Mackenzie's Blog

The Bucket List

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Perhaps it’s because I am 70 years old at heart, but I have had a bucket list since a young age. Perhaps I am even older than 70, because most of it centers around ancient sites (or maybe I have been reincarnated a lot). I have gotten a good start at this in the last five years: Stonehenge, Coliseum, Parthenon, Great Pyramid. Most recently, I went to one of the most amazing of my bucket list locations: The Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City.

Complete with dorky touristy panda hats, we explored these ancient sights (sorry: I had to have a shot with these hats- they are so cool, right? I started making the analysts at work wear the hat when they were bad. I call it the "panda hat of shame").

The Forbidden City is just across from the stark Tiannamen Square. I really appreciated the city for its use of red and forbidden-ness. I always like going places where I am not supposed to be (rooms with "Do Not Enter" on them, my sister's bedroom, etc.).

Someday I want a red house with my giant picture on the front.

Token artistic shot

The Great Wall: it was majestic. There are actually three different “Great Walls” in the section I visited; in case the Mongols got over one, there were another two to go. It stretches infinitely in each direction, zig-zagging like a giant rocky snake through the country side. I could almost see the Mongols trying to climb it, with no one but Mulan to stop them. Or me. Hi-yah!

Look it how tall it is...or how short I am.

Let me show you how snakelike I can be....

Is that your mother or your sister?

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:35:00 +0000

When you hear those words in regards to your mother a few thoughts shoot through your head. First thought is always: good lord, yes it’s my mother: how old do I look?! Followed immediately by the slightly shallower (yes, I can get shallower): please God don’t tell me that my mother looks prettier than me again. And finally, the rationalization: at least this bodes well for my future years. I have gone through all of this particular thought loop several times, one for every time my co-workers saw my pictures from China.

I traveled to China two months ago to visit my Mom. She was in China for a business trip so we decided to attach on a “Bushy Women Hit Asia” tour for four days at the end of it. We arrived at Beijing Airport within an hour or so of each other and then we were off! Here are some fun facts from the beginning of the trip:

My Mom eats literally everything. I mean she ate jelly fish...how gross is that. She was even up for eating these scorpions at a fair we went to, but I jumped in and prevented her. Because really, scorpion breath? That can't be good.

My Mom and I both rode the short bus...at least in China. We needed to hold cards out to point to our destinations (written so nicely by the St. Regis hotel staff): point to this for your hotel, this for the Forbidden City, etc. We might have felt pathetic, but it got us where we wanted to go!

Here are we are at the Summer Palace. This was renovated by the Dragon Lady, one of our favorite historical characters. This woman ruled the country for 47 years through weak-willed men. Her story is quite inspiring: beware weak-willed men of the world, here I come! As for the marble boat in the background, our tour guide joked that Confucius once said that the emperor and his people are like a ship and the ocean: the ship needs the support of the ocean to stay afloat. In response, some emperor built a marble boat that can stay "afloat" on its own. Aw...snap.

We played a game of steak, steak, duck (very similar to duck, duck, goose) for our three "Chinese" dinners. Yes, people, I still don't like Chinese food so props to us for the trying the Peking duck (as Mom chows down above). End result: I liked the steak better.

A day at the races

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:25:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I traveled back to the exciting city of Bombay to hang out with a group of Bainees who were flying in from New York (including two Princetonians). Yes, this is the fourth time I have been to Bombay, the third in five weeks. But really, they have the only key lime pie in India.

Anyways, I digress. I have decided to become faux upper-class in India, and what do faux-upper class people do? Well, other than look down on middle class people. They go to the races! Sometimes you can really tell that India is a former British colony ("u" and "s" used too often in words, obsession with cricket, etc.), and this is one of those times. We did the whole thing, got dressed up, headed down to the track in Bombay, and made bets saying ridiculous things like "Queen of Sheba looks really good today."

Even more exciting, I was on TV! Yup, I can now say "I am famous in India." See below for the clip, look for the girl in the orange skirt clapping wildly. Aren't you excited you can say you know a TV star?

A rockstar visits India

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:23:00 +0000

There have been but a few brave friends who have ventured to the far-off land of India to visit me. This is the story of one of them.

Ms. Maureen O’Hern, “vixen in red” the international rockstar and woman of mystery, visited me for a week at the end of February. She was quite the sensation in India. I have never had so many pictures taken by strangers: we posed with tourists, families, and large groups of young men. You have never seen anything like it. We attributed it to our allure as SWFs (single white females), Maureen’s original hair color (they don’t see it much in India), and the hats. A little bit more on the hats….

