Striking a balance in India -- Week 23-24

Well, 5 1/2 months into my assignment here in India and have been exposed to A LOT of new experiences, but it really wasn't until this past month that I've been able to start enjoying some of the things that I enjoyed back in the states.  This post is more about things I've been enjoying outside of work...so yes, I've started to strike a better work/life balance.

But first--time for SHOUT OUTS -
Sept. 23rd - Happy Birthday to my big sis...HAPPY B-DAY COLL!  Love ya and wish I could be celebrating with you.

Golfing -
The weather here in Hyderabad has finally broken and it hasn't been raining as much, which means that I've been playing more golf.  The course I play at is pretty decent, and very difficult in my opinion--lots of boulders and narrow fairways...luckily there aren't many water hazards, but still losing my share of balls. 

I thought I'd share some of my recent experiences on the links--

• There are always at least 3-4 holes where I feel like Tiger Woods--meaning that I have a small group of Indians watch me tee off and then follow me along that hole watching me play out.  I have to give it to those pro's--I can't imagine having hundreds of people watching and not choke.  My friends--Tommy, Nate, Stefan, Jeff, Matt and Derma (pictured below from one of our past 'guy weekends' in Pittsburgh...Nate must've been passed out in the limo or taking the pic--my guess is passed out) can attest that I don't play well under pressure...awww hell, who am I kidding, I don't play well period...which brings me to my next point

• One of my goals when I came out here and found out there was a golf course only 3.5 miles from my place, and just across the street from my office, was to improve my game.  It would be great to return to the states being able to score consistently in the low 70's--and at that point I can stop saying, "You know, I don't really care what my score is, I just enjoy being outside and driving around in a cart", which we all know is something that us "average to below average players" say to keep us going back round after round ;-).
• The past few times I've played, I have gone out alone and been the ONLY one on the course...or at least I haven't come across any other players in front of, or behind me, which is heaven.  It means that I'm getting to hit a couple balls on each hole.  It's also given me some time to think about the game of golf--I think a rule change they should make for the game is that each player gets 3 hits...kind of like baseball with 3 strikes.  If that were to happen, my last round of 9, I would've shot a 41...instead of a 50.  So if anyone comes to visit me in HYD and we go golfing, just be prepared to play India rules (aka my rules)
• I mentioned that the golf course is the one place in India that I think I can go and be alone, which is completely opposite in the states.  I also thought it funny that the other day, I didn't see any people on the course for the first 5 holes, but I saw 3 peacocks, 2 roosters, 2 goats and 1 cow...on the course!  That's India and ya gotta love it!
• I know at some point, everyone has had to skip a hole because work was being done on it...but I don't think anyone can say they've had to skip a hole before because of this scene...there was no sign at the tee box that the hole was being worked on, or closed.  Luckily for all these workers that were literally pulling up the fairway, when I teed off I missed the fairway slightly--ok, this was one of the holes I lost my ball...who knows though, maybe I hit straight down the fairway out of my sight and one of these workers decided to keep it because it was the best tee shot they had every scene!!

• And last, and probably funniest, point I'll make on golfing here in India is that I've probably played at least 10 rounds of golf so far since I've been here...and it wasn't until the very last time I played that I was finishing up on the 18th hole and hit a great lobe shot onto the green and putted out for par.  I was feeling pretty damned good after parring the last hole b/c there's another saying that sucky players always say, or think--"it doesn't really matter how I play the whole round, as long as I play well on the very last hole...because playing well on that last hole gives you hope and makes you come back for more!" Anyway, as I was heading toward the club house, one of the golf course attendants drives beside me in his cart and says "you know that is the 14th green you hit onto and putted out?  The 18th green is over that pond."  All I could say was, "Oh, thanks."  I HAD PLAYED 10 rounds of golf and been hitting onto the 14th green all 10 rounds!!  And because there were never any other players on the course, I didn't know any better.  Actually, the first round I played, I remember seeing a water hazard on the score card for the 18th hole, which meant that pulled out one of my shitty golf balls that I didn't care if I lost in the water (another point us 'average joe's' do), but when I got close to the green, I told myself, "Oh, the water hazard must've dried up."  So I didn't think anything strange about it--forget the fact that it had been raining at least once a day, I'm not too proud to admit that one, but if I'm sharing all my experiences with you--that means the good, bad and dumb ass moments.

