A Recap of the First Week Back (9/29/07)

On Sunday, September 23 at 12:30, after an exhausting trip of I believe 20 hours (including getting off the plane in Amsterdam just as they were beginning to board for Detroit - no time to pick up chocolate), I arrived back home. It was so strange on the flight from Detroit to MBS watching the landscape below. I had come from a place where I don't think there is more than a square foot that is not built on, to flying over the wide open spaces of farmer's fields. I left the green summer on August 31st and was welcomed back with the beginning of fall colors. Walking to my mom's car in low humidity and fresh air was a pleasant change from walking outside at the hotel only to want to turn around, go back to the room and take a shower. For all the experience of going to India meant to me, home felt good.


All of this was overshadowed by the fact that my Uncle Ed (my mother's youngest brother) had passed away a few days before I left Mumbai. When I got the news from my sister, the 7000 or so miles between there and home for the first time seemed more like from here to the stars. I sat on the window ledge, looked out the window at the Arabian Sea and cried until it was almost time to leave for the center. I hated not being home for my mother, but there was no way I could leave. At least I was home for the funeral on Monday.



I must admit, Ed was my favorite uncle. I would venture a guess that most of my Mitchell cousins would agree. He was the uncle who would tease you, but never in any mean spirited way. I can't imagine there was ever a kid or a dog that Ed didn't like. He was a good guy and I will miss him.


Finally made it back to work on Tuesday....or at least made it until about 11:30 when the jet lag caught up and I could barely type well enough to create the accounting segments of several materials. Sent an e-mail saying I was going home, went home and slept for about three hours...Which of course meant I was wide awake at 3AM Wednesday.

By Wednesday afternoon, I was becoming one of those people I don't like. "How cool am I that I went India and had my own driver and the hotel staff greeted me by name?" Okay maybe not that bad, but it wasn't like I could whip up a PowerPoint (though I could have and it would have been awesome as my friends at Dorinco will tell you), grab a conference room, have the entire Midland CAEC as well as friends from other groups grab a seat and recap....

One of the things I had decided before I left for India (and gained my status as a Rock Star) was that after a year away, it was time to go back to Weight Watchers. Thursday evening I started again (hopefully for the last time) and was greeted with a warm hug from Barb and a few of the staff members. Barb asked if I was in better place than when I left and I could honestly say yes.

Friday, Christina turned 31 or 32. Can't remember. Happy Birthday, POOKIE!!! (Yeah I'm going to pay for that one)

The week ended with the Third Annual AIDS Walk Michigan which is held in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Flint, Traverse City as well as Bay City. There are several AIDS Walks in the country, but Michigan is the only state that has all of them on the same day. Quite awhile before the trip, I had volunteered to take over as the Dow representative which entailed not only organizing a walk team, but also being on the walk planning committee. I managed to get to all but the last meeting and have to thank Marc (who I was supposed to replace) and Kevin for stepping up while I was gone. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day. Perfect for 300+ walkers, including the three freshmen from All Saints below (Kaitlyn, my niece Erica and Amanda-turned away from the camera). It was good to see a number of students as this walk is also about awareness as much as fund raising.

In the end, over $30,000 was raised which stays in the community providing services for people living with HIV/AIDS. I am also pleased to say that the team that raised the most money was the Dow team (that would be Kevin and I holding the trophy). Considering there were only 5 official team members, we did very well at over $2000. It helped that Kevin took the top individual honor as well.

Oh and on another note to my friends at Dow, as the Dow rep for this event you may see me on Dow TV (or whatever we are calling it these days) speaking about the event. Please remember that as much as I enjoy to hear myself talk, I am not a professional speaker. Let the harassment begin.

I guess this is the end of the Big Adventure. I apologize as I know my writing is a bit inconsistent and that I was not able to keep up as much as I would have liked to the last week. Thanks for all the nice comments.

OK, Julie. Time to start your magazine so we can ditch this whole corporate thing!

