Sacrament Meeting

So, it has been a while since I have posted, and I think it might be time to post again. This week has been much like the week before, with a few small exceptions. I got to go shopping this week. I went shopping for souvenirs twice and have finished my shopping I think. If I find something else that catches my attention, I might still buy it, but I could go home tomorrow and be satisfied with what I've got.

Also, we finally got to church. It was smaller than any of the branches I have been to before... including the many tiny ones I was assigned to in Korea. There was a family, one family, that was active and regular, and the rest of us were foreigners or Indians here for a visit. The group of us amounted to about 10 people... and I think that was larger than normal. I was please with their efforts though. It made me very happy to see how strong they were in the gospel when they had so little support. They day we went was district conference, which meant that the leadership (Branch President, and 1st Councilor) were off to district meetings. The rest of the branch didn't go, but rather stayed to have their own branch meeting. The 2nd councilor seemed a little shy. He didn't conduct anything, but he did sit up front. Instead the Elders Quorum President conducted sacrament meeting. He was an American who is there on company assignment. Thank goodness for his strength!

So, we sung the opening prayer, prayed, sung the sacrament prayer, prayed, sung the closing hymn, and prayed. That had to be the shortest sacrament meeting I have ever attended by far! No talks. No announcements. Just song and prayer. I guess normally they do have a talk in there, but this time they didn't. But it did make me think... isn't that the real reason for sacrament meeting anyways? To have sacrament? To pray and sing to our God? Of course, instructing each other is important too. And we did do that in Sunday School.

The same brother who conducted Sacrament Meeting, also conducted Sunday School, and taught it. They used the gospel principles handbook for their material. It was a good lesson. Very simple and too the point. But one brother there who was Indian, and is there for only a month or two, spoke of his conversion during the lesson. He said that he was converted while he was in Texas, and that shortly after his conversion, 9-11 happened. During that time, I guess Texas had a "Share your neighbors faith" program in which once a month, some religion would speak about their beliefs in some public meeting. I guess the first meeting was about Hinduism, which was his former religion. He said that as he listed to the speaker, that things sounded very familiar, and good to him. He said he wondered if he had given his religion from birth the chance it deserved. But not long after, he went to a general conference meeting to listen to the general authorities speak. He said he heard the testimony of one of the speakers and felt an overwhelming spirit of peace and confirmation about the prophets and the truthfulness of the church. I was really impressed by it. He seems like a very nice guy, and very sincere. He seemed very devout, and strong in the church. I'm sure his strength will be appreciated wherever he goes.

After Sunday School, the services were over. There was no Elders Quorum, no Relief Society or Primary. But we did stick around for a while and chat with the people who were there. It was a good experience... and I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to be there. By the way... here are some pictures that I have taken, but have not posted anywhere. They aren't that beautiful, or great or anything, but they are here:

(If you don't have flash, or for some reason, can't see the images below, or if you'd simply prefer to see them a bit larger, please click on the links below!)

Rainy Day




The Kids




The House

4 down, 2 to go

So hello again friends family and all,
Well 4 down 2 to go. I'm 2/3s the way home. This week has been alright. Again nothing too exciting has happened, but all the same it hasn't been bad. On Saturday, Sri, the owner of Ecotech Outsourcing, the company we go through to hire our employees down here, took me to see a Jain temple here not too far away. The temple itself wasn't anything too spectacular. It was fun to go to, but nothing like some of the temples I know India has in the South. But all the same, it was an experience. We got to the temple and were about to go in when I was told that I would have to leave my camera behind. From the entrance I really couldn't see much. However the guard was kind enough to point a way around back where we go to see a little temple and be close enough to take pictures without disturbing anybody. So I got a few pictures of that. But the little temple was not much like the rest, but interesting all the same. So Jainism, it seems, is quite similar to Buddhaism but much stricter. Those who live it have a very limited diet. They do not eat meat (which isn't that uncommon around here) but they likewise do not eat anything that grows underground (carrots, potatoes, etc.) The foods they eat are limited to the fruits and vegetables that can be eaten without killing the plant. They literally do not believe in killing anything. They also feel (like many other religions do) that simplicity is the best way to live. That riches and wealth are corrupting agents and should be given away. However, while some live in such a fashion, they are the monks of the religion, though I don't know whether or not monks is the right name for them. The rest of the Jains seem to live fairly normal lives, with the exception of their diet, I believe. Some of the more religious people will wear a robe with nothing else on to display their simplicity of life (the men in particularly). They seem to be very friendly people, though I believe they felt a bit odd having a foreigner come and take pictures of them, and their temple. I believe Jain himself was at one point a wealthy prince or king who, after looking at the poor of his country, gave up all he had, and looked for a new way of life (not unlike the story of Buddha). And while he sat under a tree, he received inspiration on how he should live. And thus started a new religion.