Hats were definitely the theme of our trip. Maureen is even more Irish than me and thus has beautiful, fair skin. The sun is her #1 enemy. Since the sun is so strong in India, she decided to bring a nice black hat to protect her face from the sun. I, to support Maureen in her endeavor, decided to wear a nice orange hat. From the moment we put those hats on, it was like we were possessed. We wore them everywhere, took pictures with them in everything. Other people were also possessed: we counted 19 photo requests by the end of the trip. Here are a few (I think we look very “day at the races”—don’t you?)

As to what we did, we explored Bombay with our local tour guide Ruchi, traversed the Taj in Agra, and hung out in my “home town” of Delhi. See some pictures below:

Maureen and I overlooking Bombay from Air bar at the Four Seasons

Maureen at the temple caves of Elephenta Island, just outside Bombay

At Red Fort in Delhi

The rockstar at the Taj

Mackenzie's First Pilgrimage

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:38:00 +0000

People (especially business school interviewers) constantly ask me about the differences between India and America, between Indians and Americans. One of the biggest differences I have noticed here is the level of spirituality in this country. I think India is one of the only places I have ever been where saying "I am going on a pilgrimage this weekend" will not elicit laughter. Several of my analysts have taken 20km+ hikes to reach famous shrines with their families, even with their friends, on weekend trips. It's something I can barely get my head around.

I have been told several times by my friends that I am "the friend most likely to be struck by lightning upon entering a church" so they would be shocked that I agreed to go on a pilgrimage of sorts with my co-workers. A group of 20 or so of us from work decided to head northwest of Delhi to the Punjab region a few weekends ago. Our destination: Amritsar. Amritsar is known for two things: the border ceremony with Pakistan and the Golden Temple.

The border ceremony is an intriguing spectacle-- half sports event, half changing of the guard. The ceremony takes place in Amritsar on the Indian side and a bit outside of Lahore on the Pakistan side. People pack the stands on both sides to watch, each country cheering their soldiers on. Then the soldiers have a mirror-image dance-off. Okay, it's more of a ceremony with some high steps; but it certainly looks like a dance-off to me. Dressed in uniforms with flamboyant helmets, they do these crazy marches with their legs flying way high in the air (another thing that is different between our countries: Indians are better dancers than Americans). Each side sings chants in support of their country and their guards. I think the Indians won...though I am biased. I am still debating who would win in a US border dance-off: I think we could out-dance the Canadians, but I am not certain about the Mexicans.

The Golden Temple is the most holy site of the Sikh religion. It's also the most beautiful man-made site I've seen in India. That includes the Taj Mahal in case you're wondering. We visited really late in the evening when they were putting their religious book to bed. We stepped into the complex (shoes removed and heads properly covered, of course) and there in the middle of a moat stood the temple, gold emanating from its roof and sides, reflecting off the water around it. It was awe-inspiring. The worshippers were extremely friendly, welcoming us, sharing the special sweet they give to all worshippers, and teaching us about the holy complex. I have never felt spirituality more, between the wonder of the temple and the devotion of its worshippers. Perhaps India really is getting to me....

How to Dress for Success (aka "How to Snag a Maharaja")

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:28:00 +0000

I had so much fun at the first wedding I attended in India that I leapt at the chance to go to another. So when I was invited to two more, I was psyched. When I found out that they were the same day, I was a little bit less psyched. Oh well, at least it was efficient!

And like any princess invited to a ball, I needed something fabulous to wear. Two of the analysts from my previous team volunteered to help me out with the purchase. Best of all, they brought in a ringer: one of their moms—very helpful for price negotiations. They declared that nothing but a trendy sari would do for the event and had me meet them at a sari shop in north Delhi one Saturday (yes, my analysts are THAT nice!).

Now the sari dressing buying process is not like picking up a dress for a formal in the United States. No, no, no…that would be too simple. Here’s how it goes:

The first step is going to the dress shop. The dress shop is completely owned and operated by men (for some reason), but filled with women. There are hundreds of different fabrics stacked on all the walls and the women sit across from them as the men display them: “yes or no?” It’s quite an experience, involving tea/coffee/water and some eye for fashion (which I don’t have) and price (which I do). In the end, my crew chose 4 or so patterns for me to be draped with. Next step is standing in front of a mirror while the guy wraps the sari fabric around you to see how the color and style go with your complexion. See below for some of the results.

