Arun's Office Party

Arun’s Office Party was an experience like none-other. Let’s just say that there would be NO way it would have passed any kind of HR policy-book in the US!

The event was held at a restaurant along the coast- and we had the entire second floor booked for the party. The banquet tables were covered with food: amazing seafood items- sushi, salmon, cerviche, seafood salads. Plates and plates! What we didn’t realize is that those were just the appetizers. We ate our fill from about 7-8pm … only to realize that main courses were eventually served at 10:30. Sirloins, salmon, and other hot-foods were served until about midnight. That’s when desserts hit the table. It was basically a 5 hour feast!

And the entertainment was interspersed with the meal. This was no American-style dinner we were used to…. you know… the table is set with iced tea, water, and a salad (dessert already sitting at the table)… then the main course arrives on hot plates all the while the speeches and entertainment unfold. Then everything is wrapped up neatly- process-oriented- efficient.

This was something else entirely! There were fireworks displays, a singer, a gymnastics routine… and there were interactive trivia games, hamster races (yeah, PETA would have a fit!) and THEN… a painting-competition! Only- it was body-painting…. On two bikini-clad women! They were instructed to paint on them, and then the crowd had to cheer for the individual who was the most creative.
Now, don’t you worry. It was equal opportunity. Because about a half-hour later, there was another event! Peeling stickers off of a speedo-clad muscle man! They had to make a picture with these stickers, and once again- the crowd was instructed to cheer for the winner. I have a feeling most of the women were cheering for the body-builder!

The DJ would play songs in segments throughout the night. So basically the evening went something like this:

Eat...Speech....Nibble....Dance..........Fireworks....Eat ....Trivia Game....Eat....Hamster Race....Dance ...Nibble...... Paint Bikini-clad Women....Eat....Dance......Magician...Eat..... Speedo-Man....Dance......Eat Dinner.... dance......Dessert....

And finally, we hopped into the hired-limos to head back home!

Whew! What an evening!!