España - muy bien !

I never understood why any trip to Spain was considered ''off-the-beaten-track'', given that it is as close, as colorful, as sunny, as tourist-friendly, as non-English-speaking as Italy is. But I also never understood how I never planned a vacation in Spain in all these years....I once planned a weekend trip to Barcelona that had to be cancelled due to work but besides that Spain was never on the Radar for a proper vacation and why - I cannot think of a single reason ! The feeblest excuse I have is that I was busy with other places.

We had booked our flights, hotels, online reservations for tourist spots, brushed up on our Spanish lessons (that we had taken a while ago, Ashok more recently than I and hence the pro), picked up suggestions from friends and were all set for our trip. Our itinerary comprised of 2 days in Granada, a day in Cordoba, a day in Barcelona and a week in Madrid, from where we had planned one-day trips to Toledo, Salamanca and El Escorial - quite ambitious considering that there are people who spend a week in almost each of these places ! But we had no plans of just seeing everything from the outside and coming back home with sore feet and tired minds....it was meant to be a true vacation, so we made a few picks in every place and stuck to them.

The top 6 highlights of the trip were

1. Alhambra, Granada: Remember the Amber fort in Jaipur ? It looks imposing perched atop a hill and as you go closer, you widen your eyes and once you are inside, your jaws drop at the exquisite carvings and rich architecture - I almost experienced that for the second time when we visited the Alhambra. Eerily enough, Al hambra (like amber) means the ''red one''. We spent nearly 6 hours there and I have so much to say that I decided to make that a separate post.

2. Mezquita, Cordoba: There is a Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, yeah that's right, two-in-one - a result of the end of the Islamic era by Christian invasion. The first photo shows the Mosque and the one below it the Cathedral.

I found the pamphlet circulated there very partial claiming that the Islamic Invasion borrowed ideas from the already existing Christian architecture but the pictures will tell you that this is quite a lame attempt to rob the Moorish people of their glory.

3. Salamanca: One of the most beautiful cities that I have seen, so much so that it made me dream of what I had not dreamt about in a long time - moving to a place (albeit temporarily) that is not India. I have already written about how I fell in love with the place. Toledo was beautiful too in its own way but Salamanca took the prize away !

4. Flamenco show: Tap dancing has always impressed me (although it is classified as geeky in many sitcoms in the US, no idea why) and when that combines with the passion and fervour that accompanies the flamenco guitar, music and beats, it just leaves one mesmerized. Photos and videos are here.

5. Segrada Familie (Church of the Holy Family), Barcelona: Although it did not appeal to me for its beauty, the sheer geometry of the Segrada Familie had overcome any qualms I had about it. The entrance to the Cathedral itself is eerie, reminded me of Dracula's Castle and while I was wondering why, the audio guide went on to explain that facade was devised to reflect the suffering of the Passion of Christ (and hence the representation of death) by Antoni Gaudi.

The inside of the Church gives one the feeling of walking into a thick forest where if you look up you will see the sunlight through small gaps between the trees and apparently this is exactly what Gaudi had in mind (shown in the photo below - while the one on the left is the real one, the right one is a miniature model used for design)

If one had a contest, it should to be to spot all the animals engraved in various parts of the Cathedral - I saw everything from snails to snakes, from squirrels to chameleons. The tour was well worth the 3 hours we spent and the ride to the top to get a view of the city and see the towers upclose, even more. Since the Church is still under construction (it began in 1882) one can see the engineering drawings, models etc. and all the nuances involved in such a huge project - that part was fascinating, the effort is quite unfathomable !

The picture shows a miniature model of how it will look when its complete - 18 towers in all representing the 12 Apostles, 4 Evangelists, Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ (the tallest one, 170m high). Ashok and I have made a resolution that we should come back and see the grand opening 16 years from now (Lets see what the good God has in store for us!)

6. Cathedral, Granada: I do not know if I liked the cathedral for its magnificent ceilings or the huge pillars or the exquisite altar or because we were the first ones there and we got to enjoy the Cathedral with a good audio guide at peace but the Cathedral in Granada is certainly worth a visit and getting up early (coming from someone like me that is saying a lot) !

Things you must know before going to Spain

- No one and that means absolutely no one speaks English. Knowing basic Spanish will make your vacation a lot more easier, especially if you are not in Madrid or Barcelona. Otherwise, be ready for ''interesting'' experiences. Even then you might have a few in store for you, like we did :D !

- Spaniards are very friendly, hospitable and they love to TALK, TALK and TALK. You will find people going out of the way to help you. On the other hand, if you are in a hurry, don't stop and ask for directions. For a simple question like ''where is the train station?'', you will get a 2 minute reply...seriously, especially if the question is in Spanish ! In spite of your accent and the sort of ''retarded'' look you have, they somehow assume you know Spanish and they go on with a fervour and there is absolutely no pause when you can excuse yourself !

- If you are a vegetarian and not a model that lives on grapefruit, you are in big trouble. Forget hot vegetarian meals and learn to live on pastries and fruit juices especially if you are not in big cities. Tapas sin carne sin pescados (snacks/appetizers without meat, without fish) was the watchword rather phrase for us that was consistently followed by a surprised look and helpless shrug everywhere we went ! This is probably the one factor where Italy scored big in comparison to Spain

- Spaniards have a simple breakfast, a really heavy lunch (around 2pm or later) and a very light dinner. So don't be surprised if shops and places are closed between 1:30 and 4:30. Funnily enough, the only people you will see outside at this time in peak summer (when its around 45 deg C) are sweaty tourists and their cameras. Do not expect great service in a crowded restaurant, if you just order a sandwich for lunch. You would be better off if you switched your routine to theirs as well - have a 3 course lunch, take a 1 hr nap, a salad for dinner and party all night !

- Breakfast is usually just a croissant and Cafe con Leche (Coffee with milk) - very similar to what we have at home. Freshly brewed coffee fills one quarter of the cup and the rest is filled with milk (depending on if you like it) and finally sugar is added. This kind of preparation reminded me of our very own filter coffee. Another popular dish for breakfast is the Churros con Chocolate (dunking bread sticks in thick and rich chocolate)

In spite of seeing all these places, I still cannot say I have had enough of Spain - I still have Valencia, Seville, Avila, Alicante and others on my list....oh..well....some day :D !

