The daily grind

So there have been a couple requests from some individuals to get a better look at what my daily commute looks like. Most of the time it's a pretty smooth operation since the residence I'm in has an in-house driver service that is fairly reasonably price.

From my place to work it takes about 20 minutes by car if I get going by 8:00 am. Once 8:15 am hits though, a simple 3 km commute can turn into 30 to 40 minutes. This has easily been the most difficult adjustment for me here; the inability to independently get myself from A to B on my schedule and my terms. That sounds horribly selfish, but a major pet peeve of mine is wasting time and not have some sort schedule.

Monday and Tuesday are going to present some transportation challenges that I'm particularly not looking forward to as work is going to have me bouncing from location to location. I'm sure I'll have something to say about that experience, fingers crossed something doesn't come up and put me in a tough spot.

So without further delay, here is my daily commute courtesy of my recently acquired video editing skills...

Groupon is evil

Word of advice if your future holds living in a country where food is the polar opposite of your typical consumption habits in the U.S.: turn off Groupon. Now I'm not hating on Indian food, but curry everyday and the "veg" focus for the majority of dishes isn't exactly the meat and potatoes I grew up with.

Cattle is scared in India so coming across a burger is a tough task (but not impossible thanks to the Hard Rock Cafe). Additionally, you are playing Russian roulette with your digestive track with each meal. If you aren't sure what Delhi belly is, I've done the search for you if still curious.

But back to the title of the post, Groupon is evil. Everyday I get emails reminding me of the fine dining establishments of the Twin Cities just taunting me about what I'm missing...

I think I could actually get chicken and waffles if I pushed it at my residence restaurant, but would surely get a strange look or two.

New York Pizza. India has pizza but the cheese is from goats I believe and just isn't the same.

Tiger Sushi is probably my favorite sushi spots back in the Twin Cities.

Then the ultimate tease, meat. It would only be worse if this was a Fogo de Chao offer.

So once again, I hate you Groupon.

Back in the USA.

I don't have much to report from the India front today as work has kept me pretty busy and I'm sneaking in a post between evening calls. I just want to hit a couple things quick...

WHAT THE F*** BREWERS?!

Now I'm not crazy and think the Brewers are a World Series contender, but I thought they had a team able to make a run at a wild card. Unfortunately, blowing 17 saves this season to date isn't a way to make the playoffs and dropping multiple run leads, in the 9th, on consecutive days is just brutal.

And just when you think things can't get any worse...

(Click here for the hilarious video)

This sort of awareness is uncanny folks. Holy hell Gomez, but you are a former Twin so it shouldn't come as a shock. What a joke.

But it could always be worse. We could be part of the cult of Happy Valley...

I'm sorry Will but I had to. It's just too good of material and the Penn State community just keeps serving up fastballs right down the middle. "It was our 9/11"... come on now, not a good look brah.



Adventures at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office

When living in another country there is a bit of administrative paperwork that needs to completed to make things kosher. Without going into the details, India requires foreigners to go through a registration process within 14 days of entry to legally live and work in the country. Today was my day to finish off the process by visiting the dreaded Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).

I was given a great briefing by my relocation consultant and blocked my morning and arrived promptly at 7:45 am to wait in line for one hour until they opened at 8:45 am. I was told this process can take 3 hours if things are all in place and much longer if documents are not in order. I couldn't believe how many people showed up so early and the line quickly grew in length.

Promptly 5 minutes after posted opening time, the office was open for business and folks from Amsterdam to Nigeria to China piled in. Once in the office you are wait in line to receive a "token" which is essentially your spot in line for the process (this entire process needs a Six-Sigma overhaul). Here's a flavor of what I dealt with for about 4 hours today...

After 4 check points of tasks I don't understand, interesting conversation with an Iranian student and a country brand manager for Nike, I became legal to work and live in India.

4.5 hours of time and all I got was this piece of paper that doesn't even have a watermark.

Cheers!

Tata Star Bazaar Shop Shop Time

Next to the office is a nice reminder of home, Tata's Star Bazaar hypermarket. Now Tata is an Indian conglomerate, much like Bharti and Reliance, that has its hands in many businesses from automobile manufacturing to retail to IT consulting. For retail, these groups own the market and if a company like Wal-Mart wants in, they typically have to partner with one of this sovereign entities. At least, that's how I remember the basics when I visited back in January 2011 when we spent time with the executives from Bharti Wal-Mart.

So what is the shopping experience like? Quite similar to the U.S. actually...

While not nearly as advanced as the U.S. retail experience where every single inch of floor space is meticulously analyzed and optimized, I can appreciate this small reminder of home.

As far as brands go, 75% percent of them I have never seen but there are a few familiar brands that have a strong presence here...

