Astounding - it took FORTY HOURS door-to-door to get home! I'm not a happy camper.
Going back, let me recap.
Thursday morning Chris Kozak came into the office celebrating the fact of having used an Eastern commode. A small victory for Chris. Sadly later that day he developed a serious and painful case of diarrhea.
Training Thursday and Friday wrapped up the whole two weeks. We presented gifts to Rixt and Chris, had ice cream on Friday, and a few of us prepared to leave.
Heading from Pune to Mumbai were Chris Kozak, Gautam Ramamurthy, and Manish Chakravarty, along with our escort Sachin and our driver. We knew we were in for a long drive, and poor Chris was still in bad shape.
Our car was due at 6pm, then at 7pm, then finally arrived around 7:30pm. We put the large suitcases on the top, and the smaller items inside, where we all just barely fit.
And then I asked Chris to tell us the story of his Eastern commode experience.
Warning: some may find the following story distasteful!
On Wednesday evening, Chris and Gautam and Manish and several others went to a Rajisthani village where they rode a camel and ate strange stuff. Chris found himself - umm - moved to action and decided it was time to experience an Eastern commode in all its glory.
For background, you should know that someone had told Chris about Eastern commodes before we went to India. He was told that you do your business, then use your bare left hand to wipe yourself, then use water (bucket or faucet) to rinse off your hand. This is precisely what he did.
He proceeded to tell us the full story, including details like using his fingernails to scrape his bottom to get all the - umm - stuff off.
As he told us his story, Sachin, Gautam, and Manish and I fell into total hysterical laughing. The fellows explained that this is not exactly the way it is done, and questioned why Chris would believe that a substantial portion of the world would stick their hands in their own feces every day!
The story, questions, gibes, and laughter went on for 90 minutes. Poor Chris took it well, particularly given that he was still suffering from a painful case of diarrhea.
I laughed so hard and long that I was in pain.
About 2 hours into the trip, we stopped at a mall to use the washrooms (Chris couldn't quite get himself to do so) and get something to eat. Several of us went to McDonald's and got chicken burgers - Chris had a Maharajah Mac. Bad idea.
About one hour later, Chris told us that he now felt like he had to void from BOTH ends, and we shouldn't talk to him so he could concentrate on not vomiting.
We finally arrived at the airport, where the traffic was unbelievable - nearly midnight on a Friday night, and it was bumper-to-bumper. As soon as we could stop, Chris was out of the car, the driver got his bag down, and Chris hustled toward the terminal and a toilet.
I caught up with him a bit later, and he was doing a little bit better, but not much.
We made our way through the process, and found ourselves outside the immigration entrance. Chris sat on the floor to fill out his form and rest his gut. After a few minutes he looked up at me and said "I've got to find a restroom right now!"
He got up, took about six steps, stopped, bent over, and proceeded to empty his guts onto the floor several times. The last time I could see blood in his vomit. It was scary.
He finally was able to hobble down the hall to a restroom, where he vomited some more.
We made it into the terminal, got him some more water (into which he mixed some rehydration stuff), and he was able to lie down and get some sleep.
Hours later, we arrived in Frankfurt. Chris was looking a bit gray, but was mobile. We parted ways there, him to Detroit, me to Chicago and then Austin.
I called Chris today (Sunday). He said he was feeling better, as he'd gone out the afternoon before to get a couple of hamburgers. While I question his judgment, I'm not responsible for him.
I got home LATE last night, feeling numb both physically and mentally. Today's no better, and I'm starting to sweat and my joints are aching. Hopefully this won't last long.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Time Flies
Amazing that it 's Wednesday evening already. I hardly remember earlier parts of the week.
Monday was training, then back to the hotel with Gautam. Gautam had flown to his family's home in Bangalore for the weekend, and his return flight was, basically, a red-eye. So he was pretty exhausted. He went up for a nap, and I ran out to do some errands (mostly shopping, of course, plus getting some more Strepsils - throat lozenges). I called Gautam later, and we had dinner together and both got an early night.
Tuesday, more training. Good stuff in training. But it was the evening that was special - I went to my friend Ashish Shah's home for dinner, seeing his son Aman again and meeting his wife Amisha (I hope I'm spelling it right). Ashish picked me up at the ThoughtWorks office around 7pm. I can't really tell you where we went, partially because I have no idea %^}, and mostly because Ashish and I talked the whole time!
They live in a lovely apartment across Pune from here. It was originally one apartment, then Ashish's father purchased them and combined them. It's quite spacious, with several bedrooms, a kitchen (larger than mine in Austin!), and more. I had time with Amisha while Ashish put Amar to bed, so was able to learn more about her and get to know her a bit.
Dinner was not until almost 11pm, after munching on corn balls for a while, as Ashish and I chatted. Ashish made several different fruit drinks for me that are made from concentrated syrup that is made from fresh fruit which is mashed, cooked, reduced, and sweetened. You pour it in a glass and add water. While that all sounds familiar, I had mango, guava, and cool coconut and they were all quite tasty.
Ashish drove me home after dinner, stopping at a pharmacy-like place (I don't know what to call them, but they're like small drug stores where you can get anything) to pick up some antibiotics for me. You see, my throat has still been a bit sore, and I've been coughing at night and not sleeping well. So Ashish recommended this antibiotic that his doctor gives him. I called my doctor's office (it was about 9pm here at the time, so 10:30am there) and left a message. Fortunately, Ashish has a California phone number (technical magic!), so my doctor's nurse was easily able to call me back and confirm that that particular antibiotic should be safe for me.
Ashish dropped me off around midnight, and I went to bed as quickly as I could.
This morning, I took my first of three doses of the antibiotic, and I'm hopeful that I'll get this cleared up before leaving on Friday evening.
Today was more training, plus we ordered in some Italian food for lunch. I admit it. I'm getting a bit overloaded on Indian food, and the break was quite pleasant.
The group was going out to some place that is a restaurant and rides and stuff - I was just too tired after last night - late night, coughing, sleeping poorly - so I begged off and came back to the hotel. I went out to do my last (really, my LAST) shopping, and will be going down to get some dinner shortly.
Then early to bed.
I'm really enjoying India, in spite of my sore throat.
Monday was training, then back to the hotel with Gautam. Gautam had flown to his family's home in Bangalore for the weekend, and his return flight was, basically, a red-eye. So he was pretty exhausted. He went up for a nap, and I ran out to do some errands (mostly shopping, of course, plus getting some more Strepsils - throat lozenges). I called Gautam later, and we had dinner together and both got an early night.
