Tuesday, February 20, 2007

A day of extremes!

It’s interesting working in Pune – the mindset and culture bleeds into work. You can see a sort of caste system with the men who run the elevator, the maids (not at my office but at others), and so on. We went to a printing shop this afternoon to look at signs for a conference. Walking in I thought I would pass out – the smell of toxic paint and chemicals wafting out of 4 hot printers. Driving back to the office we passed a family sitting in the dumpster picking through the leftovers. No-one looked twice because this is a normal sight. The gym After work Matt and I went to “Abs” gym.

The gym was nothing like mine at home (no movie screen or old theater chandeliers hanging down) but it was beautiful - modern and clean. Up on the 9th floor of a new building, Abs overlooks the city. There’s an outdoor swimming pool, although I didn’t see anyone swimming in it (just one person walking around the perimeter in a speedo looking at his reflection to see who was watching him), cardio room overlooking the pool, and weights facility surrounded by flat screen TVs. Upon arrival I had to wash my shoes because they don’t allow outdoor shoes in the gym but made an exception as long as I washed the dust off. This turned into a muddy mess making me feel like even more of an odd duck. Hanging in the women’s locker room were tons of saris in all colors. It’s funny, the women walk in in their sari and heels, change into spandex and workout gear, and then out again in saris.

After working out we darted through the obstacle course of cars and tuktuks and made it home just in time for a yellow dish, a green dish, a white dish, and nan (I’m still learning the names of everything else).

Can’t wait for what tomorrow brings…

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