Alvida India! (Farewell India)

Saying good bye was one of the hardest things I had to do. I will miss India SO SO MUCH!!! Especially the people. The friends I've made, I will remember always. Each person I met has impacted my life and work so much, words can hardly convey. I became so "Indian" over the course of the last 5 months. According to Mahin, I'm a Bollywood critic and I've seen 3 movies, I eat Indian food, dress in Indian fashion and have learned to be humble and appreciate life just like all the Indian folks here. More importantly, I've learned about a new culture and experienced a new kind of life. It's been an AMAZING several months, I would never trade it for the world.

Picture Link of my last day in office:
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Rainbow School Part 2

5th Grade Class

On Wednesday Anna and I went to Rainbow School to begin second phase of our project. Our project: take pictures of the children and have the photos printed for picture frames. Using old DVD cases as frames, one side was for the photo itself, other half was to slide a drawing done by the student. The 5th grade class loved it! Unfortunately I won't be there to see through the rest of the project but Anna will be sure to finish most of the classes. I'll miss these kids a lot, they have so much character and potential. I'm really glad I got to see them all before I left.

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Our Drivers

Left to Right: Niranjan, Gopal, Ismail, Akbar, Ansari, Jafar, Srinivas, Nayeem

Thank you to all our drivers, especially Ismail who handled all coordination (in orange.) We wouldn't be able to see India without these wonderful drivers. I'll miss them all!

Team Yellow Strikes Again!

Inside joke...
Whenever we all travel together and the 'yellows' (Asians) sit together, we call ourselves TEAM YELLOW! In KL last weekend, team yellow struck again! (Me, Jeff, Selin.) The first time was in Varanasi (Me, Simon, Jeff) -- haha!

The original Team Yellow

Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Twin Towers at night



Getting ready to go out for Jeff's birthday



In Club Zouk



Grapes at Chinatown, yummy!



The crew on the 41st floor of Petronas Towers



Awesome side angle view of Petronas

Over this past weekend, Anna, Stacy, Selin, Jeff, Zack, Travis and I headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the weekend. It was another short quick trip, but a great trip to be my last before I head home. We flew in Friday night and arrived to the 6 star Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 80m from the Petronas Twin Towers (one of the tallest towers in the world.) We landed a sweet 2 room apartment at the hotel, sure was NICE!

Saturday we checked out Suria KLCC mall (adjacent to the Towers and the hotel), then headed to Chinatown where they had DVDs, delicious fruits and tons of discount clothing and goods. Afer we went BACK to the mall for more shop. That night we ate at Bijan for Jeff's birthday -- a good Malaysian restaurant. Unfortunately, the dessert was NOT memorable. They gave Jeff Durian cheesecake... and if you're never had Durian I don't suggest doing so. Durian smells like stale garbage! Haha. After dinner we went to Club Zouk to dance the night away. The club was great, played good hip-hop and R&B all night.

Sunday we went up to the Petronas Twin Towers -- but they only allow you up to Floor 41 of 88 floors. What an incredible view though! After, I went to lay out by the pool and met with the others for more shopping. The shopping was good, but nothing comparable to BKK! (Yes I said it Simon, BKK is the B-E-S-T!)

I would love to visit Malaysia again, this time see the beaches and the rest of the country. For more info on Kuala Lumpur, click here.

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Awkward Asians

Courtesy of Anna! Ever heard of a Tripod??? Haha, these are great.

Farewell Dinner at Laguna

Farewell Expats!

Thursday night was my Farewell dinner at Laguna, a new Italian restaurant near our apartment on Road No. 1. We all dived into really good Italian food, I had a super good pear salad. We celebrated my farewell, Walter's farewell (a guy from Dublin who was here for 2 weeks) and Jeff's bday. Once again cake was delivered to me, AGAIN saying Happy Birthday -- courtesy of Anna and Mahin, haha. Walter and Jeff got the same birthday cakes.

We reminisced over our trips and fun stories, I'm going to miss this group so much!

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My Teams

Team 1: (Top Right clockwise: Sailesh, Shyam, Shannon (who is visiting), Me, Anna, Padma, Sirisha; Divya, Parul, Sravani, Soumyajit)

Team 2: (Top Right clockwise: Jitendra, Yasmin, Jessie, Padma, Me, Rubin, Urvi, Tina)

Team Dinner at Indi-Joe's

Last night I went to dinner with my team, we went to Indi-Joe's -- an American style pub serving TexMex, Sizzlers and Pizza (no Indian on the menu!) We had a great time, it's really nice to have dinner with a small, intimate group of people. We went home full and smelling like sizzling platters!

Another Surprise, This One Was For My Farewell!

Being fed cake!

My team!

Yesterday at work my team surprised me with a farewell - cake and gifts! They got me a really beautiful silk stole (pashmina), a hand stitched kurta, two gorgeous pillow covers, a necklace and earring set and a lovely tapestry. It was really sweet of them all, I'm going to miss them all so much!