Copyright only for the first Sagrada Familie Picture

dortmund-airport.de

Flaming Flamenco

There is almost nothing more Spanish than watching Flamenco in the most authentic region, Granada. Flamenco, music and dance, traces its origins to Gypsy, Arabic and Spanish music. The Gypsies of Granada are considered the true practitioners of this art. My surprise at how some of the Gypsies looked almost desi was answered by Ashok - they apparently migrated from India to Europe almost a thousand years ago.

Sacremonte, in Granada, is where all the famous flamenco shows are held. The hotel in Granada itself will have suggestions but we had friends who recommended a few shows for us, one of them being Las Cueves de Los Tarantos. A flamenco show typically starts around 11 pm and lasts for an hour.

Our tour started at 9 where we were picked up from the hotel, taken for a small tour in the Albayzin area which provides a perfect view to the Alhambra and houses the largest Mosque in Granada (the Alhambra deserves a separate post)! As we walked through the extremely narrow streets, our guide in what she called the ''Gypsy english'' explained about hammams, the arabic baths (Hamam soap has its origin in this arabic word) and showed us the path in the streets where the spent water from the baths was allowed to flow.

After enjoying the view of the Alhambra and the city itself, we proceeded to the cave, where the show was to be held. The traditional drink served would be Sangria, a kind of wine with fruit pieces in it (another reason why these shows have a pick-up service; no drunken driving) but there are obviously other non alcoholic choices one can opt for.

As we were waiting, we saw a middle aged stout man, a younger man, a guitarist and 2 dancers walk to the stage in the frilly falmenco skirts. The guitarist began with a very familiar gypsy track and suddenly there was a really high pitched voice through the air and I was totally surprised by how much breath control the stout man had (reminded me of SPB) and as he went on with something like an alapanai, one of the girls began tapping. Slowly both the music and dance gained momentum until they reached a fiery pace and when the girl finally finished, the applause reverberated in that small cave and this was just a beginning....

This was followed by a very passionate and slow number by another girl that completely moved me and then the 2 girls joined together for another feverish number. All along, the young man, completely dressed in black, did nothing but clap and while I was thinking that he had the easiest job, he started tapping. Now is the time to confess that I have taken a few tap dancing lessons and I know how difficult it can be to tap and turn and do everything at a fast pace. He did it all and by the time he was done, he was red and completely drenched in sweat and everyone was left open mouthed. The three of them finally did a peppy number highlighting the flamenco guitar - its exciting and extremely accurate rhythm, before they took a bow and had a standing ovation.

I was now confused, the show was for 1 hr and only 30 min had gone by and then it dawned on me that there was going to be another group. I was a little disappointed when I saw 5 elderly people walking towards the stage. I assumed that they were probably founders of this establishment and still insisted on performing but their age would definitely not cooperate with the energy the dance required. I was right about the former but bang wrong about the latter! If anything, there were leaps and bounds (literally!) better than the first group. The highlight of the show was the eldest lady of the group (she looked frail and would be atleast 60), who not only tapped with her feet but also with her hands using finger cymbals (something like the jalrah we use)...muy bien !!

The second time I got a chance to see the flamenco was in Madrid. Google search or the hotel you stay in will tell you the top places in the city that boasts of a flamenco show in every corner. We went to the ''Cafe de Chinitas'' and were glad we went there. While the show in Granada was simple and raw, the one in Madrid was grand and polished (I would compare the former to carnatic music and the latter to light music).Similar to the group in Granada, this one had both young and old dancers. While the younger ones danced with passion, the older ones sang and clapped with equal enthusiasm. The act was also funny at times and they included a ''Happy B'day'' for one of our little guests who had his b'day that night. There were 2 female dancers (one reminded me of Actress Sukanya) who tapped with such fervour that it was impossible to take one's eyes off it and another man, dressed as a matador who did equally well !

Amigos, If you are ever in Southern Spain, go watch the Flamenco, its completely worth the 20 euro you spend.

Señor/Señora, If you are ever in Spain, go watch the Flamenco, its completely worth watching it even if its not in its most authentic form.

¡que lo pases bien! Adiós!

Only in....

I learnt in Istanbul (much to my relief) that buttermilk is their national drink (I actually happily had more sadham for dinner when they had no vegetarian dishes). It is also the only place where I saw that driving was worse than in India. Imagine the same scenario but with much higher speeds. A taxi driver actually went 600m in reverse in a tunnel (where traffic flows only in one direction) just because he missed his exit - the fun part, I was in the taxi. The chance illa part - before he went in reverse, he turned to me and said something in Turkish that I assume was ''Dont be scared''...ROFL !

Restaurant bills in Italy contain ‘Table Charges’ – this means if you enter the restaurant, sit at a table, see the menu and leave, you still have to pay for occupying the table (this is usually 3-4 euro). To be fair, all tables usually have bread, olives or olive oil and someone occupying the table even for a little while means loss of business to them. Since menu cards are displayed outside the restaurant (like in most European countries), you would be wise to check it before you enter the place.

I felt like a millionaire in Jakarta - I literally had a million rupees, Indonesian rupees. Tipping is a huge part of life (more or less like in India) there. Everyone, I mean everyone, expects a tip. When my taxi driver took the luggage off the cart and placed it in the boot, there was a guy who was idly chatting with his friends. When one of bags was about to fall, I stretched to save it and we caught it at the same time. I said thanks but he is still standing, yes, waiting for his tip and since I only had 100,000, 50000 and 10000 notes from the exchange counter, I had no idea what to tell him and the driver stepped in to save me and gave the guy a 1000 rupee note !

In Spain, if you attempt speaking in broken Spanish, the Spaniards will start off talking non-stop in Spanish even though you have a ''I am completely clueless'' look on your face. They love to talk and obviously they love their language, so be prudent and confess ''no habla espanol''. Also, dinner is more important than lunch. People hardly have more than a sandwich for lunch. Warm heavy meals are reserved for dinner.

In Malaysia, I saw prayer rooms at the airport for the first time.

In Netherlands, there are 24 hour non-stop bike (bicycle) races where the participants have to cycle around the same track again and again and the one who does the maximum in 24 hours is the winner. You can stop for drinks or a snack but no sleep or long pauses. The winner did 400 kms !!!

In Belgium, much to my delight I found Tintin souvenirs everywhere.

In Egypt, you can look at the pyramids while eating pizza ! Yup, the pyramids are surrounded by restaurants and is not really in the middle of the desert. Everyone there knows Amitabh Bachchan...seriously !

