Sit back and let me share a story. One that begins back in August where 3 strangers boarded airplanes to travel half-way around the world to take on a new challenge. Leaving friends and family behind and not quite sure of what lay ahead of them, they boldly came. During the course of their time together, new bonds were formed and new friendships made. Both with one another and with those they came work with. Now fast forward with me four months and this shared adventure comes to an end.

Last evening, these three brave souls shared a last meal together. A meal that was also shared with many new friends that four months ago did not exist. A meal where experiences, both good and bad, were shared with those around us. Laughter was the theme of the night as is befitting the end of the story.

So as Jason leaves today, to start the next chapter in his story and into the loving embrace of his family, we send him off with our well wishes and hopes that his new story has a 'happy ending'.

Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. ...

Before I get into my stories from the past week, I need to make an apology to all of you who look forward to Monday mornings to see what I have been up to the prior weekend. Due to a number of circumstances, this is the earliest that I had to make a post. Secondly, for those of you keeping count, repeat after me.... 17, 17, 17.....!!!!!!! This is the number of days until I see my wife again (but who is counting??  All of us apparently!)

Saturday

As I have shared with many of you, one of the hardest things I have found to do in India is sleep through the night. For various reasons, I have not had a full nights sleep for the last couple of months. This winds up making Mike a very grouchy boy. It also, at time, leads to a revelation moment. Unfortunately, today was not one of those! Today started with a plan for Jason and I to make our last visit to Charminar together. This was side tracked by the opening of a new flyover in the area that had the market place closed. So instead we went and took care of a couple of personal tasks that we had both put off. One of these was repairing a set of eye-glasses that I had broken a week or so ago. I expected to have to buy a new pair of glasses, however the store was able to repair them.... For FREE! Woo Hoo!

I spent the rest of the day working on a spreadsheet for the office and by doing this.

Sunday

So today we headed back to Charminar for the last time. Jason needed to exchange some jewelry he had bought and wanted to spend a little more time looking at the pearl selection. This also lead to a very sad exchange with a young man that had adopted us during the last couple of months. Jason explained that he was heading back to "Greenland" and would not be back again. The young man just could not believe that this guy that he had seen every weekend for the last two months would not be coming back. Once it set in, you could see the tears in his eyes. When Jason leaves, there will be many people in the same state all over the city.

I spent the rest of the day and night fighting with a spreadsheet that I wanted to share with coworkers during the day on Monday. Because of the extra time today, I was able to learn a lot more about Excel formulas. While I would of liked to be out and about in the city, I spent my time reading manuals and web pages.  Isn't life great for a computer geek?

Monday

Today it finally started to sink in that those that I have come to depend on here in India are starting to head home. Jason will be leaving early Friday morning and Gulshan will be leaving in the middle of December. It is a good thing that I have learned to navigate the city and to be able to find the things I need. I will likely not visit Charminar again until Ruth arrives (did I mention that she is coming in 17 days??). I will, however, spend a lot more time in the local museums and parks during my time off. I am hoping to spend this down time in personal contemplation about my future and about the things that I have learned while I have been here. I also expect to share these thoughts with you as I come to grips with them. I also expect another change in my photography moving more to street photography and away from the 'vacation' shots that I have been taking (with the exception of the time Ruth and I are together here and at the Taj.. Did I mention that occurs in 17 days??)

Today is a rather surreal day. I am celebrating an American holiday in India by having a paid day off. A couple of days ago, one of the associates I am working with here asked me what the Thanksgiving holiday was. I spent a few minutes explaining that the first European settlers that arrived in the new country celebrated the fact that they had survived the journey and their first winter by giving thanks. I also explained that on this day all across the United States that friends and family gather to share a meal together (and a little football) and also share things that they are thankful for from the last year. So, if you will indulge me, I will share what I am thankful for from the previous year.

I am thankful for;

• A wonderful, caring, loving wife who, after 17 years, still amazes me every day. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my days with her!
• New friends that I have met since I have been on this trip. I have built relationships here that I expect to last many, many years.
• Working for a company that has allowed me to make this journey and has supported me so well as I have been here.
• A church family that has taken care of my wife for the time I have been gone.