The people here in India are a very peaceful people. Their culture, their beliefs all center around not hurting one another or even the animals and plants that surround them. India is a country that has been conquered over and over again (not unlike Korea) because they are a country that does not study war, and weapons, although they have been highly influential in world thought and beliefs. I understand that much of the culture of thought that Plato and Aristotle studied from came originally from India, and those philosophers have effected our thought much as well. The religions of India do seem to be idol worshiping religions for sure, but I do not believe that they would fall under the same condemnation that the idol worshiping religions of the old testament did. The idol worshiping religions of the old testament were condemned partially because of the sin and corruption that came with those idols. Their groves and high places were centers for sin, and excuses to commit sin, and they did it in the name of their fake god. But things are different here. While they do not seem to have all the same commandments that we have, in many ways they live more strict lives than we do. Dave (my boss) speculates that there is a lot of “playing around” outside of marriage here, but that is his opinion, and while I would agree that it likely does happen, I don't believe it happens here more than it happens in the US, in fact, I'd dare say it happens far less. The culture in the US is obsessed with sex and violence. It is uncommon to find a TV show that doesn't elude to sex or depict a violent scene. We have much we could learn from India. Unfortunately, it seems that we are influencing India more than they are us. Traditional shops that frequently have religious figurines and paintings in one corner are being replaced with malls that have great big pictures of women with little on. Materialism is slowly replacing living a life of simplicity. When I first got here I spoke of how my just being here is helping them rise out of poverty. And while that is still true, I guess I'm realizing that what we are doing isn't all good either.

We went to a mall yesterday so Dave and Amanda could buy some things for their house keeper and her daughter as a favor. I watched as all of this progressed, Reja (I'm not sure if that is how it is spelled or not) tied her scarf around her face while she was in the car. She said she couldn't stand the smells. The smell of the AC, the smell of the tar on the road, the smell of the exhaust... things that we hardly think about unless they are particularly bad she could hardly stand. When we got to the mall Reja looked lost. I think that was her first trip to a mall, but I'm not certain. She was taken to the children's clothing area and she looked around and she simply didn't know what to do. Amanda started pulling things out, and helped her choose an outfit for her daughter Wonshu. They also took her into the women's clothing area and picked her an outfit out too. I wonder what she thought of all the images that were around her. It was pretty much the same as what you would see in a mall in the US, lingerie, bright lights, models with plastic faces; she must have been somewhat overwhelmed with what she saw. I think Dave and Amanda were well intentioned and all, but I think after watching all of this that next time I'd take her to the places that she shops and not to the places they shop. She was certainly grateful for all the stuff she and her daughter was given, but I think she felt quite uneasy the entire night.