In Malta, there is an island where no cars are allowed. You can reach it via a boat and explore the island only on foot. Also, I was really surprised to learn that there are a number of wealthy Indians who settle down in Malta after retirement.

In Marienbad (Czech), every meal in a restaurant will take 2 hours. The service is really slow and the food is completely bland - healthy living, you can take your time to chew and digest the food and most of it is raw. Cops there love stopping tourists for traffic violations and enjoy insisting that one has to pay only in the Czech Koruna and not in euro.

In the Vatican city, the pope addresses the people in Latin every sunday at noon.

I was very amused to see alpha, beta, gamma as alphabets in Greece (knowing and seeing are 2 different things). My name would most likely be - sigma, teta, omega, myu, upsilon, alpha...I am beginning to sound like Einstein right :D ?!

In Canada, I have never seen anyone yell at anyone in the traffic or fight for parking spots. Everyone always seems patient, easygoing and nice ! The only time I saw a parking spot fight was in a desi parking lot in the Toronto desi market. Lakes in Canada are breathtaking, they make one believe that webshots pictures are actually real.

In France, it is impossible to find good vegetarian food (Bread and cheese do not count as a warm meal) and until today, I have not understood why the French cuisine is so acclaimed.

I always look for cows and sheep with bells around them in Austria and Switzerland (DDLJ effect). Warm bread and the farm-fresh butter and cheese are a boon in these places and make me look forward to breakfast.

I was completely flattered by the customer service at the Denver Residence Inn Marriott. I had a suite with a kitchen and they had a service where if you dropped off a list, they would buy groceries. Besides cereal and milk, I had written 2 vegetarian microwave dinner packages since I knew I will have no time to cook. When I arrive at night, not only are the groceries purchased, but they have been placed in the right shelves and I open to find 2 Indian microwave dinner packages in the freezer !

I have been asked to show my ID (for proof of age) every time I purchased wine in the US. I can be vain and assume that I look younger than 18 but that would be pushing it too far :D. Portland is the only place where I could use the public transport. As a pedestrian, I have had the ''are you crazy'' look quite a few times.

In Ammersee (Munich) during sailing, a motor boat caught up with us and asked us if we had beer to spare !

I had the best hot chocolate in Verona, the best pizza in Venice, the best bed in Berlin, the best milk chocolate in Switzerland, the best icecream in Utrecht, the best cruise in the Nile, the best train ride in Germany, the best flight with Qatar airways........

PS: I intend to update this post from time to time, hopefully.....

Disclaimer: I am just describing my experiences and there is no offense meant. I have nothing against any of these places and/or people and would be more than happy to visit them again.

PPS: Oru kadasi bit bakki irukku.....Sorgame endralum adhu namoora pola varuma.....

Want to invest in carbon ?

Can you actually believe that there is a market price for carbon ?!

Carbon credits are an attempt to save the world by monetizing the reduction of carbondioxide and green house gas emissions since people never listen unless it is about money. Gist - Emit green house gases and pay a fine; Reduce emission and get paid for it. For purposes of measurement, one carbon credit is equivalent to a ton of carbon.

To explain it in very simple terms, if I own an industry that is legally allowed to emit only 100 units of carbon when it actually emits 200 units (this is called a carbon source), then either I have to invest in reducing this emission or I invest in afforestation (trees consume CO2, remember ? This acts as a carbon sink) such that the 100 units of carbon are ''absorbed''. This would be applicable to all carbon sources - be it an industry, a car or a house. This concept was discussed and it took shape way back in 2006 but implementing it hasn't been quite easy.

And in the meanwhile, international trading of carbon is already gaining momentum....mainly because there are certain areas that are industrialized and certain that are purely vegetated. So the idea is for those who have excess carbon credits to sell it to those who have few or none.

The other side of this issue is knowing and determining the usability of an area as a carbon sink with a certain accuracy. This depends on the amount of vegetation or what is known as biomass. In simple terms, it is plant matter. Determining the biomass in a region would mean knowing the density as well as type of vegetation - types of trees, their height etc. This is one of the objectives globe monitoring satellites are trying to accomplish today, for the sake of the earth, let's hope they soon succeed.

Water has a market price, carbon has one now, wonder when we would start paying for oxygen too....

Around the Clock

It is that time of the year again (pun intended :D).....tomorrow, the last Sunday of October, is when I get to sleep a whole extra hour, that's right, we move the clocks back an hour since daylight saving time ends.

For those who are unfamiliar with this ''time-travel'' concept, on the last sunday of March every year, just before spring (supposedly) begins, the clocks are moved ahead by an hour so that you can use one more hour of the sunlight that is (apparently) available in Spring and Summer (This means I can make up for that 1 hour of sleep I lost in March tomorrow :D). This is then referred to as daylight saving time.

So what is the big deal, you wonder ? The resulting confusion and chaos on these 2 days (and a couple of days after) and why ?

Different countries adjust the time on different days ! So if I have to call someone in Canada (say, in Calgary), the time difference could be 7, 8 or 9 hours depending on when which clock is adjusted.

Some of these countries have more than one time zone. So if I have to call someone in Canada, this time in Toronto, the time difference could be 5, 6 or 7 hours.

There are exceptions, as always. Arizona, for example, has no daylight saving time while the rest of the US does.

Some or all of the above results in one or all of the following

- You can hear people swear at Microsoft Outlook for sending out calendar invitations with wrong meeting times

- There are people running through corridors at work asking for time

- There are people with completely irritated ''I-missed-my-train/flight'' looks in March and overflowing coffee shops in October since they turned up an hour early !

- There are really smart men who use the ''Oh..I forgot about the daylight savings'' excuse for being late in March although they never turn up early in October (like I said, smart!)

One would think this only happens to people who are new to daylight savings but NO...happens mostly to people who have grown up with it since the newbies tend to be extra careful.

So what to do

- Many computer based systems can adjust time automatically but not always and come-on its Microsoft ! So manually type in the time of the meeting in the message, to be sure.

- You have a computer and internet right ? Just google for the current time in a particular place.

- Set the right time in your alarm clock BEFORE going to bed, will be too late (or early if you are lucky) after you get up.

The other day I heard a friend saying ''India is a big country, you should have more than 1 time zone'' and I thought ''adapaavingla, nanga urupidiya irukardhu ungalukku porukalaya'' ?!

On the plus side though, daylight savings does make a lot of sense w.r.t energy conservation, reducing traffic accidents, increased sport activities, barbeques - Oh yeah, an extra hour of sunlight can make a lot of difference !

