Wednesday - 2/4

I saw that my kids got another snow day today. The weather here this time of year is perfect. Warm, sunny days in the upper 70s to low 80s and no humidity. Every time I walk outside, I just smile at how wonderful it is.



Interestingly, I got to see the snow and sunrise live today. We sat down to a scheduled video conference and they were able to activate the camera in the conference room of the US Office and control it. So, they turned the camera to the window that looks out on the pond and patio of our building and we could see the snow all over and the traffic going by. I will have to remember that from now on. Just because our TV is off, etc. does not mean that they can't see and here us. Its the ultimate 1 way window.



The weather helps makes up for some of the inconveniences. For example, the elevator (lift they call it here, thanks England) STILL does not work. The charm is starting to wear thin. After climbing 4 flights of stairs, I found that the key to my room was not working. There is no phone in the hall to call from, so I had trudge back down 3 flights to get my key reactivated and back up 3 flights. The charm is wearing very, very thin at this point. Had no problems with the power last night, so that's something.



For lunch today, Rajiv and Sudesh took me to a Punjabi restaurant near the office. This place was a little rougher around the edges than previous places. For instance, they had no electricity at the time we were there (not sure if this is always the case) but the food was good. My hosts very explicitly told me not to drink the water there. We had mixed parata and dal, followed by fried rice with vegetables and dal. Parata is a basically like a quesadilla with various things between the tortillas. In this case, it was mixed vegetables. Dal is a sauce (there are many kinds of dal) that you dip your parata into. You can also mix rice with dal. These are pretty standard food items in India. Again, I ate with my hands today. I learned how to tear pieces of parata off with one hand (its not easy). You only use your right hand to eat here, ever. The left hand is considered unclean so it should never touch your food. I guess left handed people are out of luck...




Well, it is 8:00 PM and my legs are rested up for the trek back down the stairs so it is time to for dinner (they eat late here). I hope everyone in Cincinnati enjoys the weather (ha, ha).