Weekly Recap

I'm definitely starting to spend more time in Phaltan and the "amazing" roads on the way to Phaltan. Last Friday while traveling to the Megasite, Vidyut and I encountered several overturned trucks, but this was our favorite:

Fortunately the driver of the truck was uninjured and more than happy to see Vidyut and I for our photo shoot.

Friday's visit to the Megasite allowed me the opportunity to recognize a few of the safest construction workers that are working on the PDC site. This was a great opportunity to give back to the men and women that are making what was only a hole in the ground when I arrived in November 2010 into a world-class PDC. Here I am with a gentleman that consistently encourages safe practices while working at heights of over 45'!

The PDC has really come a long way from where we started last fall....

Yet another change has come in my life as well recently: The addition of a lungi to my wardrobe. This piece of clothing which is nothing more than a large, rectangular swatch of cotton has changed my life! Although it is the cheapest piece of clothing I've ever purchased, at just 98INR, I feel like royalty donning this garment after work in my flat. It's worn essentially like a towel after the shower and is extremely comfortable. While purchasing the lungi in Phaltan I was greeted by 6 men that wanted to help me, they showed me about 25 different colors and patterns, photographed me and had me autograph it! Little did they know that I would be just another Phaltanite in a few months.

Along with the lungi for the summer months here, the lizards have begun to come out of hibernation as well. Recently while at the kitchen sink I stumbled across this little guy.

"Kevin J. Lizard" was actually not as fierce as he probably appears in this photo and I kept him with me for a few hours and then released him. I was certainly more scared of little, 3" Kevin than he probably was of me.

One of Kevin's relatives is also staying at the house I've decided to lease in Phaltan. In fact there were several of his "kin" in the kitchen of the bungalow.

Hopefully this little vodoo doll that graces the entrance to the bungalow will start to keep out lizards, not just the "Evil Eye."

After seeing many bungalows and flats in Phaltan where the owners were not prepared to install A/C or a refrigerator (too cosmopolitan) finding this 4 bedroom (1 room for me, 1 for Sriram, 1 for Sarang and 1 shared room for the Vijay's and Praveen), Phaltan Palace was a relief. The little, old Muslim man that owns the place was really sweet as well and offered to let me move in immediately with him until he could move into another bungalow if I need a place to stay.

Breath taking views....

It's really hard to believe that these small, one-room shacks are right outside the bungalow's compound-like wall. I think this is where the domestic help lives that take care of the property. But, you can notice that even the smallest of shacks have satellite dishes for Tata Sky television! I've even seen these dishes on straw huts!

I will likely be the fairest-skinned of all the Phaltan mango farmers...

Finally, I also stumbled upon the Phaltan Sexual Health Clinic earlier this week...

This small van promised to cure all your sexual ills. I thought this was an awfully odd spot for my realtor to choose to meet all the Phaltan listing agents!

Even this little puppy thought this van was funny.

While many things in India are quickly becoming more and more like the West, there are subtle differences that always remind you that you're "not in Kansas anymore." For instance, while watching a movie at a theatre in the US you may enjoy a Coke (we have that here), some Raisenets (not seen for the last 6 months), and some popcorn (you'll see...) to snack on during the show. In India I enjoyed some ThumbsUp (it's like an herbal Coke) and CORN while watching Thor last night. That's right; delicious cups of loose kernel corn is very popular here in India and is a staple at the theaters. To be fair, popcorn is also served at the theater, but for me a 3D Viking movie is not complete without a delicious cup of salty, spicy corn washed down with some ThumbsUp.

As you can see Reetika is a little bashful of her corn addiction, but together we'll get through it.

On Friday night Lucia organized a Mediterranean night at Tertulia and it was a great time. I was very excited to see when I arrived that they would be serving my favorite soup that evening. I used to pass a bar in Cincinnati called the Mainstay that would often promote a similar "soup" on it's sign board that I would see on my way home from the EDC. The event was a great time with plenty of vino flowing and amazing Italian food that Lucia cooked. There was a ragu to die for that I will have to pester her for the recipe so that I can have my dad try out when I go back for a visit.

This past week was also a NARP offsite team building event in Garudmuchi. I think Garudmuchi means "eagle" and "flat strip of land." This camp was in the middle of beautiful mountains where many eagles nested. It was certainly beautiful scenery for the event. As the events of the day wrapped up we gathered around the pool for dinner and drinks and a sort of talent show. In India it appears to be very popular for people to sing their favorite songs which is okay if you can A. Sing B. Remember the Lyrics of any Song in its Entirety and C. Like Karaoke unfortunately none of these are me. After Marc sang some Elvis, I danced to a local singer name Sheila Ki Jawaani's hit song "Tees Mar Khan" in place of singing. For those of you not familiar with the latest Hindi hits, Sheila is like an Indian Brittany Speers. As I was not familiar with the preferred dance for this song I mixed in a little Beyonce's Single Lady Dance for this little ditty....

Here is Marc on the rappelling wall.

Also, the PDC is really starting to take form. The shell handover is schedule for May 2nd, which at the time of this posting is tomorrow and appears to be a few days off track; however, if you remember from my posts in November the below picture was nothing more than a hole in the ground with a massive pile of rocks surrounding it. The site definitely looks like a PDC now, but now that the walls are up it doesn't appear as large as it did several months ago. I guess coming from the 600K square foot EDC this will appear a tad small.

I also witnessed a local traditional ceremony going on this weekend with some form of ancient technology. I'm not sure if it was some form of magic or what, but when this rectangular object was placed in a rectangular "player" music was emitted. If anyone can help me out with what this technology is I would appreciate learning more about it.