08-08-2021, 11:06 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-08-2021, 11:13 AM by madiha.agarwal. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
"America! Here I come!" I shouted and jumped in the air. I couldn't contain my excitement and the smile on my face was threatening to become permanent. After two years of slogging away at small and medium projects, my name had finally been selected to be part of a larger one. It required traveling to a different continent but I was still single and had no real attachments, besides immediate family, and the call to adventure was screaming inside me.
Later that day, with the excitement still coursing through my veins, I was called in for a meeting to get acquainted with the rest of the team. We would be together for 6 weeks and it was important that we all got along. My friend Amit was there and he smiled when he saw me enter. He had a year of seniority over me but he had always looked out for me. I suspected he had a hand in getting me this opportunity.
The rest of the team was comprised of two project managers, a delivery manager, and of course, a team lead. I recognized them all and immediately and realized I was the only woman in the group. They were all in their thirties and married and some small part of me was disappointed. Secretly I had hoped that maybe being so far from home, with a single guy my own age, maybe there could have been some flirting. I had a boyfriend but I was always open to meeting new people and making new friends.
Our first meeting lasted an hour. When the team lead told us we would be going to Omaha my face sank. What exactly was an Omaha? I Googled it and found out that it was a small town in central USA. Looking at the map on my screen I knew I was going to be bored out of my mind when not working on the project.
We had several meetings over the next few days to discuss various topics about our project and what would be required. A big issue would be food. There were no Indian restaurants near where we would be staying and only one small store that had anything catering to our diet. American food would be a treat in the beginning but we were sure we would soon tire of it. The local Wal-Mart had a few things but we knew we couldn't just live on Basmati rice for our trip.
We had no idea what would be available there so we decided to take as much as we could in order to not be without. Even our utensils were a question none of us could answer so we made a list of those as well. Bringing food was going to be an issue as America's import rules were very strict but the team lead promised to look into it for us. There was so much planning going on and so many things to consider that we joked even a NASA shuttle launch couldn't have been this difficult.
Our business visa's came in about two weeks before we were scheduled to leave and the excitement level rose again. With the time lapses between events we all felt like we were on a roller coaster ride. One of the funny guys on the team had taken to calling our departure date D-Day, and it had stuck. When it finally arrived I said good bye to my family and boyfriend, and made my way to the airport by taxi.
Omaha was a small city with only about 500,000 people, but was delightfully pretty in the section we landed. We imagined like everywhere else, things got a little worse the further from the city center you went. Our office was on the outskirts and we wondered what we were in for.
We had booked a hotel as close to work as possible but for some reason the available rooms were limited. We ended up settling for two next to each other and had to deal with the sleeping arrangement issues. One room had two queen size beds, but the other only had a king. With six of us in the group and me the only woman, the guys decided that four would share the beds in one room with Amit on the floor, and I would get the other to myself. There was no way a married man was sleeping in the same room with me. Amit protested but the other four didn't want to spend extra on another room. He ended up calling down to the front desk and had them bring up a roll-away bed. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.
Morning routines were difficult to say the least. I ended up having to set my alarm earlier in order to have the time I needed to get ready. With the five of them having to use just one bathroom there was always a knock on my door with at least one of them asking to use mine.
A long time back when I was just starting to grow breasts and hips, I had discovered a line of clothing called Victoria's Secret. Everything fit so well but was so tiny. Today though, after a marvelous growth spurt, I had filled out remarkably. I had no intention of letting anyone accidentally walk in on me in tight little undergarments that could barely contain me. Even now, standing in front of the mirror, I marveled at how curvy I had become. There wasn't much fat anywhere but I could fill out my jeans well enough to turn heads in the street.
Amit was the only person in the group even close to my age. He was more modern in his thinking than the rest of the group and was open to ideas and more accepting of things. The others were more regimented and it felt like they had walked straight out of a 1980's government office. When conversation drifted away from work I tended to zone out and not pay attention. I was a very open person and enjoyed new experiences but their view on those things didn't interest me.
Besides the ride to work each day the four of them barely left their room. They would go out to get prices of groceries, then come back, convert the total to Rupees so they could understand the rates, then we would have a group meeting and decide whether it was worth it to buy or not. The whole thing drove me nuts. We needed to eat, these were the prices, just buy the food!
I was usually voted down when I offered my opinion on what to get. Dal Rice, Spinach Dal Rice, tamarind Rice, Lemon Rice, and Curd Rice were our daily staples and I was quickly craving a change. The cafeteria at the office had tried to accommodate us but did a poor job so we skipped it unless we were desperate. There were restaurants around but the closest was a Taco Bell and it was a half kilometer away. I had some money but the budget for food was controlled by the four tightwads sleeping in the other room. Amit went along with them but I could tell by his distant looks at meal time that he was craving something different as well. Silently I raged that he went along with them. All of them made five times my salary and they controlled every penny trying to save as much as they could. It was ridiculous.