Tuesday, more training. Good stuff in training. But it was the evening that was special - I went to my friend Ashish Shah's home for dinner, seeing his son Aman again and meeting his wife Amisha (I hope I'm spelling it right). Ashish picked me up at the ThoughtWorks office around 7pm. I can't really tell you where we went, partially because I have no idea %^}, and mostly because Ashish and I talked the whole time!
They live in a lovely apartment across Pune from here. It was originally one apartment, then Ashish's father purchased them and combined them. It's quite spacious, with several bedrooms, a kitchen (larger than mine in Austin!), and more. I had time with Amisha while Ashish put Amar to bed, so was able to learn more about her and get to know her a bit.
Dinner was not until almost 11pm, after munching on corn balls for a while, as Ashish and I chatted. Ashish made several different fruit drinks for me that are made from concentrated syrup that is made from fresh fruit which is mashed, cooked, reduced, and sweetened. You pour it in a glass and add water. While that all sounds familiar, I had mango, guava, and cool coconut and they were all quite tasty.
Ashish drove me home after dinner, stopping at a pharmacy-like place (I don't know what to call them, but they're like small drug stores where you can get anything) to pick up some antibiotics for me. You see, my throat has still been a bit sore, and I've been coughing at night and not sleeping well. So Ashish recommended this antibiotic that his doctor gives him. I called my doctor's office (it was about 9pm here at the time, so 10:30am there) and left a message. Fortunately, Ashish has a California phone number (technical magic!), so my doctor's nurse was easily able to call me back and confirm that that particular antibiotic should be safe for me.
Ashish dropped me off around midnight, and I went to bed as quickly as I could.
This morning, I took my first of three doses of the antibiotic, and I'm hopeful that I'll get this cleared up before leaving on Friday evening.
Today was more training, plus we ordered in some Italian food for lunch. I admit it. I'm getting a bit overloaded on Indian food, and the break was quite pleasant.
The group was going out to some place that is a restaurant and rides and stuff - I was just too tired after last night - late night, coughing, sleeping poorly - so I begged off and came back to the hotel. I went out to do my last (really, my LAST) shopping, and will be going down to get some dinner shortly.
Then early to bed.
I'm really enjoying India, in spite of my sore throat.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Shopping Day
Today was a shopping day.
I set out this morning at about 11ish, expecting to meet up with Rixt and Chris and my fellow Immersees. I walked down Koregaon Park Road, which is one block from my hotel (after I wind my way out of the spiral), and found a number of things I wanted.
I headed back to the German Bakery, which is on the corner of Koregaon Park Road and Koregaon Alley A, which leads back toward my hotel. When I got there, no one was there, which surprised me. Then I ran into Chris (the trainer), who told me the time had been changed to 1:30 because the others had stayed up until about 3am and weren’t moving yet. So I walked upstairs to the Ayurvedic (sp?) clinic where he had a massage and I had a chat with Diane from NYC and Deborah from NJ. Afterward, we stopped in the Dragon shop on the way out, and I bought a few more things. So I went back to the hotel to drop off the things I’d bought, while the others finally showed up.
We all gathered together at the German Bakery, and headed off to FabIndia – primarily a clothing store, where I got the last few things I’d wanted.
From there, we wandered over to a little shop, and then Rixt and I headed back to Pune Central where I went to the grocery department on the top floor looking for curry sauce. I found a few things that might do. We’ll see. Then Rixt left, and I went and bought another suitcase to bring back all the goodies I bought (many of which are for for my wife and kids).
I went and treated myself to a massage – 90 minutes for INR 1200 ($30!!!!), then went and had dinner with Chris the trainer, Rixt, and Rixt’s boyfriend Lalit at a restaurant named Shisha (hookah). We sat on a “sofa” - a wooden platform with a carpet on top. We smoked a flavored hookah, ate some Indian food, and had a lovely time.
I got back here about 9:30ish, took another shower (I think I’ll take a shower before bed here from now on, as well as one in the morning), and put away all the stuff I bought.
Oh - and today was "people photography day" for me - lots of photos of kids and people along the streets and vendors and the like. I'll upload those soon, too.
And that’s it for Sunday!
I set out this morning at about 11ish, expecting to meet up with Rixt and Chris and my fellow Immersees. I walked down Koregaon Park Road, which is one block from my hotel (after I wind my way out of the spiral), and found a number of things I wanted.
I headed back to the German Bakery, which is on the corner of Koregaon Park Road and Koregaon Alley A, which leads back toward my hotel. When I got there, no one was there, which surprised me. Then I ran into Chris (the trainer), who told me the time had been changed to 1:30 because the others had stayed up until about 3am and weren’t moving yet. So I walked upstairs to the Ayurvedic (sp?) clinic where he had a massage and I had a chat with Diane from NYC and Deborah from NJ. Afterward, we stopped in the Dragon shop on the way out, and I bought a few more things. So I went back to the hotel to drop off the things I’d bought, while the others finally showed up.
We all gathered together at the German Bakery, and headed off to FabIndia – primarily a clothing store, where I got the last few things I’d wanted.
From there, we wandered over to a little shop, and then Rixt and I headed back to Pune Central where I went to the grocery department on the top floor looking for curry sauce. I found a few things that might do. We’ll see. Then Rixt left, and I went and bought another suitcase to bring back all the goodies I bought (many of which are for for my wife and kids).
I went and treated myself to a massage – 90 minutes for INR 1200 ($30!!!!), then went and had dinner with Chris the trainer, Rixt, and Rixt’s boyfriend Lalit at a restaurant named Shisha (hookah). We sat on a “sofa” - a wooden platform with a carpet on top. We smoked a flavored hookah, ate some Indian food, and had a lovely time.
I got back here about 9:30ish, took another shower (I think I’ll take a shower before bed here from now on, as well as one in the morning), and put away all the stuff I bought.
Oh - and today was "people photography day" for me - lots of photos of kids and people along the streets and vendors and the like. I'll upload those soon, too.
And that’s it for Sunday!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Climbing the Mountain
This might be a long one, since so much happened today. %^}
The day started later than usual, since it’s Saturday. I got up, and discovered that my toilet wouldn’t flush, and there was very little water pressure in the sink. I called downstairs, they sent up one of the fellows (houseboys?), and he said oh yes everything is okay – the water got turned off to the toilet.
