Bangalore IST

The entire Bangalore IST team on Thursday - everyone wearing traditional outfits :)

Mehendi

During our last Indian dinner night on Wednesday at the hotel, we had mehendi applied on our hands. Mehendi an art form that uses an herbal mixture containing mainly henna, eucalyptus oil and lime (no water) to decorate the body. It is most commonly seen as a decoration on Indian brides. The whole process was very quick - the artist was drawing free-hand, and the mehendi looks a lot like puffy paint when applied. It takes about 10 minutes to dry, and then it starts to flake off to reveal the color underneath.

Goa

I went to Goa last weekend with Karey and Kelli - we had a really good time but the trip was way too short. We flew out of Bangalore really early on Saturday (I mean REALLY early - our flight left at 6 AM). After circling around Goa in the air for almost 2 hours due to the fog, we finally landed. We were picked up at the airport by the Marriott van which was really funny - it looked like it came right out of the 70s (burnt orange, thick curtains, etc.). But, we made it to the hotel and then immediately left to go walk around Panaju. The Marriott is located near the town of Panaji and near Miramar beach. It was so beautiful - all of the buildings were very bright and reminiscent of Mexico. Goa was a Portugese colony until 1961 (which is later than India gained its independence from the British). The architecture and landscape were than anything we have seen while in India. There were also may churches in Goa, as there is a very high Christian population.



We walked around Panaji on Saturday morning and then went to Caldolim Beach in the afternoon. The beach was really nice, and relaxing besides all of the cows and dogs wandering around aimlessly! It was funny to see - the cows on the beach were definitely a first for me! Our driver in Goa was really nice and was pretty much
a tour guide and a driver in one. As we drove to the beach (and to the spice plantation on Sunday), he pointed out everything we were passing along the way. This was so great, because we didn't have too much time in Goa, but were able to learn a lot just from the car rides with him :)

We had a nice seafood dinner on the water at our hotel on Saturday night and then work up early Sunday morning to leave for the Tropical Spice Plantation. We got a tour of the plantation, and got to spend some time with another elephant, which was fun! We then drove to the airport and came back to Bangalore around 2 PM on Sunday. It was a short trip - but definitely worth it!

IBM India

Last Friday, the trainers and I wore traditional Indian clothing to work (due to a request by the women in the class!). We went shopping the weekend before and bought some Indian outfits to wear to work. I bought a kurta tunic, dupatta (scarf) and some pants. The pants were WAY too big, so I had to wear them with jeans to work. The Diamond District office has casual Fridays, so some of the girls in the class aren't dressed up in typical Indian clothing in the picture. We definitely got a lot of attention in the office on Friday!

I attached pictures of us with some of the girls in the class, as well as a picture of our training room at the IBM Diamond District office.

We have A LOT of work to do this week, since we are leaving on Saturday. I can't believe we only have a week left, and still a lot of training to do! I am definitely going to miss Bangalore and all of the people I have met here.