Bengaluru, India

All

After Tea with the Queen in London, I began my 9 hour journey to Bangalore, India. During dinner I was introduced to some new Indian spices and side dishes, which the nice lady next to me did her best to tell me what I should eat them with. Again I was able to sleep for a majority of the time which I think may have actually helped with the jet lag. We landed at approximately 5:15 am on Monday, November 10, 2008. From the stories I have heard about India I did not have high hopes for the condition of the airport. Remarkably it reminds me of Heathrow, minus the Ferrari in the lobby. After checking through customs, and gathering my luggage (which all arrived in one piece) I headed out the door to hopefully find a man with my name on a sign. Once found, he helped me cart my luggage to the cab, a white Tata Indica which reminds me of a Geo Metro.

During the trip to the Hotel (40 kilometers away) I saw many unusual things. First being the traffic, cars and bicycles, there everywhere. Cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles are all very small, all right-side driven, all on the wrong side of the road (except for the one guy on the moped we almost hit). I also have not figured out why they bother to draw street lines as we never stayed within them for more than 30 seconds. Constantly switching lanes, and darting in between traffic. Along the way I saw what appeared to be the left-over’s from a car driving off the road. When I asked the driver if that is truly what it was he pulled over and asked if I would like to get out and look….I passed. The second is men urinating. Over here when you have to use the restroom you pull the car over and go to the bathroom. Perfect for those long drives to work, or a weekend road trip. I could not help myself and I continued to ask the driver many questions. Every answer was followed by the word “sir”, something I am not used to.

The buildings outside of the city appear very rundown, similar to what you would find out side Cancun, Mexico. Viewing the hotel from the outside many of us would have left without walking in, but upon entering you can see why it is a 5 star hotel. Peering off my balcony, which overlooks the pool, I can see many building in the distance. Well somewhat, it is overcast and I am yet to determine if I brought the London fog, or the New York Smog. I know which one I am guessing.

This afternoon I will call my driver on his mobile and tell him what time to pick me up tomorrow morning. Guess I should have figured out where I am supposed to go tomorrow morning before I left the states huh? I am now officially winging it. At this point all is well, and I will wrap up my second of many letters home. Before exploring the rest of the hotel, I am going to take a shower and a short nap.

……

After my nap I ventured down to the lobby hoping someone would show me how to dial the Cerner Office. After the quick lesson I phoned Rachel (my new Director) and she offered to come show me around town. Her and her driver met me in the lobby and drove me to my new apartment. I will save the comments until I see the inside. After the apartment she showed me where I can buy food, and the types/brands of food that she buys. At each place we would get out and walk around and the driver would park and sit. When we left the store she would phone him and he would pick us up. It is going to take some getting used to, but I will try my best to figure it out J. After the shopping I got to see 1 of the 2 India offices, we had to pick up my cell phone. I met a bunch of people whose names I will not remember. At this point it is now 5pm and I am starving. These lead us to many problems as most restaurants do not serve food until 7pm or later. Apparently it is very common for the IT sector to show up at work 9ish-10ish, and work until 7ish. The days of me being at my desk by 7am are going to change real quick. We went to the Taj, another 5 star resort, as they cater to people who are not adjusted to their eating habits. Rachel picked out some of her favorite Indian dishes and ordered for us. Several entrees, 6 beers, and a soon to be expensed 3400 RS check ($72 I think) I was exhausted. Both her and I are very amazed at how well I did over coming jet lag. Hopefully tomorrow does not kick me. I will get the keys to my apartment mid-morning tomorrow, which I am told is 11-12ish, and then head into the 2^nd office.

As I sit here writing this email, I am overlooking the canopy and city from the 7^th floor of my hotel room. For some unknown reason there are random fireworks going off all around. Similar to the days leading up to or following the 4th of July. I will ask why at work tomorrow…..goofy.

Since I am yet to determine how they say goodbye in Indian I will stick with goodnight from me and good morning to you.

Blake

PS – Bengaluru is Indian for Bangalore.