I did some email and stuff, then went to take a shower. The pressure was so low that it wouldn’t even keep the button thingie out so I could take a shower. And it would have been a cold shower, because there was no hot water. I just got ready as best I could (ugh), went downstairs, and learned that “we have a problem with the water”. Yeah, no kidding! %^}
Breakfast was the usual – masala omelet, white toast, cup of tea. Then I came back to my room to take my pills, grab my camera, tripod, and a couple of lenses, and catch an auto (rick, rickshaw) by myself for the first time to go to the office where we were all to meet and get on our bus for our outing.
“IBM Tower” (the complex where the TW office is, also houses a building that all IBM, and is known as the IBM Tower)
“30 rupees”
“20” (I know this, having taken a rick there every day)
“25”
“20” (start to walk away)
“Okay – you sit please”
Half way there he says something about “go back empty”. I gave him 25 after all, just because 5 rupees is like 12 cents and what the heck.
We all arrived (although some had to spend a bit of time in the bathroom – they’re all suffering from flu, stomach problems, etc), got on the bus, and off we went. Two hour drive to go 30km (about 20 miles) because we had to drive through the center of Pune to get there.
We passed the temple I now think of as the Temple of Stolen Shoes along the way. %^}
We finally got there, and got off the bus and prepared to start our “trek”. I’d been thinking it would be a leisurely stroll through the Indian countryside up to the fort. Oh, was I ever wrong. Steep, hot, humid, and did I mention steep? We were told it would take about 1.5 – 2 hours. And it did. And the killer is that at any moment in time, you have two choices: go up or go back down. There’s no “I quit”, because you’re in the middle of a rocky, muddy, sometimes a bit close to the edge trail that seems to go on forever.
It was a freakin' mountain. Maybe a small mountain, but a mountain. My new friend Xu Wei (shoe way) walked with me, and insisted on carrying my camera and tripod much of the way (he treats me with great respect as I’ve been teaching him English, including carefully helping him with his pronunciation)(he lives in Beijing with his wife, and used to climb 15 floors to his office every day just because he liked to). Then he tried to insist on carrying my sling pack, and I wouldn’t let him. He was really quite solicitous, and it was nice. I was totally wasted about half way up. The last time I was that hot, sweaty, and exhausted was the time I did four masters karate seminars in one day, the day before a karate tournament.
Each time there was a step up onto a rock (as opposed to just trail), I’d stop, stare at it for a moment, work up my energy and will, and step up. It was work. I’m proud of myself that I did it, and in retrospect would have been just as happy to ride the bus up. Sigh.
Xu Wei: “Maybe you need a rest, Doc”
Xu Wei: “Let me carry bag, Doc”
Xu Wei: “Maybe walk slow, take rests, Doc – better that way”
Me: “Yes, mother”
He got the humor. %^}
We finally got to the top of the trail, where we found a stone wall, and a bunch of people milling and walking. I looked to my right and realized that we had to climb 100 or more steps to get up to the fort. It was almost enough to break me, but it didn’t! Up we went, and finally got to the scenic part, which was quite spectacular (other than the mist and smog and such).
I took pictures with my friends, then went off a little ways to take more pictures from a small promontory which promised an excellent view. I asked Xu Wei to take care of my bag for me.
So there I went to take pictures, including of some of the locals. And it started to rain. So I grabbed camera and tripod and started moving toward where I’d left the others.
Of course – no doubt you’ve guessed – they weren’t there. So I didn’t have my bag to put my camera in, didn’t have anything to cover it with, so started moving quickly to the nearest shelter – an archway along the path, about 100 paces away. I huddled there for a bit with some others. The rain eased to something like a stiff drizzle, so I started moving again. The rain became harder, and I moved as rapidly as I reasonably could to the next inadequate shelter. This continued until I got to the parking area.
I was totally soaked through by then, and had done my best to shield my camera from the rain. I looked around, didn’t see anyone I knew, walked around these rough sort of covered areas, and then went a bit further where I found the bus (really more like a van that seats 15). I climbed in and the driver, a fellow named Ramesh, immediately grabbed a cloth and started wiping the water off my tripod and camera! He just didn’t even think about it and started helping.
After a short while, I went back out and wandered a bit more. Nikki came up (she had ridden up in the bus), and we walked back to the bus together. Ramesh continued to dry and clean my camera. He really did quite a remarkable job, blowing water out of cracks, wiping and cleaning. Nikki and I talked and rested. Nikki is originally from the UK, living in Sydney now (was in Brisbane), and is 41, married to Graham (also a techie, was a helicopter pilot, back to being a techie), and a truly delightful person. She’s closest in age to me of the entire group, and we’ve had some lovely conversations.
Anyway, a while later Subhash came to the bus (he’s 23, from Bangalore, smart and very brash), dropped off some things, and asked me if I wanted to come back out. At that point, I was tired, wet, and didn’t want to take my camera out again since it hadn’t totally stopped raining.
I napped for a bit, talked with Nikki some more, and a couple of the others showed up: Pushpa (originally from the Bangalore area, now living in the UK, married), Marc (37, from Perth and now living in Sydney, married to Natalie, who prefers to be known as Nat) and Aideen (as Irish as they come, with fair skin and red hair, somewhere in her mid- or late-twenties, married to a man name Patel who has never been to India). Aideen had, apparently, reached her limit of – umm – intestinal endurance and had finally relieved herself in a pit toilet that had a minimum of privacy. Marc was in bad shape, finally grabbed his small roll of toilet paper and went off to do the same somewhere. This is, as I mentioned, a bit of a theme with this group (other than me!).
Others started drifting in over the next 1.5 – 2 hours until all but Chris Kozak and Subhash were in the bus. Then we sat and waited and waited and sat. Pradip (one of the ThoughtWorkers from the Pune office was with us, because Rixt – our chief trainer – hadn’t yet recovered from her sickness that kept coming and going) went off to find a spot where he’d have a signal on his phone so he could try to call Chris. Which he did and he did and finally Chris and Subhash came back. Whew.
The drive down the mountain was hairy. Small, narrow, twisty, frequently dirt and potholed road with traffic going both ways. And we made it.