More pics

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all those who have served, and to the families of those who have not returned. We love and appreciate you, and are grateful for all that you do and have done.
Rochelle and BJ
(Photo is from the internet)

A perplexing question

Hello all,
How are you all doing? I hope well. I'm afraid not much is happening here. I spend my time at work or at home, and I don't get out too much. This coming week though, I'm going to try to get out more and take my camera with me so I can say I actually did something interesting while I was in India. Today Dave wanted to watch the final episodes of American Idol and so we watch those. I think Jordan was the better of the two, and am glad she won. I did enjoy Blake's performance with the other beat-boxer guy, and thought that was cool, but that's not the type of music I would listen to on a regular basis. But enough about that. Monsoon season seems to be rolling in. Last week it rained a couple of times, which was nice. It seems to have broken the heat a bit. Things that way have been more bearable. But the real monsoon season won't start for another week or two. I'm told that monsoon seasons aren't that bad here. It is rarely dangerous here... it just drizzles all the time. You Oregonians should know what that is like. Only here it is in the summer so it warmer rain. The first day it rained we were at a restaurant and we looked out and it was just pouring. It did get windy at times, but nothing like I remember Korea being like. In Korea the wind would blow signs down, and windows out of buildings. I hope to get some good pictures of some storms here. I tried the other day... but I was in the second floor of the building we work in, and you can barely tell it is raining from my pictures. I haven't tried to take pictures of rain before. It seems to be a bit of a challenge. ;-) I also felt a little sheepish pulling out my camera to take pictures while everybody watched me. I kinda stand out of the crowd here anyways, but whenever my camera comes out, I feel like such a tourist. Cest la vie! I have to say though, I will be glad to come home again and have some home cooked food. We went to the nicest restaurant in the entire city the other day (or so Dave says), and I truly enjoyed my first meal since I came here. It was an Italian restaurant and I had a chicken and mushroom dish. The meal came to $50 for the 3 of us. One interesting thing about this place is that every sit down restaurant here gives service like a 5 star restaurant in the US. They put your napkin on your lap, push in your chair, do the 5 course meal thing (which I still don't quite understand). And a 5% tip is good here. The restaurants that we frequent here seem to always have the same people working. Lunch, dinner, Monday through Friday, they are always there. If these people were in the US, we would call them workaholics. But here, it is normal. The brethren teach us to embrace the parts of our culture that are good, but that we are to shun the bad parts. I don't know what to think about their work habits here. Are they a good part or a bad part? Their work habits are what is bringing their country up, but at what price? Is this something that is good for them? I know the US went through a phase like this too... and it made our country what it is today (for good and bad). But you can't work in excess of 12 hours a day, and be close to your family in my opinion. At least I know Rochelle wouldn't like it if I did that, and worked ever other Saturday too. But many workers here do that. And they are rewarded for it. By doing it they get their promotions. I have been doing it right along side of them since I have been here. And honestly, I'm not bothered by it. But I would be if I were in the US. Part of the reason I'm ok with it here, is that by being at work, Rochelle can have more opportunities to talk to me. So working the long hours here actually gets me closer to my wife. But in the US working even 10 hours a day on a regular basis would be hard for me. Not being home in time for dinner would be hard for me. And so here is my philosophical question for the day. Lets say you and your family lived in the 1920, where times were hard. Few were very rich, but most were part of the working class. And for the working class to get by they had to work hard. (I'm picturing the conditions shown in “Cinderella Man”.) You have a job at a local factory, where hard work is rewarded. One person recently was promoted for working extra hard. He worked 70 hour weeks. Should you do the same? Now, the obvious answer would be 'No'. Who would openly state that they would rather have the money than time with their family. But again, think about what life must have been like in the 1920s. Feeding your family is a struggle, adequate housing means any place that can keep the rain out, and the only schooling your kids will have a chance at is that which is free, and life all around is hard. So what do you do? From my comfortable position, I have a hard time understanding how they do it, or why they do it. I don't think that I ever want to work the hours that these people work to “get ahead” but then again, I have more now than most of these people will ever have. A legacy give to me by my parents, country, ethnicity, culture and class. Oh certainly I worked to get to where I am, but it was easy compared to what type of work these people do to obtain much less. And so I am torn. Some of these people really want to work hard to get ahead, and I can understand that, but at the same time wish that they would spend a little more time at home. Some of these programmers that I work with I think will be very good husbands and fathers (one of which just got engaged), but they may not be home very much because of their eagerness to provide. I just hope that they do the right thing... whatever that is.

