Avian Bird Flu hit our area about 3 weeks ago and because it has not been contained, an announcement was made today that the "movement, sale and purchase of chickens, ducks, quails and their eggs have been banned for an indefinite period in K and all districts across Bengal." It was also announced that cows and goats have been dying of anthrax and TB.
GOLLY! We may become vegetarian, yet! I am really sad about the chicken and eggs. What are we going to eat with our ramen and soup?! And since beef is rarely available, we mostly eat chicken when we want meat. Plus, we have fallen in love with KFC here. (Popeye's is unavailable.) Not only do we both like fried chicken, the customer service at KFC is top-notch and we like that KFC employs mostly deaf-mutes at one of their restaurants here. Going to KFC is such a pleasant experience all the way around - even the bathrooms are very clean. One online restaurant reviewer said something along the lines of, "The KFC bathrooms are the only hygiene havens in the city."
P.S. The title of this blog is a nod to my friends who are fans of the musical Oklahoma!
Oh, another thing - the entire state was under a strike today - that's number 4 since we moved here.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Running Ks in K
This entry may be too detailed for the average person, but our running buddies will get several paragraphs of amusement. I dedicate this entry to my friend Jenny, who until today’s race had the most interesting race experience I ever heard.
This is what we participated in this morning!
We’d seen these signs around the city for some time and always kept thinking that “Run for your city” should be changed to “Run for your Life!” Jerry had thought about participating (even with no training) just for the experience, but it was really hard to find any information about it. There was no website or anything! Jerry called a number listed for info, but the guy who answered sounded like he was on or near a train, so nada there either. You know how the Houston Chronicle does all these articles leading up to the marathon with items like training strategies, course info, runner profiles, etc? Both newspapers here had nothing. On the day before the race a lady told me there was info in the Telegraph (one of the papers), but it was only a paid ad without much info.
So how did we end up running? Well, yesterday I was talking to a friend when another lady came up to her and asked if she was going to do the marathon… and she was kind enough to get Jerry and me registration coupons. The marathon consists of 3 races:
Men’s Marathon 42K, Women’s Marathon 10K, Fun Run 4.2K
Yes, you read that correctly – Women’s Marathon 10K. Even the fun run is referred to as the marathon. For instance,
“Are you going for the marathon tomorrow?”
“Yes, but I think I will walk the whole thing, it’ll take less than 45 minutes.”
(I am sure my running buddies are cringing – calling a 4K a marathon!)
Only about 25 men and 25 women participate in their respective long races with just a handful of finishers in each. However, last year, the men’s winner had a time of 2:23! After you finish reading this blog you’ll be even more amazed at this accomplishment given the running conditions.
ALL races are the same price: 75 cents. Yes, 75 CENTS! Students pay only 50 cents. And everyone gets a hat, shirt and refreshments (and a fun topic for your blog). But no race bib. Oh well…
We arrived at 7:10am for a 7am start, but no surprise, they were running late. We first went to redeem our shirt and hat coupons. There was a long row of numbered booths from 1-40. We had no idea what the numbers referred to and guessed it might be chest size? We decided to go to a booth with no line and turns out that everyone gets the same size shirt. The tags on the shirt literally say, “ONE SIZE.” It ended up being a size just a little bigger than a medium. It’s a good thing Jerry and I have lost weight since we got here! I felt sorry for those who were too big for their shirts.
At 7:30 the races began and then around 7:40 the gun went off for the fun run. There were thousands of people there to do the 4K and it was a young, fun crowd. This by far was the most positive experience I have had in K in a crowd. We really enjoyed the people-watching and the brief conversations initiated by fellow runners/walkers because of our being foreigners and taking lots of pictures.
The 4K ended up really being around 6K or so, which was kinda good because we were wondering why it was taking us so long to finish 2.5 miles. We discovered that the race organizers extended the fun run racecourse from last year, but did not want to spend the money to change the signs that said 4K. Golly.
Lots of people decided to take some short cuts…
I am proud to say that I ran most of the race. I surprised both Jerry and myself. Part of it (I’m sure) was that runner’s high you get when you are in a race. We have not run in a couple of years at least. Our bodies will be screaming in pain tomorrow. Ouch.
RACE CONDITIONS
K is experiencing unseasonably cold weather right now. When the race started, it was probably in the upper 50s. Not bad. Although the locals thought it was too cold.
We were surprised to see 2-3 water stations along the route. And bottled water to boot! However, the bottled water was put in plastic pitchers and everyone had to share and take turns. That’s one way of preventing paper cup litter!