Lori

And Away We Go

In a little over 12 hours I will be leaving this place. These past three weeks have been such an amazing time. So many roles (teacher, student, expatriot, mini-Raj). I feel I've grown on this trip. Actually I like the person I am here much better than the one at home. Doug mentioned that I was different when he got here (not sure if that was good or bad). I am more polite, considerate, patient (Did I just hear my mother and sister falling over?). I have a better appreciation of what I have. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, family and friends who love me and that I love, and a puppy who most likely is having the time of his life and wont want to come home tomorrow. Material things don't seem quite as important. Hopefully I will hang on to this change and not get caught up with all the bullshit that, in Mr. Liveris's words, "at the end of the day" doesn't matter.

I hope I will be able to hold the bonds made with the other trainers at some level. Carmen, Marcel, Frederic and Vincent, I do hope our paths will cross again (In Europe as you would be terribly bored in Midland). Doug - You're in Midland and I see you everyday. I go all the way to India and still can't get away from you! ; )

I can not express how proud of Shami and Mandar I am. In fact I almost teared up a bit when I left yesterday (in fact as I write this I am a little misty). I have been working with them since early spring and have watched them progress into exceptional CAEC members. I have every confidence in them and am pleased I was able to come here and meet them.

Would I come back if needed? Yes. No question. I mentioned this to Gilberto and Deepa before I left yesterday as well as my supervisor at home. Of course I also mentioned I would be a less willing if it is December....HMMM.....It would be inexpensive to Christmas shop here.....

Now a recap of some surreal moments from the last three weeks:

• Goods being transported by ox and wagon on major roads
• Goods being transported by trucks that like they are 40 to 50 years old (big contrast to the semis at home)
• The transvestite near one of the overpasses we have to stop at. Because it is a high traffic area there are several people who try to sell the motorist things. It took me a second and a double take...I thought "she" looked better than some of the women in their saris...Honestly showing midriff is a priviledge not a right. (Same applies for Speedos, chunky hairy guy at the pool last week)
• The hairband station one night on the way home
• The DJ on the 80's station (City, City, Bang, Bang! was the program) and his "useful" sex tips (am I blushing???)
• Sitting at Vista during a cricket match and hearing the Indians actually being loud. (There is a big tourney going on in South Africa and India is doing very well....)
• The fact that there is a cricket channel....I have watched some and it is interesting to watch, but I have no clue what the rules are....
• And the number 1: Last Friday on the ride to the office hearing a Dolly Parton song. I know that doesn't seem surreal, but in the middle of the ride it seemed very strange...

The one thing that does bother me is that it only took a week for the poverty to seem normal. The first week, I watched out the window each day not believing what I was seeing. By Monday the second week, I was putting my head back, resting my eyes. Yesterday, Marcel and I left early as he had to leave and I needed to get some of my own work done. Seeing the ride home in the daylight for the first time, I took it all in again, but it just seemed normal. I don't care who you are, this should not seem normal or acceptable.

OK I am going to take my book and IPOD down to the lounge, have a cappuccino and give housekeeping a chance to clean clean. My packing is nearly done and I am waiting for Doug and Vincent to get back to say goodbye.... The only real question left?

"Where in the hell am I going to pack my shoes?"

See you all soon!

Lori

The Boys

Due to popular request from the folks at home, here is a picture of the boys: Vincent, Marcel, Doug, and Frederic. As you can see, I have been outnumbered 4 to 1 for the last week.

However each has a purpose:

Vincent will have a Kingfisher at dinner with me (which of course makes him the most important)

Marcel is not afraid to speak up on our daily calls with the big shots so I don't feel bad about voicing my opinions as well.

Doug is my little brother from home.

And Frederic. Well Frederic is charming which pretty much says it all.

Adiós a mi nueva amiga Carmen

Carmen left us on Friday to return home to Tarragona. As this past week went by, you would see Carmen smile a little more every day as each day brought her closer to her family. I must admit I was a little sad as she was the first person from the training team I met when I got to Mumbai. Her departure also leaves me with just the boys (Marcel, Frederic, new arrival Doug and soon Vincent).

