Surprises on my final day
It's surprising to me that in only a couple hours, I've been able to learn so much about people that I've been interacting over the phone for the last three months. The view I had been able to build was so incomplete. A meal here, a short 
conversation there - suddenly these relationships go from being superficial and one-dimensional to much richer. People that I've been speaking with have families and lives outside of work (not really an earth shattering revelation, but I surprised at how much it matters).
It is also surprising (to me) that my capacity and willingness to try new things has limits. At home, I am always pushing for, "Let's go out and eat Chinese, or Korean or Indian." I thought I was game for anything new any time (or all the time). I've found that after only a week, I'm actually hungering for something more familiar more what I'm used to. Aside - I'm actually thinking back to my lunch. I had a dish (Indian obviously) that actually evoked some of that kind of feeling. No idea what the name was, but I know I have had had it in the past - and I quite like it. This certainly could become a warm and familiar place for me.
Finally - India is a surprising place. It's not just the place to outsource IT jobs. It's a fantastically rich country and a fantastically poor country. Many similar challenges to what we face in the US. Some with different solutions, and some where the problems are ignored.
It's a long journey home. In my email to Gretchen this morning I spelled it out for her:
Car - 4 hours
Airport - 3 hours
Flight - 1.5 hours
Wait - 4 hours
Flight - 8 hours
Wait - 2 hours
Flight - 8 hours
Home for tuna casserole
conversation there - suddenly these relationships go from being superficial and one-dimensional to much richer. People that I've been speaking with have families and lives outside of work (not really an earth shattering revelation, but I surprised at how much it matters).It is also surprising (to me) that my capacity and willingness to try new things has limits. At home, I am always pushing for, "Let's go out and eat Chinese, or Korean or Indian." I thought I was game for anything new any time (or all the time). I've found that after only a week, I'm actually hungering for something more familiar more what I'm used to. Aside - I'm actually thinking back to my lunch. I had a dish (Indian obviously) that actually evoked some of that kind of feeling. No idea what the name was, but I know I have had had it in the past - and I quite like it. This certainly could become a warm and familiar place for me.
Finally - India is a surprising place. It's not just the place to outsource IT jobs. It's a fantastically rich country and a fantastically poor country. Many similar challenges to what we face in the US. Some with different solutions, and some where the problems are ignored.
It's a long journey home. In my email to Gretchen this morning I spelled it out for her:
Car - 4 hours
Airport - 3 hours
Flight - 1.5 hours
Wait - 4 hours
Flight - 8 hours
Wait - 2 hours
Flight - 8 hours
Home for tuna casserole
Comments
Very Cool to read about your trip.
-Mike