Cochin Weekend

Overall, awesome weekend!

Cochin, now known as Kochi, is located in the south western state of Kerala, right on the coast. It is an incredibly beautiful place, lush and green, and extremely colorful. We had a great time relaxing, a little shopping and some sightseeing. To see all the pictures, click on this link

Cochin is famous for 3 things:

• Seafood
• The backwaters
• Furniture

Obviously, I didn't buy much furniture (trying to squeeze an armoire into my two bags wouldn't be easy), but I definitely enjoyed the first two! The seafood was so great, I more than ate my fill of crab, prawns and lobster! Based right on the water, Cochin is recognizable for the giant Chinese fishing nets that you can see in the harbors. They're Chinese nets because the Chinese are the ones who introduced them to the Keralans (see the picture at the left). They're really crazy looking and when you go to the shores and check out the fishing nets, you also see the fishing stalls. The fisherman catch it, lay it out on the ground and will slice it up and cook it for you. While it was SUPER tempting (or not), I stuck with the food at the restaurant.

The backwaters are the Indian version of a chain of small rivers that weave in and out of the city. You can rent these boats and basically go for overnight rides all along the coast. Unfortunately we weren't able to do that, but we did go for an hour long ride around the main bay at sunset which was pretty cool.

And lastly, oh the shopping. While Cochin is famous for the furniture shopping, really they just have shopping in general. Jewelry, pashmina, furniture, art, antiques, cheap toy rickshaws...no matter what you're in the market for they have it. And they also like to yell at you as you walk by and try to convince you to come into their shop, which interestingly enough...didn't work on me. I didn't do as much shopping as some, but I did walk away with two really cool paintings (one on the right, one on the left) from a local artist. Where these will go in my flat back in Mpls, who knows, but they're awesome!! And where was all this wonderful shopping? Jewtown. Seriously. That's the name of the area of Cochin. The original settlement of the Jewish Indians built around a beautiful old synagogue, it just goes to tell you how India feels about P.C.

The best part of our trip though had to be the hotel. The Taj Malabar is truly amazing. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful, it was the perfect get away from noisy and crowded Bangalore (especially as there was some crazy statue unveiling in the city this weekend so they closed everything in order to prevent rioting...seriously over a statue). I also got my first (and last) massage while I was there. I know, everyone talks about how wonderful the massages are there and how cheap they are (which is true), but I just haven't gotten around to getting one. However, the amazing massage I had in Cochin more than made up for it. Feeling relaxed.

Which is perfect timing as I head into my last week at work...

Lots to do, little time.

Where, oh where, did the time go?

So apparently it's August. And only 2 weeks until I come home. Seriously, how did that happen? Where did July go? Where did the last 4 months go?

I also realized that as July passed me by in a haze of work and travel, I haven't been the most attentive blogger. And by attentive, I mean, I haven't blogged. For the 2 people who actually read this (Mom and Dad), I apologize. Just kidding. But seriously I am sorry!! I'm sure it doesn't come as a shock that I really like writing these, but finding the time has become increasingly tricky. So in order to summarize the last month all in 1 blog posting, I'm breaking up into 3 categories that have dominated the last 5 weeks of my life:

1. Work
2. Travel
3. Preparing for my return

WORK

Work has been crazy! Not long after my return from my trip with my family, I realized that I needed to start getting myself organized to leave. Not to say that I'm not an organized person, but shifting yourself into "wrap up mode" has felt really different than the rest of my trip. Every time someone asks me for something or to work on a new project, I honestly have to say, is that something that can get wrapped up, in say, the next 2-3 weeks? If yes, than maybe. If no, then absolutely not!!! It has been filled with working backwards on timelines and really trying to figure out who needs to take things over that are going to need to live on after I leave, who I need to meet with before I leave, what didn't I get done that I wanted to, etc... All that planning takes up a ton of time! Not to mention my trainings and my projects. And while these last few weeks have been a blur (as I'm sure the next two weeks will be), this trip has been absolutely amazing. Someone asked me the other day if I'd do it again: IN A HEARTBEAT. There aren't too many things I'd do differently, honestly, because even the things that didn't go exactly as planned, I learned even more from than the things that did. I have loved my time here, the people I've met, the experiences I've had, and cheesily enough, the work I've done and the projects I've been a part of. Okay...enough cheese ball. Sufficient to say, it has been wonderful. I would be remiss to mention, however, that I'm SO excited to come back to Mpls and see everyone I work with back home!!! I've missed you guys!

TRAVEL

So this is what most people reading this really want to know... Since my last trip to Denmark, I have hunkered down into travel mode as I don't really know when I'll be back to this part of the world.

