I am down to 2 weeks to go. I am heading down to a southern state called Kerala tomorrow. It is about a 4 hour flight from Delhi. I am flying out at 6 am on Saturday and will return back on Sunday 11/22. You will have another break from my posts again. My birthday is on 11/21. I will be spending that day at Varkala, it is supposed to be a somewhat isolated beech area. This will be my last post until I return. Then it is only 4 days left at work before my 18 hour flight back to the US.

The smog continues to be thick in the air. It is a toss up between dealing with my sinuses and the smog or the heat of the summer. I think I would rather have the heat as you can at least see everything around you. I can barely see 100 yards in front of me with this. The locals say it is from winter coming. It is getting cold, and people are getting their jackets and sweaters out. It is still a high of 85 and low of 65. There does seem to be a chill in the air though with these temps. I hate to see how my first week back to the US is going to be. I might be wearing my snowmobile suit to work for the warmth.

People ask me what is the first thing I am going to do when I get back. Hopefully get over the jet lag. It is now 11.5 hours difference. After that, I think I will jump in my car and hit the highway. I won’t know what do without seeing any cows, donkeys, goats, people, bicycles or rickshaws on the road and I might get to hit 70 MPH. Here top speed seems to be around 30 MPH and that is dangerously fast. Plus I am use to driving on the other side of the road. That might take some adjustment.

I am also wondering how my body will react to the food back home. I also get asked what is the first thing I will eat. Right now I think it will be a big juicy cheeseburger. I haven’t had any beef in 5.5 months and very little cheese. I have tried to stay away from most milk products.

I get asked would I do this experience again. I would say a definite yes. It was a growing experience that opened my eyes to a completely different culture and environment. From the work side the position led to new challenges from dealing with people and interpersonal skills, to meeting deadlines, to working on projects and tasks that I have never dealt with before in my career. Everyday seems to bring a new challenge/adventure. Even though there were more downs than ups over here it will be an experience I will never forget.

If someone would have offered me a plane ride back during the first 6 weeks here, I would have gladly taken it. This blog helped me keep my sanity for the first couple of months, after that it was the emailing and chatting with friends back in the US. I only went out 4 nights for dinner during this entire trip with coworkers and 3 lunches. Otherwise it was always by myself. Everyone that I socialize with at work, works long hours and goes back to their families after work. It made for a limited social life here.