Kellogg's has the cereal game on lockdown (at least at this location)...

Frito-Lay is one of the most prominent brands here. My personal opinion is the flavors are horrible, but I'm so used to U.S. processed foods that I probably can't appreciate a truly flavorful chip. Baked Lays have to suffice for now. The "ketchup" chips are interesting but only a few at a time. Prices are pretty cheap, a small grab bag goes for about 22 rupees which converts out to $0.39 USD depending on the day.

Coca-Cola is another American classic brand that is well represented here. India is a unique country in that it's a critical market for soda companies. The amount of branding you see from the small village stand to the hypermarts like this is amazing. Must be working too as Coca-Cola has some great growth numbers here.

It's nice to see General Mills get into the game here although I think a merchandiser would have issues with this display.

So while the experience is still maturing, you can see that it's not a complete change from some of the comforts we have in the U.S., which makes this time here for me a little more comfortable.

I did find one local Indian product that is awesome...

These cookie/wafer like treats are delectable and I'm not a big sweets person. Plus they have energy!

Cheers!

Get me a doctor

While waiting for my ride to pick me up from the office I saw my first ambulance in India...

I don't know why, but I can't stop laughing every time I watch this video. I've watched it literally 10 times and I just can't pinpoint it. Maybe it's the awkward sound of the siren or the image of a mini-ambulance zooming right by me, but it is just funny.

Actually I think it's the fact that regular traffic is passing the ambulance. Zero traffic obedience in this place. Such a trip.

My apologies...

for not being a better blogger. When I started this journey I made a goal to post everyday and thought it would be a fairly easy task.

Well work has definitely been a hit the ground running experience and I have a greater appreciation for my colleagues who are based here supporting an organization with global headquarters back in the U.S.. Basically you have a job to do in India, but then you always have to work with your partners back in the U.S. at corporate. As you can imagine, this requires phone calls early in the morning and late into the evening. While tough, I love it and the complexity is just another obstacle ready to be overcome.

So once again, my apologies for not being a better conduit to life in India.

That being said, if there is one thing that I apparently forgot to appreciate was how humid the climate is. And I'm not saying this as Superior-ite who has maybe 15 days of difficult heat exposure, but as a now seasoned Texas veteran who has spent significant time boiling in Houston summer heat and a fair amount of time in Atlanta's sweatbox. I thought Houston was humid, but Bangalore takes it to an entirely new level.

Now this photo from my balcony doesn't really do justice for what I'm trying to tell you. I'm honestly shocked that the camera lens on my iPad didn't fog up as I took this. You can literally feel the condensation building up on the fibers of the cotton making up my t-shirt. I suspect Singapore will be worse when I travel there in about a month and a half, but this is still an experience. It's so intense that the smells are even augmented.

The other strange part regarding the weather of Bangalore is that I have yet to experience thunder, lightning or be awake for the rain. It seems like for most of the day it's overcast with occasional moments of the sun breaking through. I have yet to be caught in the rain (knock on wood) and the only evidence I can see of rain is usually in the morning with the wet grounds. It should be noted that this has been one of the worst monsoon seasons in recent Indian history and people are bracing for the economic impact.

So yeah, it's warm (not hot), overcast like a mofo and damp. A dehumidifier would be great for my living space.

Cheers.

Meal Time: Breakfast

Crazy traffic, speaking accents, and being stared at like I'm an alien are all things I expected and can deal with while here in India. The biggest fear that remains a question mark though: the food. Without going into too much detail, during my last visit to India I had the misfortune of experiencing Delhi belly.

So naturally, this is my biggest fear. With that being said, the place I'm staying at has an immaculate breakfast service. It has just about everything you can imagine from traditional Indian cuisine to the classic American breakfast I fondly enjoy. Without a doubt the french toast offering is some of the best that I can recall having and the fruit selection is great. All the while being able to dine in a nicely kept and comfortable space or, if adventurous, outside by the pool.

Here is what today offered...

A nice starter of fruit, bacon and toast...

Followed by scrambled eggs, French toast (ah-mazing), and this tiny hash brown type thing.

In the ambiance of a comfortable dining space.

So all in all, I lucked out huge with this breakfast setup.

- Cheers

The newspaper experience in India

One thing I remember vividly from my previous time here in country is how awesome the newspaper is. The stories really don't hold back and whatevere grabs eyeballs gets put center stage. It's tough to describe in words, but it's a completely different experience than that of what we have in the U.S..

Here are some headlines from today's Sunady morning offering from the Times of India...

Look for it... what title would you read first?

Yep, front page material for the Sunday edition.

Not much further into the paper, a report on texting gone too far.

But then you can find some tough articles that highlight some areas that need to be improved upon.

