Oslo – One Massive Deep Freeze

Norway is a beautiful country. They people have a good quality of life, they dress nice, get paid shit loads of money and generally, Norwegians are not know for making much trouble around the world. So when an opportunity came up to do a work thing in Oslo in Feb, I snapped it up without thinking much of it. I was actually looking forward to it as my first and last time in Norway was a job interview in Stavanger and the whole trip was less than 48hrs. All in all, this trip was going to be a lovely trip.

The only thing I did not bargain for was the frigidity of the Norwegian state in the month of February. My Lawd!! Words do not begin to describe the coldness of the situation. It was snowing constantly and ice was piling up on ice. Temperature was at -12degC (10.4 degF) and I was totally perplexed with snow. All i wanted to do was go to the office, back to the hotel and jump under the blanked. However, i did not resign myself to such a boring fate. I went out as much as I could, drink as little as i could because i did not have the 6 pounds to pay for a simple bottle of J2O. Did i mention how expensive things are out there??

The highlight of my trip to Oslo was looking for Vigeland Park with my French workmate. Now, i had heard that the Norwegians had a park which was filled with naked statues so i thought i would be doing a great dis-service to myself by not going. Only problem was that the temperature was well below freezing, it was snowing buckets, we were on foot for a long time and my French friend even managed to hit the floor on slippery ice! By the time we found Vigeland Park, yours truly had turned into a pillar of ice, frozen fingers and toes. Hehehe, this was not a funny matter. For a split second, i panicked because i could not feel my own fingers.. lol..

To be honest with you, i was happy when the trip ended. I was looking forward to the warm 2degC temperatures that London had to offer. Everyone on the plane had a runny nose or one kind of transmutation of the cold.

All in all, if you intend on going to enjoy Norway (and you don’t intend to go skiing), do not go in the first quarter of the year. You may just be disappointed. (And do not go when you are broke)

An Indian Revelation

I am back on the rigs. Discoverer 534. Remember that ‘posh’ rig I was on around June where I had my own room with cable TV and wireless internet access? Yahh.. that’s the one I’m talking about. I was really happy to hear I would be coming back here to work so I packed enough stuff to last 40days on the rig.. hehehe. That’s how much I love this rig. I would rather be here 40days than 2 days in Mumbai.. hehehe. I am also working with another girl and my guy Hash.. Lets call the girl Iti. She and Hash are both Indians and I really enjoy working with these guys. Firstly, Hash and I started with the company round about the same time and Iti must have started about 4mths before us. The ‘seniority’ dates are not that much so we are all still on a learning curve together. This time around Iti and I are both sharing a room.

Back to the gist of this post. I had the most interesting conversation with Iti a few minutes ago. This conversation as well as my meeting with some other Indians in Mumbai whom are professionals and don’t seem to be on a power trip like the people I was working with in my earlier experiences has really started to change my views about this country of peoples as well as the working dynamics.

Since Iti was also in the same position as myself only a couple of months ago, I started to share with her my previous working experiences here in India with engineers who were more senior than me. Especially working with female engineers and the way they seemed to put me down and push me around whenever we were on jobs. Iti explained to me that she also went through similar experiences when she first joined the company and though she was surprised, she didn’t find it as shocking as I did. Granted.. but why did Iti put up with this treatment and why did she not put up a fight like I always seemed to do??

Well, according to Iti, here in India while at university, a preconceived notion exists where students who are more senior believe it is their right to ‘Rag’ the less senior students. It is very common to find this in Indian universities and everyone seems to think this is acceptable. After a year or so, the less junior student becomes accepted by the senior ones but still, there is still that attitude that the less junior individual can be spoken to as they deem fit without any consequences. But why has this carried on to the work place I asked? Iti explained to me that she thinks this attitude is only prevalent within our company as she has friends who work in other companies and everyone else seems to be pretty professional and don’t ill treat new employees or ‘Rag’ them around.

We then went on to discuss why this is very common within our own work place only. The conclusion was that since our job is not very ‘white’ collar, we go around in uniforms(coveralls), share the same room and bathroom with your work mates, we are together mostly 24hrs a day for days on end in the middle of nowhere, then this juvenile attitude starts to creep in. The need for hierarchy starts to creep in Eg. You go on a job. You have a cell manager who is the first hand. This person is usually the most senior and has the most responsibility and experience. You have the second hand. This person also has some work experience and is quite competent. Lastly you have the Third hand. The third had is usually the least senior engineer on the job and is usually still a trainee with very little experience. This is very much like the setting which puts emphasis on seniority and hence, people easily slip into the habit of giving the trainee a tough time. Now, I could understand this explanation from Iti’s point of view as she did take her time to discuss with me these issues but this does not make it right in anyway, shape or from.

I am happy that I am starting to get more experience. I am very confident running a job as a second hand already and I am very happy working with Iti and Hash. These guys are really different from the other experiences which I have had. But then again, I guess the fact that we are much more level in terms of experiences kinds of brings us closer and does not foster any form of big headedness. That said, not everyone in India is out to get me!! I was really impressed with Iti’s way of thinking. She wants to experience working in other places with engineers from different backgrounds, culture and creed. She does not want to remain in India where there is a chance of slipping in and following the general norm. I have a lot of respect for this girl and I am wishing her the best.

So back to me..me.. me..