I had the driver drop me nearby, outside Pune Central, since he had to pass this way and everyone else in the bus was either going back to the office or to the bungalows which are near the office. (Gautam wasn’t there because he flew to be with his family in Bangalore today, and Chris moved to the bungalows from the hotel last night)
And I GOT TO TAKE A NICE HOT SHOWER! Yay! My pants (actually “pants” means underwear to the Brits and Aussies, they say trousers) had dried – one of the nice, light pairs I bought at REI – as had my shirt. My pants (meaning underwear), however, had not and I was SERIOUSLY glad to get them off!
Then I went downstairs to the restaurant for paneer mutter with nan and mineral water (bottled water), followed by TWO fruit custards. Y’see, the rest of the group, after deserting me on the hill, had wandered together and gotten lunch. I hadn’t – so all I’d had was some cookies (biscuits in Aussie/British English) and water.
Now, I’m replete, clean, and ready for a bit of TV and rest.
And am pulling the 700+ pictures I took today onto this computer so I can review them and upload them.
Life, all things considered, is quite good.
The only question in my mind is whether I’ll be frozen with muscle pain in my legs tomorrow or Monday. LOL
The day started later than usual, since it’s Saturday. I got up, and discovered that my toilet wouldn’t flush, and there was very little water pressure in the sink. I called downstairs, they sent up one of the fellows (houseboys?), and he said oh yes everything is okay – the water got turned off to the toilet.
I did some email and stuff, then went to take a shower. The pressure was so low that it wouldn’t even keep the button thingie out so I could take a shower. And it would have been a cold shower, because there was no hot water. I just got ready as best I could (ugh), went downstairs, and learned that “we have a problem with the water”. Yeah, no kidding! %^}
Breakfast was the usual – masala omelet, white toast, cup of tea. Then I came back to my room to take my pills, grab my camera, tripod, and a couple of lenses, and catch an auto (rick, rickshaw) by myself for the first time to go to the office where we were all to meet and get on our bus for our outing.
“IBM Tower” (the complex where the TW office is, also houses a building that all IBM, and is known as the IBM Tower)
“30 rupees”
“20” (I know this, having taken a rick there every day)
“25”
“20” (start to walk away)
“Okay – you sit please”
Half way there he says something about “go back empty”. I gave him 25 after all, just because 5 rupees is like 12 cents and what the heck.
We all arrived (although some had to spend a bit of time in the bathroom – they’re all suffering from flu, stomach problems, etc), got on the bus, and off we went. Two hour drive to go 30km (about 20 miles) because we had to drive through the center of Pune to get there.
We passed the temple I now think of as the Temple of Stolen Shoes along the way. %^}
We finally got there, and got off the bus and prepared to start our “trek”. I’d been thinking it would be a leisurely stroll through the Indian countryside up to the fort. Oh, was I ever wrong. Steep, hot, humid, and did I mention steep? We were told it would take about 1.5 – 2 hours. And it did. And the killer is that at any moment in time, you have two choices: go up or go back down. There’s no “I quit”, because you’re in the middle of a rocky, muddy, sometimes a bit close to the edge trail that seems to go on forever.
It was a freakin' mountain. Maybe a small mountain, but a mountain. My new friend Xu Wei (shoe way) walked with me, and insisted on carrying my camera and tripod much of the way (he treats me with great respect as I’ve been teaching him English, including carefully helping him with his pronunciation)(he lives in Beijing with his wife, and used to climb 15 floors to his office every day just because he liked to). Then he tried to insist on carrying my sling pack, and I wouldn’t let him. He was really quite solicitous, and it was nice. I was totally wasted about half way up. The last time I was that hot, sweaty, and exhausted was the time I did four masters karate seminars in one day, the day before a karate tournament.
Each time there was a step up onto a rock (as opposed to just trail), I’d stop, stare at it for a moment, work up my energy and will, and step up. It was work. I’m proud of myself that I did it, and in retrospect would have been just as happy to ride the bus up. Sigh.
Xu Wei: “Maybe you need a rest, Doc”
Xu Wei: “Let me carry bag, Doc”
Xu Wei: “Maybe walk slow, take rests, Doc – better that way”
Me: “Yes, mother”
He got the humor. %^}
We finally got to the top of the trail, where we found a stone wall, and a bunch of people milling and walking. I looked to my right and realized that we had to climb 100 or more steps to get up to the fort. It was almost enough to break me, but it didn’t! Up we went, and finally got to the scenic part, which was quite spectacular (other than the mist and smog and such).
I took pictures with my friends, then went off a little ways to take more pictures from a small promontory which promised an excellent view. I asked Xu Wei to take care of my bag for me.
So there I went to take pictures, including of some of the locals. And it started to rain. So I grabbed camera and tripod and started moving toward where I’d left the others.
Of course – no doubt you’ve guessed – they weren’t there. So I didn’t have my bag to put my camera in, didn’t have anything to cover it with, so started moving quickly to the nearest shelter – an archway along the path, about 100 paces away. I huddled there for a bit with some others. The rain eased to something like a stiff drizzle, so I started moving again. The rain became harder, and I moved as rapidly as I reasonably could to the next inadequate shelter. This continued until I got to the parking area.
I was totally soaked through by then, and had done my best to shield my camera from the rain. I looked around, didn’t see anyone I knew, walked around these rough sort of covered areas, and then went a bit further where I found the bus (really more like a van that seats 15). I climbed in and the driver, a fellow named Ramesh, immediately grabbed a cloth and started wiping the water off my tripod and camera! He just didn’t even think about it and started helping.
After a short while, I went back out and wandered a bit more. Nikki came up (she had ridden up in the bus), and we walked back to the bus together. Ramesh continued to dry and clean my camera. He really did quite a remarkable job, blowing water out of cracks, wiping and cleaning. Nikki and I talked and rested. Nikki is originally from the UK, living in Sydney now (was in Brisbane), and is 41, married to Graham (also a techie, was a helicopter pilot, back to being a techie), and a truly delightful person. She’s closest in age to me of the entire group, and we’ve had some lovely conversations.
Anyway, a while later Subhash came to the bus (he’s 23, from Bangalore, smart and very brash), dropped off some things, and asked me if I wanted to come back out. At that point, I was tired, wet, and didn’t want to take my camera out again since it hadn’t totally stopped raining.