Running -
Also this past week I've started walking/running every morning and evening--my driver comes to my place in the morning and I give him my computer bag and backpack with my clothes and just tell him to head to the golf course and wait for me there.  Then I run (ok, more like a light jog right now) to the course, which is 3.5 miles one way from my place.  It's actually a pretty nice run and I found a short cut...not one that involves me climbing hills and scurrying under fences, but one that is off the main roads.  It's not so much the run/exercise that I look forward to every morning and evening, but it's the people and kids that I see along the way that I look forward to seeing.  The way they look at me is still a bit like I'm some freak in a circus, but I've gotten used to the stares and instead I just look and observe...

• I see kids standing on big rocks getting washed while their mother pours buckets of water over them and soaps them up,
• I see mothers and fathers sweeping out their homes, which are man-made tents with dirt floors, but they're taking pride in their home,
• I see families sitting together for breakfast in the morning, with the kids dressed in their school uniforms and the moms brushing out their daughters hair,
• I see kids playing tag, cricket and other games in the evening,
• I see infants playing with rocks and sticks pretending that the rocks are cars as they push them along and the sticks are swords,
• Basically, I see some amazing people every morning and evening on my walk/run to/from work who seem SO happy with what they have...and I feel a little ashamed that during my first run past all their homes, I thought "oh, that's so sad that they have to live like that."  Yet, after going by their homes now for the past week, I think "oh, they seem so happy and it seems like such a tight knit community."  See my DEEPAK Thoughts by Keith for the slogan this captures...

Beaching -
Besides my trip back to Seattle next week, one of the other trips I've been looking most forward to was my trip to Goa, which is a coastal state in India that is known for it's beaches.  In fact, when I ask people from India to tell me 3 places that I have to visit while in India, EVERY single one of them has mentioned Goa in that list...and I can see why after visiting--it was beautiful.  I love the sun, water and beaches, but it was getting see my friend from Maryland, Kecia, that I really was looking forward to the most.  We met back in 2002 in Georgetown at a conference/training for newbies starting to work in higher education admissions--

I posted all my pics from Goa on Facebook, so check them out, but also wanted to call out the place that we stayed was far and away one of coolest places I've stayed in all my travels--amazing house and super friendly staff, it was called Vivenda Dos Palhacos and here is the website if you want to check it out..and click on the "Getting Here" tab if you want to get a better idea of Goa and the number of beaches--I will definitely be returning!  http://www.vivendagoa.com/

RANDOM ADD-IN's -
Email from my mom
Those of you who know my mom won't be surprised by what I'm going to share, and for those of you who don't know my mom, well, this is why everyone loves her...Mom, sometimes I wonder what's going on in your head as you're writing an email like this because I just laugh thinking of you trying to put Chewy's voice to it --

Do you recognize me? Grandpa and Grandma took me to get a bath and a haircut....how do you like it? I'm tuckered out from such a busy morning but I wanted to send you a picture of me so you won't forget me. I like it with Grandma and Grandpa but it is not the same as with you. Miss you lots. They tell me you are going to fly home next week, hope you have a safe trip(that is something I don't miss...flying) but I will miss seeing you. Will you say hi(woof) to all my friends at the playground and all our friends in Seattle. Please send me a picture of you, so I can put it by my(yes,my very own mattress)bedside. Have a safe trip and have a great visit!!! Lots of doggie kisses, Chewy

I can't make this stuff up...this is what she wrote and then attached this pic of Chewy (my dog...although I'm a little worried that "grandma and grandpa" are starting to forget that).  Sorry mom--had to share it ;-).

Teri Meri Kahaani
While I was working out at the gym the other week, this video came on the tv and I just couldn't stop watching it...so there I stood holding onto dumbbells staring at one of the infamous Bollywood dance/song scenes -- definitely worth a watch: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/more/videos/view/showing/movie-promos/sort/What's%20New/id/1441706

And the day after I saw the video, I was at the mall and walking by this music/video store and saw this huge poster.  At that point I knew it was meant for me to share in my blog...that I thought it funny that it looks like they totally airbrushed Tom Cruise's face on the guy in this poster.

DEEPAK Thoughts by Keith -
- "You can't judge a book by its cover", is a saying that I truly do believe, and never more so than after my first run through the area I mentioned above where people were living in tents constructed of tarps, boards and any other materials that would provide shelter.  My first reaction was, 'how sad...I feel sorry for them.' Yet day after day I would run by their "homes" and see how happy they were and realized it's not the physical walls that makes a happy home, but the people/family you're surrounded by in that home.