I voted blue, but was out-voted by my fashion contingent (2 analysts plus 1 smart mother). Pink is not normally my thing, but it seems very popular in India. Also popular right now: the sheer fabric of the sari. Again, not my thing (read: I did sit-ups every morning and evening until the wedding to prepare), but popular in India.

So I bought the fabric, but the sari shopping experience does not stop there! Then you need to give the dress shop more time as they dye the material for the petticoat and re-sew and adjust the long piece of fabric. Following that, you need to take the fabric to a tailor who then makes the top and petticoat for you (I mean cut out a pattern, sew it together, etc.). Yup, they measure and fit it right to you. The whole process of buying a sari takes over a week at minimum. The good news: it still costs the same as a US semi-formal dress despite the extra labor.

The final act in this story was the wedding preparation itself. My friend Karan’s Aunty took the time to dress me in the sari (can you believe she only used 2 pins) and even stuck a matching bhindi (the “third eye”) on my head. What do you think?

The Jungle Book

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Have you ever had a sudden epiphany about something you once believed when you were a child and carried into adulthood without question? I remember clearly (my college roommates won’t let me forget) watching Aladdin freshman year and quoting the genie saying “Wake up and smell the homeless.” My roommates looked at me in shock—Michelle explained “he doesn’t say that. He says ‘wake up and smell the hummus.’” I did not let it go without a fight: “But Aladdin is homeless so he probably smells…remember the flea scene.” More horrified stares. Looking back, I guess hummus made more sense; it is a children’s movie after all.

Now, I had another such moment in India in November when I went to the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, about 7-8 hours west of Delhi. The safaris there advertised creatures like monkey, snakes, sloth bears, and tigers. I thought to myself: that sounds like the whole crew from the Jungle Book. It took me a few minutes to connect the dots (no comments, peanut gallery): Rudyard Kipling lived in India…he must have been writing about the Indian jungle! All of a sudden Mowgli’s animal friends made a lot more sense…as did Mowgli and his Indian-looking girlfriend. Wait, all of a sudden Talespin made more sense too.

Alrighty, enough with epiphanies and onto the jungle. I am going to spoil the ending for you—we did not see a tiger…and it was all my Bain male co-worker’s fault.

Here’s the long and the short of the tiger story. We saw many animals at Ranthambore, including jackels, deer, wild boars, owls, snakes, and monkeys, but the tiger remained elusive during our first two trips into the jungle. On the third and final trip we got into our safari jeep determined to see a tiger. We tracked one deep into the jungle, seeing his footprint and hearing his roar. Alas, he never came out of the trees, and we were forced to return home defeated. The three boys I traveled with were so disappointed that they decided to make a pit stop to use the er outdoor restroom and let the jeep behind us pass us by. I sat dejected in the van. And then from ahead, I hear a roar. The tiger passed right in front of the other jeep! Sadly, by the time the boys joined me and the driver in the jeep again, the tiger was gone. Some may say that the boys were brave to have gone the bathroom outside the jeep with a tiger on the loose; I, however, knew better. Life lesson: never go tiger hunting with men.

Baby crocodile

Monkeys!

Bambi?

A footprint is as close I ever got to a tiger...thanks boys.

That's All, Folks

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:56:00 +0000

That's the end of our winter break travels across Asia. Now that Josh is back in the States, you can expect a little peace and quiet on this blog... until Mackenzie finally gets around to writing those nine posts she keeps talking about.

As a final bit of fun, here's a Picasa album with all the pictures from our time in Korea and Thailand: http://picasaweb.google.com/mbushy/KoreaAndThailandDec25Jan220102011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNyUkurnuvXDkgE#

Should auld acquaintance be forgot...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:14:00 +0000

The calendar still says January, which means we're still within the reasonable time limit for putting up a New Year's post. We got to spend New Year's Eve 2011 in the southern beach town of Ao Nang. The weather here was definitely better than last New Year's Eve, when we were in Vermont.

Here we are at our New Year's Eve gala dinner. This event was organized by our resort, Peace Laguna. They put on a show, with traditional Thai singing and dancing (and also some not-so-traditional singing... it was an interesting mix of Asian, European, and American pop music.)

They also gave us goofy party hats. Awesome.

