We made it to Delhi

Good evening! We made it to Delhi. You wouldn't think things would be much different from Bangalore to Delhi, but there is quite a change! I enjoyed my experience in Bangalore and the hosts were superb!

But, after a great domestic flight, we landed in Delhi. Our hosts from QA InfoTech were there to meet us as soon as we collected our luggage. It's funny how different the two states can be. However, there's one thing in common -- our hosts are spectacular! They know how to treat their guests. Last night we arrived at the hotel about 10:00 or 10:30 PM. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner and welcoming celebration. Mukesh, who I believe is the CEO of QA IntoTech, was there to greet us. We've been treated like royalty ever since we arrived here in Delhi.

We held meetings this morning and into the afternoon. Once we left the office, we had a very nice girl (and I say girl because she's young and vibrant) treat us to a tour of downtown Delhi. We enjoyed learning more about Delhi and the various cultural differences.

To me, this is all fine and good, but I've still been longing for the everyday life of the Indians. Tonight, I think we achieved that. We were invited to Mukesh's house for dinner. All of us, plus several of Mukesh's team members (I wish I could remember all their names), joined us for dinner. One of QA Infotech's senior managent members cooked for us and the dinner was great. I think it was the lamb that was cooked so perfectly. I didn't even think I liked lamb, but the spices were just right.

Anyway, we sat around and just talked about life for a good portion of the night. We talked about values and money and the importance of family. One thing is for sure, Indian people in general, have strong family values. This is very refreshing. We all talked about our families and how much they mean to us. We talked about the value of money vs. the value of wealth. Oh, what great conversations we had. Although all of hosts are considered upper class here in India, they have a genuine concern for their own. They are so proud of their country, yet even the wealthy admit that the poverty levels are difficult to overlook. And, even if I wasn't sitting side-by-side with the ones living in tents or without employment, I felt a certain sense of connection.

When I returned to my room, I tried to connect to the Internet. Afer I realized that I needed a special sign-in and password, I called the front desk. Again, they were most accomodating. Five minutes later they called me back with a username and password to log in. But, I only have one hour, so I beter make the best of it.

My trip to India has been so refreshing. Our hosts have been way better than I would have ever imagined. We have seen some very different ways of life and the overall experience has been amazing.

This is probably the last time I will get a chance to write to the blog as we are leaving tomorrow for Agra. We are then getting up at 5:00 AM to tour the Taj Mahal on Saturday morning. We will spend all of Saturday touring around and then we fly out of Delhi on Saturday night after mightnight. Hopefully, I'll be so tired that I'll be able to fall asleep on the flights home. We do have a 5-hour layover in France, but that's after the first 12-hour leg of the flight.

As I think about this experience again I am humbled. I appreciate the luxuries of home, yet I long for the same sense of family values and pride that my partners here in India have shown me. I feel as though I have made lasting friendships with many of these people. The project manager from Ascendum and I have becomes buddies. She understands my odd sense of humor and undoutedly we will share a bond that can do nothing but enhance our working relationship.

Life here in Delhi is different - there's more room here, so the traffic is not quite as crazy. Don't get me wrong, there's still traffic, but it's a little bit more organized chaos. Picutures can't describe the value of a trip like this. Unfortunately, at 1:00 AM, my words can't do justice either.

All I can say at this point is...."If you ever get an opportunity to travel to India, don't say No." It's not perfect here; you'll see things that truly upset you. But, you'll also meet people who make you understand the important things in life.

Gotta run before I get disconnected. Until I can do a good recap, please take care of yourself and your families. I am safe and looking foward to returning home to see my own family!

Next Stop Delhi

Hello again and sorry for the delay! It's odd how days run into nights and nights run into the next day and I just can't seem to get my thoughts written down. So much has happened. After a busy Saturday, we took all day Sunday to rest and recuperate. I had a difficult time sleeping on Sunday night because I had napped off and on all day. Monday we worked more on MicroType. Each day we review a different section of the program; we talk about every piece of functionality and we analyze every move that the programming team has made. It's fun to be in the "thick" of the development, but the intricate details are overwhelming at times. I can't seem to multi-task at all during these meetings because I am so focused on what we're seeing that my mind cannot go in any other direction. Today, we were trying to share photos back and forth and I couldn't even do that. I had to wait until we took a break to copy the files. It's just pretty intense.