Not much new

So, I've now been here for just under two weeks. And while it has been an eye opener, I have also simply been at work a lot. I wish I were free to go to the interesting places in India, and to see the sites, but that just doesn't happen. I am grateful for the experiences I have had thus far, but I don't expect that there will be many like that. Since my last post, I haven't hardly stepped outside to do anything besides go to work. I did go to see Spiderman 3 on Saturday, but that isn't an extremely cultural experience, although I was happy to get out of the house. Dhannajay, an accountant who works here was kind enough to take me. My coworkers here refuse to let me pay for anything. It feels strange. I don't know how girls do it in the states. Maybe one of you can enlighten me as to how you are able to allow somebody to pay for you time after time. Doesn't it feel awkward? I think it would. Anyways, the movie was interesting. I've never been to a movie that had an intermission before. They just stopped the movie in the middle, and played music for 10 minutes. Then it resumed. I'm glad it wasn't in the middle of some action seen where spiderman was hanging by a thread (pardon the pun). Well... aside from that Dave has come home from his vacation. I am currently staying with them in a guest room just off from the kitchen. The room has its own bathroom, and I stay pretty much out of their way, while still trying to be a polite guest. This weekend I did much reading. I read in The Book of Mormon (we didn't get to church, 4 hour drive to get there), and "A Wrinkle in Time" and I finished the second book of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I also read several chapters in a programming book, and watched "Independence Day". And that was my weekend. Cultural eh?

Oh well. Such is life, and work, and such was my weekend. I hope you are all alive and well, and I'll look forward to talking to you soon. Please don't be afraid of chatting with me anytime you see me online (and I am quite a fair bit). Even if I am unable to talk for long when you catch me, the 'hi' will be appreciated.

Love you all,

BJ

A colorful day

So, I sent to a wedding yesterday. It was pretty cool. Definitely different from anything I had ever experience before. It was a Muslim wedding, and I understand that each religion has different traditions in weddings. The groom is a programmer who works here. He hasn't been here recently due to the wedding, so the wedding was the first time that I was able to meet him. He seemed to be a good guy. He looked pretty happy too. The bride I know nothing about, except that it was an arranged marriage, which most likely means that she was from the same religion, and caste. As you can see, she didn't look as happy. But, I'm not sure whether or not she was. I asked somebody about that, and he said that it is tradition for the wife to act that way. She is not to make eye contact with anyone, and to remain solemn. After greeting the groom, we went and sat down to a table, and waiters brought food to our tables. That was interesting for sure. One very large plate in the middle was filled with rice and curry (a special curry for the occasion, I understand) and then we dug in. With our hands. I'm not joking. People here eat with their hands. And the funny thing is, I never thought eating with your hands was difficult. But you trying eating rice and curry with your hands. It's not easy! Especially when you can move the plate that it is served on. Thankfully, I only had to eat with my hands for a little while, before the waiter brought me a spoon (which had been requested by my friends without my knowing). I felt sheepish, but I was glad for it. Oh, and here's the other thing... no napkins. Eating here is not the most clean or sanitary affair. And it's not like people wash their hands before eating either. Very different. Well... I'm afraid that's all I have to say for the day... but enjoy the pictures. I love you all.

The Rest of the Pictures

The many uses of a garden hose

Warning... this blog may be long and painful to the reader. Do not embark on reading unless you have spare time, and are willing to be a little philosophical with me. Otherwise, please just view the pictures.
:-D

So it is Sunday, although you will not be reading this until Monday because I am unable to post it until I get back into the office. Dave has allowed me to use one of the spare laptops here, and I brought it home with me so I see if by any chance there would be wireless Internet here. But there is none.

