Getting Ready for India

Three weeks ago, I asked my manager if I could go to India to work with my team there. I work with four team members there and we work together collaboratively on the same client projects. In other words, my life is a case study of Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat." Although we've communicated closely via video conference, instant message and phone call, we've never gotten a chance to meet in person. I still believe that, despite the wonders of modern technology, to really work closely with someone (especially when crossing cultural boundaries) there's nothing like making a personal connection. This was my rationale when asking my manager if I could go to India. Of course, I was also thinking about how much I love to travel and how cool it would be to experience a culture unlike anything I have ever seen before.

When I proposed the idea initially, it was somewhat hypothetical and I looked at it more as a "one day, maybe, hopefully" kind of thing. I was very excited when I got the green light to actually go. Not only would I be going, but I would be going fast. I immediately booked a plane ticket, made an appointment with a travel doctor to get lots of shots and sent away for a Visa to the Indian consulate in Chicago. Now, I've packed my bags and I'm leaving tomorrow night!

I've tried to do a lot of reading to prepare for my trip, and I've also been trying to remember everything about India I learned back in freshman year of college. India is the world's largest democracy with a population exceeding one billion people. Although less than 30% of the Indian population speaks English, there's more English speakers in India than the United States. Thirty years ago, when my parents were growing up, India's economy was primarily agricultural. Now, India has a bustling tech center. India is clearly on the rise, and my generation is able to work with them across geographic and cultural barriers in a way that was impossible for past generations.

People have asked me if I'm nervous for the trip, and I'm actually really not. I'm simply excited. I've traveled enough times that I know how to navigate through airports and get past security screenings. I've also traveled enough to know that it's always an adventure, and the best adventures are things you never plan for. Adventures like being promoted to first class on the way to Colorado and sitting next to a young nurse who survived cancer and was planning to go work in Africa. Adventures like having a conversation with my boss's babysitter while waiting for the plane to take off. I always meet the most interesting people on airplanes and at airports. Travelers have interesting stories to tell, and usually are happy to tell them...because what better way to pass the time?

Throughout the next couple weeks, I'll be posting my stories and adventures here. Check back often, and please comment and ask questions. I have a horrible habit of starting blogs and journals and never finishing them, so please help me break it by letting me know that me writing this isn't like putting on a play for an empty theater.

I will close with a link to the award-winning song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire. The English translation is "May you be victorious," which seem like apt inspirational words of wisdom.