Rise and shine, people, let's fight the grey winter and enjoy the colorful fall (pun unintended) :D !

From Zurich to New York

When you take 4 flights on a day, you pretty much will have to look at the flight magazine at least once. When I was browsing the Swiss air magazine, I was pleasantly surprised by the article it had - a detailed description of a long distance flight from Zurich to New York right from ground checks and crew briefing to the touchdown at JFK.

Some interesting things I learnt:

The airbus, under consideration, has been flying this route everyday for the last one year, without any issues whatsoever - hmmm..not bad....

It weighs 196 tonnes completely fuelled and with passengers on board - 196 tonnes taking off and flying....vazhga Wright brothers, valarga Science

Flight traffic rules dictate that all flights pass on the right of a straight line on the ground , like a railway track and that's why the pilot sits on the left. - What about in Britain and in India :D ?!

Every seat on flight is put through rigorous stress tests. - does the test include checking if there is enough leg room to cross your legs and read a book while eating :D ?!

Every seat in the business class costs as much as a normal family car. - adangokka makka !

People in first class get their own pyjamas - ahaa.....

Flight attendants are allowed to wear only a maximum of 4 rings in their fingers and nothing on the thumb or the forefinger. Only a max. of 2 bracelets and both together cannot exceed 4 cm in width. - appadi....thavilakara madhri dress panna yaarayum pakka vendam....!

Of the 8 hours flight, the pilot actually flies only a few minutes, the auto pilot takes care of the rest - idhu therinju irundha naan kooda pilot ayirpene...

Inspite of the outside temperature of -76 F, the airbus still has to be conditioned to counter the radiation of the sun and carbondioxide from the passengers - idhuku dhan porvai kudukara !

All flight attendants should be trained to assist in child birth - ada..ada..ada...this is really one kind of a job description...truly multi-faceted

There are passengers who don't eat on board, who don't sleep due to fear of flying, those who sit close to the back where the blackbox is, since they believe that will improve their chances of survival in case of a crash - ada kadavule....

oh...well...thats all I can remember although there were many others. What I also liked was including some pictures of passengers now and then with their purpose for the trip, be it a husband going home to meet his wife or 2 pensioners taking a long awaited vacation; loved the personal touch.

Medical Tourism

I liked ''Foreign Body'' by Robin Cook for 2 reasons - one, it invoked my interest about Medical Tourism and two, the book was set in India.

Medical tourism, in the context of this book, refers to people coming from western countries to developing countries like India, Thailand etc. for treatment mainly because of the weak medicare system in their countries and the out-of-proportion medical inflation causing treatment expenses to sky rocket. While these patients save a few bucks, the private hospitals in India make a lot since treating these patients pay them at least twice as much as the localites. In general, it can be anyone traveling to any country solely for the purpose of medical care. A German going to India for an ayurvedic back massage would also fall in this category, for example. Apparently, Medical tourism is very close to and is expected to even overtake IT by 2010, in bringing foreign exchange into India. A google search brings up many more interesting articles on this subject and thanks to Robin Cook, I was hooked for a couple of days.

The book was set in New Delhi and although I have not been there in 11 years, I still have a lot of memories from visiting Delhi almost every year when I was in school. Added to that is the perspective I got about Delhi from a foreigner. There are so many things that we take for granted, things that totally catch a foreigner by surprise and although I have heard many such stories by now, there is always something new. The one story that always cracks me up is of someone boarding an autorickshaw in India for the first time and in all cases, it inevitably ends with ''I was hanging on to dear life'' :D ! The book dealt with the contrast between the opulence of 5 star hotels and the destitution of slums, the conflict between religious superstitions and technological advancements subtly without losing focus.

In spite of all this, what makes the book less gripping is the fact that the book begins with the plot and ends with the well-expected confirmation instead of the usual Robin Cook style of beginning with a medical mystery which on unraveling reveals a dark plot. It is a series of unexpected deaths of American tourists that on investigation leads to a group funded by a private hospital in the US to sabotage the medical tourism concept since it takes away billions of dollars from the American medical system. As always, there were a rigmarole of medical terms, none of which I knew or had even heard of; there was a time I used to look them up but somewhere along the line I gave up and forensic pathology is not really an inviting topic !

The book is a decent read if you are interested in this subject, but is in no way his best work.

Working in Germany

If you are already studying in Germany or if you intend to, then this post is not relevant for you. You might want to look here for information. This post is intended for those who aspire to come to Germany only for work.

Note: I personally have never been in Germany on a dependent visa and since I studied here (and so did most of my friends), I have even less information about coming to Germany directly for work.So I am digging around for info from friends and acquaintances and will keep updating this post as and when I learn more. In the meanwhile, leave your questions as comments.

Without beating about the bush, if you are not a member of the EU or a developed country, then coming to Germany to work is a indeed an ambitious task. The easy ways include studying in Germany and/or coming to Germany on intra-company projects.

It is obviously not impossible but there are road blocks you should be prepared for. The first stumbling block is obviously the work permit or arbeitserlaubnis. Usually a non-EU member can apply for a work permit, if and only if he/she already has a residence permit i.e. one should have a valid address and visa to be here, in the first place. This already poses difficulties because to have a valid address in Germany, you should either have studied here or should have a family member supporting you. So coming to Germany in search of a job is a bad idea. Better would be to have a job offer or atleast prospects before getting here (even in that case, I doubt if getting a visa would be easy).

Once you have a job contract, the company may apply for a work permit on your behalf (in case of large companies like Bosch) or you do it personally, in case of the smaller ones. An important step in this application process is the list of reasons that should be submitted by the company to the Arbeitsamt or Employment office to prove that you are important for the job and that the expertise you bring in to the company cannot be found ''locally''. Naturally, the decision of the Arbeitsamt is made easier if you have a strong resume (usually the processing, say for PhD holders is much faster than for those with a bachelors degree).

Once there is an acceptance from the Arbeitsamt, the international office or Ausländerbehörde will give you the work permit. Usually this is given for a maximum of 2 years and is bound to the company. This means that you should apply again for a new permit if you change companies (this is not very difficult given that the new job is not really different from the previous one). At the end of 2 years, the employer should issue a letter saying you are still employed with them and on submission of this letter, your work permit will be extended by another 2 years. Also, your residence permit will now be bound to the work permit since it will be listed as a means of your living.