By the third week I was bored out of my mind. The men typically talked in the other room and I was left alone in mine. Amit came by once in a while and he liked me well enough, but in this small group he didn't want to take chances that anything would look bad. The last thing he needed was for people to think there was something going on between us.
One Saturday morning I asked Amit if we could go into the city. When he discussed it with the others they refused and even went as far to make jokes about me wandering a big city all alone. When I stood my ground and said I was going, Amit decided that someone should be with me and came along. Honestly, the four back at the hotel hadn't missed much.
Omaha had a small zoo, a beautiful botanical garden, and a massive cathedral. There were other things to see as well but it was far from the glamour of the larger cities I had seen on television. New York, Las Vegas, Chicago all made Omaha look small by comparison.
On one day Amit admitted to me that the constant talk of mundane topics was driving him crazy. I wanted to tell him to come back to my room but knew that if he did, it would start the others talking which would definitely lead to bad things. I admitted that I was going crazy as well and looked forward to our walks through the city. Back in my room I was bored to tears and usually prayed for God to end my misery.
On our last day we had a small dinner as a way to say thank you for a job well done at a quiet little Italian restaurant. The food was tasty and we regretted not trying it sooner.
After the boys had settled up the bill we made our way back to the hotel to finish packing. Amit came into the room and informed me that they were all heading out to pick up souvenirs for people back home and that I wasn't invited. I thought it odd because we had done that very same thing two days earlier and questioned him on it. When pressed, he finally admitted that they wanted to go to a strip club, and he begged me not to let on that I knew. He casually mentioned that his review of my performance on the trip would be a little more favorable if I kept quiet. I knew it was blackmail but I agreed anyway. I wondered why the four cowards in the other room had decided that Amit would be the one to tell me to stay at the hotel. Then I figured that our walks in the city had started rumors despite us trying hard to make sure they didn't.
After the cowards left with Amit I had no idea what to do with myself. The 'gentlemen' as they referred to themselves, had packed everything up so I couldn't even cook myself something. Fortunately I had eaten an hour before and wasn't really hungry anyway.
Locking my room I wandered down to the hotel bar and looked around. Not having any idea where I should sit I chose a spot at the bar. The tall stools we comfortable but they were so high that my feet couldn't reach the ground. After a moment the bartender looked up from the flirting she was doing and slid over to take my order.
"What can I get for you, sweetie," she asked.
"Something non-alcoholic," I replied.
"You want a coke? Cocktail? Or how about a smoothie? I make a mean strawberry and banana smoothie," she replied with a wink and a grin.
I had no idea what any of those things were and for all I knew she could have been speaking Greek. A look of understanding crossed her face and she handed me a drink menu to look over while she went to take care of new customers who had walked in
.
"You should try a Long Island Iced Tea," a loud voice said beside me.
Later that day, with the excitement still coursing through my veins, I was called in for a meeting to get acquainted with the rest of the team. We would be together for 6 weeks and it was important that we all got along. My friend Amit was there and he smiled when he saw me enter. He had a year of seniority over me but he had always looked out for me. I suspected he had a hand in getting me this opportunity.
The rest of the team was comprised of two project managers, a delivery manager, and of course, a team lead. I recognized them all and immediately and realized I was the only woman in the group. They were all in their thirties and married and some small part of me was disappointed. Secretly I had hoped that maybe being so far from home, with a single guy my own age, maybe there could have been some flirting. I had a boyfriend but I was always open to meeting new people and making new friends.
Our first meeting lasted an hour. When the team lead told us we would be going to Omaha my face sank. What exactly was an Omaha? I Googled it and found out that it was a small town in central USA. Looking at the map on my screen I knew I was going to be bored out of my mind when not working on the project.
We had several meetings over the next few days to discuss various topics about our project and what would be required. A big issue would be food. There were no Indian restaurants near where we would be staying and only one small store that had anything catering to our diet. American food would be a treat in the beginning but we were sure we would soon tire of it. The local Wal-Mart had a few things but we knew we couldn't just live on Basmati rice for our trip.
We had no idea what would be available there so we decided to take as much as we could in order to not be without. Even our utensils were a question none of us could answer so we made a list of those as well. Bringing food was going to be an issue as America's import rules were very strict but the team lead promised to look into it for us. There was so much planning going on and so many things to consider that we joked even a NASA shuttle launch couldn't have been this difficult.
Our business visa's came in about two weeks before we were scheduled to leave and the excitement level rose again. With the time lapses between events we all felt like we were on a roller coaster ride. One of the funny guys on the team had taken to calling our departure date D-Day, and it had stuck. When it finally arrived I said good bye to my family and boyfriend, and made my way to the airport by taxi.
Omaha was a small city with only about 500,000 people, but was delightfully pretty in the section we landed. We imagined like everywhere else, things got a little worse the further from the city center you went. Our office was on the outskirts and we wondered what we were in for.
