India Update
You go to the other side of the globe and what do you find out? Well, you find out that as different as things can be they can also be just as similar. Take for example the team of folks I'm training. They are so much like the people we've brought in for gigs like Wimbledon and the Rugby World Cup that it's spooky. They're all people in their early 20s, most of them just out of school - some with degrees or some technical training. All of them very Westernized (and by that I mean they look like they've grown up on a diet of MTV, text messaging, and a mix of global popular culture. If anything, that made me feel more at home than the Welcome message they'd written on the white board. There's a great energy to the company and I'm impressed by the spirit they share and the work ethic they employ. I can already see some of the big challenges though. As savvy as the team is their language skills while adequate for conversations, I think will fall short a bit when conversing with some of our more needy users. It will be interesting especially to see these folks, with English as their second (or third) language providing support to individuals who are using English as their second language as well! What keeps me feeling good about the challenges is the shared belief between myself and the managers I'm working with that an open dialogue will be the key to perfecting the relationship and the process.
My two main contacts have been really awesome. They're interested in me (everything from the music I like to my sign) and have offered to take me out for Indian food I can handle and to see the local sights this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Being stuck in the hotel is fine but I'm going a little stir crazy. And today has sucked because I was hit with a bit of the stomach flu and have been stuck in the room in a bigger way than usual. I haven't eaten anything crazy so I think it might just be the stress of the travel or something like that. It doesn't feel at all like food poisoning.
My dinner with Tom was great. It gave me an opportunity to go into the city. His hotel is a big fat step above mine. Beautifully done with a great view of the city and one of the lakes. And WOW - the traffic from my hotel to his was insane! You hear about it and you see it on TV but until you are in it, you just can't quite understand. I was very impressed by the patience of the drivers. I'd go insane within minutes in all that madness! You get used to it though.
Something else I've gotten used to? Power outages. The power goes out in the hotel about 2 or 3 times a day. Last night it went out at least 15 times. Usually it's not out for more than a minute or two but at one point it was out for about 20 minutes - and that means no a/c. I was surprised how quickly the room became stuffy and uncomfortable without it.
Weather-wise it's actually really nice. Cool and comfortable. I mean, I wouldn't want to walk around in jeans all day but it's nice. And while it's poured rain twice, it really isn't wet/rainy like I thought it would be.
With things going so well it looks like I might actually come back a little early. This bodes well for my co-worker as well. It means we'll hopefully be able to bring him back earlier as well so he won't be here for quite so long.
Sorry there isn't anything interesting to post from the trip really. I'll have more to tell on the weekend I'm sure. For now it's basically hotel, office, trying to stay healthy :-)
Namaste!
My two main contacts have been really awesome. They're interested in me (everything from the music I like to my sign) and have offered to take me out for Indian food I can handle and to see the local sights this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Being stuck in the hotel is fine but I'm going a little stir crazy. And today has sucked because I was hit with a bit of the stomach flu and have been stuck in the room in a bigger way than usual. I haven't eaten anything crazy so I think it might just be the stress of the travel or something like that. It doesn't feel at all like food poisoning.
My dinner with Tom was great. It gave me an opportunity to go into the city. His hotel is a big fat step above mine. Beautifully done with a great view of the city and one of the lakes. And WOW - the traffic from my hotel to his was insane! You hear about it and you see it on TV but until you are in it, you just can't quite understand. I was very impressed by the patience of the drivers. I'd go insane within minutes in all that madness! You get used to it though.
Something else I've gotten used to? Power outages. The power goes out in the hotel about 2 or 3 times a day. Last night it went out at least 15 times. Usually it's not out for more than a minute or two but at one point it was out for about 20 minutes - and that means no a/c. I was surprised how quickly the room became stuffy and uncomfortable without it.
Weather-wise it's actually really nice. Cool and comfortable. I mean, I wouldn't want to walk around in jeans all day but it's nice. And while it's poured rain twice, it really isn't wet/rainy like I thought it would be.
With things going so well it looks like I might actually come back a little early. This bodes well for my co-worker as well. It means we'll hopefully be able to bring him back earlier as well so he won't be here for quite so long.
Sorry there isn't anything interesting to post from the trip really. I'll have more to tell on the weekend I'm sure. For now it's basically hotel, office, trying to stay healthy :-)
Namaste!