So, my day today has been interesting. I slept in, not having much else to do, and trying to catch up on sleep. But it wasn't too long before the garbage man woke me up, when he rang our door bell asking if we had any garbage to take out. At least that's who I think he was. I didn't understand a word he was saying, and I'm sure he didn't understand me either. But he and another guy were going down the street with large bins on wheels that I could only assume carried garbage. But it was probably good that he rang, because it reminded me to bring in the milk. Not that it would be bad to let it spoil... I have received milk every day, and haven't had any until today... and that was just a little for cereal. The refrigerator is getting full with these small plastic bags full of milk (that's how the milk comes). The milk actually didn't taste all that bad either.

So I took up by battle with the ants again... and sprayed the three holes I know about that lead to their den. The house isn't covered with ants by any means, but I happened to pick the one room to sleep in that seems to have a problem with them... and even then, it could easily be worse than ants. Afterwards, I took my shower, and got dressed... spent some time shaving (badly needed) when I realized that I could hear some kids out the back window. So, I cautiously peaked out, thinking that there might be some kids playing in the back yard, and not wanting to scare them needlessly. What I saw first was a boy in shorts sitting on the back porch with water being poured on him. So I looked a little to the right, and saw his mother. Amused, I watch this for a while. I wondered who they were, and why they were in our back yard. The mother seemed nice enough, and she and her boy were looked like they were enjoying themselves. She seemed to be helping her son bathe. Before long, the boy took off his shorts, rang them out, and put them back on with the rest of his cloths. He then took off, and ran down the street, either to go home or to go find his friends, or maybe to help with chores. The mom on the other hand stayed and continued to water the grass and the plants. I started to realize that she was the gardener. When she was done with our yard, she went over to the neighbors yard, and watered it too.

At this point, I went and looked around (camera in hand), and saw lots of things that made me start to think. All of this gives me a new perspective on what we call “outsourcing”. Although, I must say, I never have been concerned about outsourcing, I am now here looking at it first hand and seeing much of the good that it can do. Although opponents to outsourcing say (and say correctly) that outsourcing hurts Americans, it doesn't hurt us in a permanent way. But here I am, living in one of the nicest condos in the city (which is still a small step down from what I am used to) and am benefiting many just from being here. The money we bring here directly or indirectly benefits many people. As I write this there is a group of four girls and occasionally a couple of boys that are filling up buckets of water to take back to their shacks just outside the walls of this gated community. They are beautiful children. They seem to be fed well enough, although I am sure they wouldn't mind a little more. Their parents likely work for this community in which I am living, doing things like garbage duty, gardening, cleaning, and being a watch guard. By just being here, and living by the standards I am used to, I have helped to give many people much less fortunate than I, a chance to work for food, and a place to fill their water containers. (I am curious what they need the water for... they have been filling containers for quite a while now, taking them back, and bringing them again empty.) And this of course doesn't include the people that the company is actually employing here. And we pay them well enough, that I'm sure they are in turn helping others less fortunate than themselves. India is slowly rising out of its poverty due to people like me and companies like the one I work for. Are there those in America who are hurting because of this? Yes, but there are more who are benefiting because of it.

Many people hate and disdain Walmart (myself first and foremost among them, but for reasons not discussed here) because they buy very few American made goods, and import much from other countries. It is one of their secrets to keeping their prices low. Walmart has driven some companies in America into the ground due to their ability to undercut their prices. But at the same time, Walmart has helped to create large and thriving companies in other places such as India and China. The effects this has on those now jobless Americans is bad. But most of those who have lost their jobs have options. If they live in a large city, other jobs can be found near by. Some will have to move to find jobs. Many will take salary cuts for new jobs. All of them will still be better off than these in the garden filling their water bottles. But on the other hand, many of the poor in America now have access to food and clothing at cheaper costs than they ever had. They have received an effective “pay raise” because Walmart allows them to buy more for their money. And if you have ever been to Walmart, you know that there are many who have benefited from this because of how crowded they always seem to be. Global trade helps everybody, even though it also hurts some.