Salaam-E-Ishq (con't)

A reply from Mahin:

Mahin: hahahaha, nice!
youre not just a critic, you are a bonified Indian!

Salaam-E-Ishq

I went to see Salaam-E-Ishq ("A Tribute to Love") on Tuesday night. GREAT MOVIE! It takes the place of 6 different love stories, and how they all come together at the end like the movie "Love Actually." The soundtrack is super good - it went well with the dancing and theme of the story, I've been downloading it and listening to it at work! Mahin thinks I'm a Bollywood Critic now, silly girl. Here is the link to the movie (music is available on the website too): Salaam-E-Ishq

Last Full Week in Hyderabad

Can you believe my time in India is almost over? Yep, this is my last full week in Hyderabad :( Am I ready to leave? Definitely not. There is so much MORE of India I'd like to see and experience before I go, there just isn't enough time in the world to do it. There's also a lt of the world left to see and again, just not enough time to do so. I've had a great time here, it's been challenging but extremely rewarding. I've learned so much about the world and about myself being here, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I will miss the people the most, my friends at the Google office here and my friends from other Google offices (Mountain View, Dublin.) In my last week I plan to:

• Go to the tailor and get all the last things I need to be stitched
• See one more Bollywood movie
• Eat at my favorite Hyderabad restaurant
• Go to Malaysia (we're going this weekend to Kuala Lumpr for Jeff's bday)
• Shop as much as I can because everything is SO CHEAP!
• Soak up every bit of India I can: the food (well, not really), the sights, the colors, the people
• Spend time with friends
  

Naveen and Varsha's Wedding Party

Here's a video of us dancing to drums

Saturday night I attended a wedding party -- at first I thought it would be a traditional wedding reception, where everyone would dress up and dance to traditional Indian music. This party was far from it. Naveen and Varsha, the wedding couple, invited only young friends to this wedding cocktail party. They transformed an empty farm house into a huge party set-up. There was a big dancefloor, open bar and an awesome DJ who played a mix of American mainstream hip-hop and Indian pop! I had a great time, this was my first wedding event and a fun one nonetheless. We danced our hearts out til dawn :)

Golconda Fort

Finally, I made it to Golconda Fort! I know, I'm about to leave Hyderabad and this is the place most people first see, but I finally made it here. It's 4 forts together located on the outskirt of the city, with a beautiful view overlooking all of Hyderabad. Simply breathtaking. When we first entered there was a clapping room -- you stand in a specific spot and the sound of the clap resonates throughout the entire fort. It was believed that the clapping notified the king when visitors arrived. Then, we walked deeper into the fort and entered a room with echoing walls. If you stood at one corner of the room and another person stood at the opposite end, you can hear each other if you speak into the wall. Amazing! We then wanted to see the top of the fort, climbed over 1,000 stairs in the blazing heat to get there. A HUGE workout but well worth the exercise, the view of Hyderabad was incredible. For more info on Golconda, click here.

Surprise Birthday!

Happy Birthday Charise McDreamy, 30th Birthday!

No no no it's not my birthday, not even my half birthday but according to my friends, it is! We went to eat at Golden Dragon chinese restaurant in the Taj Krishna hotel (where we have Sunday brunch.) I went to the restroom and returned to a cake being delivered to my plate and everyone singing! The cake said "Happy Birthday Charise McDreamy 3o years old!" When Mahin made the reservation they asked if it was for a special occasion and she told them it was my birthday, 30th birthday! McDreamy, well that's a small side joke...I got her hooked on Grey's anatomy and now we joke about Derrick Shephard's name (McDreamy in Grey's.) Anyway, to tip off the birthday cake, the restaurant lit fireworks outside the window! It was crazy but SUPER funny hahahahs! What a fun way to end a long week. And, Shannon and her boyfriend, Pratap, came to dinner. She's in town for a couple weeks with Pratap attending a few weddings.

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Guru

I went to watch Guru tonight, a new release Hindi film (with no subtitles.) Without understanding a single word said, I found it to be a remarkable and extremely captivating movie. Granted, I had translation throughout but the acting was phenomenal nevertheless. It is a story of a man named Guru who starts a textile company from scratch and becomes India's wealthiest and most powerful business man. The movie also shared a lot of Indian culture (wedding scenes, religious scenes) that helped me visualize a lot of cultural practices. I was told I had to watch a few Bollywood movies before I left even though it'd be in another language, this was well worth the adventure! For more info on the movie, click here.

Adorable Cuties from Mumbai

Courtesy of Mahin, she captured this picture when she was in Mumbai last weekend walking to Haji Ali Mosque. They're ADORABLE!

Cricket Playoff Game

Look who's the allstar cricket player now???



Getting some sun at the game...

Me, Stacy, David, Jeff, Greg, Scott and Christina went to watch the Google cricket team play in a quarter final tournament. It was during the afternoon so this time we stayed for the entire thing! We all had a lot of fun, sitting out in the sun, lazing on a Saturday afternoon with beers in hand. Greg and Scott hit the field during half-time and showed off their cricket skills to the rest of us (show-offs!) Unfortunatley the team lost :( but they played great nonetheless. I'm sure there will be many more tourneys that will come out with wins!

