Sent to Coventry

Things that have kept me amused spending a week in Coventry with Atlanta and Srila:-

• Laptops on which one has no admin rights, no software and no ability to do anything whatsoever.




• ‘Bunking-off’ for an afternoon to see Warwick Castle. Why is time away from work much more fun and pleasurable when it’s stolen rather than official time off? It was only fair to give the girls a trip to Warwick though whilst we were working so close!




• The ‘handy-cam’ and filming out of the car window as we drive through some of the less salubrious areas of Coventry. Then creeping around the site in Coventry Business Park avoiding being caught by security filming trees and bushes! And then running out of disk space when we actually got somewhere worth filming at Warwick Castle!




• The skill of asking questions that bring unfortunate outcomes such as ‘where does the data come from?’ which resulted in a half-hour walk-through of code. And ‘what time do you want us here tomorrow?’ which resulted in us having to come in half an hour earlier!!




• Copious amounts of salt on every food item and withdrawal symptoms from chapatis and rice.




• Learning about Indian suits and that they are very different to British suits. And the looks of amazement when I said that I often wear a suit to work. Apparently I would look very good in a sari.




• Being asked ‘Is your marriage arranged or a love match?’ And learning that in India I would now be wearing a red spot on my forehead, red dust at my hairline and a special marriage necklace instead of a wedding ring.




• Finding that Mills and Boon have provided much of the expectation of what Britain is really like!




• Why do people with white skin wish for a tan whilst people with darker skin avoid the sun like the plague so as not to go dark?




• Stepping out of the lift in the hotel and smelling the scent of joss sticks before even getting near to the rooms.




• Comparing that the cost of one journey into London would equate to months of travel in Mumbai.




• Being really touched that both the girls dressed up in their beautiful Indian clothes to come out for the afternoon with me. They looked fantastic.




• Seriously!

This week has been really wonderful and a complete eye-opener. It’s been great to spend time out of my normal office and life with Srila and Atlanta, in a shared situation and have time to chat about our lives and our cultures and how completely different they are in so many ways. I have to say how proud and honoured I felt to walk around Warwick Castle with Srila and Atlanta who had dressed in gorgeous traditional Indian clothes. I just feel so lucky to have had the chance to meet them, spend time with them and get to know them and I’m so happy to have made friends with two people from a completely different life, culture and world.