Last night I went out to dinner with some of my fellow incoming classmates to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Class of 2015. It was wonderful to meet these people - they were all very friendly and nice. The group apparently gets together pretty frequently, so I will be seeing more of them while I'm here, hopefully. It would be great to know some people before starting school. We went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Aoi (pronounced ah-wee - though clearly I knew that immediately without it having to be explained to me) in Bandra. The group ordered a bunch of sushi rolls, and the other vegetarian and I shared a couple different rolls. I realized (too late) that the rolls had fresh, uncooked veggies in them - uh oh. I haven't been eating any veggies that haven't been cooked, and if they've been peeled, then it has to have been in my presence. I'm mentally freaking out a little at dinner about having my classmates' first impression of me to be "the girl who got food poisioning," but thankfully nothing happened! Either the restaurant was very clean (which it seemed to be), or my stomach is getting stronger, but regardless I was able to enjoy the night and the food. My classmates seemed to think my choice to go vegetarian while in India was a little funny - only one other person is a vegetarian, and it was the other girl at the table (who I had met at the Booth event last weekend, actually). The guys all seemed very into meat - one of them even ordered an entree with steak in it! It was interesting to see him first ask permission from the table if they were ok with him ordering it, though - he didn't want to offend anyone's religious or cultural sensibilities.
After dinner some of the group went to a bar in Bandra called The Daily - I didn't stay long, but while I was there, a classmate encouraged me to try an off-menu drink that he and his friends had invented and that the bar had co-opted called The Bombay Nasty. I honestly don't know what is behind the "nasty" theme I'm encountering this week, but the drink was definitely delicious. The rim of the glass had chaat masala spices on it - very Indian. He asked me to guess the ingredients of the drink, and of course I guessed entirely wrong. Me: Orange juice and grenadine? Him: Nope. Watermelon juice. Me: I can't taste the alcohol, so I'm guessing it's vodka? Him: Nope. Me: Gin? Him: Nope. Me: (drawing a blank) Him: It's rum (shakes his head). Whoops - clearly my palate isn't very refined when it comes to mixed drinks. I ended the night early because I wanted to finish packing for Jaipur tomorrow, but am glad that I spent time with my soon-to-be classmates! Paresh called me when I was just arriving home around midnight - honestly, I don't think this guy knows how to operate a phone during normal business hours. I'm getting a little annoyed that he keeps calling me so late - if I weren't acting like such a social butterfly then he'd probably be waking me up on a regular basis (and you all know how much I love my sleep).
Per usual, there are a couple observations that have occurred to me along the way that I'd like to share. The first is about the office water cooler. I am incredibly thankful that the office has large water coolers stationed around every floor with a familiar brand of bottled water in them - it allows me to drink lots of water during the day. To do so, I bring a water bottle in with me every day and keep filling it up. Many people don't seem to have cups or water bottles at their desk, however, and I was curious about how they drink water during the day. In the US, water coolers will usually have a stack of disposable cups nearby that people can use, but these coolers don't. In fact, they only seem to have a single disposable cup that rests on top of the water jug. Yesterday I realized that these cups are communal cups! People fill up the cup, drink their fill, and then put the cup back on top of the jug for the next person to use. EWW - how gross is that??? I like my colleagues, but I have absolutely no desire to swap spit with them! I think I'll stick to my private water bottle, thank you very much...
Another thought that occurred to me yesterday is that people very rarely will drink any kind of beverage when they're eating lunch. I typically bring my water bottle down to lunch with me and noticed that everyone else is just eating - not drinking at the same time. This doesn't happen at restaurants for dinner, but only at lunch. I'm honestly not sure why this phenomenon occurs, but my current hypothesis ties back to the fact that people don't actually carry containers for liquid with them at work. If they don't have water bottles, and there's only one communal cup, then no one brings water to the lunch table with them. There is of course the option to buy drinks in the cafeteria, or to get a free cup of coffee or chai, but no one does that. It's interesting...I'm going to ask around and see what people say.
After dinner some of the group went to a bar in Bandra called The Daily - I didn't stay long, but while I was there, a classmate encouraged me to try an off-menu drink that he and his friends had invented and that the bar had co-opted called The Bombay Nasty. I honestly don't know what is behind the "nasty" theme I'm encountering this week, but the drink was definitely delicious. The rim of the glass had chaat masala spices on it - very Indian. He asked me to guess the ingredients of the drink, and of course I guessed entirely wrong. Me: Orange juice and grenadine? Him: Nope. Watermelon juice. Me: I can't taste the alcohol, so I'm guessing it's vodka? Him: Nope. Me: Gin? Him: Nope. Me: (drawing a blank) Him: It's rum (shakes his head). Whoops - clearly my palate isn't very refined when it comes to mixed drinks. I ended the night early because I wanted to finish packing for Jaipur tomorrow, but am glad that I spent time with my soon-to-be classmates! Paresh called me when I was just arriving home around midnight - honestly, I don't think this guy knows how to operate a phone during normal business hours. I'm getting a little annoyed that he keeps calling me so late - if I weren't acting like such a social butterfly then he'd probably be waking me up on a regular basis (and you all know how much I love my sleep).
Per usual, there are a couple observations that have occurred to me along the way that I'd like to share. The first is about the office water cooler. I am incredibly thankful that the office has large water coolers stationed around every floor with a familiar brand of bottled water in them - it allows me to drink lots of water during the day. To do so, I bring a water bottle in with me every day and keep filling it up. Many people don't seem to have cups or water bottles at their desk, however, and I was curious about how they drink water during the day. In the US, water coolers will usually have a stack of disposable cups nearby that people can use, but these coolers don't. In fact, they only seem to have a single disposable cup that rests on top of the water jug. Yesterday I realized that these cups are communal cups! People fill up the cup, drink their fill, and then put the cup back on top of the jug for the next person to use. EWW - how gross is that??? I like my colleagues, but I have absolutely no desire to swap spit with them! I think I'll stick to my private water bottle, thank you very much...
Another thought that occurred to me yesterday is that people very rarely will drink any kind of beverage when they're eating lunch. I typically bring my water bottle down to lunch with me and noticed that everyone else is just eating - not drinking at the same time. This doesn't happen at restaurants for dinner, but only at lunch. I'm honestly not sure why this phenomenon occurs, but my current hypothesis ties back to the fact that people don't actually carry containers for liquid with them at work. If they don't have water bottles, and there's only one communal cup, then no one brings water to the lunch table with them. There is of course the option to buy drinks in the cafeteria, or to get a free cup of coffee or chai, but no one does that. It's interesting...I'm going to ask around and see what people say.
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