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Celeste Goes Home!

Last night I sent my sister off to the airport, I'm going to miss her SO much! It was really nice to have my family and someone so close to me nearby. She starts school in a few days, she will like the last few days to unpack all my stuff she lugged home (thanks Celeste.) I love you, have a safe flight :) India misses you already!

There she is!



At Angeethi restaurant

Here are photos from her last dinner at Angeethi with a few other expats. She did well and even tried Pan. Way to go Celeste!

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The People of Thailand

Here are some shots of the people of Thailand...

Ladyboi's (aka Trannies)





Buddhist monk

Bangkok

Blessing myself with a lotus flower

Tuk-Tuk ride!



I'm having fun with mirrors

After Ko Samui, Celeste and I went to Bangkok (BKK)! We were sad to leave the islands but really excited to see the city life and SHOP! First thing we noticed was everyone wearing bright yellow collared shirts. Why yellow? On everyday of the week there is a lucky color. The current king was born on a Monday and Monday's lucky color is yellow, so the people wear yellow out of respect. Tuesday is pink and so forth.

So we arrived at our hotel in Siam Square, Holiday Inn, and went straight to Suan Lum night bazaar. We took our first Tuk-Tuk ride to get there (which is basically the same thing as an auto rickshaw here in India.) The night bazaar was cracking -- lots of people shopping around, there was an entertainment area where performers were dancing and singing to popular songs, we saw a ferris wheel ride and there was TONS of food. We had our first dose of Thai food that night at a hawker stand. The prices were dirt cheap also, we got 4 dishes for less than $10USD. We tried hard not to shop too much but of course we failed :)

Celeste and I doing the 'Same Same' pose



Me and Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha)



We tried to make them laugh

Friday morning we woke up and took a tour of some temples and the Grand Palace with a tour guide, Chuckie, my uncle recommended. We saw the Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), standing Buddha, Emeralad Buddha (yes there are hella Buddha's everywhere, probably because 95% of the Thai population are Buddhist.) We also visited the Grand Palace, where the king and his administration use to live. When entering temples, it was required we take off our shoes and wear clothes to cover our arms and legs. Some tourists forgot to wear long pants and long sleeves so they make you rent clothing, we saw a bunch of people wearing these funny Thai outfits (obviously rented.) Mahin and Jeff arrived that night, and we went to this club/restaurant called 'Bed.' You can predict the ambiance from the name of the club. Yes, we sat on beds and had dinner with pillows on our back.

On the way to RCA



Partying thugs

Saturday morning my sister and I laid by the pool. That afternoon we went shopping (I know, more) to some of the malls in Siam Square. There are 5 HUGE malls all located next to each other, offering goods from designer clothing labels to DVDs and electronics. So much to shop for in Bangkok it's really insane. That night we met with our coworker's cousins, Shaohua and Yang-Yang to have dinner at a cute little Thai restaurant, and then went out to check the club scene. We went to RCA, which is a strip of clubs aligned next to each other. What's cool about these clubs is they have an outdoor patio area where you can lounge and have drinks. Fun times!

Sunday we headed to the infamous Chatuchuk Weekend Market in Bangkok. Biggest market I've ever seen. Imagine stalls and stalls and stalls smashed togteher, housing over a 1,000 or more stores, selling EVERYTHING from remade clothes, to fake tennis shoes, boutique dresses, handicrafts, textiles, fabrics, and even puppies! We spent 5 hours there and came out with BAGS and BAGS of stuff. The fun part about it all was it was all super cheap, you would never find this kind of shopping in the US. That night we had dinner at this enormous food court in Siam Paragon mall, the best food court I've seen. Sunday night after dinner Mahin and Celeste wanted to see some 'ladybois' -- we missed a caberet showing so we went to Patpong, which is a redlight district in Thailand. Nothing to brag about, they saw what they needed to see in the most disgusting way possible, haha. On our way out, we all got 'Same Same - but Different' T-shirts, a saying used by everyone in Thailand.

I had a lot of fun in Thailand, I wish I had more time to explore the rest of the country. What I love most about the country is everyone is super friendly and there is a sense of community among all the people. Everyone LOVES the king and wears yellow shirts to show their respect. There is a lot of shopping (which I love) and the food is super good, oh and the massages feel great and are super cheap! I can't wait to go back!

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Ko Samui

Fun hats in Chaweng beach, Ko Samui



Lovin' the artwork



Poolside

Celeste and I went to Ko Samui for 3 days, it was BEAUTIFUL! Just like Hawaii, except warmer and more exotic. We stayed at NovaSamui and spent all three days on the poolside tanning, getting $7 massages, shopping and eating delicious Thai food. There was a lot of shopping in KS, you can imagine all the cheap stuff they have in Thailand in general ... but we held back (as much as we could) and saved our $$ for Bangkok. It was nice to be in a tropical place in a different country. We did not want to leave!

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