Indian Summer: A well deserved night out after a hectic week

Thursday morning, I arrived at the office around 9:30 where I spent the morning editing the licensing and manufacturing agreement assigned to me by K. When lunch rolled around, the six of us went to the food court and I ordered the same Chicken Meal Combo but with rice instead of noodles, it is so hard to pass up for the inexpensive price of 90 rupees. After an hour lunch we went to Coffee Day, a large Indian chain, where I ordered a choco-frap which is basically a chocolate milkshake and is delicious after not having anything chocolate flavored all week.

After lunch, I went to get my SIM card for my Indian phone but found out in addition to a passport, copy of passport and visa, I needed a passport sized picture. Getting a phone is such a hassle that I do no know how anyone does it and why Indians cannot be more clear, instead there 'head bobble' is the answer to everything. At 2:30, the other interns and myself met with Villoo who asked us about our individual projects and gave feedback. She has high expectations of each of us and expects a deliverable or something substantial on Monday when we meet with her again. Afterwards, K and I were scheduled to meet, however, he is constantly in meeting with investors, bankers, and partners so I have difficulty finalizing a set time to meet. After a few failed attempts on Thursday, I met with Devasis who leads the scientific end of agreements and is familiar with all of the drugs so I asked him questions regarding production of DHA which helped me to further complete the agreement.

Troy & I went to the passport picture place by the food court in the Tech Park and the gentleman gave us each 8-passport sized photos within 10 minutes. I then went to Airtel to set up my phone which was a success except I have to wait until Friday for it to be activated as the paperwork for pre-paid phones takes a day. I left the office around 6 PM without a meeting and no further instructions on my project. I told Koen that Villoo told us to begin attending meetings and when I mentioned the idea to K he said "We will meet at 10 AM." Not exactly the response I hoped for but at least I finally have a meeting with K and can move forward.

On Friday morning, I gave Babu my laundry and dropped off a few shirts at the dry cleaner in the Tech Park before going to the office. Both laundry and dry cleaning are done the next day and Babu irons shirts as well before returning them. Upon reaching the elevator, I saw K step out of his black British looking car with his large black suitcase and approach the elevator. We talked as we waited and when we entered Avesthagen I went to his office and finally, after a week had my meeting. I presented all of my ideas to him and Devasis who seemed pleased but provided additional insight to be added. I also told him I reformatted the document. I hope he uses the accurately formatted version as writing future documents will be easier. I am having slight difficulty as Indian laws and protocol are different from the US but K is helping me a lot and I hope to increase my knowledge of the labor laws in India as well. K assigned me with completing the licensing agreement before the end of the day which I diligently finished and emailed to him. I said goodbye on my way out and K looked up so I feel we are bonding and will hopefully know more about him as the summer progresses.
That evening, I went to the Big Bazaar with the other interns and finally purchased hangers so now my clothes will not be as wrinkled. Thomas and I also purchased a pint of Baskin Robbins Coffee Almond ice cream which I greatly enjoyed on our walk back to the apartment. After many failed attempts to call a taxi, the newly moved in lady into the 4th bedroom of the apartment offered to call her driver who accepted to take us into Bangalore and back for 800 rupees. The traffic, even at 8 pm was rush hour and took us well over an hour to arrive at Casa Del Sol, which took us an hour of research to decide upon. A Mediterranean restaurant on the rooftop of a building across from the Bangalore Club. Much to Daniella and my happiness, we found a liquor store under the restaurant where we purchased supplies for future evenings at home. I enjoyed Lamb for dinner along with a cocktail for $14. Peiran made the mistake of ordering "The Indian Special" as her beverage which turned out to be a glass of Scotch and a bucket of ice. She should have listened to us but wanted to try something "local." After dinner, our driver helped us find Fuga, a two-story dance club we found online, however when we finally arrived, we found out it had closed down. So we then got back into our safari looking SUV and drove back to Whitefield which took far less time then the drive into Bangalore so we arrived back at Prestige Langliegh around midnight. Tomorrow we are going to hire a taxi for the day and go to the national park where I hope to ride an elephant.