This is my last post before returning to Seattle for a couple weeks (Sept. 27-Oct. 11) for some work meetings and trainings...and long overdue catching up with friends, so won't be posting for probably about 3-4 weeks, but no worries--next post will have lots of pics I'm sure of my time in Seattle!!

Sadness & Seeing India -- Weeks 18-22

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking in India...it has been a while since my last post, and I hope I haven't lost any loyal followers.

SHOUT OUTs
Sept. 4th - Parent's anniversary and bro's bday...
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad -- love you! (mom & dad with all their grandkids)

Happy Birthday Pauly--enjoy your last year in your 30's little bro!

SADNESS -
One of the toughest things about being all the way over here in India is missing out the birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc.  I was hoping to not have too many reports of friends moving out of Seattle while I was over here, but these last couple weeks brought news of 3 friends moving on from MSFT and leaving Seattle.  Funny enough, all 3 of them are moving to CA, and although I couldn't see them off, I wish them all the luck with their new ventures...Good luck Amy, Kofi and Paul!

To the rest of my friends in Seattle...no one else is allowed to move! I'm afraid I'm going to come back to Seattle and not have any of my friends still there.

(Me, Kofi & Amy)

(Paul w/ Kara & Ellen)

In addition to friends moving away from Seattle, the Wolverines also lost their home opener to Alabama...the only good thing about that was that I wasn't in the states to get shit from all the Michigan haters (Vanags, Wooley, Little Keith, Al, Phil/Allison, Mark, the list goes on and on).  But I hear they came back with a win over Air Force--it's ok UofM, you're allowed 1 loss!

GETTING AROUND INDIA -
I don't like to use work as an excuse for falling behind on my blog, or for not staying as in touch as I'd like, but this last month was particularly busy for me as I was traveling to several different cities/college campuses around India.  Definitely one of the perks of my job is seeing the country and meeting some great students.

Cummins Women College of Engineering (Pune & Mumbai) -
One of the few all women's engineering colleges in India, and the talent was impressive.

MIT (Manipal) -
The "other" MIT ;-).  This was an amazing campus and definitely the largest group of students I've ever presented to--there were @ 350-400 students that attended the presentation.  I have to admit, I did feel a bit like a rock star up there on stage with all eyes on me ;-). 

IIT Bhu (Varanasi) -
At one of the schools, IIT Bhu, it was great to have colleague and friend from Seattle come out to interview students with hopes of making some hires for Redmond roles...great seeing you Mark and good to catch up!

This is where we interviewed on campus--the Alumni Guest House...what was amazing is that where ever they were doing construction, they made these bambo scaffolding, which they hopped from one level to another--it was pretty cool to see...

.

Varansi - the city which IIT Bhu is located, is the oldest city in India, and one of the oldest cities in all civilazation. Every night they gather on the Gangi's River to pray and worship--it really was an amazing site...even if I didn't understand a word they were singing or saying, to see all those people in one place (night after night), was pretty cool. They boats tied together and people just walked from boat to boat and popped a squat where ever they wanted, regardless of who's boat it was.

This is just little kid that I couldn't stop watching in the airport--I think because he reminded me so much of a dark Dane ;-) (my nephew). He was so cute and just kind of sauntered around like he didn't have a care in the world. He easily could've fit in my suitcase...but there were way too many people around--kidding!!

IIT Kharagpur -
This was a fun campus visit--we didn't start interviewing for interns until @ 7:30pm and ran interviews until 2:30am...needless to say, I was a bit slap happy by the time we were wrapping, hence my idea to have all our intern hires put on their Microsoft t-shirt to pose...such a good feeling to see their smiles after hearing the news they were receiving offers to intern next summer at Microsoft!



So as I said above, we were interviewing until 2:30am, so I didn't get back to where we were staying and check in to my room until 3am.  Luckily I had picked up my room key earlier that day, because when I arrived in the hotel, the front desk clerk and the security guard were both asleep on the couches in the lobby...NOT KIDDING--I walked into the lobby later than my colleagues because I needed to wrap a few things up at the campus and all the lights were off and I used my phone as a flashlight and saw no one behind the desk or anywhere in the entrance.  Then I heard something next to the registration desk that sounded like snoring, and sure enough, both the front desk worker and security gaurd were sound asleep and both snoring.  They didn't hear me come in, or clear my throat, so I took it upon myself to try to find my room because I hadn't been to it yet...it took me a few minutes to find the elevator, and then I realized I was in the wrong wing.  Normally I would've been a little upset, but all I could do was laugh that I was walking around this dark hotel at 3am and using my phone as a flashlight.  When I finally found my room, I was so happy...and I didn't even care when I pulled back the comforter on one of the beds to find the below picture.  There were two twin beds in the room, and the other one had sheets on them, and I didn't even dare pull the sheets up to see what that matress and pillow looked like.  I was so frickin' tired that I didn't even care and just threw a t-shirt around the pillow and went to bed.

