we got up early and went to see a few sites around Delhi, spending most of our time at the National Museum which had a really nice collection of completely random Indian culture. If I had to say they specialized in something it would be in silk paintings, statues of Buddha and old coins. The best part is that there weren't really any explanations or dates to go with anything, so you look at it and you're like, "hm, looks old". The silk paintings were quite beautiful and overall I really enjoyed the museum despite lacking a few details. On the right is Arik with this incredible old carriage that was in the courtyard, considering Arik is 6'2" you get an idea of the scale.

Then that night (that's right, about 15 hours later) he and I were back on another plane (I seriously am completely cruel) on our way to Jaipur. Jaipur is a quick 40 minute plane ride and is known as the "Pink City". True to India, there are 3 stories as to why, popular opinion though is that one of the Mogul kings of Jaipur really liked the color and decided to paint the entire city the shade of Pepto pink in preparation for a visit from the King of England (during the days of the East India Trading Company). And now the entire city is pink. Seriously. Everything. Don't believe me? See the picture on the left. (and yes, I realize there is a yellow building in the back, but i swear its the only one - it's where the royal family of Jaipur currently lives). Jaipur is well known in India for being a city of smart businessmen. During the times of the East India Trading company, Jaipur made some really good deals and was centrally located on a trade route and therefore prospered. I tell you this because there were some really beautiful palaces and buildings. Jaipur is known worldwide for being the location where roughly 90% of the worlds gemstones are cut and polished. Not to shabby eh? Needless to say, yes, I did pick myself up a little something :) See more pictures from Jaipur in the album. Unfortunately without a picture of Signh, the best guide ever.

From Jaipur, the NEXT day (yes, we didn't stop at all) we drove 4 hours to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was exquisite, but Arik and I agreed that actually one of our favorite parts was that drive. We got a really good look at the Rajasthan countryside (the state that Delhi, Jaipur and Agra are all in). Really interesting. From there we spent all of 2 hours at the Taj Mahal before jumping on what turned into a 5 hour train ride (that's right, planes, trains and automobiles) back to Delhi. But before I tell that story, the Taj was incredible. You think you're prepared, you see people's pictures, but it really is both beautiful and amazing. In stark contrast to the actual city of Agra...The picture on the left Arik and I in front of the Taj. If you look at my pictures you'll see that there are like 80 different versions of this picture. The one your seeing is where we look the least sweaty (note I said least). Did I mention it was 116 degrees while we were in North India? Oh did I forgot that detail? Yea, it was freaking hot. Luckily Arik is a complete champ and I am sadly starting to get used to it, whatever that means.

From the Taj, back to Delhi, where we had a really awesome experience trying to catch our train. The issue wasn't so much finding the train (I mean, they're big and there's only so many options) but more finding our seats. Things are exactly "marked" and people don't exactly speak "English". Needless to say, despite being about 40 minutes early for our train (and yes, the Agra train station is a lovely place to pass time) we almost missed it because we couldn't find our car and the seats in our car. After being told 3 different directions (think old school cartoons and the whole "he went thatta way" and pointing both directions) we were finally shown to our seats by this super tiny (and amazingly kind) Indian man who spoke absolutely no English but who still managed to easily convey the sense of urgency by running like a bat out of hell. Needless to say this kind soul is the only reason we made the train. Thank you sir, whoever you are.

Back in Delhi we took in more sites but we got about 2 hours of relaxation in at the pool before our flight back to Bangalore. That's right, we didn't have one day when we weren't traveling in some way... Like I said, I kept us moving. Delhi really does have some amazing sights to see, the Red Fort (also built by a Mogul emperor), some really impressive old tombs, including one that pre-dated the Taj, but looks eerily similar... (see picture on the right). Overall it was really an incredible trip and the fact that Arik kept up that pace was equally impressive. I have also shared with several people that I'm a mix of thankful and slightly annoyed that while Arik was here he was never jet lagged and didn't get any stomach...issues. The man is out of control.

The remainder of the trip was spent back in Bangalore allowing us both to relax a little. I managed to squeeze in some work (please note the dedication to Target) while Arik slept and did some shopping. He made friends with the local expat tailor who is currently custom-making him 3 pairs of pants and 4 shirts for a ridiculous bargain. He also bought presents for the family (in case any of you are reading this) and got a lot of sleep. The time in Bangalore was great though and allowed him to meet my expat family. Unfortunately the trip came to an end with 2 sad departures: Arik (obviously) but also the Marston's. Andi and Mike Marston are a Target expat couple (Andi is HR and Mike has been golfing every day for 2 years) and they are just fantastic. Needless to say I, and the other expats, are going to miss them a lot.