After dinner, we went out on the town in Ao Nang - still wearing our goofy hats, of course. The streets were quite lively with tourists, speaking various languages in various states of drunkenness. Some enterprising locals had the brilliant idea of setting up stalls to sell "Thai pancakes". A Thai pancake is a thin crepe that's been filled with some kind of sweet thing - banana and Nutella, for example - then folded over on itself several times. They were as good as any late-night food in the US. We should import them.

Shortly before the bell tolled midnight, we ran into another vendor who was selling Thai sky lanterns. We bought a few lanterns and went out onto the beach, where we lit them and watched them drift up into the sky. Hopefully they'll bring us good luck in 2011.

On the beach

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:07:00 +0000

We got to go someplace nice and warm for New Year's Eve. The beaches of southern Thailand are world-famous, and we wanted to see them for ourselves, so we flew down to Ao Nang, a resort town on the coast of the Andaman Sea. We weren't disappointed.

We spent a few days relaxing on the beach at Ao Nang and nearby Railay. Everything we saw was postcard-perfect. The weather was balmy and warm, and the sky was blue (mostly.) Little wonder that we were surrounded by hordes of other American and European tourists everywhere we went.

There were gigantic limestone cliffs everywhere. This was the view from our balcony at our resort.

And this was the view from our boat when we went out snorkeling.

You know that one tank in the aquarium that's filled with brightly colored tropical fish, and you kinda wish you could reach out and touch them? That's what snorkeling here was like. Josh even got to touch a little fish once, when it bit him.

It only rained once. Naturally, this time was when we were out at sea on a kayak and had absolutely no way to prevent ourselves from getting completely soaked to the skin. I don't know if it's possible to tell from this picture just how drenched Mackenzie is.

We also got some gorgeous sunsets over the water.

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster...

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Though we spent two nights there, just to be safe. We wanted to go someplace warmer after our escapades in Korea, and Bangkok is well-known to be a tourist destination: very friendly and approachable for Westerners. Plus, Thai food is Josh's favorite.

Here we are at the Bangkok Grand Palace, the seat of power of the King of Thailand. The King apparently likes to show off his bling, because all the buildings are completely covered in gold, silver, fake jewels, and other sparkly things. Mackenzie loved it.

Next to the Royal Palace was Wat Pho, a gigantic Buddhist temple and the home of the world's largest reclining Buddha. (I like big Buddhas and I cannot lie.)

We took a water taxi across the Chao Phraya River in order to visit Wat Arun, another temple - visible in the background here.

We walked up the steps of Wat Arun. It was pretty steep.

We went to the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was an American architect (also a Princeton Tiger - Class of 1928!) who moved to Thailand after World War II. He went into business, revitalizing the Thai silk industry, and then disappeared mysteriously in 1967. Even the Princeton Annual Giving campaign couldn't find him. He left behind a huge house that he'd built for himself, combining American and Thai architectural styles.

There are certain practices that would be incredibly illegal in the US but are perfectly normal in Bangkok. Such as an open-air restaurant & bar on the roof of a skyscraper. This place had only a chest-high railing separating us and our drinks from a 62-story drop. There was no net (we checked.) But the weather was great, and the view was magnificent. The bar was called "Moon Bar" and the adjoining restaurant was aptly named "Vertigo", which coincidentally is also what Mackenzie's T-shirt said. Here's a 360° panoramic video:

Christmas in Jeju

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 04:14:00 +0000

Mishi told us we ought to go on an adventure tour in South Korea. She told us about an island called Jeju-do, known as "Korea's Hawaii", a wonderful vacation destination where the weather was always warm and pleasant.

Not quite always, evidently.

But we had a good time with our little tour of Jeju. For three days, we traveled around with a whole bunch of other English speakers from around the world (generally English teachers, like Mishi) and had a bunch of wacky adventures. I mean, like, a LOT of wacky adventures. This trip was nonstop wacky adventures. I didn't know it was possible to cram so much wacky adventure into three days, or onto a relatively small island in the East China Sea.

DAY ONE: We visited the Trick Art Museum, a museum full of wall paintings designed for us to insert ourselves into the middle of them for funny photo-ops (pictures here.) We went horseback riding, and we hiked Sunrise Mountain, a small peak on the east side of the island (pictures here.) In the evening we had a nice Christmas dinner (though it was Korean food so not quite the Christmas dinner you might expect) along with a white elephant gift exchange and a bunch of karaoke (pictures here.) Thanks Mishi for putting up all these pictures!

