I'm still here

Sorry for the lack of updates.  We worked all day both Saturday and Sunday last weekend so there hasn't been a whole lot to say.  Unfortunately it's looking like we'll be doing the same this weekend so the prospects for interesting, blog worthy, non-work experiences are looking bleak in the near term.  I was particularly disappointed to have to work last weekend as we had a tee time to play 9 holes on Sunday afternoon.  I'm hoping that when everything slows down a bit in February we'll be able to golf at least once.

This past Tuesday was Republic Day in India.  It's fairly similar to the 4th of July, but with fewer fireworks.  This was the first time I've ever been in a foreign country for a meaningful local holiday.  It was odd to have absolutely no concept of the holiday that was being celebrated.  I felt a bit left out, although it was nice that there was no traffic.  I was talking to some of my colleagues here who have been to the States and they mentioned having a similar reaction to Thanksgiving.

The office we are in has a cafeteria.  The cafeteria has three different vendors that come in each day and serve lunch.  One vendor is vegetarian and the other two serve meat dishes.  The food is very simple, homemade dishes.  Lots of lentils, potatoes, cabbage, paneer (cheese), green onions and rice.  There is also generally one or two Chinese dishes as Chinese food is extremely popular in Kolkata. 

All of the vendors also server nan or roti with their meals.  Nan and roti are types of flat bread.  Nan is generally a bit fluffier than roti and roti is usually, if not always, made with whole wheat flour.  I don't think I've had a lunch or dinner here yet that didn't include nan and/or roti.  We've actually picked a different vendor at times based on the fact that our favorite vendor was out of roti.  Partly this is because the bread is also used as a utensil by most folks.  I'm getting to be an expert at corralling paneer with roti.

The lunches are extraordinarily cheap.  You buys a book of twenty tickets for 500 rupees.  Each ticket is good for one all you can eat meal which means that each meal costs 25 rupees or roughly 55 cents.  Contrast this with the cost of laundry in our hotel where I'm paying $3 to wash a pair of socks and $7 to wash a pair of jeans.  Luckily that cost is covered by work.

Just found out I get to fly business class on the way home.  That is going to make the flight a heck of a lot nicer.