Weekend update...for two weekends ago (a few pictures added at the bottom)

So I've been busy.

Sup, ya’ll. Thought I’d let everyone know about my weekend, which was pretty strange for a weekend in Bangalore.

Friday night I went to dinner with Scotty Mac and some friends that he has connections with here in India. Really nice people and they invited us to some pre-wedding dinner they are having this weekend. Unfortunately, Scott and I have another wedding to attend on Friday and Saturday. I’ll explain a bit alter. We met up with the usual crew to a bar called NASA. You people have to see this place. All of the waiters and bartenders wear NASA uniforms, or what Indians think are NASA uniforms. You walk through a hatch into the “spaceship” that is the bar. Even the bathrooms are basically airplane restrooms, which suck! Get this, there were windows around the bar meant to create a spaceship atmosphere. What would you expect to see outside of a spaceship window? Hmmm, I don’t know….maybe….SPACE. Not in India, my friends. In India you see pictures of Michael Jackson and Twisted Sister….hhhhhwhat?!?! Needless to say, we could not stay here too long. We went out to the street where drinking laws don’t exist and we bought several bottles of Kingfisher (beer) and had a little get-together at Adarsh. Nothing too insane, just a bunch of Infoscions having a good time.

Saturday night we sat around Adarsh just chillaxin. I watched Arrested Development and Desperate Housewives and then went to Forum with Winnie. Forum is the nicer mall in Bangalore that actually rivals some of the nice malls I’ve been in around Chicago. The mission for this shopping trip was to get me a new pair of kicks for basketball. What I found will blow your mind! Check it:

That night we didn’t do much but watch movies at the apartment. Around 11:00 PM Juan showed up with some Japanese people who brought a bottle of sake that was gone in less that 5 minutes. Usual Saturday.

On Sunday Scott, Juan, Winnie and I went to FabIndia to buy our Indian formal wear for the wedding of my friend Tony. Tony, and his fiancé Zeeba, are part of the group that plays basketball on Sundays. There is a reception at the Leela (the most decadent hotel I’ve ever seen) on Friday night and then the ceremony is Saturday in the morning. That evening everyone is going to the Golden Palms spa, which is apparently owned by Zeeba’s uncle who is a famous director/producer or something. The catch is that we need to wear this Indian formal wear the whole time. This is called a kurta. What do you think? I’ll post pictures.

Later that evening the entire group of us went to the Gypsy Kings concert at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. As you can expect, not many people in Bangalore are familiar with the Gypsy Kings, so there were MAYBE 300 people there. There were three sections. The Rs 500 section, Rs 1000 and Rs 2000. Imagine a football field separated into three sections so there were partitions at each 33 yard line. Around the field was a metal wall about 15 feet high. Separating the sections were cow fences with armed guards placed every 30 feet or so along these partitions. We had the Rs 500 tickets. Obviously. Anyway, the great part was we were able to move from the 500 section to the 2000 section because nobody was there. We got to about the 5^th row of people and had a really great time dancing to some really fantastic Spanish music.

Our crew chillin before the concert on a cool beverage. (From left: Pete, Shibani, Matt, me, Juan

The Gypsy Kings (actually just Chico and the Gypsies)

Afterwards we went to Opus, a club within walking distance of the concert grounds, for Sunday evening Karaoke!!! There’s something you have to understand about karaoke in any place but the US. People take that shit seriously! It’s clear that some of these people practice their song all week in anticipation of this intense evening. There was even some woman who is the lead singer of a popular Indian pop group. She was incredible.

And then there’s the American style of karaoke: let’s get wasted and sing tunes that we have no business attempting. So after some petrified Indian sang “American Pie,” Nate Linkon steps to bat with his three choices. It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones, Losing My Religion by REM (not my idea, btw. I was dragged on stage by my friend Shibani) and Back in Black by AC/DC. Can you believe they didn’t have Back in Black?!?! They did have Losing My Religion and It’s Not Unusual. The crowd was clearly impressed with my vocal stylings, and who could blame them?

Here are some pictures of the evening:

Some Indian People

Crazy rapping Indian dudes

Crazy singing drunken Nate

Gettin' down with my bad self

Peace it and release it.