DAY TWO: We visited a Chinese circus, which featured a lot of people balancing carefully on top of other people, and also people driving motorcycles around inside a metal sphere. We visited a green tea farm and museum, which was kind of less than ideal because snow was falling on all the green tea plants, but whatever. We went on another short hike, and we walked through a botanical garden.

Josh carrying green tea, green tea lattes, green tea ice cream, green tea cake, and wearing a green shirt.

They do this every time they get to the top of a mountain. I don't know why.

Merry Christmas!

DAY THREE: We walked along the cliffs on the southern side of Jeju island and saw some cool rock formations. Check it out:

Lastly, we went to LoveLand, a very strange and amusing tourist site dedicated to human sexuality in all its forms. It consists mostly of a bunch of erotic outdoor sculptures. None of our pictures from here are G-rated, but if you do an image search for "Jeju LoveLand" you'll get the idea.

I'm a Seoul Man

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:36:00 +0000

Our friend Mishi is currently spending a year teaching English in South Korea. Her family couldn't visit her, so she had no choice but to spend Christmas alone. Until Mackenzie had the idea that we could go visit her in South Korea! We were already nearby in India, so why not?

It was a grand idea, but we discovered two small problems. First of all, India isn't actually right next to South Korea (it turns out Asia is a big continent.) Our plan to ride elephants all the way from Kerala to Seoul had to be scrapped. Second of all: Seoul is COLD. Its latitude and climate is about the same as New York - not the most wonderful place to be for Christmas, and quite a shock after Kerala. On top of that, South Korea was in the midst of a cold snap when we arrived. So our trip looked like this:

Nevertheless, we vowed to fight through the snow and the freezing wind and do some touristy stuff in Seoul.

Here, from Mishi's blog, are a bunch more pictures of our exploits in Seoul (as well as some from our ensuing trip to Jeju Island... but more of that in the next post!)
http://www.therestofmylifesofar.net/2011/01/very-jeju-christmas-first-day.html

Dr. Paulose's Amazing Tour of Wonders!

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 04:12:00 +0000

Our friend Jayson Paulose is a native of Kerala, and he came home for Christmas on the 21st. We had to visit him (he insisted) and see his neighborhood and his house. So we did.

As we observed before, there's a lot of religious diversity in Kerala. Jayson's family is Syrian Orthodox - a branch of Christianity reputed to have been founded in the 1st century by St. Thomas, when he came to India. Mackenzie was happy to see a Christmas tree in the Paulose household.

Jayson's father is a business school professor, but he moonlights as a tour guide in his spare time. Dr. Paulose showed us around the backwaters of Kerala and brought us to a dozen churches, synagogues, mosques, and Hindu temples, explaining the religious and historical significance of each.

Here's the Church of St. Thomas Kottekkavu - founded by Thomas himself, not far from where he first made landfall.

Here's the Chennamangalam synagogue, the second-oldest synagogue in the British Commonwealth (the oldest is the one on Jew Street that we saw yesterday.) All of the funding for restoration came from American Jews.

Our driving route happened to take us past a local Hindu temple ceremony. There were three elephants in full battle regalia, with guys standing on them, and a bunch of other guys beating drums in a circle. Photo-op!

Dr. Paulose also took us to Cherai Beach, one of the nicest beaches in India. The December weather was balmy and the waters of the Arabian Sea were warm. Jayson wrote "wheee" in the sand.

Jayson insisted we had to try dosas (a South Indian street food.) They were delicious!

Jayson is sad because his juice box came without a little straw.

Kerala: God's Own Country

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:40:00 +0000

France has the Riviera. Mexico has Cancun. The United States has California (this was obviously written by Josh. --Mackenzie). And India has Kerala: a place of great natural beauty, relaxing beaches, and balmy weather. Pretty much the best place to spend the shortest days of the year.

Our hotel in Kochi had two separate buildings, on opposite sides of a lazy river. So we had to take a boat ride just to get from the front desk to our room.

Many spices, including black pepper, are native to Kerala. This has brought traders here for millennia and made Kerala into a rich state. When Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, he was hoping to land here and open up a trade route; when he met Native Americans, he called them "Indians" because he thought he was in Kerala.

Another explorer, who did a better job of getting where he was going, was Vasco da Gama. Da Gama sailed to Kerala from Portugal in 1498 and established a Portuguese colony here. He died in Kochi and was entombed in St. Francis Church - which we visited.