Carmen, I enjoyed your company while you were here as well as the unexpected role of translator for you and our drivers. It is not the same having a Kingfisher without you though somehow I have still managed to drink it. I hope our paths will cross again, but preferably in Spain not Midland. I think maybe a trip to Spain in the middle of a Michigan winter might be a good idea.

Mumbai CAEC and Trainers 9 - 14 - 07

Front - Yours Truely (CAEC - Midland), Kelvin (CPTC - Midland), Vidya, Deepa
Middle - Carmen (Cost Accountant - Tarragona, Spain), Kundan, Renuka, Shami, Supriti, Meenaksi
Back - Mehboob, Marcel (Cost Accountant - Horgen, Switzerland), Mandar, Vishal, Pankaj, Frederic (Cost Accountant - Rheinmunster, Germany), Medha, Amit

As there are so many companies in the center, we are not allowed to bring in cameras, recordable CDs or USB drives. On Thursday, we trainers were talking about wishing to have pictures of the group. I e-mailed Tulasi (the person who took care of all our arrangements on the Indian side) and she got the ball rolling for permission to take photos. Friday we got all the approvals but could not do it inside and could not show the other side of the road. So we are facing the midday sun in the bazillion % humidity (seriously - no whining from Midland folks about humidity anymore).

It has been an amazing time working with this group. This team wants to learn. They want every detail possible. They want to succeed. In training them, it has made me rethink our processes and reinforce my knowledge. They have made me have to be smarter.

They are also willing to put in extra effort. When it was apparent Wednesday that we weren't as far along as we should have been in with PCE (product cost estimates) pre-work, every manufacturing CAEC member was in the office Thursday at 10 or 11. Keep in mind that in order to fully support Europe, their normal work hours are 1PM - 10PM. They don't see it as just overtime money. They see it as doing their jobs. This is a different mentality than at home where we sometimes bitch and moan about having to be at the office later or on a weekend, but when that next check with overtime comes in we are glad about the money (and yes I am as guilty as anyone else in that regard).

I think the folks here have much more incentive to succeed. All you have to do is keep your eyes open during the ride from the hotel to the center. When you see the conditions so many other people are living in and knowing there are other people out there who could do their jobs as well. How could you not want to succeed?

Lions 9-9-07

After we came down from the cave, Carmen and I did the 30 minute safari. Not much of a safari. We saw a couple of tigers, then found the lion on the right napping in the middle of the road. With an indignant look, he got up and went across the road. The drive took this photo for me as he had a better vantage.

Our guide said we could pay an extra 20 ruppees each to not have to wait in line. I was all for that, but we ended up sitting in the front of the bus next to the driver. I think both of us were a little uncomfortable with the special treatment.

Amazin Accoustics

Not sure the what the name of this was, but it was a hall for worship. A whisper travels in here.

The first picture shows a rather large Buddha.

Our guide (best 600 rupees I've ever spent) demonstrated the accoustics by singing as people would have sang 2400 years ago.

Buddha

The top picture is the traditional respresentation of Buddha.

The bottom picture are figures cut into the wall behind the Buddha.

Kanheri Caves 9-9-07

The Kanheri Caves were created by Buddhist monks 2400 years ago. The word Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri which means "black mountain". These caves were used for worship, meetings and were a place travelers could stop and rest.

The first picture is the outside of one of the caves. You can see that the name truely fits.

The second is Carmen and me.

Monkeys

The monkey pictures are all blurry, but these two aren't bad. Not sure what species of monkey they are. We saw these ones on the way up to the caves. From what our guide said, people will feed them so as you can see they aren't afraid of humans.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park 9-9-07

After spending Saturday in the shopping jungle (Really, Carmen, stop apologizing about the shopping. I managed to find the one spot all day with good air conditioning. That really was a good thing!), Carmen and I left the city on Sunday and went to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The guide and driver call it a jungle, but it reminded me a lot of the woods (forest) at home. Exactly the same except for the monkeys, lions and tigers. The two things to do were climbing to the Kanheri Caves and taking the 30 minute safari ride.