Bangalore's suffering nightlife

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I'm a big fan of bars and clubs. As a very outgoing, social guy there is very little I enjoy more than meeting new people over a pint or two. Especially in an international city such as Bangalore, you can meet the most interesting people from all over the world. I've learned so much about countless cultures and regions of the world, an invaluable experience I would have never experienced working a normal desk job in Chicago. (Don't get me wrong, I miss Chicago with every part of my being)

I've mentioned before how the Bangalore police have been enforcing ridiculous laws that have seriously prohibited my ability to establish valuable connections that will no doubt prove to be a precious professional and social network. Here is an interesting article that explains what I’ve been talking about. This article is quite extreme, but it gets the point across.

This is why I haven’t been able to find a band to play in. They’ve started to loosen up a bit, but most places still shut down around 11:30 PM. WTF?!

I feel like Kevin Bacon in Footloose.

"Hey Hey! What's this I see? I thought this was a party. LET'S DANCE!"

Missing home...

So I’ve been here for about 9 weeks now and the time has just flown by. I’m confident that the 18 months, or however long it will be, I will be here will disappear just as fast. That doesn’t, however, keep me from missing the thousands of things that make the United States of American the greatest place in the world. Let me take this opportunity to point out a few of them.

Keeping in mind the recent circumstances in the US most people would be shocked to hear me say that. While I have been shocked and supremely disappointed with the government’s relief effort in Louisiana, I actually have to agree, for the first time in my life, with what the Bush administration’s line: There will be plenty of time to assess the blame, for right now we need to focus on saving as many lives as possible while restoring any semblance of order. And I digress…

So there are many things in the US that I disagree with, but this is not the time for that. There are so many things in the United States that I couldn’t agree with more, why be so negative?

1. Major League Baseball

I have determined that cricket is boring as shit compared to baseball. In what kind of ridiculous sport can one game last 5 days and often end up in a draw?! Cricket! How fucking frustrating is that?! Can you believe that people consider these marathon games ending with practically no outcome “beautiful cricketing!”? As far as I can tell, there is very little strategy involved. To be fair, I’m still learning the game, and actually hope to play sometime soon but only as an act of desperation as I cannot even watch a game of baseball.

Not to mention that MLB has been incredible this season! So many great stories and tight races coming down to the last few weeks! The wildcard race in both the American and National leagues are great to watch. There’s basically a playoff game everyday, which makes it even more difficult, because, again, I can’t watch any of them. It looks like the Braves are going to take the NL East again, but I won’t be able to watch the playoffs…

I’m sorry….I promised I wouldn’t get emotional. Moving on…

2. American Football (National Football League and College Football)

So what if the Broncos were crushed by none other than the Dolphins? So what if I’m dead last in both fantasy leagues I’m participating in? So what if Notre Frickin’ Dame is ranked in the top 10? American football is the best sport on the globe by far! God bless any country that creates a sport that can be this intricate and strategic while also being so violent! And they play it in ANY weather barring a major natural disaster. Oh, how I miss it!

On the bright side, Northwestern is 2-0 and actually showing some signs of life. Too bad they’ll get destroyed when Big Ten play starts. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll take out a Michigan or an Iowa, but they’ll be below .500 at the end of the season. But what I wouldn’t give to watch a game slightly inebriated at Ryan Field after I set my alarm for 8:00 AM only to drink bad beer at Beta West?

Which leads me to the third best thing about the USA…

3. The American Fraternity

As disillusioned as I became towards the end of my involvement in the Greek community, I actually find myself missing much of it. For some reason I decided to stay on the frat listserve just so I can keep up with what’s going on with Beta at NU. After all, I figured it’s an easy way to stay connected to friends in the US. No longer being involved, these e-mails are incredible to read. Let me ask you this:

Where else do grown men spend 3 entire months doing little else than devising plans to pick up young boys, tempt them back to your residence with promises of woman and mind-altering substances, all in an effort to convince them to spend the next 3 years of their lives with you? One place: a fraternity.

Where else do you find men fighting endlessly over the particulars of a T-shirt design for shirts that have no significant bearing on anything whatsoever? Frats.