I napped for a bit, talked with Nikki some more, and a couple of the others showed up: Pushpa (originally from the Bangalore area, now living in the UK, married), Marc (37, from Perth and now living in Sydney, married to Natalie, who prefers to be known as Nat) and Aideen (as Irish as they come, with fair skin and red hair, somewhere in her mid- or late-twenties, married to a man name Patel who has never been to India). Aideen had, apparently, reached her limit of – umm – intestinal endurance and had finally relieved herself in a pit toilet that had a minimum of privacy. Marc was in bad shape, finally grabbed his small roll of toilet paper and went off to do the same somewhere. This is, as I mentioned, a bit of a theme with this group (other than me!).
Others started drifting in over the next 1.5 – 2 hours until all but Chris Kozak and Subhash were in the bus. Then we sat and waited and waited and sat. Pradip (one of the ThoughtWorkers from the Pune office was with us, because Rixt – our chief trainer – hadn’t yet recovered from her sickness that kept coming and going) went off to find a spot where he’d have a signal on his phone so he could try to call Chris. Which he did and he did and finally Chris and Subhash came back. Whew.
The drive down the mountain was hairy. Small, narrow, twisty, frequently dirt and potholed road with traffic going both ways. And we made it.
I had the driver drop me nearby, outside Pune Central, since he had to pass this way and everyone else in the bus was either going back to the office or to the bungalows which are near the office. (Gautam wasn’t there because he flew to be with his family in Bangalore today, and Chris moved to the bungalows from the hotel last night)
And I GOT TO TAKE A NICE HOT SHOWER! Yay! My pants (actually “pants” means underwear to the Brits and Aussies, they say trousers) had dried – one of the nice, light pairs I bought at REI – as had my shirt. My pants (meaning underwear), however, had not and I was SERIOUSLY glad to get them off!
Then I went downstairs to the restaurant for paneer mutter with nan and mineral water (bottled water), followed by TWO fruit custards. Y’see, the rest of the group, after deserting me on the hill, had wandered together and gotten lunch. I hadn’t – so all I’d had was some cookies (biscuits in Aussie/British English) and water.
Now, I’m replete, clean, and ready for a bit of TV and rest.
And am pulling the 700+ pictures I took today onto this computer so I can review them and upload them.
Life, all things considered, is quite good.
The only question in my mind is whether I’ll be frozen with muscle pain in my legs tomorrow or Monday. LOL
Friday, July 11, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Day 5
Long day yesterday for me. Training finished around 6, then there was an optional session. I didn’t go, because I had my phone conversation with John Spens, the Chicago Market Lead (sales/business development). We chatted about the Calgary thing (still largely unclear – I need to talk with the guy from Calgary), what I might be doing, what I want to do, how I can create value for the company (my concern/desire), and so forth. Quite a good conversation, and I still have no idea what I’ll be doing in the near term, other than going to the Agile conference and Calgary Open Space in early August.
After my phone conversation and the extra session, we were all to go out to dinner. It was pouring rain at that time (about 7ish), so we all kind of milled about for a while. Finally, because of traffic issues (traffic is challenging at the best of times, but in the rain, the bridge we needed to cross was at a standstill), Rixt picked a different restaurant on this side of the river, we milled about for a bit longer, then finally went out to get 4 or 5 rickshaws and head out. The restaurant is a combination of Indian and Italian. Two complete menus. I had Italian – fusilli with Bolgnese sauce. Quite good.
I sat with my Chinese friends Jia Yang (my “buddy”) and Xu Wei. Xu Wei practiced his English on me throughout the dinner – Jia Yang is much better, so sometimes he helped by translating. Fun. Everyone but Gautam was there – he went off to a friend’s wedding.
I got in after 11pm, which felt quite late, and didn’t get to sleep until almost midnight.
Up again at 6:45am, clean up, call Chris to wake him up, and downstairs for breakfast with Gautam at 7:45, had my “usual” masala omelet (flattish omelet with onions and peppers), white toast, cup of tea, and lots of bottled water (“mineral water”). Off we go to walk two and a half blocks to catch what is sometimes called an “auto” or a “rick” or “richskaw” through the horrible smog/pollution/clouds of exhaust to the office.
The sides of the top of the rick are a little too low to actually see out comfortably, so I typically spend most of the ride hunched down a bit so I can see the world outside. Parts of the trip were quite lovely this morning, after the rain last night and this morning, with cool breezes blowing through and carrying away some of the ick (and bringing more, sadly).
Lemme see – I also am having laundry done today (in spite of overpacking just about everything else, I brought only six pairs of crew socks). I’ve only had my room made up every other day, since all I usually do is sit down, read email, sleep, shower, and go.
My voice is slowly coming back, but still pretty husky today. My head is mostly clear, other than a bit of congestion and fatigue. I’m looking forward to a nice long sleep tonight.
Tomorrow we go on a field trip, to Sinha Ghad fort, so I’ll get to take some pictures and justify bringing my camera gear. %^}
Sunday, Rixt is supposed to take a few of us to FabIndia to buy traditional Indian clothing and other stuff (I have presents for everyone, and may get some more, plus maybe a shirt for me). Then maybe wander around a bit, get an early dinner (they typically eat at 8pm or later here), and early to bed.
I’ll be leaving next Friday (which seems just around the corner!) at 5pm, with a drive up to Mumbai and a 2:50am flight (need to be there at least 3 hours before flight, plus make take 4 – 5 hours drive to get there, sigh).
That’s it – we start up again in about 5 minutes.
After my phone conversation and the extra session, we were all to go out to dinner. It was pouring rain at that time (about 7ish), so we all kind of milled about for a while. Finally, because of traffic issues (traffic is challenging at the best of times, but in the rain, the bridge we needed to cross was at a standstill), Rixt picked a different restaurant on this side of the river, we milled about for a bit longer, then finally went out to get 4 or 5 rickshaws and head out. The restaurant is a combination of Indian and Italian. Two complete menus. I had Italian – fusilli with Bolgnese sauce. Quite good.
I sat with my Chinese friends Jia Yang (my “buddy”) and Xu Wei. Xu Wei practiced his English on me throughout the dinner – Jia Yang is much better, so sometimes he helped by translating. Fun. Everyone but Gautam was there – he went off to a friend’s wedding.
I got in after 11pm, which felt quite late, and didn’t get to sleep until almost midnight.
Up again at 6:45am, clean up, call Chris to wake him up, and downstairs for breakfast with Gautam at 7:45, had my “usual” masala omelet (flattish omelet with onions and peppers), white toast, cup of tea, and lots of bottled water (“mineral water”). Off we go to walk two and a half blocks to catch what is sometimes called an “auto” or a “rick” or “richskaw” through the horrible smog/pollution/clouds of exhaust to the office.
