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!!