After that excitement, how could my day get better.
Work was somewhat uneventful. I renewed my new-found relationships with my India colleagues, had my triple cappuccino in the cafeteria with Nidhi, and discovered the deliciousness of Below 8. Adi and I went for a nice, sit-down lunch at a nearby restaurant that served Asian-Lebanese-Indian cuisine. I decided to order for lunch and dinner because the idea of ordering takeaway from my apartment was a little too daunting. Out of the triple cuisine options, I went for some chicken won tons, paper prawns, and green thai curry with prawns. It was seriously delicious and just as fantastic heating it up for dinner that evening.
My driver, Suresh, picked me up at 7pm from the office and we headed home. He speaks very good broken English and is really sweet. It was reassuring to know that he's been the CEB guest house driver for the past 6–7 years and has a wife and children in a home nearby. We discussed differences I saw between the US and India office, my life back in DC, and my first impressions of India. After that, we fell into a comfortable silence in which I stared in awe out the window at all the exceedingly different culture aspects around me. My favorite was a new apartment building that advertised "doors" as one of its amenities.
In the evening, Nidhi and her husband, Vikram, planned to pick me up at 9pm to go to a party. First, Nidhi had the wrong number and started calling my coworkers previous bedroom (my current roommate's room). I heard the phone ring and was running around the apartment trying to figure out where it was coming from. Finally, I realized what was going on and simply called Nidhi's cell. When she and Vikram arrived, I went to meet them downstairs, but much to my dismay, was unable to unlock the door from the inside. The dead bold would not budge, no matter how many times I tried. I finally resorted to calling Nidhi so she and Vikram could come rescue me. I passed the key below the door (thank G-d it fit!) and they managed to get me out. Skeleton key = 1, Tara = 0. We are not on the best of terms right now.
Nidhi and Vikram, my knights in shining armor
We, then, drove over to another CEB colleague's apartment. Spas works for the research department and was having a couple friends over. It was a very small group of people and we mostly hung out in the bedroom where there was air conditioning. I'll admit that I was quite nervous what this party would entail, but it was so much fun. I forgot for a little while that I was in a different country. It was just like hanging out with my friends at home, except everyone would randomly break out in Hindi or Bengali and I would just stare at them.
With Sim and Nidhi
One of the guys kept making drinks—which I refused to have, due to my paranoia—but each on became more and more interesting and hilarious. Simaran and Nidhi convinced him to attempt making a long island iced tea, which he somehow did with the use of random liquor, orange juice, and an egg white. I've never heard of anything more unappetizing, but I bravely tried it and was shocked by how good it turned out to be. Mainly, I just stuck to some very safe beer. I really enjoyed hanging out with these guys and hope I get another opportunity while I'm in town.
Anurodh and Saps
Nidhi and I
No comments:
Post a Comment