Hello from India

I made it. 16+ hours on a plane is just too much.

I will start with a week in review. On Monday I had my last two vaccination shots. I also changed malaria prescriptions. Starting last Saturday I had a very anxious jittery feeling and was unable to sleep on Saturday or Sunday night. Thankfully the old malaria drug has now worked out of my system and I am feeling better.

Getting to the airport on Wednesday was an experience. The Limberg parking lot was full and we ended up parking at Humphrey. Both of my bags met the weight and size restrictions so no extra fees. I have never seen the airport so busy, a good thing for the economy? The line to go through security took about an hour. I was still there early enough to make it through in plenty of time.

I was hoping to sleep the first stretch from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, but my streak of not sleeping on a plane continues. I even took Ambien and could not fall asleep. I touched down in Amsterdam around 6 am and waited until 11 am for the next flight. The boarding process is a little different in Amsterdam, first the security check is at the gate you are exiting from. Once you go through security, they put you in a room. Then you wait for them to call your seat row order to proceed to the next room. Finally you get to board the plane after they call the seat order once again.

I was only one of about 10 Caucasians on the plane of about 300 passengers. I met a couple interesting people, one just gave a presentation at the U of MN for an oil study and another that was a gastro intestinal doctor. He gave me a few tips of what to stay away from for food.

Flying over the Caspian Sea looked like the moon. It was grey and looked like a washed out sea that had driep up. Between the sand, rock, and dried up river tributes it looked interesting. The plane flew over Afghanastan and Pakistan before hitting India.

The plane touched down around 11:30 pm. I had to fill out a form saying I was not exposed to swine flu. Other than that there were not any issues getting through security and immigration. What scared me was I did not see my driver. He was past the duty check area and I was relieved.

Taking my first steps outside around 12:30 am it was a cool 85 degrees. My driver spoke no English so it was a quiet 45 minute ride to the apartment. The drive was an experience though. Within the first mile, we hit a police stop and I had a flashlight glared over my face and we kept on moving. The first couple miles the roads were in terrible condition with potholes and construction issues all over the place. Then there was the driving. Passing was usually done on the right lane. A series of honking and giving the brights was used instead of turn signals. There were a couple close calls and we cut between two semis on a few tight corners. It seems whoever is moving the fastest has the right of way.

I was checked in and attempting to sleep by 1:30 am. The room was very nice and cool. The temp was set at 18 C or about 66 degrees. I actually fell asleep and woke up about 8 the next morning to my phone ringing. I was Kavita from work, Dipankar's assistant, wondering when I would be coming in today. I said I was not planning on it but could come in later in the afternoon. She said ok and would send a car for me at 11. I was half awake and took a luke warm shower and got ready for work. I stepped out of my room and was blasted by the heat. The hallways are not air conditioned and either is the lobby. Friday and Saturday got up to about 42 C or about 107 degrees. Today it is suppose to get up to 45 C or 113 F.

The drive was only about 5-10 minutes to the office. The office is in a brand new building and is very nice. Instead of cubicles it is a long table with with spaces about 3-4 feet for each person. I met Ruchika, the person I will be filling in for during her leave. She gave a quick overview of the divisions she supports.

Around 1 we went to lunch in the cafeteria of the building. It was a buffet. You either pay for veg or non veg. I did the non veg which included chicken. Everything was hot and spicy. I hadn't eaten all day so I had a few servings of a vegetable goolash and a spicy thicker soup like substance. I also had rice and flat bread.

After the meal I was half a sleep and waited around for the computer. Finally left around 4. When I got back I was so tired that I ate a couple granola bars and went to bed. Unfortunately I woke up about 1 am and laid in bed until the morning.

The apartment complex is almost like an all inclusive place. In the morning there is a breakfast buffet, otherwise there is a restaurant. I also have access to a swimming pool and a small gym. The best part of the breakfast was a mango/papaya smoothie.

Here are a few pics from the view from my room. There is a big construction zone with a few vendor market people set up before it. I heard the cow mooing a couple times.