I hope that as you spend time with your family and friends today that you take the time to share with them the things that you are thankful for as well!

One of the things that I have learned since arriving in Hyderabad is the difference in how time is perceived. In the U.S., time is a commodity. It can be spent, saved, used or wasted. Our lives are almost always driven by the clock. We seldom just live in the moment and are almost always waiting for the next tick of the clock to mark the next event. We can get so caught up in waiting for this event that we forget to live in the current moment.

In Hyderabad, time is looked at very differently. Instead of being a commodity, it is just a way to mark the passage of time. This leads to the people here simply using the clock to mark the passage of the sun. Their lives are not driven in obedience to it. "Inshalla", or "In Gods time" allows people to focus on the moment. Relationships become paramount and the clock is not their center.. There is much to admire in this as the relationships that we build are the most important things we have.

However, as I am still a 'slave' to the clock (although less so than I used to be), today marks the passage of 100 days since my arrival in Hyderabad. 100 days!!!! At times it seems as if I have just arrived. At other times, it seems as if I have been here an eternity. I have seen and done much since I have been here. I have met many new people that 100 short days ago were strangers that today I consider friends. I have also had the most challenging job assignment in my career. Yes, there have been some bad times (such as the separation from Ruth), but there have been many good times.

So, still being a slave to the clock,  there are some major events coming up that I am both looking forward to and dreading. I thought I would share them with you.

• 11 days until Jason is reunited with his family. This is both a happy and sad event. I am happy for Jason that he will be in the loving arms of his family again. Sad that he is leaving. Jason and I have become almost like brothers since he has been here. It is going to be a very different experience here without him.
• 24 days, 8 hours and 12 seconds until Ruth arrives (but who is counting). I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to this.  If you hear of earthquakes in India after the 13th of December, please ignore them. It is just my jumping up and down with joy as I see her get off of the airplane.
• 38 days until Ruth heads back home after her visit. This will likely be the hardest time for me here. Although it will mark the beginning of the end of my tour.
  
• 81 days left in Hyderabad. This will be a bittersweet time as well. As I stated above, I have made a lot of new friends here. It will be hard to leave them and head to something new.

I have changed a lot since I have been here. Some for the better, some not. I want to spend more time getting to know those around me and less time on the fluff that has filled my life. I have turned down events with those around me because of being tired or because of the location of the event. I have chosen to spend my time alone instead of with those around me. This needs to change. So, in the 81 days I have left here, I will spend time getting to know those around me better. And I will spend time looking at who I am and what I have become. Somewhere in my life, I became a stodgy old man!! I think I will spend the remaining time here rediscovering who I want to be. So, if the next time you see me I have changed, then this assignment was worth it!!

I knew that last night was going to be interesting. And I was not mistaken. The entire city lit up last night as fireworks were popping all over town. Not the little-ones we get in the states. No, these were the industrial size 'CRACKERS' that were being set off.  Some of the explosions were so loud that they made you jump as they went off.

The photo at the left was taken during our dinner last night. The entire city sky was lit up like this and it made for a fascinating meal.  In some ways, it reminded me of the TV shots from Baghdad during the first gulf war. The entire sky over all of the city was alight and there was a gray haze everywhere with the smell of gunpowder. And to think, we have two more nights of this.

It may sound like I am complaining. This is far from the truth. Last evening was one of the most exciting times since I have been here. The entire city was alive and there were people everywhere. Most of the shops were closed and those that were open were providing the fireworks to their employees and their customers. While I did not partake, I certainly enjoyed the time!

Here are a couple of other photos from the evening.

And a little more excitement than was completely necessary occurred when our temporary driver, Srinivasan, decided to back up our cab over a roman candle just after it was set off. This caused people to scatter in many different directions as the flames and other items were bouncing off of the undercarriage. In the photo to the left., you can see the flames at the front of the car after he had finished backing over it. What you cannot see is the entire bottom of the vehicle smoking!

A visit with friends.

Yesterday also marked one of the most relaxing times I have had since being in India. Jason and I were invited over to a house that a coworker of Jason's family owned. This was a chance to visit a middle-class house locally. During our stay, we were provided with lunch and entertainment by Suresh's family. It was a most wonderful time and I can truly say that after a few minutes, I was treated like one of the family!

