The Arrival

Day 1- Monday, December 18

We flew British Airways from Chicago to London to Bangalore. The trip was pretty standard except for a waiting in line (the Q) for 3 hours to get past security in London. After having already passed through security in Chicago and not left a secured section of the airport, I thought this was pretty lame. Apparently, the reason for the wait is that they only had one X-Ray machine running. I think the International Terminal at Heathrow is the busiest terminal in the world, so there efforts were a little sub-par in that respect. About 45 minutes before our flight landed I looked over at Bret and we both realized watch was actually about to happen. We were about to step into a completely different world.

We arrived in Bangalore a little groggy but ready to take over the country but British Airways had other ideas. Because of conveyor problems at the baggage check-in area, they loaded our plane with NO luggage. None, zero, zip. Since BA only makes one flight a day into Bangalore we were told it wouldn’t arrive until Tuesday morning at the earliest. This wouldn’t have been that big of a deal except the second half of the day was to be spent at the plant meeting our project coordinator and talking with executives. I hope they like Patagonia hoodies because that is what I was wearing. Very professional. Bob, Chris, Marvin, Pete and I went shopping tonight to find somewhat more reasonable clothes for Tuesday and to eat tiny pizzas at Pizza Hut (that’s allowed because we are still in jet lag stage)

My first impression of India is that the drivers are crazy. There are no lane lines so it is do as you please. Also, there are very little sidewalks. This means that you walk on the street with no lane protection from cars. This can be a little intimidating at times. The vehicle of choice in Bangalore is the 3-wheeled, motorized rickshaw. Combine that popularity with the aversion to traffic regulations and you get chaos.

As far as Bangalore being the tech capital of the country and the country with the most foreign nationals, that has yet to be seen. In fact, people stair at the skin and hair while children run close to our bus to catch a glimpse of non-Indians. We all realized what we were getting into when the bus carrying us to our accommodations. Our accommodations are hard to explain, the closest thing I can compare it to is a hostel. That is, if the hostel staff would do anything you asked.

It is apparent to me that the typical Indian doesn’t have a job. The men stand with their hands behind their backs in their untucked, button-down, colored shirts and watch the world go by. The women use homemade brooms to sweep dirt around in front of their complexes (for which there is much) for no apparent reason. Actually, that isn’t true. Everyone that has a job is probably at work, so they don’t have time to stand around.

It is going to be one great learning experience for everyone involved.

Song Recommendation- Empty by Ray Lamontagne