Back in the United States

Thanks for visiting the blog - stay tuned for more pictures and stories later when I return. I'll be back in the US for a little while. Scroll down on the left side of the page to see more stories and pictures from previous months.

Tex Mex Night at LeMeridien

The LeMeridien frequently has theme dinners at the hotel. On Tuesday night, they had Tex Mex night - where all the servers were dressed in ponchos and hats - just had to get a picture or two of the group. I found it ironic that I had worn a traditional Indian outfit (salwar kameez) and they are dressed in Mexican clothes. All of the people at the hotel have been very kind. They all have done a great job taking care of me during my many stays at the hotel.

Saturday and JP

On Saturday, Jayanti took me shopping to the older part of Pune called Laxmi Road - there were vendors in the streets selling jewelry, purses, home goods…it was quite a sight to see all the people gathering and bartering for goods - so of course, I needed to join them! Here is a picture from the neighborhood area. Saturday nights are a big night in India. A lot of people work Monday thru Saturday, and Sunday is their only day off. Jyotiprasad (JP) had me, Devdoot and his wife Pranita over for dinner on Saturday night last week - we were entertained by JP's son Aditya trying out his magic tricks - and getting to spend time talking with his wife Vandana. It was a wonderful evening.

Weddings and Henna

In India, weddings are very elaborate. I'm hoping to crash one sometime while I am on assignment. One day, Jayanti and I were out shopping when we heard a band - we went down the street to find a horse drawn chariot covered in silver carrying the groom. In front of the chariot were musicians playing instruments to let the procession begin. It is common for women to have their hands henna'ed for celebrations. On my first visit to Pune in October 2005, I saw a young lady at a shop who had her hand henna'ed and asked to take a picture of her hand. Her friend nearby asked if I wanted to have it done - and I said "you bet!" - so 10 minutes later I had her friend drawing on my hand with henna. It looked and felt like black frosting. I let it dry on my hand and when I crumpled my hand, the 'frosting' fell off and left a beautiful brown color. It had a really nice 'spicey' smell. It was my souvenier to come back to the states. It lasted for 3 weeks.

Friends who visit India

It is a strange phenomenon (but fun!) to be in India and have John Deere people from the US come to visit. We travel clear across the world to see each other! On this trip, there were a few individuals who support SAP and Travel (Andrea Heitman-Keefe, Mark Holste) here for the Family Night event, Bob Hughes who is a training manager for our Construction and Forestry Division, Rosie Barton who works in an IT office, along with a group of friends who work in Supply Management (Bob Graf, Yudith Opel and Elizabeth Carroll). In January, a team called Global 20/20 was here - and you'll see a picture with Jinghui Liu from China, me and Mike Schilb (Mike and I work in the same area) together in a picture.

Bangles

Bangle bracelets are commonly worn by women in India. On Sunday evening, I joined a group for dinner at a restaurant called the Bombay Brasserie. Two young boys were making bangles - and selling their wares. They also sold small jewelry boxes. There were little girls in traditional dress watching nearby.

Holi

There is a holiday throughout India called Holi that happened on Sunday. The tradition is for people to throw either paint or powder at each other. On Friday, one of the men who also stays at the hotel, Sunil, had a "happy Holi" shirt on. Some business friends of mine arrived in Pune on Sunday and took some pictures of people on the streets who had been playing with 'throwing colors'…..here are a few shots - click on the images to see them enlarged.

HR Staff and Family Night

We had a lot of fun at the Family Night event - and got some great pictures of the HR team. You'll see a picture with Kanchan and her husband Manoj, Devdoot and wife Pranita, and me with the HR team (from left to right - Manoj, Kanchan, Jayanti, Vandana and Aditya (JPs wife and son), Pranita, Devdoot, Jyotiprasad (JP) and I).

Family Night - Singing

There were a lot of individuals and groups that volunteered to sing at the John Deere Family Night - I recognized quite a few of the songs from Radio Mirchi as being 'hot' right now. I got up and sang a solo "What a Wonderful World" along with Linda Paulson who sang "Dreams". We had a great turnout - employees brought their parents or they brought their spouse and children - around 1500 people in total. It was a nice evening to spend time in getting to know more people and getting to share in the celebration.

Family Night

On Saturday evening, an event was held called Fusion - with a theme of the Wild Wild West. I got to the event early to run over a script to be able to give a talk about the Cricket teams within John Deere - and enjoyed watching dozens of the employees practicing dancing on stage. We have a lot of talent! It was also amazing to see guys rushing the stage to dance - so unlike the US!! More pictures to come.

Mismatch Day

On Friday last week to complete the employee participation week, there was a costume contest to include the best 'mismatched' individual along with the best 'set' of two individuals who were wearing the best costumes. I had the opportunity to be one of the judges for the mismatch day. There was a lot of creativity to judge - here are a few samples. It was great fun.