The sides of the top of the rick are a little too low to actually see out comfortably, so I typically spend most of the ride hunched down a bit so I can see the world outside. Parts of the trip were quite lovely this morning, after the rain last night and this morning, with cool breezes blowing through and carrying away some of the ick (and bringing more, sadly).
Lemme see – I also am having laundry done today (in spite of overpacking just about everything else, I brought only six pairs of crew socks). I’ve only had my room made up every other day, since all I usually do is sit down, read email, sleep, shower, and go.
My voice is slowly coming back, but still pretty husky today. My head is mostly clear, other than a bit of congestion and fatigue. I’m looking forward to a nice long sleep tonight.
Tomorrow we go on a field trip, to Sinha Ghad fort, so I’ll get to take some pictures and justify bringing my camera gear. %^}
Sunday, Rixt is supposed to take a few of us to FabIndia to buy traditional Indian clothing and other stuff (I have presents for everyone, and may get some more, plus maybe a shirt for me). Then maybe wander around a bit, get an early dinner (they typically eat at 8pm or later here), and early to bed.
I’ll be leaving next Friday (which seems just around the corner!) at 5pm, with a drive up to Mumbai and a 2:50am flight (need to be there at least 3 hours before flight, plus make take 4 – 5 hours drive to get there, sigh).
That’s it – we start up again in about 5 minutes.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Day 3
My throat discomfort turned into a sore throat which has turned into laryngitis. I think my classmates are enjoying it. %^}
I just took a 30 minute nap, returned to the class, and it was just in time for our PM break.
And Chris Kozak (my traveling companion and friend) and Chris Leishman (trainer) seem to have caught something worse – very cold-like. Chris K has looked pretty bad all day, and is just hanging on. Chris L did a couple of presentations today, but hasn’t been as lively as usual.
Yesterday, Rixt (like “next”), who is the chief trainer, was not well but came in in the afternoon because she said she felt worse being home.
The group – 12 people from five different countries (US, UK (including England and Ireland), India, China, Australia) - has come together remarkably well. Rixt mentioned this morning that she is very aware of how well we’ve come together and how unusual it is – she says it usually isn’t until day four or so, and we were already coming together yesterday (day two).
I’ve heard from John Spens (Chicago Market Lead) and Reshmi in Resource Management (the people who hand out assignments) regarding at least one possibility for me – agile coaching for our biggest client in Canada (Calgary). I’m supposed to talk with John tomorrow evening and sit in on the Chicago Market call (review of what’s going on) the next day.
I think I told you that Chris and I had lunch with my friend Ashish from pcOrder days on Sunday. He and his wife have invited us both to dinner next Tuesday, which should be great fun.
We’re all going out to dinner tomorrow evening and next Wednesday evening, shepherded by our trainers.
So at the moment, other than being largely silent, I’m doing great! %^}
I just took a 30 minute nap, returned to the class, and it was just in time for our PM break.
And Chris Kozak (my traveling companion and friend) and Chris Leishman (trainer) seem to have caught something worse – very cold-like. Chris K has looked pretty bad all day, and is just hanging on. Chris L did a couple of presentations today, but hasn’t been as lively as usual.
Yesterday, Rixt (like “next”), who is the chief trainer, was not well but came in in the afternoon because she said she felt worse being home.
The group – 12 people from five different countries (US, UK (including England and Ireland), India, China, Australia) - has come together remarkably well. Rixt mentioned this morning that she is very aware of how well we’ve come together and how unusual it is – she says it usually isn’t until day four or so, and we were already coming together yesterday (day two).
I’ve heard from John Spens (Chicago Market Lead) and Reshmi in Resource Management (the people who hand out assignments) regarding at least one possibility for me – agile coaching for our biggest client in Canada (Calgary). I’m supposed to talk with John tomorrow evening and sit in on the Chicago Market call (review of what’s going on) the next day.
I think I told you that Chris and I had lunch with my friend Ashish from pcOrder days on Sunday. He and his wife have invited us both to dinner next Tuesday, which should be great fun.
We’re all going out to dinner tomorrow evening and next Wednesday evening, shepherded by our trainers.
So at the moment, other than being largely silent, I’m doing great! %^}
Sunday, July 06, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Immersion: First Real Day in Pune
It’s now 10:59am, and I just woke up. Traveling sure takes it out of me.
Sleeping late was nice. %^}
Yesterday was all about adapting to this time zone. We napped in the morning, then my friend Ashish (from pcOrder days) came over and took us (Chris and me) to lunch. We went to a coffee shop named Mocha, and I had an omelet and a strawberry milkshake. We smoked a hookah! No tobacco, just herbs and mint. It was interesting and kind of fun. Then Ashish dropped us off (“us” is me and Chris still) at a mall. It’s actually sort of like a giant department store, but has a few other stores in it too. I bought a small point and shoot camera (sometimes I don't want to carry my Canon DSLR for snapshots) and an inexpensive watch for traveling, which will be easy to reset time on. So now I know what time it is here. %^}
We came back, and both of us took naps.
Oh – the shopping was really because Chris’s suitcase didn’t make it to India, so he needed a shirt and some basics to hold him until his bag showed up. Which it should do today.
We both showered, then had dinner at about 8pm local time. The guy from ThoughtWorks (Naressh) who’s responsible for logistics for Immersion came by about 10pm, brought us welcome bags that include a cell phone, some info, and a tourism guide to Pune.
We went for a short walk. Our hotel is in a cul-de-sac, so you go out the hotel, turn left to the corner (just a few paces), the turn right to go a short block (a medical clinic, lots of stray dogs, a rusting tractor), then turn right onto a local street (more stray dogs, surprising number of people out and about at 10:30pm, motorcycles, cars, them driving on the left side of the street, honking their horns and flashing their lights). One short-ish block and turn right again onto something between a street and an alley, and we stopped at a little local tourist/gift shop that was still open and each bought Tibetan meditation bells (brass bowls, basically). Then we came back here to go to bed.
I managed to settle down and get to sleep by about 11:30, and slept until 10:30 this morning!
It’s 11:20 now, and I’m going to shower, dress, and go have some food and take my malaria medication.
Whew!
More to come.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Orientation & Immersion: The Trip to Pune
We left the Chicago office at 2:30pm on Thursday, July 3. Now you’ll have to bear with me.
