Tuesday, August 30, 2005
A great one day weekend...
Our one day off is Sunday so Saturday night has become “Drink Night”. The night started slowly after work. I went into my room to relax a little, shower and get ready for our typical Saturday night party. I was sidetracked by, of all things, a Steven Segal movie. Not really his biggest fan but there was a cool fight scene in the beginning that got me interested so I sat and watched it. Got downstairs about 9:15 and had a quick bite. I ordered a Dosa Masala, which everyone else seems to like, but I didn’t care for it much so probably won’t be ordering that again. Because they all got there an hour or so before me, they were all way ahead of me in alcohol consumption but I made a gallant effort to catch up. The bar closes at 11 with last call usually about 10:20. One of the TA’s we work with ordered a bottle of whiskey and some beer for his room and we ended up there. It was a pretty typical Saturday night for us, sitting around drinking and talking and listening to music but then things really got funny when someone got the great idea of throwing fruit around the room. Oranges and apples were smashed against the walls and grapes ended up all over the floor. The next morning, those who were indulging in the fruit throwing didn’t even remember it…
Sunday morning it was hard to get motivated. Laid around a while, talked to Stacey on the phone. It was her Saturday night and she was really tearing it up with some friends. We talked again a little later when she got home… I was a little concerned about her making it, but she got home OK. Damn, I sure do miss that girl! When I hung up the phone I realized it was later than I thought. We were supposed to meet Ramesh for a movie and then join him at his house for dinner with his family.
Ramesh, Jules, Zac and I drove up to the theater, set up much different than those in the states. It had a large balcony with couch like seating, very comfortable with paddle fans. Below the balcony, from what I could see, there was similar seating somewhat raised and then down in front was standard chair type seating. The theater had a surprisingly good sound system but the screen seemed a bit old and the picture quality was just OK. The movie was interesting. It was a historical movie about the beginnings of the struggle for Indian independence from England obviously from an India point of view. It was in Hindi with a lot of English thrown in, at least enough to be able to follow the story somewhat although we missed a lot of the more subtle story lines. Ramesh and I discussed it for a while and he filled me in on the rest. All in all, it was a good time.
We swung back by the hotel and picked up Lael and headed to Ramesh’s home for dinner. It’s a very big home with the family legal offices below and living upstairs. Ramesh has a wonderful family that made us feel very much at home. His father was very inquisitive and talkative, a very friendly man. His mother couldn’t speak English but her smile let you know she enjoyed having us there. His wife was the perfect hostess although I wish she would have sat with us during dinner instead of standing over us constantly putting more food on our plates. I guess being American, I’m just more accustomed to everything set on the table and everyone digging in together. One of the many cultural differences… I hope I have an opportunity to get to know them all better before we have to leave. They served an absolutely delicious vegetarian dinner that was much different than expected. The dishes that were prepared were delicately flavored with a variety of tastes that surprised me. Ramesh had given me a sample of this when I tasted his curd rice one evening when we were out. I have become accustomed to the very spicy, rich strong flavors that I have previously identified as “Indian Food”. This was a great change and a cultural education as well that is very much appreciated.
After dinner we sat for a few minutes to relax then headed back to the hotel, stopped into Cheers for a couple then off to our rooms as tomorrow was another work day…
Sunday morning it was hard to get motivated. Laid around a while, talked to Stacey on the phone. It was her Saturday night and she was really tearing it up with some friends. We talked again a little later when she got home… I was a little concerned about her making it, but she got home OK. Damn, I sure do miss that girl! When I hung up the phone I realized it was later than I thought. We were supposed to meet Ramesh for a movie and then join him at his house for dinner with his family.
Ramesh, Jules, Zac and I drove up to the theater, set up much different than those in the states. It had a large balcony with couch like seating, very comfortable with paddle fans. Below the balcony, from what I could see, there was similar seating somewhat raised and then down in front was standard chair type seating. The theater had a surprisingly good sound system but the screen seemed a bit old and the picture quality was just OK. The movie was interesting. It was a historical movie about the beginnings of the struggle for Indian independence from England obviously from an India point of view. It was in Hindi with a lot of English thrown in, at least enough to be able to follow the story somewhat although we missed a lot of the more subtle story lines. Ramesh and I discussed it for a while and he filled me in on the rest. All in all, it was a good time.
We swung back by the hotel and picked up Lael and headed to Ramesh’s home for dinner. It’s a very big home with the family legal offices below and living upstairs. Ramesh has a wonderful family that made us feel very much at home. His father was very inquisitive and talkative, a very friendly man. His mother couldn’t speak English but her smile let you know she enjoyed having us there. His wife was the perfect hostess although I wish she would have sat with us during dinner instead of standing over us constantly putting more food on our plates. I guess being American, I’m just more accustomed to everything set on the table and everyone digging in together. One of the many cultural differences… I hope I have an opportunity to get to know them all better before we have to leave. They served an absolutely delicious vegetarian dinner that was much different than expected. The dishes that were prepared were delicately flavored with a variety of tastes that surprised me. Ramesh had given me a sample of this when I tasted his curd rice one evening when we were out. I have become accustomed to the very spicy, rich strong flavors that I have previously identified as “Indian Food”. This was a great change and a cultural education as well that is very much appreciated.
After dinner we sat for a few minutes to relax then headed back to the hotel, stopped into Cheers for a couple then off to our rooms as tomorrow was another work day…