Chinese fishing nets on the beach at Fort Kochi.

Because Kerala has been a trading center for so long, many people have settled here from far away - and they've brought their religions with them. Kochi is the site of the oldest synagogue in the British Commonwealth. It's in a neighborhood called Jew Town. On Jew Street. (Josh felt right at home. --Mackenzie)

There are also lots of Christians in Kerala. They have their own creative ways of decorating for Christmas. This courtyard, featuring a huge Indian-style Christmas tree, is where we had dinner. (I ate some delicious fresh fish... maybe it was caught in one of those Chinese fishing nets.)

More Delhi tourism

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 02:36:00 +0000

Our friends Tim and Nicole happen to be visiting India for some weddings. So of course we had to meet up with them in Delhi and do touristy stuff.

Humayun's Tomb. This is the final resting place of Humayun, a Mughal emperor in the 16th century, and it was the architectural inspiration for Humayun's great-grandson, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Mackenzie just has to do that little touristy wave wherever we go.

The mall is ALWAYS crowded around here.

The famous Baha'i "Lotus Temple". Unfortunately we arrived after it closed (great timing) so this is as close as we got.

Next stop: Kerala!

I'm baaaaaaack...

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 09:41:00 +0000

In her previous post, Mackenzie told you about her upcoming travels. What she neglected to mention is that Josh will be traveling with her. That's right - I've just flown in from the States, and I'm ready for adventure. Mackenzie and I are leaving in a few days to visit Jayson in Kerala. Then we'll be flying out to South Korea to visit Michelle; we plan to spend Christmas Day on the beautiful getaway of Jeju Island. After that we'll fly down to Thailand, where we'll take a few days in Bangkok and then spend New Year's Eve on a tropical beach in the south of the country.

We will be blogging about our travels (or rather, I will be blogging, since SOMEbody needs to post in a timely manner.) So keep an eye out!

Where O where did Mackenzie go?

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:28:00 +0000

So some of you are probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth...I did. And I have fallen straight into business school essays. I am working on my Round 2 applications (due early January) and have not had much time to write. However, after this brief holiday/business school hiatus, I promise to be more diligent with my posts.

Some highlights coming up: I promise pictures and tales from The Jungle Book, my trip to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve as well as some Delhi tourism fun. In two days I am off to visit my friend Jayson in Cochin, Kerala (sunny place near where we went to the offsite), then a lovely trip to Korea to see my college roommate Michelle (hopefully North Korea will be good while I am there), and finally a relaxing vacation in Thailand for the New Year. Pictures and stories are coming right up...after my January 11th final deadline.

Write to you soon!

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:33:00 +0000

My trip to Mumbai did not end on Friday, and I was able to have many more adventures post-Diwali. One of the most intriguing parts of my trip was a visit to the one of the slums of Mumbai. A non-profit runs these so-called "Slumdog" tours in order to raise money to fund schools and community centers in the slums. This particular tour went through Dharavi, the biggest slum in Mumbai. The tour was eye-opening to say the least. We were not allowed to take pictures other than this one from the bridge before we entered so I will do my best to describe some of what I was suprised about in enough detail to make you visualize it:

The slum is huge. This particular slum had close to 1M people in less than 1 square mile. I have been told that more than 50% of Mumbai's 25M people live in slums like this...a bit harrowing, but I believe it given how crowded it was.
This place is a bustling hub of industry. They export something like $700M worth of goods from the slum, some of it around the world. We were able to walk through tanneries, sewing shops, and recycling plants as part of the tour. My original idea of a slum as a place where extremely poor/homeless people live was way off. Not only is this place full of businesses, but it is pretty expensive to live there. People have to pay high rents and often are not able to afford bringing their families from the villages-- they go home to visit on vacation at some point during the year.
Families do live there...and sometimes live pretty well. I was originally a bit scared to go down some of these dark, twisty passages filled with people and precarious buildings. But when I looked inside the doors, I saw things reminiscent of home...including TVs with cable. So weird.

Even though it was a bit hot and a bit overwhelming at times, I am glad I did the tour. I feel like I am a much more knowledgeable person (I know, not hard, right?) and have seen parts of Mumbai that I never thought I would get a glimpse into. I recommend the tour to anyone who comes to India.To end my trip on a bit less philosophical note, below are pictures of all the food I ate post-tour (really, walking around works up an appetite for Mumbai specialties) and a nice final view of the city. See you soon Mumbai!

