One Fair Down...

...many to go.

Finally, I am better able to capture what these fairs are like, now that I have a little digi-cam with video. I took two shots. The first is walking throught the hallways about an hour before the fair begins, on my way to the ballroom to set up my booth. As you can see, it is already quite crowded.



The second was taken about two hours into the four hour fair. This is about as busy as this event got for us, which is pretty sparse relative to some fairs that we have. I've seen ballrooms this size so full of Indian students that you could walk from one side to the other, on their heads. The two ladies next to me are the rep from one of the SUNYs and her daughter, who is a student there.



Tomorrow we have interview sessions in the morning. I am expecting a few students to come in and turn in applications. The group checks out in the afternoon and fly to Ahmedabad - a city I am well aquainted with, but have no love for. The hotel staff here at the Taj Palace will probably be glad to see me go, due to my total unwillingness to let them serve me. Carrying my box of materials from my room to the ballroom where the fair would take place, I had to shoo away no less than five hotel employees trying to take my box and carry it for me. I have not let the cleaning crew into my room once. It really, really bothers them. Last night one of them tried to follow me in the door - "Please, sir. Please, sir." I had to close the door on him. Otherwise he would have been in there straightening up for me. Hate that.