I am fine. I have been partying allover the place in Mumbai and there are more international staff joining the company. I have a new flat mate. She is French-Italian. My old flat mate, Angel got transferred back to Indonesia so I have been alone in the apartment for sometime now. There was a festival a few days before I came to the rig and true to Indian form; we had a day off work. I took all the newbies for a day out in Mumbai. We went on the very crowded Indian trains and then took a ferry to the Elephanta caves. From there I took them to some nice Deli place. The food was totally awesome!! I have been partying, partying, partying!! I am glad I got sent to the rig. I have been spending too much money on Sunday morning brunches and alcohol in 5 star hotels!! This is why being in town is not good for me at all. I spend too much, drink too much and eat too much. Talk about an idle mind!!

Can you guys imagine I’ve been in Mumbai 1yr already!! OMG!! I cannot believe it myself. I remember stepping off the plane at Chatrapatti Shrivaji International Airport a year ago and feeling scared to the bones. I am definitely not the same girl who stepped off that plane. I have seen things and been to places people only read of and I have felt emotions which people do not wish on their enemies. I have really survived! I am very grateful for this experience and for the chance of meeting people whom will forever leave an impression on me both positively and negatively.

So how do I celebrate my first year anniversary in India? I will go out and gaze into the ocean. Watch the beautiful sun setting into the Bay of Bengal!! I saw it yesterday and it was totally awesome!! This time I will take pictures.

A Lot can happen in 3 weeks (Part 2)

PLS READ PART 1 BEFORE READING PART 2

Lol.. see me breaking down gist like I am writing nollywood script. Ok.. so here is part two. After my Colaba runs during the weekend, I was already fretting over my promotion. I should have had it by now but things are not going to plan. My boss is telling me there are a lot of things I ought to know which I don’t know and this is frustrating for me because I don’t feel like I am getting enough exposure here. But that aside, on that fateful Wednesday morning, I arrived at the office as normal. I was studying, I wanted to please my boss and I was also running some general errands in the office. That was how Mr R called me and my flatmate. Shuwo! What have we done wrong? Mr R then opened his computer. He showed me that I have 7 days off and about 21 vacation days pending. He said that I need to take those days off ASAP. He even suggested that I go back to my apartment for the rest of the day as he does not want to see me in the office. I asked if I could come to the office the following day, Mr R said to take 7 days off. Say what! Take 7 days off? Na beans? Me I cannot siddon in inida for 7 whole days. I will go mental. All of a sudden.. I had a revelation.. what if I could go to London and Manchester? Afterall, I haven’t seen my people on that side since I left in October. I quickly checked with travel desk.. kia kia they booked me on BA leaving Mumbai for that evening.. I wanted to faint.. I was overcome with excitement. One minute I was studying OIL CD in the office and next thing I am on a plane heading for Heathrow. I cannot even begin to describe the joy when my people saw me. It was a really good surprise. No sooner had I landed that I’d started wakaing around london. Infact.. I waka to the point that my trainers snapped. Oxford circus, west end.. come and see sales.. shopping.. everything dey there..I was in a dream o.

Posing on the Jubilee Line

Sharp sharp.. I headed out to Manchester to see my people. Some places will never change sha! I reach Manchester and I was welcomed with cold freezing rain. Thank God I took my Monsoon umbrella along with me from Mumbai. I sha did all the doables in Manchester and then headed back to London.. I waka some more. I met with friends from school whom I haven’t seen since boarding school days.. friends form Uni who are now working in London and also, I hooked up with aloted, a fellow blogger. It was awesome sha cos she is one of the people with whom I share names and we both have something else in common.. she was also an adult braces wearer..

Rocking the Natural Look in Manchester(Village Girl)

Thugging around the street on my brother's bike. Its true what they say.. you can never really forget how to ride a bicycle. I taught myself to ride at 15 and I haven't ridden since then. But three days ago, I got on the bike and I was riding with my eyes closed after falling off twice!

So.. yesterday evening.. I was back at Heathrow terminal 4 (A plane was heading for Mumbai and it had my name written on it). On reaching Mumbai early hours of Sunday.. I didn’t feel up for the 1.5hrs drive from the airport to my place in Thane. Instead, I stopped in Bandra at Dee’s place(with luggage,dutyfree shopping and all). My people, its so nice to have someone with whom you share cultural ties in Diaspora o.. speakless of a place like India. We hugged like long lost sisters..(even tho I was away less than two weeks.. lol) I filled her in on the gist.. apparently.. the guys in Bandra are having Brunch and Shiri was cooking.. fantastic.. I left my suitcase, grabbed one bottle of duty free red wine and went to join the party. It was totally awesome meeting new people there that Shiri had invited.. I found myself discussing US politics and economic downturn with another American girl.. Heck what do I know about that shit.. Kuch nahi (nothing) But it was fantastic fun. Around 6pm.. I went back to Dee’s and took my suitcase and then set out with Dee’s driver for the long-traffic-jammed-drive to thane. I was just slipping in and out of consciousness in the car. The sleep was gripping me tight.. I didn’t get home till 8pm.. So here I am on my bed. Its already 1.36am O! and I am still waking up for 6am.. lol.. the things I do to myself sha. This blog must be todate by force because I could get to the office and my boss can spin me 360 degrees again. All this has happened to me in the space of 3 weeks! Unbelievable.. and if I have surely learnt a lesson here.. to never ever ever ever procrastinate updating my blog. I will be going to the office tomorrow.. I wonder what the following weeks will have in store for me..