The other difficulty is the foreign language. Students have the time for learning the language, culture and other required niceties; all their mistakes are made amidst other students and are condoned and in fact its a fun way to learn things. This luxury is unfortunately not available to one while being employed in a company. Although many companies have some form of training to make everyone comfortable with a multi-cultural environment, one has to carefully tread in the first few months while still sticking to deadlines and other responsibilities - definitely not a mean task !

For people who come here on a dependent visa, the rules are different. . One cannot work for a period of 2 years after which one is eligible for an ''open work permit'' that gives one the possibility of taking any form of employment. Exceptions are made in some cases and there are people who are allowed to work under certain conditions in the first 2 years.

For researchers, permission from the Arbeitsamt is not needed and hence getting a permit is considerably easier.

Finally, I have one word of caution for those who approach consultants and want to get to Germany by hook or by crook - DON'T ! I have absolutely no sympathy with consultants and even less for those who attempt to come here on a false pretext and/or false certificates/information. You have made your choice and I have made mine and since they do not overlap, please do not look up to me for help in this case; you will not get any.

Oktober Fest in September

I am actually surprised that I havent written about this all along given that the October fest has been an integral part of my life in the last few years....hang on, don't brand me as a ''beer drinker'' (for the record, I hate the smell of beer and I haven't been able to figure out how so many people like it)....there is a much simpler reason....I live just a stone's throw away from where the fest takes place and that means.....

.......I see the preparations from scratch everyday enroute to work and it starts in July !

.......I visit the fest atleast 4 times; somehow many of my friends suddenly want to visit me during this season :D

.......I shocked the waitress (who stared at me for a few seconds) by ordering a glass of water; was probably the first one to do so in a beer festival !

.......I own a dirndl (a traditional dress - a white blouse, pinafore with an apron)

So why all the fuss ? It is considered one of the world famous fests (many people claim that is the largest fest but I always have my doubts when anyone uses the superlative). If October fest does not ring a bell, then wikipedia can help you.

First of all, the October fest begins in the 2nd of week september and ends on the first couple of days in October. It is a sort of misnomer, but weather is to blame for that since it gets way too cold in October and the fest is not as enjoyable.

Second of all, only breweries from Munich are allowed to participate in the fest. Each brewery will have its own tent, with its own beer and band. Beer served in the fest has a higher alcohol content than normal and the min quantity you can order is 1 litre. The waitresses take a bet on how many 1 litre glasses they can carry at the same time and the glass weighs atleast half a kilo!!

Third of all, the fest is inaugurated by the official tapping of the keg by by the mayor as youngsters eagerly wait to get their first beer and this is around noon ! I was confused and amazed at the same time when I first saw this :)

Finally, there is a parade of the breweries and this begins with a professional canon salute. I have always been amazed at how some of my friends and colleagues remain faithful to their favorite brewery ! Do you know you can actually get an engineering degree in brewing and beverage technology ?!

Just like Germany, October fest is not just about beer. It is more or less like a trade fair with a lot of fun rides (I have been on nearly all of them), lot of home made items to buy, lot of food stalls right from pancakes to fruit dipped in chocolate (I would die for pineapple with white chocolate !) and if you notice closely, lot of family time - I have seen pics of babies with the title ''His/Her first october fest'', have heard of proposal stories that took place there, have heard funny ''my first beer'' stories to gross ''I-puked-here'' stories, have celebrated a project completion with my colleagues here and have numerous fond memories of spending time here with my near and dear ones.....October fest is simply a celebration for everyone living here and if you live in Europe or ever happen to here in September, you should definitely take a peek.

Tips for visitors

• Hotel prices are ridiculously high during October fest and hotels close to the city centre get booked really fast. So book one well in advance. Booking.com is a good place to look for hotels. When you pick a hotel, pick one close to the U-Bahn station and/or close to Theresienwiese (place where the fest takes place) or hauptbahnhof (central station)

• Parking can be a catastrophe during the fest, so I would suggest leaving the car in the hotel and walking or taking the public transport to the fest. When you book a hotel, make sure you get a parking spot too.

• Be prepared to deal with a crowd. If you are from Chennai, imagine T-Nagar a few days before Diwali.

• Be prepared to deal with the prices. A glass of beer (glass here is 1 litre, the min quantity you can order) is around 8-9 euro

• If you are coming with a large group, especially on a weekend and you want to be seated in one of tents, make reservations. Otherwise you will easily wait 2 hours or more get a table.

Also, herzlich Wilkommen zum Oktober Fest ! Prost !

I have no home but I have a lawyer....

When I read the synopsis of John Grisham's book - The Street Lawyer, I was confused. It talked about homeless lawyers and although I understood the term as lawyers for the homeless, I still could not grasp why they needed lawyers in the first place ! Wont they have enough trouble finding a place to eat and sleep ?

The book is not a fast moving thriller that makes you want to read chapter after chapter (even when you know you are unbelievably late for bed and your henceforth ensuing workday is not going to be great) ! The book is about an American lawyer, who just like any other lawyer, works 90 hours a week in a big firm, dreaming to become a partner one day and taking home a couple of million dollars a year and how his life drastically changes because of a hostage situation.

The escape from death suddenly gives him a whole new perspective and he regrets being a part of the rat race. His restlessness leads him to public interest law and it was this part of the book that totally shook me.

I have just jotted down what I learnt (from the book and the follow-up internet research I did), along with my feelings (in Italics)

There are millions of homeless people in the US and nearly half of them are African-american. If a developed country like the US has this many homeless people, what is happening in the developing countries ? I am really scared to even look up the numbers in India.

There are people and families that actually freeze to death, not because they were out skiing or they lost their way in a snow storm but simply because they do not have a shelter or a place to live. I cannot imagine taking out the trash in my pyjamas in winter. This makes me glad that India is protected weatherwise, to a large extent but images of people sleeping on platforms in Nainital came to mind. I was there in November a few years ago to meet a cousin and I remember how cold it was even inside the house.

Numerous crack babies are born every year. I did not even know what this term meant until today. They refer to babies that are born to mothers who consumed crack heroine (commonly known as crack) while they were pregnant.

75% of the homeless are either addicted to alcohol or drugs and/or involved in prostitution. Being ''clean'' for 24 hours is considered a record. When these people have no money for food where do they find money for drugs or alcohol ? Is it like a barter system with the latter leading to the former ?

There are lawyers who help the homeless and naturally for free. They fight against the Govt. that makes homelessness a crime - cops chasing away or even worse, arresting people sleeping on parks or bus stops. They fight the social security system to make sure these people get the benefits they deserve. I somehow still have difficulty wrapping my head around ''Fighting the system''...I thought it was a curse reserved for the developing countries.