One story is a look in to the cultural norms of marriage in India and the collateral effects while the other is a decent piece on work-life balance.

I'll try to keep an eye out for daily headlines to do a weekly roundup segment on some of the crazy topics that are featured, some can be quite comical and disturbing. The point is even getting the news here is a slightly different experience.

Cheers,

- Dustin

The Living Quarters

In this post I'm going to share with you what I will be calling home for the next 6 months. I'm showing you just the living quarters for right now and will bring to light some of the other aspects of the building as time progresses. So without further avail, check out the virtual tour below...

All in all, not too shabby. I am man subscribed to minimalism and this place certainly accomplishes that. For just under 700 square feet, this is one of the smartest and well layed out single bedroom places I've seen. There isn't too much I'd change with this layout (bigger/mounted TV, better office desk/space, more clothing storage) but again, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Here are some additional stills to get a better look...

Here is the kitchen and some shots of the mini-bar and water purifier. I'm not sure when I'll get enough courage to attempt the water purifier but I'm betting it will eventually happen. That will be a topic of its own.

Again, the living quarters are tiny and bare, but I really enjoy it. Keep things as simple and uncluttered as possible. Near perfect functionality without excess.

Comfortable sleep space and bathroom up close. So there it is. I'll get more shots of the entire builiding over the coming days but just wanted to share the space that is now home.

Cheers,

- Dustin

Flying can be fun...

Well I made it over in one piece, with little travel delays and all luggage so that was a huge win. From Minneapolis to my residence in Bangalore it was roughly a 34 hour trip doorstep-to-doorstep and roughly 9,300 frequent flyer miles (13,000 miles if you include the multipliers).

I have to give a big shout out to Taylor, a friend and classmate from graduate school at Minnesota, for getting me hooked up with the upgrade. Traveling internationally in business/first class is just the way to go...

I was treated to a solid dinner of stuffed shells with champagne, Bose headphones, lay flat capable seating and an impressive movie selection, one of which happened to be the acclaimed the Hunger Games. I've never seen that film and I now feel kind of bad for making fun of people for getting so amped about it. It really is a solid flick, but I still think it was better when it was called Running Man and featured Ahhhhhnold.

After a smooth flight over the Atlantic, I arrived to the hustle and bustle that is London Heathrow. I've never been through London, not even as a connection. There must of been a handful of people telling me how I'd need 2-3 hours to navigate a connection properly and I was a bit nervous working with a 2 hour window (eye roll). Needless to say, I had plenty of time to navigate the 4th busiest airport in the world and would have made George Clooney proud.

The flight from London to Bangalore was far less glamorous. I was back in economy seating (thankfully with an aisle seat and a very diminutive woman seated next to me) for this roughly 8 hour and change flight. Overall it was a decent flight and even though it seemed as if 50% of the occupancy was children under 7 years old, there was relative peace for the duration of the flight. Upon arrival to Bangalore International it was quick work through customs and baggage only took a few minutes to recoup.

The drive to the airport to my residence for this assignment was about 20 km and took about 75 minutes. The drive brought back a ton of memories from my first visit to this country and outside of the big sign you see leaving the airport changing from Yahoo! to IBM, it's still the unique environment and landscape that I have come to know this place by. The sights and smells are the same and it's going to be an interesting experience as I learn to call this home for the next half year.

That's all I have for now. Time to unpack and get settled in. I've slept probably about 12 hours since Wednesday so saying I'm beat is an understatement. All in all I'm pretty relaxed and I'm super excited for work. The only thing I have to get figured out right now is how the transportation situation will work out to and from the office, but sleep comes first.

Cheers!

- Dustin

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Today is the day and final items have been purchased, bags have been packed, and arrangements for the time away have been made. I'm looking at about 24 hours of flight on the lovely American Airlines.

Since I will be in a country that views the cow as sacred, I had to have a proper last stateside meal...

It's going to be a difficult battle without the steak tacos from Chipotle.

As far as packing goes, for a roughly 6 month stint, I think I'm packing relatively light...

I'll be offline for a bit while traveling (unless there is wi-fi on the international flights), but I'll be capturing photos and video throughout via a new toy I picked up...

I give you Pivothead sunglasses, fully capable of capturing 1080 HD video and 8 mega-pixel still shots. In my opinion, these totally blow away the GoCams that you have to mount to helmets, bicycle bars, surfboards or whatever you might be doing. Yes, they are the holdover until Google makes their Glass project product available to consumers, but this is all I need right now.

The glasses work pretty slick. You simply push a button for photos or video, which is located on the glasses.

This magnificent piece of technology will help bring my day to day experiences truly to life.

Welp, time to catch my ride to the airport and get this chapter going. I'm going to miss all my family and friends but I'm sure the time will fly. Bye for now!