Last night we went to downtown Bangalore (I think??). We went to a mall to shop after work. I found just a couple of items. There were lots of touristy gifts, but I just couldn't decide. Sandlewood, sugar cane, bamboo and lots of cultural items. I did buy a pretty Indian shirt that I wore into the office today. I was starting to feel a little out of place. Jane had bought one earlier and had worn it to the office and Liz dresses the part almost every day. I've pretty much stuck to my standard "black and white" wardrobe.

Tonight we went to another mall to shop (Garuda Mall). I found some clever throw pillow covers that were very inexpensive and they looked like fun so I bought several. More than the shopping, I enjoy people-watching. The clerks in the stores are very courteous and accomodating. One interesting thing....Before I could even enter the mall tonight, I had to go through security. Once I walked through the checkpoint, I thought I was good to go. But, that wasn't true. Before I could REALLY enter the mall, I had to show my Passport and Visa. The security here is very tight. Entering the shopping mall is like going through the airport. And when you enter a new store, you must check your previous purchases at the door. They give you a number and you retrieve your packages on the way out. Like everyplace else in Bangalore, there are just SO many people there. There are taxis lined up outside the mall - at least 50 of them waiting to take people to their next destination.

Enough about shopping....


My niece Katie, who travels quite a bit, has this "thing" about taking photographs of foreign bathrooms. She asked me to take some pictures of different restrooms in India. Initially I thought this was a rather odd request. Although odd, it has proven to be quite comical. I wanted to share this photo with you of a restroom we encountered on our tourist trip to MySore on Saturday. We stopped at a nice little place for breakfast and this is a picture of the bathroom. The problem is, when you gotta go, you gotta go! It's just a good thing we were prepared for this with our own toilet paper, sanitary sprays, etc. Western-style bathrooms are available, but only in select locations. At the office at Ascendum, we use what is called the Executive Washroom. It's nothing fancy, but it is equipped, if you know what I mean. And, I don't want to go too "over the top," but each day on the way to the office, we see at least 3-4 other types of restrooms. The men walk over to the side of the road and there you have it! Regardless of where they are, they find a spot. No, I won't post any photographs of that.

I know I'm rambling, but I have one other interesting story......There's a window right near the desk in my room. Right outside, there's a new building being constructed. Each morning as I am preparing for work, I get enjoyment out of watching my neighbors. Right now, it's mainly just the foundation of the building. Underneath the structure lives a family. I can't quite figure out how many live there, but there are quite a few. They grab the hose (used for construction) and shower with it every morning. I watch as laundry gets washed and hung out to dry on the steel beams. A young boy walks out to the dirt mound and brushes his teeth; another young child carries a bucket of water up the hill and back down. I'm not sure why. A few minutes later the construction crew arrives and they pull the hose back up to the second-story framework. These workers dress in shorts and flip-flops. No protective gear is worn. They climb up on one small beam and begin piecing together the next set of beams. One guy climbs out onto a beam (a thin beam) and just starts hammering away. Someone below hands him another metal rod and he positions it across. They've made good progress since I've been here, so somehow it's effective. The first time I watched as they climbed up so high, I was a little nervous. But, like the Bangalore traffic, you get used to this way of life and learn to move on. All in all, it's a humbling experience. The materialistic, fast-paced way of life can make you forget about the simple pleasures. I think I'll miss my neighbors when I leave Bangalore.

Until next time, as Nancy Grace says "Goodnight, my friends and thank you for listening."

More news and highlights

Hello again from India! Oh, it's been so tough to keep you posted on everything that's going on. The days have been long and we've been very busy. Our hosts here really don't believe much in "down time." They just want us to experience everything we can in our stay in their country. They are so proud.

Today we were able to have the entire day to ourselves. However, catching up on much needed sleep and just doing nothing has been an amazing fresher for me! I am not one to go, go, go every minute of the day. It's just difficult to be "ON" at all hours of the day and night. I think it's easier in familar surroundings....

If you haven't visited Jane's blog, you should (http://janesindiatrip.blogspot.com/). She's really good at providing the details, that undoubtedly I will miss. Now, on to some other details.....