There are shelters and soup kitchens that feed hundreds of people everyday. But there are millions of homeless, what are the others doing for food ?

Even in these shelters and soup kitchens, there are always too few volunteers and too many homeless people. Why can't every firm/university have a ''volunteer day'' every quarter ? When the Govt. can spend time and money making new traffic rules, tax rules, rules against smoking in public, why is someone dying from hunger not an important concern? I am going to remember this everytime I touch a morsel of food.....I really am.....

Just like no place is immune to disease and sickness, there is also no place immune to hunger and poverty. If only each one of us donated some time, money, care and attention to it (and there are numerous ways to do it !!), maybe one day...one fine day....we can drive it out and make this world a better place to live ! It may sound cliched, dramatic but I wish for it to come true with all my heart and soul...I really do....

Germany - there is more to it than Beer !

Yes, Germans like their Beer and yeah, Germany has the auto-bahn, which has some sections with no speed limits, but there is definitely a lot more to Germany than that.

Disclaimers: The intention of the article is not to typecast Germans but to make it easy for foreigners who come to Germany to understand their culture and them better. The article purely reflects my views based on my experiences (in italics throughout this blog) and finally, remember there are always examples and exceptions.

Punctuality and Time: Germans are extremely punctual. If you walk into a 5pm meeting at 5:01, you would have missed the first part of the introduction for sure ! If this is a technical meeting involving demos, then you would see them getting ready for it from 4:30 onwards (or much earlier) because starting at 5 ALWAYS means EXACTLY starting at 5.

Germans value time a lot, in the sense that they would not prefer small talk when they are working. They pretty much stick to 'work while you work and play while you play'. If it is a 8 hour work day, they will work exactly for 8 hours (not counting the lunch and coffee breaks) and then leave. This might be difficult for desis who are used to 11 or 12 hour work days, of which probably a few hours are spent in chit-chat and/or browsing. So if a German colleague is not willing to talk to you during work hours, it is not personal, it is simply the work culture.

My experience: I walk to a bus-stop and notice an old lady complaining to her friend that she is fed up of the public transport system and that things are not as they used to be. While I am wondering, why she feels that way (since I totally love the public transport here), the bus arrived and I almost choked with laughter when I heard her say "There comes the bus and it is 2 minutes late today too". In my mind, I was thinking of the times I stood in some bus-stop in Chennai without a clue as to when the bus would come and if it would actually come ! I am not trying to demean PTC (I love Pallavan - have fond memories in 21, 21G and 5B :D) but I was thinking about how pampered the old lady was and how she still did not realise it !

Trust and Reliability: Germans usually say 'Yes' or 'No'. They do not prefer 'maybe' responses. Sometimes when they are so frank, it might seem impolite but the truth is they are only going by facts. If you get a 'yes' for a task, you can be sure that it will be complete, come what may....ergo, Yes means yes and no means no. The tricky part is when desis say 'yes' to be polite, even when the task is ambitious, Germans believe it is 'doable' and this will naturally lead to a misunderstanding.

Germans are truthful, even when the truth is bitter. They have no problem in accepting that they do not know something, even in an interview. Conversely, they also believe that the other person is saying the truth and there is no need for verification. Interviews here, for example, will not have technical exams but more or less a discussion on what you claim to know in your resume.

My experience(s): I had an interview for an internship that my professor had set up for me. It lasted 5 minutes, seriously ! They had already looked at my resume. They first asked me if I had read the project description and if I was interested in the internship offer. When I said yes, they gave me the contract. Nobody had ever placed so much trust in me professionally !

I was invited to coffee and when my host asked me if I would like a piece of cake, I politely refused although I was really hungry. I was being the total desi, who refuses the first time and and agrees the second time....only there was no second time because Germans read a no as a ''no''. If you are hungry, say so and eat :D

Adherence to Rules: Rules mean everything to them irrespective of how much time, money and effort will be spent in doing so. Sometimes it is frustrating, at other times it seems the most logical way of doing things.

My Experience(s): I was getting my passport by post from an embassy. I had to go to the post office to collect this parcel. The parcel required showing a govt. id and given that I did not have my license then, I was in a catch 22 situation. I explained to the lady in the counter that the parcel contained my passport but she would not take my word and open the packet ''unauthorised''. Parcels can also be picked up by people who have an authorisation letter from the recipient. So I asked her if I can authorise her to ''pick up'' the parcel for me and as a post office employee, she is apparently not supposed to do that. In the end, I authorised a colleague of mine, who showed his id, and got me the parcel. I only wonder how they allowed me to ''authorise'' someone when I couldn't prove my own identity ?! I was afraid that asking this question would mean more rules, so I simply shut up !!

It was October fest (the world famous beer festival in Munich) and I noticed a totally drunk chap swaying to and fro in the road. He was walking before me and when he entered the subway to catch the train, I was worried he was going to fall into the track. Suddenly he made a sharp movement and while I was still in shock he moved to a ticket machine and bought a ticket !!! I was open mouthed and I was even more shocked when he got the ticket punched (at a validating machine) so that it was validated before he boarded the train. I couldn't get over how the buying and validating a ticket before boarding the train was so much an integral part of him that he remembered to do it even in that drunken stupor !! He is the first drunk man to have impressed me in a good way.

Efficiency: The word ''German efficiency'' is common and true to this word, efficiency is the watchword here. There are lots of meetings, discussions, plans and one would think this is taking a lot of time but only at the end of project comes the realisation that not only is the project on time and in budget, but every contigency is also accounted for. The ''attention to detail'' is a trait they are most likely born with !

My experience: I was in the BMW museum and I came across one of their first bicycles and right next to it is a detalied LOE (Level of Effort) that would put today's excel worksheet to shame ! This LOE describes man-hours and other costs for every part with detailed description on what might cause delays.

Privacy and Personal space: Germans value their privacy and personal space so much that if you are ever invited to someone's home, you can assume that he/she considers you a great friend.

My experience: I had gone ballroom dancing with a few German dance classmates and had forgotten my house keys at work and getting into the office building at night would require a special access card that I did not have. When I realised this, it was already 11pm and I was frantically making calls to get hold of someone who could let me into the office. Although all my classmates were sympathetic, none of them invited me to spend the night in their homes. They would have gladly lent me money to check into a hotel (thankfully I had my credit card for that) but inviting an acquaintance home is something they would not do. They have nothing against me but they are not comfortable in sharing their personal space with someone that is not a spouse or a partner. I actually spent the night with a Punjabi family who owns a restaurant close to my house. The restaurant owner saw me making calls and asked me what was up. Even before I completed my sentence, he said that I could stay with him and his wife - Desi hospitality is unbeatable !

