Below is an email I sent right when I got back. An addendum: the party to which I refer had the in-laws of Shah Rukh Khan, the most famous actor in India, among its guests. I met his wife's brother, cousin, and parents. They were all really nice. Mom, I gave them duty-free scotch as well as the gift bag, and both the Colonel and his wife really liked it. I start work tomorrow, at which point I'll get to figure out other stuff such as learning Hindi, getting a cell phone, and starting a gym membership and/or yoga classes. Next weekend I'm going to pick up my first-ever tailor-made suit, made by some dude who is allegedly "one of the best in Delhi". At the very least, his business card was fancy and he uses Italian material. Ok, the email:
Just arrived. I was able to sleep a full 7 hours last night without waking up once, which makes the misery of not really sleeping much on a 15 hour flight seem like it might have been worth it. My family is a retired Colonel (Mr. Nayar) and his wife. Last night they had a party because someone (nephew? niece? not sure) recently got married so you have to have the newlyweds over to welcome them into the family. The sister of the dude who got married said they have 4 dinners this week, and the wedding was weeks ago. Reason number 8597 to marry an Indian.
A few pieces of awesome news. I met an old friend of the host family last night who, wait for it, studied in MÜNCHEN and then worked in AUGSBURG from 1953-61. We spoke some German. Brandon, he told me about this place in Augsburg that's the oldest socialist colony in the world. Apparently some weaver owned a bunch of forest land a few centuries ago and bequeathed some low-income housing to the city funded by his property holdings. It costs like 2 euros to stay there, and you just have to say a prayer for him. Purgatory. Ohhhhh yeah. It's called the Fuggerei, after the founder, somethingorother Fugger. Still there. Check it out.
Also, they have satellite, which means I'm watching the Thunder-Mavericks game right now, and can watch the Champions League final next Saturday (it's on at 10:30pm, Dad!). We live about 100 yards from the market, where I can buy about everything. Mom/Dad, I'm going to get an electrical adapter and shampoo today, so set your minds at ease. Colonel Nayar is also taking me to a tailor today so I can pick out fabric and have a suit made. Boo ya. Also, we have servants. I get to order tea and breakfast the night before, and they change my bathroom linens every day, and my bedding 2-3 times a week. We also have a rooftop terrace with flowers and a view of some of the city. I might never leave. I also met a nice Indian girl on the plane who gave me her contact info in case I need anything or some "advices" and asked me what my "good name" was. Getting used to the dialect. Also, there was a dude on the plane across the aisle from me who was literally the rudest man in the world. Like the Dos Equis commercial dude, but for lack of manners. He shouted every time he wanted something, and spent the first 45 minutes of the flight just demanding scotch. I need scotch! It was like Anchorman, but not funny. He treated the stewardesses like subhumans and acted as though he was the only passenger on the flight. And this is in coach. Unbelievable.
Anyway someone is coming to pick me up on Monday, so I don't have to figure out the metro yet, but eventually that's how I'll be doing my commute. I don't get picked up til 9:15 either, which is pretty clutch. I'll try to take some pictures semi-soon once I can charge my camera. The wifi here is pretty fast, so I should be able to be in pretty good contact.
K, gonna go back to being really excited.
2 comments:
Ben!
Very entertaining first post. I'll try to read them as you go. Sounds like you're enjoying yourself so far.
This is Lexi, by the way.
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