The Market (9-8-07)

Pictures from the market Carmen and I visited on Saturday. You can not imagine the enormity of this place. Fresh fruit it seemed to the be the biggest item, but you can buy personal care products, candy, canned beverages, spices (Carmen and I both bought some but believe we were cheated on the price), meat. I was a little concerned as there were cages dogs and birds near the meat area, but they were to buy as pets. Some cute puppies, but couldn't figure out how to get one home.

Caffeine Abusers Anonymous

Hi, I'm Lori

(Imaginary crowd says, "Hi, Lori")

It has been 9 days, over several time zones since my last pop (imaginary "ooh" from readers' disbelief). I really don't know why I have not had any. There is a mini-bar with 2 Pepsi, 1 Diet Pepsi, and 2 7-UP. It is readily available in the restaurants. No excuse at all...The only thing I can think is that it is because there is no Speedway. No 44oz. Ginormous (and yes that is a word now) fountain pop available.

Just so nobody is panicking, I have coffee with breakfast and once in awhile a cappuccino after dinner. I have not given up on caffeine entirely as I am not willing to give up my status as a coffee snob. I have been drinking a ton of bottled water. I have also found an Indian beer (Kingfisher) that is very good. I hope I will be able to find at home. So if any of you want to scout around at Valley Produce, Eastman Party Store (keep Kristy out of there though) or Cork and Ale, drop me a note if you find it. If not I will have to start raiding the mini-bar!

Anyway.....I'm not sure if the no pop thing is permanent. As I have 3 cases of Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper at home I would think not! For now it has been alright without it....Then again, there are no Speedways!

Lori

Lori

The Face of Bombay

Much as any big city in the States, billboards are everywhere in this city. Also not unlike the States, billboards marketing clothing, telecommunications, car manufacturers, big business are the most visible. The billboards are very Western in nature, at least 99% in English and all feature people with light skin.

The same holds true for the advertising on television. One advertisement in particular stands out. It is for a clinic called Kaya that in one month will lighten your skin and is one of the few ads that is not in English. The irony, or maybe not so ironic, is that the shows during which I see the Kaya clinic advertised are all American: Friends, The Wonder Years, ER, The OC, and The Ghost Whisperer to name just a few.

Riding back and forth to the center every day, the contrast between these “perfect” faces that are being sold above the streets and the faces of the people living and working on the streets is night and day. The Western image of prosperity seems to be what India wants to promote, but the faces of Bombay we’ve seen for the last four days have been dark and represent different levels of poor. There are those who maintain themselves as best as possible and most likely have a roof over their heads and some sort of employment. Then there are the ones we see most often on our way back to the hotel who somehow manage to sleep near the street with the most insane traffic in the world flying by them. There are the children in their neat clean school uniforms who walk in no less than pairs or with a parent. Then there are the small children who are wearing nothing and relieving themselves on the sidewalk. I can’t imagine any of them are too concerned about which car they should own or the fact that they can buy Shakira’s t-shirts made by Levis.

Though few seem to pay attention to the traffic, I have to wonder if they even notice the fat American and the skinny Spaniard in the comparatively fancy Toyota Corolla with a driver complete with white jacket and pants go by. Do they notice the big Fidelity Mutual billboard that was put in their neighborhood because business people are going that way? My guess is they don’t. They are too busy trying to survive. In that struggle to survive, they are living. They are not looking to be what others think they should be. They are looking to get by one day at a time.

When you think about it, they may be doing more living than most of us. How much living do we do when we try to fit into what we presume is supposed to be the perfect image? How much living do we do when beating a deadline by missing a school play is acceptable? How much of ourselves do we lose in the struggle to be perfect?

Gateway to India - Sunday

The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Darbar in Delhi in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on March 31, 1911 by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with George Wittet's final design sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Bundar for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy, the Earl of Reading.
The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the gate in a ceremony on February 28, 1948.

Again cheating on the detail part. Another crowded tourist place. It was about the only place that was somewhat cool during our sightseeing. I must say it is impressive especially as it is in a fairly small space.

Examples of Colonial Architecture - Sunday

Carmen's husband is an architect so we stopped often to take pictures of buildings. The majority of the buildings were built by the British. They are a mix of European design incorporating Indian elements. Very few of these older buildings have been maintained in the 60 years since the British left India. Most of the ones that have been maintained are used now as government buildings and universities. The pictures above are examples of the ones that have been maintained.

