The security guards at the plant salutes us at the end of each day as we leave, how great is that?!! In all ways we get treated like VIPs here. I swear, my head has gotten really big here. There's a guy that deliver coffee, tea or coke whenever we want. Sometimes he delivers it even if we didn't ask for it! The day after Rafael was sick he said that his stomach was recovering they sent the security guard to town to get him some gokum juice which was supposed to be good for the indigestion.
We finally finished! Our final discussion yesterday afternoon went very well and we finished one day early. The plant was also having safety week and the final day was yesterday. They asked us to participate in judging some contest and had us hand out the awards and prizes. I had so many pictures of me taken with the winners it was a bit embarrassing. With all the employees watching the plant manager asked us to say something to the group. First of all, I'm not that good at speaking in front of a group and to do it on the spot was not enjoyable. Regardless I think I managed to say something halfway decent and complimented the people.
I was able to send our reports to germany last night so today we are able to catch up with regular work (and I could catch up with my blog big time!). It's been nice having Rafael as a partner. He is young but very smart. Even though he came to learn supply chain from me, I also learnt a lot from his finance and purchasing background. I think he will have a bright future with hkl. He has a chinese girlfriend and loves all things asian. He's travelled to asia many times and knows more about the asian culture than me! I was impressed to learn that he actually spoke chinese.
I will miss our drive to the plant. The countryside held such interesting scenery. It is so lush with so many different types of plants. You can see fields of different crops - sugar cane, corn, guava, pineappe, papaya, cantalopes, etc. When you are in Pune or Jejuri there are fruit and vegetable stands every 10 feet. The climate here is temperate so that they can enjoy it year round. I can't imagine someone buying a box of frozen vegetable here!
I also love seeing all the women in their sarees. In big cities like mumbai or dehli you would commonly see girls in jeans but here all the women wear the saree or punjab. I loved all the vibrant colors and designs. Most are fancy and full of sparkly beads and looked like they are going to a party. It's especially strange for me to see a woman in a beautiful flowing saree standing outside her home which happens to be a big tarp covered tent in a middle of a vacant field. The homes here are mixed. You see a range of stucco houses (not so often) or a small square room made out of metal sheets (more often) or tents with roofs made out of tarps and cloths (just as often). or one room stuccos with dirt floors. Most don't have indoor plumbing so there are lots of people carrying pots of water from community wells on their heads. If you don't appreciate what you have just come visit for a little while and it will change you forever. It just boggles my mind on such inequality on standards of living throughout the world.
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