Independence: The social system is in such a way that they are anything but dependent. You will often see a 80-yr old using one of these walking assist devices and doing her own shopping. Even while traveling in Europe, you will often come across tourists reading maps and you will surprised to note that hardly anyone is asking for directions.

My experience: It was my second day in Germany and I was trying to figure out where the lecture hall, where my german classes would take place, was. I asked a German that walked past me and he made me walk a few steps with him, pointed me to a map, showed me where I was standing, smiled and left ! I thought he was messing with me and then gradually I understood he was giving me the tool to figure out the answer rather than giving me the answer itself and why - because thats what he would do, if he was lost he would look for a map and not for directions, he would figure that out himself !

Level of Affability: Germans are not extroverts. They are not openly friendly and they do not go around smiling at everyone but once you know them, they can be very warm.

My experience(s): During my first year on the job, I did not even know if my colleague (who I worked with in most projects) was married but now that we are friends, we know each other's childhood stories.
One of my German friends came all the way to India for my wedding even though he did not have enough time and money to travel in India. He attended my wedding, just spent a week in Kerala and came back....needless to say, I was really touched.

Environment: Germans care a lot about keeping everything clean and green. They seriously take care of energy conservation. Most people take the public transport to work for this purpose. Lighting in most public places are built in with sensors so that they can be automatically switched off if no human presence/movement is detected.

Noise pollution is one of the most hated words here. Using a horn while driving is considered taboo and is actually illegal within the city. If you are having a loud party on a weekday without informing your neighbours you can be sure that cops will become party-crashers !

My experience: When I first landed in Stuttgart, my expectation of seeing a city with skyscrapers was erased and everywhere I saw it was green. This was amazing given that Stuttgart is one of the most industrialized cities in Germany ! It was so silent in my dorm on the first day, especially since I had arrived much earlier than most people that I had trouble sleeping !!

Loyalty: Germans are extremely loyal to the place they grew up in. They generally would not even consider moving from one state to another.

My experience: When I was working in Stuttgart, all my colleagues had studied in Stuttgart, graduated from the University of Stuttgart and except for a brief stint in a foreign country for an internship or exchange program, all of them had always been in Stuttgart.

Vacation: Germans love their vacation and enjoy it to the fullest. Most jobs come with a 30 day vacation package and add to it 8-10 public holidays. They make really good use of the 40 days. They are great travelers and are extremely interested in knowing/experiencing other cultures and cuisines. These vacations are well planned and during one of these, they fall off the radar completely as in they will not be reachable.

My experience: All my German friends have atleast been to 5 Non-european countries for vacation in the last few years I have known them.

Sports and Entertainment: Germans love watching sport - football and doing sport - swimming, cycling, skiing, trekking (you name it !). Germans are also voracious readers. German is the second most used language in writing books and this is impressive when one considers the number of german speakers in comparison to the rest of the world.

Germans are not television or movie friendly. Believe me when I say most of my colleagues do not even have a TV at home (reminds me of Joey's question from Friends: If you don't have a TV, whats all your furniture pointing at ?! ROFL !!). It is true though. You will find only foreigners and youngsters (since the movie craze is slowly catching on here too) in theatres. I know people who have never heard of Pirates of the Caribbean !!

My experience: The first time I saw my professor, a 50 year old man, coming to the University in a suit but on a bicycle I laughed. But when I realised he cycles 15kms to and fro everyday, the laugh was on me because at my age, I do not believe I can do it and still spend a whole day at the university...I would be exhausted ! And this is the man who owns a Porsche !!

That was a lot of blah...blah...I got carried away, here is a time-saving (and probably less interesting) version of it (dos and donts, if you will)

• Every country has its own history, culture and practices. You don't have to like them all but learn to respect them and to be tolerant. I assure you, they will do the same - I still remain a vegetarian and Germans respect that.
• Multi-cultural interactions are always tricky. So give people the benefit of doubt - is the only way to grow.
• Give people some time to get used to you - do not ask people about their marital status, income and age (especially in case of women)
• Give people some space - do not barge in without appointments or drop by without making a call
• To the most part, I agree with ''Be a Roman in Rome'' but there is no need to lose your identity just because you are in a foreign country - I wear salwars to work in summer when the weather permits it and I wore a sari to the christmas party and everyone loved it.
• Be ready to learn, to face challenges, to have fun !

If you are here already, be ready for an interesting and exciting life !

Chao !

If you have been in a Metropolitan in India or somewhere in Europe, you have definitely heard this....although Chao is the phonetic spelling of the word, the actual word is ''ciao''

Many people are not aware that although ''chao'' is used for ''goodbye'', it also means ''hello''. Inevitably all Italians start their emails with ''Chao Tom'' and this surprises most people. During my first time in Italy, when I walked into a hotel in Rome and the receptionist said ''chao'', I was not sure if she was indirectly telling me I had no reservation....it took me a couple of more chaos to finally figure out that everyone is saying hello !

Chao Signor/Signora !

Isosceles or not?

Abcissa, ordinate, corresponding angles, trapezoids - if all these ring a bell and if you actually remember what they mean without using google or wikipedia, then you can give yourself a pat on the back for having been a diligent student and your school math teacher can be really proud of his/her teaching !!

So what made me think of the Cartesian coordinate systems ? A question from my colleague asking if I would be willing to tutor a 16-yr old on a Sunday on these topics to help her prepare for her 'board exams'. I readily agreed and did not think too much about it until Saturday. On Saturday morning I am out grocery shopping and I notice 2 teenagers on the road, dressed as weirdly as possible and talking in an equally vile language. It was then it hit me that I had probably committed myself to a herculean task - teaching a teenage girl a popularly-hated subject before a popularly-dreaded exam and to make this more interesting, I was going to teach her in German !!! Talking about gleichsenkliges Dreieck (isoceles triangle) and Drachenviereck (a form of quadrilateral) is a whole new game, trust me !