On many of the buildings that have not been maintained quite as well or at all, you can imagine what they were like as some of the detail is still there.

Victoria Station - Sunday

The station building, built in 1888, is a magnificent and ethereal building designed in the Venetian Gothic style of architecture. The building exhibits a fusion of influences from Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival architecture and traditional Indian architecture. Internally, the wood carving, tiles, ornamental iron and brass railings, grills for the ticket offices, the balustrades for the grand staircases and other ornaments were the work of students at the Bombay School of Art. The station stands as an example of 19th century railway architectural marvels for its advanced structural and technical solutions.

OK, So I cheated on this part for the background. Google is my friend. The driver had told us this was a famous palace before it was a station...

Outdoor laundry - Sunday

This is a very famous outdoor laundry facility (our driver pointed out many "very famous" places). This place is actually in the guide book bought. I couldn't get everything in the frame even at wide angle. As you can see the water is less than clean (good thing the hotel had on-site laundry). There were a lot of tourists here.

View from the room

Not the best ocean view, though if you look off more to the left there is no constuction.

Picture of the pool area. I have yet to see more than about 3 people down there.

Notes From Day 1

Hello from Mumbai.

As mentioned, I arrived at the hotel safely Sunday morning around 1:00 am. Slept like a rock and would have slept longer, but had to meet Carmen (from Tarragona, Spain) at 12 in the lobby for lunch. As neither of us were really hungry, we got one of the drivers from the hotel to take us around the city (pictures will follow).

Here's the high level, as some of our friends in the CPTC would say (sorry non Dow Folks), overview from this afternoon:

Holy Crap it's freaking hot and humid. I don't ever want to hear any whining about humidity in Michigan, Texas or Florida from anyone ever again. People from Texas and Florida, feel free to tell us folks from Michigan to stop whining. I have not ever sweat as much in my life as I did this afternoon (nasty detail but true).

The traffic is insane and the driver said it will be worse during the week. Ignoring Doctor Doom's advice, I did watch and still can't figure out why we didn't see or get into an accident. Most streets did not have the lanes marked so that a street that looked like it might at best accommodate 3 lanes of traffic actually had about four unofficial lanes. You can not imagine how drivers weave in and out of traffic here...Oh and pedestrian's be damned! No Yield to them!! (Sissy, the old lady at Wal-Mart last week would probably have offed all of them).

We went through the "exclusive" area where the Bollywood (the Indian Cinema) people live. Carmen and I agreed that what we would consider an expensive area in the US or Spain is very different from what it is here. Most of the residential buildings throughout the city look very run down and the "high rent" area was no different.

Every city has a smell about it, but Mumbai stanks! Too many people, too many vehicles, too many goats, yes goats, in the streets. Honestly, I almost threw up twice from the combination of heat, humidity and smell.

Several buildings had scaffolding around them. The scaffolding here is made of what looks like heavy duty bamboo held together by rope.

It is hard to describe the poverty. Riding from the airport, I saw many people sleeping on the streets. Some with makeshift shelters such as old tarps, but most without anything at all. The driver took Carmen and I around the "slums". Wrapping my mind around what we would think of as a slum in America and what the driver called a slum was difficult. At home we might consider a slums an area with very poor housing. Here it is people on the streets with nothing, persistently begging because that is what they do for a living. It was unimaginably difficult to say no when the people doing the begging were children and the mothers who were with them looked so very old. At home you might see a homeless person begging on the street and think, "Why don't they get a job or find some help?". Here there is nowhere for these people to go. Nobody to help them. (Linda, it makes our Habitat families old homes look like palaces)

I guess that sums up day 1.

Until later,

Lori

Quick Note

It is 11:30 AM Sunday morning (2AM your time). I arrived safely to the hotel at around 1 AM. Tired and about to throw this computer out the window as I can't log into VPN (the system that allows me to access Dow). Will write more later.

And Mom I did call you when I got in.