TRAFFIC - This seems to be a recurring theme with me. Anway, I just wanted to post a quick photo to show you what I mean. This is a two-lane road. Check out the number of cars; I'm still trying to figure out how this is even possible!

PEOPLE - My daugther asked me about the people in India. "Are they friendly?" "Are they nice?" "How do they treat you?" Well, our hosts are more than friendly and nice. They have been treating us like royalty. Everywhere we go, they take care of us. We visited MySore and they treated us the entire sight-seeing trip. As you might expect, there are beggars and people just trying to sell things at these kinds of tourist locations. Our hosts look out for us so that we're not "scammed" in any way. They protect us and make sure that we don't walk in front of moving vehicles (which of course, I did) and they just genuinely provide much needed companionship. They are able to explain the intracacies of the Indian culture. For example, at breakfast the other morning, our meal was served on a Banana Leaf. This, I'm told, is just a decorative element. But, it was something I had never seen. We saw lots of other tourists, most of them from India though. We captured some good photos of families. The kids were delighted to have their photos taken and just seemed enamered by Americans! We definitely stand out as being different. Many of the children would just point and laugh. But, if you smile at them and approach them, they are happy to be in your company. Just like at home, there are those that are friendly and those that look at you like you don't belong. For the most part though, the people are friendly, polite, and nice.

NEWS - Today I tried to watch some news to catch up with what's been going on here and in the U.S. I try to read the newspaper to interpret what I can. So, last week when I mentioned the slow internet connections and short power outages, now I know a little more about that. Apparently, some of the major businesses have not been paying their electric bills. This has led to a major shortage. In addition, major fog in the area has settled on transmission lines. And, in the world of sports, Cricket is huge here. These games will last for hours and hours (I think sometimes up to 8 hours). I watched briefly and it reminds me of a combination of bowling, baseball and soccer. I'm sure that's not right, but that's how I relate. I just can't imagine going to a game; I don't think I could watch that long. And, in the U.S., at least I know that the debate went on as planned and the stock market is still pretty much a mess. More importantly though, I read that Jessica Simpson is planning to have at least 6 kids with Tony Romo and that Madonna and Guy Richie are calling it quits. Interesting how this kind of news travels.....

Now, it's getting late and we have meetings planned for all day tomorrow. I better get some rest so I can be "ON" in the morning.

Playing Catch-Up - Monday through Wednesday

OK, I've been terribly neligent in posting to my blog. And, tonight I've wasted too much time trying to figure out how to post a slide show of pictures. This photo is the Ascendum Keyboarding Team that we came all the way across the world to see. They are a talented bunch. In our first day at the office, we met with the entire team and then got right down to business.

Now, let's catch up on some other details of the trip.......

TRAFFIC - Words can't even explain it. If you've ever complained about traffic in your home town, you ought to experience the excitement in India. When you're out and about all you'll hear are horns, horns, and more horns. If you rent a car or a taxi, a driver comes along with it. It's a good thing. There are inches between cars and most of the time you just hold your breath hoping that you aren't involved in a side-swiping or head-on collision. I don't know how they manage to drive like this. Our drivers, I'm told, have been good for the most part. I'd hate to get a bad one. Jane and I sit in the back and just cringe. I get my laughs when Jane lets out a big yelp! It's either laugh or have a myocardial infarction on the spot. I figure laughing is safer. Each day our driver has taken a different route to the office. That's OK, but I've been anxious to see some of the sites that we saw the first day, like the cow in the median and the schoolhouse behind gates. Who knows, maybe tomorrow's driver will take that route. You just never know.

SLEEP - Getting used to a huge time difference like this is taxing on your body. Upon arrival in Bangalore, I slept most of the day Sunday. I needed it. I took a Tylenol PM that night to try to get sleep, but that didn't work out. I sent an email at 3:00 AM to my collegaue, Jane. To my surprise, she answered right away. Neither one of us could sleep. I managed to stay awake all day for our meetings, but by Monday night I was ready for some rest. I didn't need any Tylenol PM this time. I crashed out about midnight and slept straight through until about 6:00 or 6:30. Thank goodness, I was back on track. Hopefully this means, I'm now adjusted to Bangalore time. Liz tells me I need to change my watch, but I refuse. I just feel better knowing what time it is in Cincinnati. In addition, I've been ready to leave for the office EARLY every morning -- probably because by the time I figure out the calculations, I'm all ready to go. As most of you know, I'm not an early riser, so this is working out just fine for me. I wish I could say the same for Jane. I think she's been struggling to get much sleep at all.

