Although she once shunned drinking and her curfew at home was 9 p.m. Roopa now frequents a pub called Geoffrey's, where she enjoys dry martinis and rum, and The club, a suburban disco. After sending money home to her parents, she has enough left over to spend on imported cosmetics, jeans, a cell phone, and dinner at an American chain restaurant. Roopa confesses that she is seeing someone" but that her parents would disapprove, adding"it is difficult to talk to India parents about things like boyfriends." She said she sometimes envies her callers' lives but that she hopes her job will help her succeed. "I may be a small-town girl, but there is no way I'm going back to Mysore after this," she said. Many observers wonder whether Asia can embrace modernization and yet retain traditional values.