We (Chris and I) got to the airport around 3:30. Our reservations were a little odd – booked through Lufthansa, but the carriers are United and Air India. So first we go to Lufthansa. They say “go to United”. We head towards United, and we see the Lufthansa United quick check-in. So we use it, then walk over to the person at the United counter to check our bags. “This is the domestic check-in” she says. “But we just checked in right there at the Lufthansa quick checkin machines” we say. “There’s no one there from Lufthansa, but let me take care of it for you.” she says. And she does.
Then we sit around for three hours until our flight is SUPPOSED to leave. I decided to splurge just a little bit and upgrade to Economy Plus so I could (a) have 5” more leg room and (b) choose an aisle seat. Did I mention that we didn’t have seat assignments? Sigh.
When they start boarding, Chris still doesn’t have a seat assignment. He finally gets one, and it’s a center seat in the Economy Plus section. Eight hours in a center seat. 5” more legroom doesn’t matter much at that point.
And then we sit on the plane. And sit. And sit for 1.5 hours while they fix and test something. We finally took off at 8pm. Arrived at Frankfurt Germany with 45 minutes before our flight to Mumbai, on which we didn’t yet have seat assignments. Fortunately, I got an aisle and Chris got a window (not same row, but right behind each other), which made us both happy.
Two meals on each flight. Three movies on the Chicago-Frankfurt leg, one movie on Frankfurt-Mumbai.
Arrive at Mumbai, go through immigration, and wait for our bags. And wait. And wait. My bag finally comes out, and the belt gets turned off. No bag for Chris! It’s now between 12:30am and 1:00am, and Chris gets to search for his bag, fill out forms, and generally kill another hour. I went outside to find our driver, then came back inside to find Chris and see what’s going on, then went back outside to get the address where we’re staying (which isn’t where we thought we were staying) and went back inside to give it to Chris. Then I went back outside to tell the driver and wait for Chris. Then when he didn’t come outside for a long time, I went inside again (the security people were starting to look at me funny) to find out if he was done. We finally got in the car to drive from Mumbai to Pune at about 2am.
Driving in India is like a combination of roller coaster, playing Chicken, and testing the horn. The driver honked the horn to tell other vehicles he was there. He honked the horn to get them to move over. He honked the horn to tell them to go faster. He honked the horn because he hadn’t honked the horn in a while.
On the backs of all the trucks is says “Horn Please”. Apparently – between the lack of or failure of rear lights, small or nonexistent side mirrors, and total insanity – using their horns is not just culturally accepted but desirable!
I did manage to sleep for a bit, here and there, during the three hour adventure.
We got into Pune, and it seems that our driver and escort didn’t know where to find the hotel. So we drove around a block about three times before they found it tucked away on a small side street.
And here we are. Chris and I are sitting in my room, typing emails. I unpacked. There are no DRAWERS. There’s a free-standing closet, a safe, wifi internet, a TV, twin beds, an interesting bathroom (more on that later), but no drawers. Bizarre. We had grilled chicken sandwiches (not grilled chicken, but grilled sandwiches) that were quite tasty.
Now we’ll probably nap, shower, and then go exploring.
Here's a picture of Chris in my room.
We (Chris and I) got to the airport around 3:30. Our reservations were a little odd – booked through Lufthansa, but the carriers are United and Air India. So first we go to Lufthansa. They say “go to United”. We head towards United, and we see the Lufthansa United quick check-in. So we use it, then walk over to the person at the United counter to check our bags. “This is the domestic check-in” she says. “But we just checked in right there at the Lufthansa quick checkin machines” we say. “There’s no one there from Lufthansa, but let me take care of it for you.” she says. And she does.
Then we sit around for three hours until our flight is SUPPOSED to leave. I decided to splurge just a little bit and upgrade to Economy Plus so I could (a) have 5” more leg room and (b) choose an aisle seat. Did I mention that we didn’t have seat assignments? Sigh.
When they start boarding, Chris still doesn’t have a seat assignment. He finally gets one, and it’s a center seat in the Economy Plus section. Eight hours in a center seat. 5” more legroom doesn’t matter much at that point.
And then we sit on the plane. And sit. And sit for 1.5 hours while they fix and test something. We finally took off at 8pm. Arrived at Frankfurt Germany with 45 minutes before our flight to Mumbai, on which we didn’t yet have seat assignments. Fortunately, I got an aisle and Chris got a window (not same row, but right behind each other), which made us both happy.
Two meals on each flight. Three movies on the Chicago-Frankfurt leg, one movie on Frankfurt-Mumbai.
Arrive at Mumbai, go through immigration, and wait for our bags. And wait. And wait. My bag finally comes out, and the belt gets turned off. No bag for Chris! It’s now between 12:30am and 1:00am, and Chris gets to search for his bag, fill out forms, and generally kill another hour. I went outside to find our driver, then came back inside to find Chris and see what’s going on, then went back outside to get the address where we’re staying (which isn’t where we thought we were staying) and went back inside to give it to Chris. Then I went back outside to tell the driver and wait for Chris. Then when he didn’t come outside for a long time, I went inside again (the security people were starting to look at me funny) to find out if he was done. We finally got in the car to drive from Mumbai to Pune at about 2am.
Driving in India is like a combination of roller coaster, playing Chicken, and testing the horn. The driver honked the horn to tell other vehicles he was there. He honked the horn to get them to move over. He honked the horn to tell them to go faster. He honked the horn because he hadn’t honked the horn in a while.
On the backs of all the trucks is says “Horn Please”. Apparently – between the lack of or failure of rear lights, small or nonexistent side mirrors, and total insanity – using their horns is not just culturally accepted but desirable!
I did manage to sleep for a bit, here and there, during the three hour adventure.
We got into Pune, and it seems that our driver and escort didn’t know where to find the hotel. So we drove around a block about three times before they found it tucked away on a small side street.
And here we are. Chris and I are sitting in my room, typing emails. I unpacked. There are no DRAWERS. There’s a free-standing closet, a safe, wifi internet, a TV, twin beds, an interesting bathroom (more on that later), but no drawers. Bizarre. We had grilled chicken sandwiches (not grilled chicken, but grilled sandwiches) that were quite tasty.
Now we’ll probably nap, shower, and then go exploring.