When I went to the girl's house on sunday afternoon I smell something very familiar and as her mom very warmly welcomes me into the house and takes me to the dining room I see hot sabji and basmati rice on the table. The surprise on my face turns into relief causing broad smile when I see a really shy and cute girl, petting her cat, walk into the living room with a pleasant smile. The girl introduces herself, thanks me for taking the time and asks me if I would like to join them for lunch. She begins lunch with a prayer :). The sabji is not spicy but tasty and while I am trying to figure out how the Brazilian-German family (mom is from Brazil and dad is a German) is having such a lunch, the mom proceeds to explain that she spoke with my colleague, found out I was an Indian vegetarian, googled for a 'simple' recipe and prepared it for me ! Before I even had a chance to show how overwhelmed I was, the mom comes in with a Brazilian dessert - a layer of milkmaid, a layer of Brazilian chocolate (very different from any chocolate I have had so far) topped with a layer of pista icecream. Although my head was screaming calories, my mouth was watering and the taste buds won !

After the sumptuous lunch, we sat down to study and she shows me the problems she has trouble with - I was so excited when I realized that I could solve them all without batting an eyelid (and hence could also explain it to her) - there was the parabola intersecting the straight line at 2 points which together with another point on the x-axis form a triangle and our task was to determine if it was an equilateral or an isosceles and then, there was the weirdly shaped garden formed from 3/4th of a circle and a trapezium whose area we had to figure out and many more exercises that totally made me feel like I was in class 8!! I was also amazed at how she was allowed to use a scientific calculator and a book of formulae (and I remembered how we use to go with our worn and battered-from-use clark's table for our exams!). Interestingly she always spent a lot of time searching for the right formula - the focus was only the concept, once you figure out the concept you look for the charateristic equations or the area formulae in the book, instead of in your own RAM like we used to do !

After 3 hrs of math, we decide to take a break and her mom comes in with coffee and chocolate lemon cake...was heavenly ! While I am thinking how many rounds of jogging would burn those calories off, she gives me a box with some cake and another with some dessert we had had for lunch. To top it all, she asks me how much she owes me for the tuition and I am flabbergasted ! Noticing this expression she says 'Its not fair that you spend your precious time for nothing' and I tell her 'Noone cooks so much for a tutor and if she can cook so much for someone she had never seen in her life then I can spend a couple of hrs teaching her daughter' and it was time well spent - time that I would have otherwise spent dancing or blogging at best or eating/sleeping at worst !

In short, a great Sunday, now I am keeping my fingers crossed about the girl's exam and her results....

Blame it on the Weatherman !

Do you know the first question that anyone asks when you suggest
- a weekend trip ?
- having a barbeque outdoors ?
- going out for a run or a game of table tennis ?

or to make it simpler do you know the first question that I get when I call home or one of my colleagues in another office - what is the WEATHER like ?

I am always shocked at how big a role weather plays in running my life....!! When I was back home, in South India, weather was a non-entity. At best or rather at worst, it would rain and getting wet in the rain was one of the fun things to do and so no one worried about it. I still vividly remember how all of us waddled through knee-deep water with our raincoats to reach ‘Devi-paradise’ to see ‘Vaijainthi IPS’ - this was 15 years ago. It was one of the most heavy downpours South India had ever seen and even that did not make us alter our plans…..when you come from such a city and suddenly start living in a city where even going out for a walk is done only after querying weather.com, it is only a little short of bewildering !

Along the same lines, I used to think that talking about the weather is probably the worst form of small talk there is but now I do it everyday.

Weather deciding your routine is directly proportional to how much it fluctuates. In my home town, temperatures are always between 25 and 38 deg C with maybe a couple of exceptionally ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ days. But when the weather fluctuates between -20 and +40 deg C, you know you are doomed to check weather.com as often as you check emails. If you don’t, one or more of the following will happen (or has already happened to you)
- you are wearing a turtle-neck pullover and sweating like crazy (this is fun especially if you happen to be at work)
- you are wearing sandals and walking in the snow (times when you think about the laws of physics !)
- Inspite of your fighting spirit, you just lost your very-recently-purchased umbrella to the wind (and not to mention the torrential downpour that follows – Murphy’s Law!)

I actually really admire moms (or dads), who take their kids out to the park or for a walk, with their rucksacks packed with everything needed for any kind of weather, sometimes in addition to the swim or ski equipment they carry !! I try to follow this too….it should be pretty clear what happens since I said ‘try’

When you travel a lot, chances are you should be prepared not only to combat a jet-lag but also a ‘weather-lag’!

……and inspite of all this how can one not enjoy the the first snow, the fall colors, the spring blooms and if enjoying all this beauty means dealing with layers of clothing and other man-made contraptions to fight the weather, then so be it ! And there is this sense of accomplishment when you go running inspite of the rain, come home drenched and look outside thinking ‘if that was a fight between me and the weather, I won :D’

Its time to grill.....

What I used to think about a Barbeque - much ado about nothing !
What I think about a Barbeque NOW - How can we have Spring without one ?!

Here is why......

First of all, its great being outside enjoying the sunny weather and that makes up for the half the happiness. I never realised what a big part of my life the sun was and how not seeing it for a few days could be depressing...really depressing (depression due to weather is apparently one of the top reasons for people committing suicide in Finland!)...well...thats what I am going to talk about in my next blog..so lets move on !

Second of all, being outside in a ''picnic'' mood instead of in a ''formal restaurant'' mood is so much fun and it is amazing how a few beers will loosen tongues (times that make me glad that I dont like beer !)

Last of all, the freshly cooked and served food...agreed that there are not a whole lot of choices for vegetarians but where there is a will there is food too :) !

A colleague of mine has a spring Barbeque every year in his garden (I am lucky enough to be one of his close friends to get invited) and as every year goes by, I look forward to it more and more ! His wife, an Italian, is an amazing cook and is such a warm person that she is like the perfect ''mother hen''. She takes extra care to make some delicious vegetarian dishes for me - be it potatoes-au-gratin or the baked aubergine-tomato-mozzarella, its simply scrumptious ! He, at the same time, grills paprika, zuchini and mushrooms for me. Together with some garlic bread and juice, it really becomes a heavy meal.

My favorite is the after-dinner part where we build a fire in the garden, sit around it and exchange funny photos and stories right from the innocent childhood, naughty adolescence to the current responsible (now..now dont laugh) self until almost midnight since laughing like crazy beyond those hours will make the neighbours call the cops !

The fun continues the next morning at work when we exchange fotos - some nice and some awkward and we all resolve to have a barbeque more often than now knowing well that its going to be another year before we actually do it....sigh....!