Where else will 30 affluent young men live in absolute squalor for 2 years only to look back on it as the best years of their lives? Frats…and maybe some parts of India.

Where else do men spend weeks collecting money from everyone they know for the sole purpose of getting little boys and girls drunk off their asses just so they’ll do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do sober? Actually, now that I think about it, this is a value that seems to transcend both culture and border.

On a side note, this leads me to an interesting observation. Bear with me for a sec.

Guess what I am describing below?

Dozens of men lined up to receive food of a questionable nature dished out of large metal vats. Groups of dudes walking the streets with open containers of alcohol they acquired from street side gatherings available every few blocks where other men hand out cheap, lukewarm beer and room temperature shots of bad whiskey and vodka. Drunken fools urinating on the most convenient building and taking advantage of poorly enforced laws regarding controlled substances. These thugs then go on a desperate journey in search of female companionship that more often than not will yield no results.

Would this be an accurate portrayal of an American Fraternity on a Friday evening or an average Indian street on a Friday evening? Could easily be either!!! Who knew?

Unfortunately, in India I cannot dedicate an entire Saturday to a sporting even that lasts a few hours. I can’t paint my face for no reason. I can’t argue with my best friends about the most strategic position for the 3^rd reserve keg. I can’t boost my ego talking to freshman guys who regard you little less than a god, but then join another house.
Here are a few more things that I miss about the United States:

4. Normal women
5. Paved roads, sans livestock
6. McDonalds, Wendy’s, Chipotle…even BK
7. American music/movies
8. Miller products
9. Seatbelts
10. American newspapers

That’s enough for today. Can you tell that I’ve had a little bit more free time today? It’s so nice to be done with that last project. If you want details, drop me an e-mail (nlinkon@gmail.com) or give me a call and I’ll fill you in.

Also, I have this cell phone that my company pays for, so if you want me to give you a call sometime, just drop me an e-mail and we’ll coordinate a conference call. I’m sure I can figure out a business related reason why I have to call you.

Until then, here is your moment of Zen (Winnie beating 2 Big Ten frat guys and two German dudes at beer drinking games):

Beer pong tournament!

My fraternity would be so proud. My parents would not be.

Many of American crew was Greek at our respective universities, and what is the Greek experience without a few friendly games of Beirut! So myself (Beta Theta Pi, Northwestern ’05) Matthew Newcomb (Sigma Chi, University of Michigan ’05) and Winnie Hsia (Crazy Asian Sorority, New York University ’05) along with a few independents purchased copious amounts of Kingfisher beer to host a party and we invited some of our new friends, mostly interns that we hang out with quite a bit, to come to Adarsh Gardens. By the way, you should see the looks you get when you try to purchase a WHOLE CASE OF BEER! The people at the grocery store didn't even know how to ring it up. Anyway, the only thing missing was a real Beirut table, but that never stopped us at Beta, and for God’s sake…we’re in a third world country!!! Here is the pictorial narrative of the evening:

I didn't get to my own party till late cuz I had to work till 8:15, but here's my first shot of Beiruit in 2 months!!! (we lost this game to Matt and Scotty Mac)

Then a bunch of interns showed up and it got a bit roudy...

In this picture we're trying to teach people how to play flip-cup. The Europeans didn't quite understand the concept, so they were filling their beers to the top despite our pleas. Neadless to say, we only made it through one game.
Things did get a bit out of hand as Winnie and Laura demonstrate in this picture. What a couple lushes!!!

I was put in the monkey cage due to questionable behavior. I probably deserved it.

So that's the crazy night that made the superintendent complain. Apparently we broke a couple rules, such as jumping into the pool at 3:00 AM, but it was really all in good fun. Also, Indian culture really doesn't understand how the rest of the world likes to get down, so they requested that all of us be evicted. Keep in mind there was a very tiny stereo and maybe 15 people there at the peak of the party. In any case, we cleared everything up and we will continue to reside in Adarsh for the time being.

Just wanted to mention that today is my 2 month anniversary of living in India! What do you think about that?! I'm suprised I've made it this long. Seriously. But I actually enjoy the place, so whatcha gonna do.

As my current project comes to a close, I will try to keep up with my blog better. I know I've been a bit slow lately.

That's it for now. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here...