The girls outside seem to have left now. When they first got here, I gave a couple of them some choco-pies (an Asian treat not unlike cup cakes) I bought at the store yesterday. I then went back inside and proceeded to take their pictures when they weren't looking. Eventually, they started to notice me peaking out from my window. So I simply smiled, waved at them, and sat down to type this. They shyly waved back. They were excited about their treats. There are now a couple of boys who have taken up filling buckets with water. The oldest can't be older than seven or eight, and the youngest looks to be around 5. They seem to be happy kids. Beautiful kids. My heart goes out to them. Maybe someday they will get jobs working for an American company, and their kids won't have to carry water back and forth all day. It certainly makes you grateful for what you have. Again, I apologize about the length of this blog... but I have got nothing but time on my hands today. I hope you are all doing well. Please know that I am doing just fine out here... if not just a little bit lonely. I miss and love you all.

These, and a few more photos I took today

My first indian dinner (kind of)

So... after I wrote yesterday, two of the accountants here Michelle and Dhannajay took me to dinner. They took me to a Thai food place on Sri's orders. Sri is the general manager/ owner here. I guess the place is a place Dave likes. We ordered curry, and had an awkward, but interesting conversation. They are both fluent in English, but they still have strong accents. In fact Michelle and her family speak English at home. It is her first language. I didn't know there were people here who spoke English as their first language. It surprised me. But her accent is still strong, and so she too can be hard to understand. The conversation was a bit awkward. They are nice people, but sitting down to dinner with people you have never met can be difficult. Especially when you don't have a ton in common. Dhannajay likes to play chess, and said he wanted to play with me at some point. He is Hindu, and is a vegetarian, like many people here. They asked me if I ate non-veg. I guess here that is a common question, but it struck me as odd. In America, we usually ask people if they are vegetarians or something like that, but here, so many people are vegetarian that being a "non-veg eater" is less common. Michelle on the other hand is Catholic. Her family is Catholic, and I guess whomever brought Catholicism to India, taught people to speak English, and somehow got them to use it for everything. And so through the ages, her family has spoken English, and been Catholic. Marriages here are usually arranged within the same religion, so there is little mixing between groups that way. Michelle is a non-veg eater (common with Catholics here) which, as I have come to discover, usually means that they are willing to eat chicken. Other meats are not well looked upon. Beef is very seldom had. Non-veg eaters usually will, but don't often like, to eat fish. Pork is seldom seen as well. We spoke some about religion. I try not to be nosey, but I do like to ask questions about their religion. Especially because Hinduism is so interesting to me. It seems like everyone kinda has their own spin on Hinduism. Since they don't have "church" on Sundays, there is really no regulation about what Hinduism is from one person to the next. I can ask the same questions to different people, and get very different answers. At this point, I have discussed religion with 4 people now. While I was waiting at the airport in New York, I spoke with somebody who was very nice while we waited. He explained to me about Hinduism (probably better than anyone else has since), and I explained to him about our religion. The guy who sat on the plane next to me was fun too. He wanted to talk about the "Da Vinci Code" and get my take on it. Evidently, he and his friends in India had read the book, and they were curious as too how the book was taken by Christians, and how much was truth, and how much was fiction (he didn't know if Mary Magdalen was even mentioned in the bible). I spoke to him for a while about the church and our beliefs... but in his case, I spoke mostly about Christianity. And then I spoke with Dhannajay and Michelle about religion too. Michelle was very curious about our religion. She had never heard of it before, and thought that it was interesting. We had a good talk. She is a very religious person. She reads the bible every day. I don't think I have ever met a Catholic who reads the bible every day. I was very impressed. The Catholics in Korea that I knew were told not to bother with such things... that reading the bible was just to difficult for every day people. I told here about The Book of Mormon, and said that I would bring it in on Monday for her. She was interested in seeing it. I'm not expecting that any of my teaching here in India will come to anything. Many of the same blockades that were in Korea are here: tradition in religion, strong family regulation, and little to no exposure to good practicing members. On the other hand, all of those things but the last are strengths if seen in a different light. Anyways, I really enjoy the people here. And the food wasn't bad. It wasn't my favorite, but I still liked it. I had a green curry that I was really worried about at first, because it had coconut milk in it, but I couldn't taste the coconut in it at all. It was a good dinner. After dinner we went back to the office, and I worked quite late with one of the programmers. We were here until about 2 am. At which time employees in Utah also had many things for me to do. Preetam, the programmer that I was working with took me home on his motorbike. I know by saying this, that mom is already clicking the comment link below to tell me to never get on that bike again... but I only live about a mile away, and there is virtually no traffic on this road. It really was quite safe. I had my camera with me, and I was more worried about it bouncing off my back than I was about falling off. Even if I had fallen off, we weren't going fast (it's mostly dirt road). Well... let's put it this way... I felt safer on that bike than I would walking home a mile in the dark when I was uncertain of the way. Anyways, that was my day yesterday... and it turned out pretty well I think. :-D Hope you all are doing well! I don't know if I will be able to call or talk much this weekend. I don't want to be here real late tonight, and I'm not sure what my Sunday holds. Sunday may end up being quite quiet this week. I may just stay home. We'll see.