On my way out of Kharagpur, I happened to see this Hi-Tech Cyber Cafe and I actually asked my driver to turn around so I could take a picture ;-).  Unfortunately it's tough to make out all the details on the signs, but let's just say, that this is irony at it's best...I actually walked into the cafe as well--and the power was out!  ha, ha--very Hi-Tech.

FIRST DINNER PARTY -
I've been here now for almost 5 months and was invited to my first dinner party last night...and had a great time. When I first moved out here, I was reading books about how common it was to be invited over to people's homes for dinner...and how it was very impolite to refuse the offer.  Well, I haven't had to worry about refusing any offers because before this past week, I hadn't been invited ;-).  Who knows, maybe I give off the vibe "don't invite me to dinner", but I didn't realize how much I missed just going over to someone's house and hanging out and having a home cooked meal.  I met some great people and had a lot of fun.

MY SUNDAY ADVENTURE -
This story isn't going to be nearly as funny as if you would've seen it in person...but I have to share it with you.  Today I went for a run and ran to the golf course, which is about 3.5 miles from my place. My run to the golf course was pretty uneventful, besides EVERY single person I passed staring at me...I just wish I could read their mind because the looks I get make it seem like they've never seen a white person running before.  So after I hit a bucket of balls, I started to walk back to my place and my driver had said there might be a short cut through this construction site next to the golf course.  Since I had no where to be, I thought I'd check it out and see if there really was a short cut.  Well, past experiences should have taught me better then to listen to that part of my brain that says "what's the worst that can happen??"  The walk/short cut started out fine and then I realized the construction site I was in was supposedly off-limits and I somehow walked right by the guard and didn't even notice that the whole place was fenced in until I got pretty far along.  At that point, the short cut turned out to be not such a short cut and I finally ran into another guard and he just looked at me and waved.  I walked up to him and asked him how to get out and pointed to my apartment complex, which was literally a stone throw away, but on the other side of this big fence. He pointed down this path and was telling me how to get there...I'm guessing he was telling me how to get to my complex, but he was speaking Hindi, so I couldn't understand a lick he was saying.  For all I know, he was saying "you stupid white guy, what are doing walking around in here and if you think you can get to your complex from here, well, unless you're SpiderMan, you're screwed". 

Well, I kept walking and figured I need to go under this bridge and climb up this small hill on the other side to get to the main road.  Well this is where the funny part comes in...I walk under the bridge and start crawling up this hill and come to a fence.  There happens to be a gap at the bottom of the fence that looks plenty big for me to get under.  So I throw my back pack (w/ my phone and keys in it) over the fence...and then think "oh shit, what if I can't fit through the gap", then my bag is on the other side of the fence and I can't get to it.  I'm just glad there was no one around b/c I was laughing at myself as I laid on my stomach and pulled myself through this gap in the fence and had no problem getting through--forget the fact that I was covered in burrs once I got up.  Anyway, after I scooted under the fence and climbed up another hill, I was just about home!  Like I said, I'm sure it would've been a lot funnier if you were watching me from afar trying to figure out how to get out of this fenced in area and crawling through a hole in the fence.

DEEPAK THOUGHTS BY KEITH -
Over the past month, I've seen some amazing places in India, and on the whole, it is a beautiful country, but sad to see so many areas where the people just don't seem to take care of their surroundings/environment--the amount of garbage in the streets, even on the golf course this weekend I saw 2 different people just put their cigarettes out ON THE GREEN (major fopuex).  As I was waiting for my driver to pick me up for work one morning, a little girl came out on her balcony and just threw some garbage over the railing...and 2 seconds later the mom came out and did the same thing--and they didn't even try to hide the fact that they were throwing garbage over the balcony.  Here's my deepak thought:
- What if EVERYONE in India could set aside one day out of the whole year to go out and pick up garbage for 1 hour...that would clean this whole country up maybe (but then again, where would they put all the garbage)