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:49:00 +0000

Last weekend I went to Mumbai (the artist formerly known as Bombay) for Diwali. For those of you who don’t know, Mumbai is located south of Delhi on the coast, about a 2-3 hour plane ride away. I learned this a few years ago when I tried to set up two friends, one in Delhi and one in Mumbai, assuming that because they lived in the same country they lived near each other. Sundae and Josh: I guess I didn’t learn from the “California Fiasco of Freshman Year” (turns out people from SF don’t know people from SD).

On my first day in town, Ruchi and I were tourists of the first order despite the hot and humid weather (it’s like Florida there!). I took out my Lonely Plant guidebook, and we proceeded to check off places on the Colaba and on Marine Drive. We took fun pictures with the the humungous and crowded Victoria Train Terminal, the Taj hotel (where Obama would be staying two days later), the Gateway of India, and, of course, we took the prerequisite sunset picture from the posh lounge Dome at the top of the Intercontinental Hotel. We topped our day off with Diwali fireworks at the Cricket Club of India (where Ruchi's dad is a member)!

Short interlude: as some of you know, Obama has been stalking me for a while now. He flew into Mumbai two days after I did and left for Delhi on the same afternoon as me. Jeesh—if he just wanted to hang out, he could have put something on my calendar—he didn’t have to close down half the city during their most important holiday. But really: Obama’s arrival in Mumbai was slightly disastrous for my vacation plans (and Bombay residents' Diwali plans). I wasn’t able to go to the Taj for tea or Bollywood dancing at the hit night clubs in South Mumbai. “It was badly done, indeed, Obama!"

Friday was Diwali so I went to two prayer sessions, called pujas, with Ruchi’s family, one in her father’s office and one before dinner. After dinner we went to a card party, where we played 3 patti, a game similar to poker. You play these games over Diwali because the holiday is devoted to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. I must have pissed her off as I proceeded to lose 300 rupees. Please note my lovely outfit and matching hot pink nails…I was all decked out in bright colors for the holiday. To be continued….

Happy Diwali!

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:29:00 +0000

Yes, yes I know. I have been a bit lax in the writing. I blame Matt (the London transfer), who has been dragging me around Delhi on his final "best food in town" tour of Delhi.

This weekend I am going to Mumbai for Diwali...or rather in 2 hours. Hence the abbreviated nature of this post. I am heading to visit my friend Ruchi and celebrate Diwali. It's just like Christmas with great meals, lights, and presents. There is also a lot of firecrackers...the first time I heard the sound I ducked behind my couch and covered my head, convinced I was stuck in a gang fight. In actuality, children play with firecrackers and toy guns filled with powder in the streets. I am almost certain that 1 out of 5 children will lose an appendage on Diwali. Everyone at work says I am over-estimating it by a bit.

Below are the pictures from the office (we decorated our bay...note the Christmas tree on the table...that was my idea) and the office party. No, the swastika does not mean what you think it means. Yes: I dressed the Diwali part!

I'm legal!

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:15:00 +0000

It's my birthday and I can cry if I want to...or something like that. I turned 25 on Wednesday, October 13th, officially entering into middle age (or so my father tells me "as 25-49 falls into the middle bucket of an average 75-year life"). In Delhi, turning 25 means not only do I have an easier time renting vehicles, but I can legally drink again. Yes, the drinking age in Delhi is 25. No, I (nor the high schoolers I have talked to) have never been carded. But still: another it's legal party, amazing!

Given as I am self-centered, I declared it a birthweek and held 3 parties and made another one my own. Wednesday during the day, my team surprised me with a pizza party where they proceeded to embarrass me by showing a slideshow they created of me doing ridiculous things in pictures...turns out I take a lot of ridiculous pictures. My team is very cheeky (as my British friend says) and sweet. On Wednesday night, the expats and some Bainees accompanied me to Smokehouse Grille, one of the only place you can get steak in Delhi. I think it tasted all the better since I can't get it anywhere (plus I got to be a bit of a rebel for eating steak on India). Now I only need to figure out where I can get key lime pie. Anyways, below are some pictures from that party. We ended up going downstairs and dancing to hip hop music (Wednesday night is hip hop night at Smokehouse). I literally danced the night away and only went to bed at 4AM...the next day at work was very productive as I am sure you can imagine.

