Jan 6, Part Two

Work went well again today. The Indian team that is being trained is both friendly and the fastest learners I've yet to meet! They ask the best questions and are enthusiastic in their desire to quickly master the work.

It is 6:30 PM and someone just knocked on the door to ask to turn down the bed. He removed the decorative pillows and quilt, rolled back the comforter, and placed the hotel slippers on a white cloth on the floor by the bed. It seems every time you turn around, someone is helping you here (at the Taj). It takes a little getting used to because the service here is really over the top (in an almost smothering way). It seems to make the staff uncomfortable if you say "no thank you, I can do it" so it is best to graciously accept their assistance (even though you rarely need it).

I wonder if I'll remember how to clean, open the front door by myself, drive, prepare food, do laundry, did I mention clean?, by the time I get back home? No doubt Dave will be happy to retrain me if my memory fails me. :)

Except for the front desk Duty Manager, the staff calls each of us"Ma'am" and, believe you me, it sounds a far sight different than the Southern U.S. "Ma'am". When speaking to us about an absent member of our group, they may refer to her as "Madam". Very formal - clearly a vestige of the British occupation and the fact that this is a ritzy hotel.

On the morning drive into the office, I'm likely to see lots of little storefronts (still closed at 8:00 AM); alleys, narrow roads, roads that accommodate 6 lanes of traffic (if the drivers used lanes); many motorcycles, taxis, cars and buses; pedestrians walking on the sidewalk or risking their lives by crossing the street; garbage piles almost everywhere ; cows - Hindus consider them sacred - usually eating from a garbage heap or laying down for a rest (just see a few during the 25 minute ride); dogs - who know there could be so many dogs loose in one place?; parents walking their children to school (there are a couple of parochoial schools nearby and the girls are so cute in their uniforms, knee socks and looped up braids; building rubble (bricks); open air displays of of large granite slabs for sale; people waiting to catch the bus; a Hindu temple with its doors open wide and incense burning right in the courtyard formed by the office buildings of a few major U.S. companies , including the IBM office building ...

The sights and sounds of Bangalore are both intoxicating and over-stimulating. You could live here for years, take the same route to work each day and see something new each time.

I'm going to upload some pictures I took today and then need to get some work done.

Hope all are well back home!