Saturday, November 12, 2005
List of Positives
It does no good for me to continue to focus on the negative aspects of being here so I am going to compile a list of the positive aspects of this trip.
The weather is always a good place to start. We’ve certainly had our share of rain and bad weather but for the past week and as best as I can tell, for the remainder of my stay the weather is and will remain awesome. Its mid 80’s every day with a beautiful blue sky and nice breezes and mid 70’s at night with no expected change in the forecast.
My co-workers are a definite positive. I’m the cranky old man of the group but they tolerate me quite well. I’m sure at times they want me to just go away but we are, for now anyway, all stuck together and get along just fine. I love Julia’s always-positive attitude, even when she thinks she’s getting negative she is more positive about life here than any of the rest of us. Zac is the funny one in the group always cutting up and very entertaining. He has a very unusual outlook on many things and it makes him a rather unique individual and then again at times he kind of reminds me of an overgrown 12 year old. Adam is closest to me in age but still a lot younger. He’s the one that seems the most stoic of the group. He’s an ex-navy nuke and it shows with loads of confidence and ability. Then there is Carlos and Dave who I hardly know as they don’t ever say much and don’t socialize with us much at all. As a group we all seem to survive and get through the days and nights here in India. Thanks guys for putting up with me like you have.
Food is another good topic for positives. While they don’t generally do a really good job on non-Indian food they are always willing to try and sometimes the results are pretty good. Adam can’t eat spicy food and they are always trying to accommodate him as well as the rest of us for our own culinary needs. The Indian food on the other hand is awesome. I really like the food here although as I have said just the other day, even that’s wearing off after the more than 3 months I’ve spent here. I’m looking forward to the next batch of large tiger prawns so I can have them made like the extra spicy chili chicken I had the other night.
The friends I’ve made, other than my co-workers, are only a couple, literally a couple, Ramesh and Srivani. An absolute gem of a couple, both lawyers and they have been very good to us. Who they are and what they are and how they live provides a different side to the culture than we are experiencing between the work site and the hotel. They keep me grounded in the fact that there are real, honest and good people here and that there is a lot to India that we don’t get to see/experience.
All right, there is another friend… He doesn’t speak much English, just enough to convey basic needs and such. Actually he is our driver, Nagaraj. This guy is just amazing the way he helps us get whatever we need, be it American cigarettes, canned tuna, booze, etc. If it’s available in India he can usually get it for us. He’s a hard working family man who makes himself available to us whenever we need him and we practically have to force him to take tips for all he does for us. Yes, he is a friend, maybe more, maybe less, but definately a part of our little family.
OK, enough already, I’m going to be in a good mood with all these happy thought and that’s going to really piss me off.
The weather is always a good place to start. We’ve certainly had our share of rain and bad weather but for the past week and as best as I can tell, for the remainder of my stay the weather is and will remain awesome. Its mid 80’s every day with a beautiful blue sky and nice breezes and mid 70’s at night with no expected change in the forecast.
My co-workers are a definite positive. I’m the cranky old man of the group but they tolerate me quite well. I’m sure at times they want me to just go away but we are, for now anyway, all stuck together and get along just fine. I love Julia’s always-positive attitude, even when she thinks she’s getting negative she is more positive about life here than any of the rest of us. Zac is the funny one in the group always cutting up and very entertaining. He has a very unusual outlook on many things and it makes him a rather unique individual and then again at times he kind of reminds me of an overgrown 12 year old. Adam is closest to me in age but still a lot younger. He’s the one that seems the most stoic of the group. He’s an ex-navy nuke and it shows with loads of confidence and ability. Then there is Carlos and Dave who I hardly know as they don’t ever say much and don’t socialize with us much at all. As a group we all seem to survive and get through the days and nights here in India. Thanks guys for putting up with me like you have.
Food is another good topic for positives. While they don’t generally do a really good job on non-Indian food they are always willing to try and sometimes the results are pretty good. Adam can’t eat spicy food and they are always trying to accommodate him as well as the rest of us for our own culinary needs. The Indian food on the other hand is awesome. I really like the food here although as I have said just the other day, even that’s wearing off after the more than 3 months I’ve spent here. I’m looking forward to the next batch of large tiger prawns so I can have them made like the extra spicy chili chicken I had the other night.
The friends I’ve made, other than my co-workers, are only a couple, literally a couple, Ramesh and Srivani. An absolute gem of a couple, both lawyers and they have been very good to us. Who they are and what they are and how they live provides a different side to the culture than we are experiencing between the work site and the hotel. They keep me grounded in the fact that there are real, honest and good people here and that there is a lot to India that we don’t get to see/experience.
All right, there is another friend… He doesn’t speak much English, just enough to convey basic needs and such. Actually he is our driver, Nagaraj. This guy is just amazing the way he helps us get whatever we need, be it American cigarettes, canned tuna, booze, etc. If it’s available in India he can usually get it for us. He’s a hard working family man who makes himself available to us whenever we need him and we practically have to force him to take tips for all he does for us. Yes, he is a friend, maybe more, maybe less, but definately a part of our little family.
OK, enough already, I’m going to be in a good mood with all these happy thought and that’s going to really piss me off.