The craziest part was that no roads were blocked. In K, this means that you have to dodge traffic from all sides and put up with breathing in exhaust. After the race I blew my nose and all my snot was grey with streaks of black. Gross. So, can you imagine 26 miles of this and finishing in 2:23?!
There was no finish line or time clock and as we neared the start, we just went back to the long row of booths and traded our refreshment coupons for bottled water and multi-grain cookies (or biscuits as they are called here).
We walked around for a few minutes while a rock band played and then went to eat breakfast. Afterwards, we went straight to church where several people greeted us with, “Oh, so you did the marathon today! I was there, too. I think it was longer than 4K.” Oh well. This is only the 4th year of the K Marathon, so people here are not used to the terminology. I am not going to correct anyone. Everyone does it for fun and has a good time. You have to admit that 75 cents definitely allows the masses to participate.
This is what we participated in this morning!
We’d seen these signs around the city for some time and always kept thinking that “Run for your city” should be changed to “Run for your Life!” Jerry had thought about participating (even with no training) just for the experience, but it was really hard to find any information about it. There was no website or anything! Jerry called a number listed for info, but the guy who answered sounded like he was on or near a train, so nada there either. You know how the Houston Chronicle does all these articles leading up to the marathon with items like training strategies, course info, runner profiles, etc? Both newspapers here had nothing. On the day before the race a lady told me there was info in the Telegraph (one of the papers), but it was only a paid ad without much info.
So how did we end up running? Well, yesterday I was talking to a friend when another lady came up to her and asked if she was going to do the marathon… and she was kind enough to get Jerry and me registration coupons. The marathon consists of 3 races:
Men’s Marathon 42K, Women’s Marathon 10K, Fun Run 4.2K
Yes, you read that correctly – Women’s Marathon 10K. Even the fun run is referred to as the marathon. For instance,
“Are you going for the marathon tomorrow?”
“Yes, but I think I will walk the whole thing, it’ll take less than 45 minutes.”
(I am sure my running buddies are cringing – calling a 4K a marathon!)
Only about 25 men and 25 women participate in their respective long races with just a handful of finishers in each. However, last year, the men’s winner had a time of 2:23! After you finish reading this blog you’ll be even more amazed at this accomplishment given the running conditions.
ALL races are the same price: 75 cents. Yes, 75 CENTS! Students pay only 50 cents. And everyone gets a hat, shirt and refreshments (and a fun topic for your blog). But no race bib. Oh well…
We arrived at 7:10am for a 7am start, but no surprise, they were running late. We first went to redeem our shirt and hat coupons. There was a long row of numbered booths from 1-40. We had no idea what the numbers referred to and guessed it might be chest size? We decided to go to a booth with no line and turns out that everyone gets the same size shirt. The tags on the shirt literally say, “ONE SIZE.” It ended up being a size just a little bigger than a medium. It’s a good thing Jerry and I have lost weight since we got here! I felt sorry for those who were too big for their shirts.
At 7:30 the races began and then around 7:40 the gun went off for the fun run. There were thousands of people there to do the 4K and it was a young, fun crowd. This by far was the most positive experience I have had in K in a crowd. We really enjoyed the people-watching and the brief conversations initiated by fellow runners/walkers because of our being foreigners and taking lots of pictures.
The 4K ended up really being around 6K or so, which was kinda good because we were wondering why it was taking us so long to finish 2.5 miles. We discovered that the race organizers extended the fun run racecourse from last year, but did not want to spend the money to change the signs that said 4K. Golly.
Lots of people decided to take some short cuts…
I am proud to say that I ran most of the race. I surprised both Jerry and myself. Part of it (I’m sure) was that runner’s high you get when you are in a race. We have not run in a couple of years at least. Our bodies will be screaming in pain tomorrow. Ouch.
RACE CONDITIONS
K is experiencing unseasonably cold weather right now. When the race started, it was probably in the upper 50s. Not bad. Although the locals thought it was too cold.
We were surprised to see 2-3 water stations along the route. And bottled water to boot! However, the bottled water was put in plastic pitchers and everyone had to share and take turns. That’s one way of preventing paper cup litter!
The craziest part was that no roads were blocked. In K, this means that you have to dodge traffic from all sides and put up with breathing in exhaust. After the race I blew my nose and all my snot was grey with streaks of black. Gross. So, can you imagine 26 miles of this and finishing in 2:23?!
There was no finish line or time clock and as we neared the start, we just went back to the long row of booths and traded our refreshment coupons for bottled water and multi-grain cookies (or biscuits as they are called here).