So concludes another adventure and begins another week of intense training. I promise I'll be better about blogging (just in case anyone actually reads this). To those of you at home, I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day as I toiled away at the office...

Varanasi

Hard to know exactly where to start with this one...

Before we get to the trip I took this weekend, a quick recap of the week. This was the first full week of training I had. 930am to 630pm every day. While it is quite...intense, I'm not going to lie, that's a lot of training (as my Mpls counterparts can confirm) but honestly, it has been really great. The trainees are so enthusiastic and while the chocolate I bribe them with to ask questions does not quite get them through the whole day, they hang on well. I run a tight ship though, something the India crowd is not quite used to seeing in the training room. I give less breaks and keep them locked up for much longer than they're used to! But they are responding so well, and the feedback has been very positive. Most of all, I'm just excited to be able to be here to support this team. I've been working with India for about a year now, and to have the chance to be here just has already meant so much. Alright, enough cheese for one blog post.

This week also brought the Annual Day celebration of the accomplishments of Target India and an executive visit. I have never seen a group of people more excited about meeting executives, it was pretty interesting. There was an official photographer that followed them around the building taking pictures of everyone they encountered. There were also "security sweeps" of the floors the execs were about to visit with approximately 6-8 AP team members running around the floor. On top of some of these hysterics, the day was nice. As most of the expats do, I donned the official dress (another sari) for the event. The pictures I have for this one are actually of me in the sari as opposed to just the draping pictures. This picture is of me and my co-worker in OE, Suji. She is the one who draped me and has been working with me on the Merchandising training. To see clearer pictures, check out the web album (see the last post). The actual Annual Day meeting was basically a version of the National Meeting that occurred in March (for the Targeteers reading this blog). Most execs did manage to put a slight Target India spin on their messages to make it feel special for the audience. Other than that the week was pretty routine...(whatever that means!)

Until the weekend...Friday we had as a holiday (May Day in India). Several of the other expats and I took advantage of this day off to travel to northern India and visit Varanasi, the holiest city in India for Hindi's. For those of you who have never heard of the city I'll do a short description. The city is right on the Ganges river and is where Hindi followers go either to die or to be "buried". I say buried in quotes because the tradition is to be cremated and then have your ashes scattered into the river. Unless you died 1.of snake bite 2.from leprosy 3. during child birth 4. are a holy man 5. are a child, then your entire body is shrouded, weighted down and put in the river. Did I also mention that the bodies are cremated next to the river? We went on a night cruise down the Ganges and saw all of this happening. We saw a few bodies being cremated not 30 feet away. My reaction? It was strange. The sight was beautiful, scary, spiritual and disturbing all at the same time. I really don't know any other way to describe it. It was moving...in so many ways. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. In a way I don't think I could see it again, but am also glad I did see it. The really crazy part is that in this same river the next morning we saw MANY people swimming, bathing, washing their clothes and drinking the water. That was pretty wild. And by wild, I mean unsanitary. Although, it is hard not to be impressed by the kind of faith that demonstrates. Again, mixed emotions...

The remainder of the weekend we went on a few walks and tours around the town of Varanasi. When I say we, I am referring to myself and the 8 other expats that went on the trip. It was a big group but it was really fun. The other thing I have yet to mention about the trip was the heat. I don't think heat quite describes it either. It was insanely hot. We averaged about 110 degrees each day. THAT IS SO HOT. I'm not sure how to describe how hot that feels. You know in MN when it's so far below zero that you can only describe it by saying when you leave the house the hairs in your nose freeze? It's like that, but instead you just sweat. A LOT. I'm not saying this to gross people out, but more to just describe the crazy heat I experienced. Luckily our hotel had an amazing pool which one of the days we spent upwards of 5 1/2 hours in. It was too hot to leave! Below is a lovely picture of some of us enjoying the pool. It really was the only part that made the heat bearable. In order to tour we had to get up at 4:30am so that we could be outside while it was a reasonable temperature. Wow, I still can't get over how hot it was...

Also, there is a really wonderful little story about me getting pooped on by a bird and the hilarity that ensued, but I'm not sure I have the energy right now to tell that one...A fabulous picture will follow though once I get it from my fellow expat.

I uploaded a bunch of the Varanasi pictures to the album online so make sure to check that out. I'm not sure they really give you the best look at what I experienced but I tried. This trip also made me want to invest in a better camera. Well, that and the camera envy I now have of the other expats who all have these super techie cameras that just make my little Canon feel completely inadequate!!!

Hope everyone is well!!!! :) By the way, for the St Dominic's crew, bummed to have missed the show (although I heard our groups turnout was low...) but there will be future ones to attend!!