We had booked a hotel as close to work as possible but for some reason the available rooms were limited. We ended up settling for two next to each other and had to deal with the sleeping arrangement issues. One room had two queen size beds, but the other only had a king. With six of us in the group and me the only woman, the guys decided that four would share the beds in one room with Amit on the floor, and I would get the other to myself. There was no way a married man was sleeping in the same room with me. Amit protested but the other four didn't want to spend extra on another room. He ended up calling down to the front desk and had them bring up a roll-away bed. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.
Morning routines were difficult to say the least. I ended up having to set my alarm earlier in order to have the time I needed to get ready. With the five of them having to use just one bathroom there was always a knock on my door with at least one of them asking to use mine.
A long time back when I was just starting to grow breasts and hips, I had discovered a line of clothing called Victoria's Secret. Everything fit so well but was so tiny. Today though, after a marvelous growth spurt, I had filled out remarkably. I had no intention of letting anyone accidentally walk in on me in tight little undergarments that could barely contain me. Even now, standing in front of the mirror, I marveled at how curvy I had become. There wasn't much fat anywhere but I could fill out my jeans well enough to turn heads in the street.
Amit was the only person in the group even close to my age. He was more modern in his thinking than the rest of the group and was open to ideas and more accepting of things. The others were more regimented and it felt like they had walked straight out of a 1980's government office. When conversation drifted away from work I tended to zone out and not pay attention. I was a very open person and enjoyed new experiences but their view on those things didn't interest me.
Besides the ride to work each day the four of them barely left their room. They would go out to get prices of groceries, then come back, convert the total to Rupees so they could understand the rates, then we would have a group meeting and decide whether it was worth it to buy or not. The whole thing drove me nuts. We needed to eat, these were the prices, just buy the food!
I was usually voted down when I offered my opinion on what to get. Dal Rice, Spinach Dal Rice, tamarind Rice, Lemon Rice, and Curd Rice were our daily staples and I was quickly craving a change. The cafeteria at the office had tried to accommodate us but did a poor job so we skipped it unless we were desperate. There were restaurants around but the closest was a Taco Bell and it was a half kilometer away. I had some money but the budget for food was controlled by the four tightwads sleeping in the other room. Amit went along with them but I could tell by his distant looks at meal time that he was craving something different as well. Silently I raged that he went along with them. All of them made five times my salary and they controlled every penny trying to save as much as they could. It was ridiculous.
By the third week I was bored out of my mind. The men typically talked in the other room and I was left alone in mine. Amit came by once in a while and he liked me well enough, but in this small group he didn't want to take chances that anything would look bad. The last thing he needed was for people to think there was something going on between us.
One Saturday morning I asked Amit if we could go into the city. When he discussed it with the others they refused and even went as far to make jokes about me wandering a big city all alone. When I stood my ground and said I was going, Amit decided that someone should be with me and came along. Honestly, the four back at the hotel hadn't missed much.
Omaha had a small zoo, a beautiful botanical garden, and a massive cathedral. There were other things to see as well but it was far from the glamour of the larger cities I had seen on television. New York, Las Vegas, Chicago all made Omaha look small by comparison.
On one day Amit admitted to me that the constant talk of mundane topics was driving him crazy. I wanted to tell him to come back to my room but knew that if he did, it would start the others talking which would definitely lead to bad things. I admitted that I was going crazy as well and looked forward to our walks through the city. Back in my room I was bored to tears and usually prayed for God to end my misery.
On our last day we had a small dinner as a way to say thank you for a job well done at a quiet little Italian restaurant. The food was tasty and we regretted not trying it sooner.
After the boys had settled up the bill we made our way back to the hotel to finish packing. Amit came into the room and informed me that they were all heading out to pick up souvenirs for people back home and that I wasn't invited. I thought it odd because we had done that very same thing two days earlier and questioned him on it. When pressed, he finally admitted that they wanted to go to a strip club, and he begged me not to let on that I knew. He casually mentioned that his review of my performance on the trip would be a little more favorable if I kept quiet. I knew it was blackmail but I agreed anyway. I wondered why the four cowards in the other room had decided that Amit would be the one to tell me to stay at the hotel. Then I figured that our walks in the city had started rumors despite us trying hard to make sure they didn't.
After the cowards left with Amit I had no idea what to do with myself. The 'gentlemen' as they referred to themselves, had packed everything up so I couldn't even cook myself something. Fortunately I had eaten an hour before and wasn't really hungry anyway.
Locking my room I wandered down to the hotel bar and looked around. Not having any idea where I should sit I chose a spot at the bar. The tall stools we comfortable but they were so high that my feet couldn't reach the ground. After a moment the bartender looked up from the flirting she was doing and slid over to take my order.
"What can I get for you, sweetie," she asked.
"Something non-alcoholic," I replied.
"You want a coke? Cocktail? Or how about a smoothie? I make a mean strawberry and banana smoothie," she replied with a wink and a grin.
I had no idea what any of those things were and for all I knew she could have been speaking Greek. A look of understanding crossed her face and she handed me a drink menu to look over while she went to take care of new customers who had walked in
.
"You should try a Long Island Iced Tea," a loud voice said beside me.
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