Pictured at left is a photo that Jason took of Suresh and his lovely bride Antara.  Many thanks for the lovely day and the incredible meal. Next time you might get me on the dance floor, bad knees and all!

Chowmahalla Palace.

I am not sure how I missed this place in all of the travels through Hyderabad. It is amazing that you can take one different turn and wind up some place new and unexpected.  It reminds me of a line from the book "The Lord of the Rings"

““Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.””

As is typical for a Saturday as of late, we headed to Charminar this morning to allow Jason to do some final shopping before he goes home. It is quite likely that this was our last or next to last visit here together. After exiting the taxi, we decide to turn left instead of right. By the time we knew it, we were at the palace.

This palace was originally built around 1780 and held the Nazim and his family. During the next 130 years, additional building were added onto the palace as needed. The entire complex is still owned by the estate of the last Nazim and is open to visitors. At this time, although rundown, it is undergoing renovation to bring it back to some of it's previous splendor. I think I will still another quote from Mel Brookes here..  "It's good to be the Nazim!"

Of course, photos are called for. That is why you visited after all.

Yet another visit to Charminar.

I am not going to say much about this visit today other than to point out that for the first time in weeks I was not approached to have my photo taken. I did however get approached a number of time to ask where I was from (Thule, Greenland) and to shake my hand. I always enjoy the chance to get to know people. Below are some of the folks I got a chance to meet today...

A tree grows in.........................Hyderabad

Ok, please forgive the pun. I saw this today and just had to take the photo. This tree is growing from the side of a four story building. The funny part is that the building is still occupied and many businesses are located in it. Funnier still is that I have been to the location where this was taken many times and this is the first time I have noticed it!  I hope you enjoy the humor in it as much as I did!

A very happy Diwali to all of my readers. For those of you not familiar with this Indian holiday, read this article in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali

Diwali is celebrated all over India with the use of firecrackers and fireworks as well as candles. It is quite the site to see and Jason and I will be heading to Hussain Sagar lake this evening to partake of the festivities.  As I explained to Ruth the other day, it is kind of like mixing Christmas and the Fourth of July together in a 5 day festival. The sites and sounds ought to be quite a bit of fun!

Another reason to celebrate

Today marks the half way point of my tour here in Hyderabad. I now have as many days before me as I have already spent here. It also marks about 33 days until Ruth comes to visit.

Over the next couple of days I will write quite a bit more on this topic, I just wanted to mark the occasion here!

One of the things that was shared with me prior to heading to India was the entire entire country appears to be in conflict with itself. There are many times that things do not seem to make sense and at other times will be contradictory with one another. As I was being told this, I would often nod sagely and not really believe what I was being told. However, after being in the country for over 80 days (longer than it took Phileas Fogg to travel around the world!), I am beginning to see these in everyday life around me. Below I am going to comment on a couple of them.

Traffic

I have often commented that the traffic here amazes me. I could sense that there was a set of rules that all of the drivers were following, but I could not figure it out. A startling revelation came to me as I was waiting at the airport a week ago trying to get my bags off of the carousel. During the extended wait for my bags, Jason and I were standing shoulder to shoulder sharing small talk. During the course of our conversation, we were both pushed aside so a gentleman get get a space at the front of the line. As this surprised me somewhat, I glanced at Jason and just shrugged. In the course of the next 20 minutes, this happened several times to the two of us and to those around us. This is what gave me the insight to the traffic patterns here. Each and every driver is trying to shoulder their way to the front of the line. The larger vehicles have the right of way while the smaller vehicles swoop and swerve wherever there is (or perceived to be) an opening. If the vehicle next to you is a little ahead, it is up to you to give way and allow them to merge. Where this makes life interesting is at intersections. You put the nose of your vehicle into the intersection and those coming the other way move around you. While there are lights and policemen to direct traffic, more often than not it appears that the drivers are going by their own rules.