Here's a picture of Chris in my room.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
ThoughtWorks: Orientation: Chicago
It’s Wednesday evening. I spent two days in orientation, learning about everything from how we (ThoughtWorks) do recruiting to where to find documents to how to file my expense reports. It was a pretty intense two days.
But back to the beginning...
I arrived mid-afternoon on Monday. I got something to eat, then grabbed my camera and went for a walk. I discovered Millennium Park where there’s this unusual wading pool/fountain thing that kids play in. I took a bunch of pictures.
Then I continued walking and found another park where “A Taste of Chicago” was going on – a street festival that’s all food. I walked, took pictures, didn’t eat, though, since I’d just eaten. Sigh.
I got back to my hotel (Club Quarters is more like dorm rooms, kinda), then went to see WALL-E by myself. I had a small adventure finding the movie theater. This is downtown Chicago, which is like downtown New York – skyscrapers, lots of noisy traffic, lots of people, many tourists. It turns out the that movie theater is in an urban mall, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. I didn’t see any signs outside, so ended up walking around the block before I found it.
Tuesday I had a yummy breakfast in the restaurant attached to the hotel, then wandered over to the office, which is about six blocks away (long blocks %^}). I met the other fellows I was going through orientation with, and our trainer (Tory). We stopped for lunch, which was about 12 kinds of pizza which we ate with many of the Chicago office staff.
They have an orientation tradition. Each new employee stands up and tells something about themselves, including an embarrassing story. I told two stories, one of which was about giving a talk to a job club and taking off my shirt to show my tattoos. Yes, I took off my shirt again. The HR lady gagged, everyone else laughed. It was memorable. One of the other guys told about taking a hip-hop dance class, and participating in a recital. We were treated to a YouTube video of him! It was hysterical!
Last night my new friend Chris Kozak (27, from Detroit, going to Pune with me) and I came back to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then went to the “Taste of Chicago” and ate some stuff and wandered around for a LONG time. I took a lot of pictures again. %^}
Today Chris and I met for breakfast, went to the office, had more orientation, lunch in the conference room where we were orienting, and then I started getting in touch with folks about the other trips I’m planning (Toronto and Calgary in August, San Francisco in October, LA in November) and trying to figure out what I’ll be doing. It’s quite an adventure.
This evening Chris and I had Chicago deep dish pizza in the restaurant here – one of the best in town, I’m told. Chris’s friend Justin and Justin’s wife Tracy came to meet us, then the three of them went off to see Hancock. As much as I want to see it, I wanted to pack and relax and do email and stuff.
ThoughtWorks has some cool benefits – they’ll pay for part of our home Internet, part of my cell phone bill, something towards my gym membership (or massages or anything else that contributes to my health and wellbeing), and a bunch of other stuff.
I continue to be impressed with the people and excited with the opportunity.
Tomorrow we go to the office to hang around and talk with people, and leave from there at 2:30 to go to the airport. Our flight to Mumbai leaves at 6:30. We arrive just before midnight on Friday (somehow I had been thinking it was Saturday, although Friday is bad enough), then have a 3 – 4 hour drive to Pune.
We’ll be staying in apartment suites with people coming in from Australia, China, the UK, and other parts of India, and will be in training M-F both weeks. On the weekend, they will plan one trip for us and leave us to our own devices the other day. I have a good friend from pcOrder who lives in Pune, and he’s invited me to his home for dinner.
Chicago pictures here.
But back to the beginning...
I arrived mid-afternoon on Monday. I got something to eat, then grabbed my camera and went for a walk. I discovered Millennium Park where there’s this unusual wading pool/fountain thing that kids play in. I took a bunch of pictures.
Then I continued walking and found another park where “A Taste of Chicago” was going on – a street festival that’s all food. I walked, took pictures, didn’t eat, though, since I’d just eaten. Sigh.
I got back to my hotel (Club Quarters is more like dorm rooms, kinda), then went to see WALL-E by myself. I had a small adventure finding the movie theater. This is downtown Chicago, which is like downtown New York – skyscrapers, lots of noisy traffic, lots of people, many tourists. It turns out the that movie theater is in an urban mall, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. I didn’t see any signs outside, so ended up walking around the block before I found it.
Tuesday I had a yummy breakfast in the restaurant attached to the hotel, then wandered over to the office, which is about six blocks away (long blocks %^}). I met the other fellows I was going through orientation with, and our trainer (Tory). We stopped for lunch, which was about 12 kinds of pizza which we ate with many of the Chicago office staff.
They have an orientation tradition. Each new employee stands up and tells something about themselves, including an embarrassing story. I told two stories, one of which was about giving a talk to a job club and taking off my shirt to show my tattoos. Yes, I took off my shirt again. The HR lady gagged, everyone else laughed. It was memorable. One of the other guys told about taking a hip-hop dance class, and participating in a recital. We were treated to a YouTube video of him! It was hysterical!
Last night my new friend Chris Kozak (27, from Detroit, going to Pune with me) and I came back to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then went to the “Taste of Chicago” and ate some stuff and wandered around for a LONG time. I took a lot of pictures again. %^}
Today Chris and I met for breakfast, went to the office, had more orientation, lunch in the conference room where we were orienting, and then I started getting in touch with folks about the other trips I’m planning (Toronto and Calgary in August, San Francisco in October, LA in November) and trying to figure out what I’ll be doing. It’s quite an adventure.
This evening Chris and I had Chicago deep dish pizza in the restaurant here – one of the best in town, I’m told. Chris’s friend Justin and Justin’s wife Tracy came to meet us, then the three of them went off to see Hancock. As much as I want to see it, I wanted to pack and relax and do email and stuff.
ThoughtWorks has some cool benefits – they’ll pay for part of our home Internet, part of my cell phone bill, something towards my gym membership (or massages or anything else that contributes to my health and wellbeing), and a bunch of other stuff.
I continue to be impressed with the people and excited with the opportunity.
Tomorrow we go to the office to hang around and talk with people, and leave from there at 2:30 to go to the airport. Our flight to Mumbai leaves at 6:30. We arrive just before midnight on Friday (somehow I had been thinking it was Saturday, although Friday is bad enough), then have a 3 – 4 hour drive to Pune.
We’ll be staying in apartment suites with people coming in from Australia, China, the UK, and other parts of India, and will be in training M-F both weeks. On the weekend, they will plan one trip for us and leave us to our own devices the other day. I have a good friend from pcOrder who lives in Pune, and he’s invited me to his home for dinner.
Chicago pictures here.
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