We walked around for a few minutes while a rock band played and then went to eat breakfast. Afterwards, we went straight to church where several people greeted us with, “Oh, so you did the marathon today! I was there, too. I think it was longer than 4K.” Oh well. This is only the 4th year of the K Marathon, so people here are not used to the terminology. I am not going to correct anyone. Everyone does it for fun and has a good time. You have to admit that 75 cents definitely allows the masses to participate.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The way things work/don't work here
The pollution is literally killing us. We've been getting sick at least twice a month and it is quite discouraging. Our hometown of Houston is known for its "horrible" pollution that rivals L.A. each year for most polluted city in the U.S. However, you cannot even imagine the levels of pollution here. I would have to say that the pollution is THE #1 negative thing about being here. I had never seen black cobwebs indoors before coming here. Anything plastic develops this layer of oily dirt on it after a day of sitting anywhere inside. In the nicer stores, the clerks are constantly wiping down the merchandise with towels to get the grime off. I could go on and on and on and on about other pollution-related things, but I am straying from my original topic - the way things work/don't work here.
We decided that we desperately needed to get an air purifier for our place. I had been told by many people that they just are not available here; no one I asked had ever seen one. This past week we went to a brand new swanky mall and a store there had an air purifier for $500. Since that seemed too costly, I used my questioning skills to extract information from the salesman about other air purifiers in the city. I asked him, "So, how is your purifier better than the other ones on the market?" He proceeded to tell me about other brands!!
Jerry looked up one of these brands on the net and found that they have two models, one for $165 and another $250. Still pricey, but less than $500. And this is our health we are talking about here. I would be afraid to see what my lungs look like after I move back home. Anyhow, here is where the inspiration for this post comes in...
The products can only be purchased through direct marketing, meaning that stores do not carry them; you have to contact a licensed distributor and get it from him. The website said, "Click here for a free in-home demonstration!" We requested a demo and the next day we were told that a rep would be coming by sometime before 3pm. We hurried through our lunch to get back for the demo and the guy never showed up. We were then told that he would come sometime before 5:30pm. Still nothing.
The next day he finally comes WITHOUT the air purifiers and just some brochures. Jerry told him that he wanted to see a demonstration. The guy replies, "I bring these brochures. You like, you buy." WHAT??? So Jerry says, "I want to see it working. I want to hear how loud it is going to be. On your website it says, "Click here for a free in-home demonstration." The guy just sort of looks at Jerry with this annoying smile/head bobble. Jerry goes, "You need to change your website then." His response - another head bobble/blink. They start talking about specs and Jerry ends with, "You need to come back next week with both of the models." He responds with something like, "I will bring and then you will buy." As if he is going to bring two brand-new units that he expects us to purchase.
Do they even have demo units? Probably not. But Jerry did add that he came on a motorcyle. Whatever. This experience makes me more appreciate the Will Smith character in Pursuit of Happyness.
We decided that we desperately needed to get an air purifier for our place. I had been told by many people that they just are not available here; no one I asked had ever seen one. This past week we went to a brand new swanky mall and a store there had an air purifier for $500. Since that seemed too costly, I used my questioning skills to extract information from the salesman about other air purifiers in the city. I asked him, "So, how is your purifier better than the other ones on the market?" He proceeded to tell me about other brands!!
Jerry looked up one of these brands on the net and found that they have two models, one for $165 and another $250. Still pricey, but less than $500. And this is our health we are talking about here. I would be afraid to see what my lungs look like after I move back home. Anyhow, here is where the inspiration for this post comes in...
The products can only be purchased through direct marketing, meaning that stores do not carry them; you have to contact a licensed distributor and get it from him. The website said, "Click here for a free in-home demonstration!" We requested a demo and the next day we were told that a rep would be coming by sometime before 3pm. We hurried through our lunch to get back for the demo and the guy never showed up. We were then told that he would come sometime before 5:30pm. Still nothing.
The next day he finally comes WITHOUT the air purifiers and just some brochures. Jerry told him that he wanted to see a demonstration. The guy replies, "I bring these brochures. You like, you buy." WHAT??? So Jerry says, "I want to see it working. I want to hear how loud it is going to be. On your website it says, "Click here for a free in-home demonstration." The guy just sort of looks at Jerry with this annoying smile/head bobble. Jerry goes, "You need to change your website then." His response - another head bobble/blink. They start talking about specs and Jerry ends with, "You need to come back next week with both of the models." He responds with something like, "I will bring and then you will buy." As if he is going to bring two brand-new units that he expects us to purchase.
Do they even have demo units? Probably not. But Jerry did add that he came on a motorcyle. Whatever. This experience makes me more appreciate the Will Smith character in Pursuit of Happyness.
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