My first couple of days in India

So... I really don't have much of interest to report.  I have been at work or home pretty much the whole time.  The people at the office are very friendly.  I don't know any of them very well yet, but they take good care of me.  If I need a driver to go somewhere, I'll tell a girl here... she calls the company, and I have my own private driver ready to take me anywhere I need to go.  Right now, I'm kinda alone here though.  Dave has left to go on a vacation, and will be gone for a week.  And so with my very helpful Indian friends here to aid me... I get to fend for my self.  Not very many people here speak English.  Where I work, most of them do, and some do quite well.  But even those who are fluent are hard to understand at times.  It is hard to know how much they understand you too.  They always nod their head like they understand... but it often becomes obvious that they don't.  For example, while I was in the car, I told my driver that after we reached our destination, that I would need to go back to work.  He replied "20 minutes".  I can only assume that he thought I was asking a question about how long it would take to get back to work when I was done.  All the same, he took me back to work.  It does remind me of being in Korea a bit though.  However, I could understand the Koreans' English better than I can the Indians' English.  It is really quite hot here.  The office is constantly in the low 90s.  Something that I struggle with a bit.  But thankfully, there is a nice guy who comes around every so often with a ice cold bottle of water for me.  I'm not sure what his job really is.  It seems to be "errand boy", but I'm not sure.  Anyways, I hope you are all doing well.  I'm looking forward to more cultural experiences here to share with you, but I think out of concern for me, I'm kind of sheltered from the culture in many ways.  For example, for lunch today, they are ordering in a pepperoni pizza for me.  It should be here shortly.  I should say though, that nothing American here is truly American.  Just like Indian food in America isn't truly Indian. 

Love you all!

I made it!

Well I made it.  It was an incredibly long trip... but I'm here.  I'm using Dave's computer right now at the office.  He went home to take a nap.  He was up all night programming.  I should be tired, I haven't slept much in the last couple of days, but I couldn't sleep anymore this morning.  I only got a couple of hours of sleep last night at the house, and I slept something like 6 hours on the plane.  But I survived, and am at last here.  I haven't seen much yet... I haven't tried any Indian food yet... but I think I'll get my first real meal here within the hour.  Wish me luck!  ;-)  The people at the office are very nice.  It sounds like they intend to take good care of me.  I think they were expecting me to have a lot to say when I got here... but I've been fairly quiet, and am not certain of what to say to them.  It will be interesting.  I really need to talk to Dave before I start giving out any orders or anything like that.  I'm not a boss... but then again, I don't really know what I am.  So all I can really say is, "Hi, I'm BJ."  And then I become quiet.  ;-)  Dave's house is nice.  I'll be staying there for the next week or so.  At which point, I'll be moving to another house that is closer to eco tech.  I haven't seen it yet.  It's warm here.  In the office it is 92 degrees.  But there are lots of fans blowing, so it is ok.  But it is supposed to get warmer too.  This is only May.  eek. 
Love you all!