Interactions and photographs

One of the things that constantly surprises me here is the number of times on the weekends when I am out and about that I get approached by people wanting to have their picture taken with me. I expect that it is because I am over 6 foot tall and wear an Australian bush hat while out (got to keep the sun off of my bald head). During the course of the day yesterday, I must of been approached more than a dozen times asking to have my picture taken. Sometimes it is as simple as the little girl whose dad tried to get her to stand next to me without my noticing so he could take the photo (it didn't work. I saw what was going on and got on my knees to talk to the little girl. She giggled and gave me a huge smile. I then stood up and she came next to me and hugged my legs and dad took the photo with a big grin on his face!  I spent a few minutes talking with him and his family before we headed on.)

Other times it is more overt. As we were on the boat taking a tour of Hussain Sagar lake I left an empty seat between me and the rail. During the boat ride a young man came over and sat in the empty seat. Glancing up, I saw his friend with a camera taking the photo. Once he realized I was not going to bite, his entire crowd came one at a time to get their picture taken. This lead to another set of conversations that let me know that they were all students at a local high school out for the day.

An interesting contradiction came today while at Charminar. As I was walking through the bazaar, I was asked by a gentleman if he could take my picture in his shop. I readily agreed and at the end asked if I could take his photo. He absolutely refused! As strange as this sounds, the people that I have the most luck in taking their photos tend to be the kids. Adults do not mind having someone they know take their photo, but do not want me to. I have attached below several of the kids I ran into today.

Poverty and perceived Poverty

Another of the things that is mentioned before you come to India is the poverty that you will see when you are here. This is very much the truth. You will see shanties built right next to multi-million dollar homes and developments. During our daily commute, we often travel through a small village of these shanties whose only water source is a concrete tank on the ground that is used for all needs, including bathing and watering the animals that they might have. This little area is right in the middle of 'Hi-Tech' city where you can find most of the worlds largest corporations in a 5 mile radius.

India has great potential and with the way things are going will become a financial super power before long.  However, with all of the great wealth being generated here, it is amazing that this type of poverty still exists.

Also, one of the things that I have been able to perceive is the "poverty possees'" that exist. You will find these in every area that westerners visit. These will be the young girls with babies in their arms asking you for a handout. On my first visit to Charminar, I spent an agonizing hour looking at this and wanting to help. This faded away quickly when I saw the gentleman that was running his crew directing his girls to a new target.  Once I saw this, I started asking around to some of the shop owners on what was going on. Apparently several of these "gentlemen" hire these teen girls for pennies a day and also 'rent' the babies for the same amount. At the end of the day he will take the vast majority of what the girls take in. Much of this is done because of the western idea of helping those around us.

A particular incident stands out in my memory, as I was standing at Charminar talking to several of these ladies, I saw a red-haired man across the street. He was wandering around with the gaping look that many first timers have in this area. I then heard a whistle and saw the 'manager' point to the guy. All of the girls I was talking too scurried across the street to approach the new guy one at a time. It gave me a fascinating insight to the entire area.

A bit of paradise in an alleyway

I do not want to end this blog on a down note, so I will share the adventure of finding a new restaurant yesterday. After touring Charminar again, and taking the boat ride around the lake, it was getting to be lunch time. Jimbo and Shelia mentioned a place where they served great food outdoors and had various animals running around the place.

We agreed to try it out. After driving down what seemed like miles of back alleys and into other places that I was not completely comfortable in, we came upon this;

This entrance was placed in between a couple of large building and looked to be rather small. Entering the doors revealed a long hallway that was covered by a canvas awning. It looked small, but the food was supposed to be good! 

Walking through the hallway and were greeted by this....

The inside of the area was a grand park with little bungalows spread around that had tables set up. What a wonderful place to eat and relax. It seemed to be a little oasis in the middle of the city. And at the end of the long day, it was a wonderful respite.

An Understanding?

Strange as it may sound, each of the above situations helped me understand the country more and more. There are many things in India that deserve high-praise. Unfortunately, there are just as many things that deserve to be rightly disdained. This all comes back to what I stated earlier in this post. India is at contradiction with itself and yet it seems to work.

This same thing is also repeated in many of the travelogues I have read about India. The writers are either completely enamored with the country and want to return again and again. Or are completely disgusted by it and never want to set foot here again. So you will ask, "Mike, which camp do you fall into?"  I will answer this with one simple comment "there is much to India I wish to see still".