Ethnic Day in the Office

As Friday was the last day of the month, we held ethnic day in the office. Everyone dresses in their ethnic attire, and also in addition to a celebration of the month's birthdays, there is also a cultural performance. I tested the waters by rockin' an Indian shirt for the day (see pictures below), which basically was a half kurta. Very subtle, I know, especially with my western jeans. Next time I'll take another step towards full-out Indian attire.



For the 'cultural performance' and recognition of birthdays part of the day, the entire FSO group at the RMZ location gathered in one of the training rooms. While Reggie and I had been introduced and spent a good amount of time with our insurance team, we had not met the rest of the crew in the office yet. So they decided that in conjunction with this function, it would be a good time for them to introduce us to the whole group and to field questions about our experiences thus far. Gotta love being caught off guard like that! Here are some pics of the group assembled in the training room. See if you can spot the American in the crowd.

After the gathering, I was informed that on my last day, I would be asked to do a 'cultural performance' for the group and to go ahead and start preparing. Could a staple karoke performance be in the cards? Yeah, I don't think that would fly over here (not that it really flies in the states either)!


Friday evening for Reggie's last meal in India, we went to this place called Anjappar. This place features Chettinad cuisine, which is basically is the spicier, non-vegetarian cuisine of Southern India. The food and service were both excellent, and since it's just down the road from the residence, I plan to eat here on many more occasions. One of the items I ordered here, which has become one of my new favorite foods, is paratha. Most of you have probably heard of naan before, which is also a staple with most of my meals, but generally, naan is only available with Northern Indian cuisine, while paratha is the Southern Indian equivalent, and also an alternative to roti. Basically the difference between the three is naan is more of a true flatbread, roti is more of a thin, crispy flatbread, and paratha is more like a bulkier crepe.

Lastly, here is another pic of the entire team after lunch last week.