HOUSE-KEEPING and ROOM SERVICE - Another interesting topic....The rooms here are fine and they come and clean every morning. But, I've ordered room service coffee several times and it seems like the bill is different each time. When I call in my order, they ask questions and most of the time, I can't seem to understand, so I just say "Yes." This morning, when my coffee was delivered I had a small pot of coffee with the same size pot of warm milk. I think I messed up when I said I wanted some cream. And, since I packed so light for this trip, I sent laundry out this morning. So tonight, the phone rings. Again, I don't understand. Something about laundry...I just say "Yes." Next thing you know, my phone rings and Jane says she received the same call. Neither of us can figure out what they said. "Do we need to go pick it up? Are they coming to deliver it now? " We just don't know. So, we traipse down to the lobby and try to get clearer communications from the front desk. As it turns out, a gentleman walks by with a bunch of clean laundry and I see Jane's room number on one of the bags. That answers that. We race back upstairs. We sit outside our rooms waiting for it to arrive.

FOOD- I've tried Indian food and I really liked it. I thought this would be the easy part. I'm not a picky eater so this should go smoothly. After 4 days of Indian food, I'm debating whether or not I still like it. Everything starts to taste the same and some of it isn't really agreeing with my stomach. Desserts are served with every meal and since I'm not much for dessert, I just wind up eating whatever chicken dish is served. Oh, a hamburger would be good about now. That'll be a while - no beef here. Just the cows in the median, that's it.

ELECTRICITY AND INTERNET CONNECTIONS - It's interesting that Ascendum is located in Electronic City. And, our hotel is not very far from their office. Randomly throughout the day, we experience outages. The lights will flicker and you'll lose an internet connection. I also learned that if I remove my card from the slot in the room at the hotel, it turns off all electricity. The card monitors whether or not you're in the room and can use electricity. If the card isn't in the slot, then none of the electricity will work. I learned this the first day when I thought I blew a socket or something -- my hair dryer wouldn't work, my computer shut down, and none of the lights would go on. I was getting ready to complain about the situation when it dawned on me that I didn't return my room card to the slot. No electricity for you Missy!!! Conserving electricity is OK; I just wish I'd known how it worked. Now I know, but that hasn't seemed to stop the flickering. Lights have flickered several times tonight already. And yes, my card is in the slot.

SCENERY - It's just too difficult to describe in words. I've taken lots of pictures and will create an electronic photo album when I return. There is beauty in India, but you see so many impoverished people. Certainly makes you appreciate the infastructure and luxuries we have in the US. But, the lifestyle here seems fine for most and the people seem completely satisfied. I guess it's all in what you get used to.

Enough from me....My sleeping pattern is going to take a beating tonight. It's almost 2:00 AM here in Bangalore and I've got to get some sleep. I'm expecting a long and intense day tomorrow.

Sunday's Events

Namaste! Well, I made it safe and sound. The flights were good; Jane and I raced to catch our connection in Paris. We only had about 5 minutes to spare, but we made it. That's all that counts. They say that jet leg will get you on this trip and I can certainly attest to that. I slept most of the day away and was a bit annoyed with myself. But, tomorrow's a new day and I'm looking forward to it. Liz and Jim have traveled half way around India already and they are still vibrant as ever, so I know I can do it too. Jane and I are finding our way and enjoying every minute. We had a nice Indian dinner this evening with Liz, Jim, Parminder and Sutapa; and both Jane and I were good and ate with our right hands. You know, we've been practicing for a few days now. Being right-handed doesn't come easily to either one of us. If you haven't seen Jane's blog, check it out. She's a much better writer than I am and will problaby provide better details (http://janesindiatrip.blogspot.com/). I've been more worried about the gadgets. Check out the time clock by scrolling on my blog. I thought you might like to know the time difference; it's something I'm not quite used to yet. I'm working on it.

Sally's India Trip

Welcome to my blog. Here's where I'll try to keep up-to-date with my travels and experiences in India. Stop by and I'll try to let you know what's happening.