Travel I've done since last blog:

• Mumbai: I went to Mumbai with Will, another expat. We went for a weekend and had an absolutely amazing time. While Mumbai is a seriously packed city: lots of traffic, lots of people, lots of buildings, etc... I really liked it a lot. It's fast paced, really great food (emphasis on the really great), has fantastic architecture (left over from the British), and is a fun city. We also had a great tour guide who has traveled and lived all over India and had a sociology background and was just incredibly insightful and interesting. Will and I raved about him for a few days after. Although he was pretty great, there was a little detail that has since changed my opinion. Following our trip, Will and I each recieved and email from Mark, our guide. Will's was a few lines mostly about how much he enjoyed meeting us and how impressed he was with how much Will has traveled and to keep in touch if he ever comes back to Mumbai. Mine, on the other hand, was 2 pages, and included sentiments such as "I love your smile" and "You have amazing energy" and my favorite "I would love to travel with you around India and show you the stars in the skies". Needless, to say, my "reply mail" was direct, short and sad to say(for him), without much hope for a future between us. Will still laughs about it. Despite my new found following by tour guides, it was a great trip. Once I upload my pictures you can see more of Mumbai!
• Hyderabad: Hyderabad is a city in south-central India in the state of Andhra Pradesh that is known for 2 things: business and PEARLS! And lets just say, I wasn't there for the first one :) The pearls were amazing, so beautiful, and compared to the U.S., inexpensive!! Literally the 3 of us on the trip took over a pearl shop, had about 6 guys helping us while another 4 people were custom building pearl necklaces, earrings, and rings on the floor. It was a pretty wild experience. One of the reasons for the devotion of the employees was that Will was there to purchase gifts for his wedding. His fiance is from Nepal, and its tradition that he gives gifts to all the women in her family. Approximately 40 sets of pearl necklaces and earrings later (and I'm not exaggerating, I have pictures), he was done shopping. Needless to say my final bill paled in comparison. There were some other really cool things to see in Hyderabad, the markets, an old palace. But definitely what I'll remember most is our pearl shopping (pictures to come)

Future travel plans:

• Kochi (Cochin) - This is a city in south western India, in the state of Kerala, right on the water. It's well known for furniture shopping (which will keep my buying minimal as most furniture will not fit in my two bags back) and GREAT food. Looking forward to that this weekend!
• Sri Lanka - This will be my first trip (besides my family trip) outside of India!! A couple other expats talked me into it as the truth is, I'll probably never get another chance. Now some of you may have read about recent civil unrest. What I can tell you is, please don't worry, where I'm going to be is on the complete opposite end of the island and is very safe. It'll be a great trip and my final one before I leave... Sad! :(

PREPARING FOR MY RETURN

This process has really consisted of 3 things:

1. Buying gifts (I already have one of my two suitcases FULL of presents)
2. Planning goodbye events
3. Preparing myself for "re-entry"

First of all, I have bought so much stuff, but am proud to say most of it will be given away. I apologize especially to my immediate family members who, it's safe to say, will be getting "gifts from India" for the next 2 years of birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, etc... But it's also trying to remember what I bought, who I had it in mind for, etc... Sufficient to say multiple spreadsheets have been created and hopefully that will help keep me straight. If for any reason I give you a gift, and then take it back to replace it with something else, it's because I used the wrong spreadsheet. Advanced warning and apologies.

Goodbye events are really fun, and I am seriously so touched that people are going to be sad to see me leave, but on the same hand, are a little bit overwhelming and well...sad! The other thing is that I've worked with a couple different teams in my time here and so each one wants to setup something separately. And I'm excited for each experience, but I'm also dreading them a little. I have really enjoyed my time, but it will be so hard to say goodbye to everyone. I also am constantly dodging the "so when are you coming back" question because I don't have a good answer. While I'm excited to be back in the U.S., it will be really hard to say goodbye to the team members here and leave this place. As I mentioned previously, this has been a remarkable experience and the people are the #1 reason.

Preparing for re-entry. Honestly, there are a few things that make me nervous. Driving. I haven't driven a car in almost 5 months and not only that but everything is on the opposite side of the road. This makes me incredibly nervous. There will be a few parking lot practice sessions. FOR SURE. Also, talking. I have adopted a few phrases used here as it definitely helps facilitate communication. Examples? "I'm not keeping well today", "I'll revert back to you", "can we prepone the meeting" or my personal favorite "what timepass are you doing?". I've even started picking up a little Kanada!! "Maga!". I fear I will get some serious sideways glances when these sayings are uttered in Mpls. Please be on the lookout!!

I will write AT LEAST one more blog before I go, so no more sentimentalities for now. Today, I'll just focus on the fact that I'm really excited to see everyone back in the U.S. and that I've really enjoyed my spring/summer in India :) I hope this is an okay blog for now, pictures to be added from my trips soon!!!

Announcements:

• 3 new babies since my last post!! Congratulations to Anita, Sonal, and Chaitali on their new families :)
• Congrats to Jen Stone on 15 years at Target. WOOHOO!
• Arrival of 1 new "shortpat" (Abusiness visitor over 1 month, less than 6 months. I made this up and now am trying to spread it like wildfire). Welcome Brenda!
• The sad departure of 1 shortpat and 2 expats. Jamie, Alex, and Olaf, we'll miss you and I'll see you back in Mpls!! :(