Hightech City! It really is High Tech!

The last few days have been a whirlwind, not only starting a new job and meeting so many people and remembering so few names, but also getting used to a whole new shift - the graveyard shift. I got to Bangalore and after 2 or 3 days, got over the jet lag only to have to return back to the north American sleeping patterns. But I seem to be adjusting. It does mean keeping myself awake on the weekends though when I am not working. Thankfully there are some great movie channels here. HBO and a few other English channels show some movies and television. I watched Greys Anatomy and Criminal Minds last night. Also the current American Idol plays here too, but I am at work when it is showing.
After waking up today I walked to the coffee shop to get a muffin and a coffee, I just didn't feel like another omelet and soggy toast the guest house was serving up. The coffee shop I go to is called Crosswords and it is inside a really nice modern bookstore, selling amazingly priced English books. The same books I bought for $20 are selling for 250 rupees (about $10). I brought 9 books with me for fear that I would have problems finding books here (as when I traveled here in the fall,I had problems locating good English books). But Hyderabad is much more modern than most places I have been (other than Bangalore and Mumbai). Anyway, I found that is was quite warm as I was walking to the coffee shop, and I was curious as to what the temperature was like,so when i arrived at the Internet cafe I checked, and I was shocked to find that it is 40c!!! Holy crap! Luckily it is a very dry heat,and it thankfully gets down to about 25 or 26c in the evening when I go to work, but you just can't be out in this heat without feeling a little queasy. So I am always armed with water. Lots of it. Most of you have no idea what 40c feels like. I think this might be the first time I have experienced this kind of heat. Korea was stupid hot in the summer, but it was humid, and never got to 40c. I think it might have been close in Costa Rica as it was a dry heat there too, but you had the Ocean there and you could wear shorts and bikinis. Here, you need to dress a little more conservative and wear sunscreen at all times!! I have been told that April and May is their summer and will be the hottest months of the year,so I am glad to be getting it over with right away. In early June the rains come (monsoon season) and although Hyderabad gets less rain than the rest of the country, it will be enough that it will cool things off a little. In May I was told it will reach the mid to high 40's.

I started work on Thursday, our driver picked me up at 8:30pm and I share the cab with S, an American going on her second year in Hyderabad. She told me that when we came to High tech city I would be quite impressed, but I was not prepared for it. I mean I've been to India, and I thought I'd seen it all. But as we approached ht-city, I thought I was in Toronto, or New York. The sky was lit up with lights of about 15-20 high rise modern buildings. I knew Hyderabad was modern but it really does live up to it's nickname of Cyber-bad. The security in the building I work in is top notch, and I worked for the National Defence at home, so I know security. This was even tighter. The security guards check the trunks of the cabs as they pull up, then when we enter people with badges have to swipe at every door they enter. I didn't have a badge for the first day so I had to be escorted everywhere. I was also not allowed to take my bag in my work area or my cell phone, and I was given a locker with a key (on day 2) to store my things. On day 2 I was also issued my badge with picture so I can now move around freely.
It also seems that most people work this shift as it is a call centre dealing with North America, and the building was buzzing with people moving about. The building has a gym with yoga classes and several cafeterias. I can't say too much about the job on the blog as I signed a confidentiality agreement, but I can say is that I will be busy and get to come up with a lot of my own material for training the agents, and most of them are eager to learn about life in North America. I met so many people, and they are all very educated and their English is impeccable! Most of the mangers have Masters degrees and some are working on their Ph'd's. It's a big business here in India, and I love that I will learn so much from this wonderful culture. The people have been so kind and generous to me. My living and working here will definitely be a different experience than that in Korea.

The city itself is wonderful and I know living here will be a good experience. I still have so much more to explore, and right now it is just too hot to be running around. But so far I've discovered a pretty big mall with some nice shops, the book store and coffee shop, a Baskin Robbins for days when you need a cool treat. A McDonald's, which I plan on never visiting, an organic grocery store, and a Hindu learning school (yes I plan to take Hindi lessons). I hope to discover so much more soon.
Amanda asked what the call to prayer sounded like - thanks for the question Amanda- so please feel free to ask me things I might forget to mention! As far as I can tell the call to prayer happens about 5 times a day. And it is a chanting/singing that is heard from a loud speaker at one of the Hyderabad mosques. I would say the chanting/singing goes on for about a minute. I found a link that translates the chant and you can also listen to it for yourself.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the warmer weather in Ontario. I definitely need to give a shout out to my Bruins who have forced a game 7 with the Habs!! My Dad has been awesome about calling and keeping me informed. Go Bruins!