I did not let the festivities stop there. On Friday, I hosted a joint birthday party with my friend Mayuri (her birthday is October 8th) at Mannekin, a night club known for cheesy Bollywood and American music. I think I am getting better at my Bollywood moves though my hip swivels aren't very good (Lali, another friend, says I need to go around more instead of just moving back and forth like one of those Hawaiin dancers on the dashboards). On the way home, another friend from India convinced me to make a quick stop at Hype, a new night club. There we were serenaded by a singer called Raghav, who I am assured is somewhat famous here among the Indian expats. He loved singing to my friends (this is what happen when I hang out with a bunch of attractive girls) AND he sang a song about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups(bonus): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSMbt6Uz0iA

And Saturday night we played Americans and headed over the the American Embassy for Oktoberfest. Some fun facts about the evening: they served potato latkis and apple sauce (yay Jews!), Riesling, pretzels and potato salad; the American embassy has a baseball field and pool inside of it and has uber-intense security; there are some very interesting American characters in India.

PS: Josh and Matt- thanks for the birthday flowers! Yes, I put them in a "trash can" vase; I am very creative.

On livestock

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:47:00 +0000

My first thought on coming to India: there is a cow in the middle of the highway. A few thoughts later: there are dogs, water buffalo, and pigs on the side street. The rest of my experience has been similar: I have had more weird animal encounters here than I ever did the US. I have stared down a camel, avoided eye contact with a monkey (turns out they will run after you if you look too closely), had a stand-off on a mountainside with a goat, almost was stepped on by an elephant, and have had several awkward encounters with cows.

Here’s a good example of my interaction with cows. These animals are like rats here—they are ALL over the place. You are not supposed to kill cows in Hinduism (like pigs for Muslims and Cheeseburgers for Jews); in Delhi, it is actually ILLEGAL to slaughter a cow…yay separation of church and state. Because of this, the cows are always in the road. I have already seen one accident when a cow took out a motorbike—cow and driver went flying and traffic stopped. I can’t count the number of traffic jams caused by cows hanging out in the middle of the road. Vinod, my driver, loves to see my reaction to these animals. The picture below is an encounter with a cow in Jaipur: I can’t tell who looks more disturbed, me or the cow. One other story: my friend Altaf likes to point at the cows and yell “steak” and both of us have pretended to chase one down the street with fork and knife in hand—yay weird Muslim-Christian jokes!

So…me and the goat. I have a history with goats. My childhood friend Megan Williamson had three of these creatures, and I have distinct memory of one of them butting me. It hurt…a lot. So when I was climbing down from a waterfall in the Himalayas at McLeod Ganj, I was not so excited to see a goat blocking the path forward. Just to give you an idea of the situation: there is only a narrow ledge and then a drop down to the bottom of the water fall. And on that narrow ledge is a goat eating his lunch. Josh quickly scampered by and then did not offer any help (so nice!). He did, however, snap this picture as I tried to sneak cautiously by the snacking goat. I was terrified this goat was going to butt me all the way down the waterfall as I am sure you can see in my facial expression. I think the goat was annoyed I disturbed his lunch.

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:43:00 +0000

Sorry for the long break between posts! I am in the middle of the business school whirlwind, and I am packing for a return trip to Boston (brief stop there and then off to Cancun for Senior Associate Consultant Training). I promise to write when I get back--I have much to tell you about livestock, Dutch embassies, and my new friends in India.

Day 2: The ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Mackenzie) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Sorry for the delay in writing: I got distracted by India...again.

Anyways, the second day of the wedding is when I debuted my fabulous Indian salwar kameez. I think I looked riduculous, but Uma (my friend Aadhithi's mother) and Mayuri (another friend who is an expert in Indian fashion) assured me it was the thing.

Let's be honest: I could not match the bride for beauty. Indian wedding dresses are an amazing shade of red. Perhaps I should make my dress red if I ever get married.

As for the wedding: it was a sikh ceremony so it took place in the morning. All the women wore colorful salwar kameezs and saris and the men wore turbans and handkerchiefs. Actually the women had to keep their heads covered as well...good thing I had my scarf to keep covered.

After the ceremony, we went to the reception hall for a huge Indian banquets. Indian food is like an open bar at an American wedding: the most important thing about the whole deal. I ate so much Punjabi (northern area in India) food I was full for a day. The final ceremony was quite tearful. The bride leaves her parents and goes off with her in-laws. If I had to live with my in-laws, I would be tearful as well.

The third day was a giant party, but I had to do business school essays instead. Alas. Speaking of....