Day 12 & 13 - The Journey Home

The last day in India and the beginning of our journey home. The trip home will take nearly two days so we took it easy in the morning, focusing on packing all of the beautiful souvenirs we were taking home with us. We had a final Indian meal, sort of, in the dining room at the hotel. Mike and I both had Chicken Tikka Masala pizza - a wonderful fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine.

We left the hotel at 1 pm with 5 bags and 2 carry-ons. Our flight from Baroda to Delhi left at 2:30 pm. IST. We flew Jet Airways, which I would recommend over Air India every time. Air India is owned by the government and not run like other airlines. Jet Airways was more of what I'm used to as a frequent business traveler. The flight is an easy 1+ hour flight and of course I slept the whole way. Mike is amazed at how quickly I fall asleep in airplanes. I think he was probably mid-story when I was out and stayed out until we started our descent.

We landed at the Indira Ghandi International Airport in Delhi a little before 4 pm. We gathered our bags and proceeded to the ticket counter to check in. STOP!!! I think I may have mentioned this before but I'll repeat it as it's important to understand our situation - you need proof of a ticket before you can enter the airport and before you can be issued a ticket. Unfortunately, proof of a ticket needs to be obtained from a pre-ticketing counter. Trouble is American Airlines doesn't have a pre-ticketing counter. Supposedly, one of the local aviation companies was supposed to support AA customers - but there was no one at that counter either. After several attempts to get information on what to do, we were told that no one would be at the counter until 4 hours prior to the flight. Our flight wasn't until 12:30 a.m. - 8.5 hours later. Ugh!

After learning this information, we had no other option than to return to the arrivals area and hunker down for the next 4.5 hours. We found an acceptable location called Foodie's Bar. I'm not sure why it was called that as they didn't have much food - but they did have alcohol. Mike and I spent the next 4 hours playing Angry Birds, Solitaire, watching the French Open and making friends with a Canadian soldier who was in India volunteering at an orphanage. It was about as exciting as watching paint dry. I was cranky, very cranky.

Finally it was 9 pm and we thought we could check in. We returned to the pre-ticketing counter and there still was no one at the counter that was supposed to be servicing AA. We inquired at the Information Desk and they summoned an AA representative to come escort us to security, show the guard our name on a list and then walk us to the AA ticket counter. We had finally made it into the airport!! We checked all of our bags and then went to do a little last minute shopping. I was on a mission to find a snow globe. Snow globes are traditional, fairly cheesy, souvenirs so I wasn't expecting much trouble finding one. Then I remembered, we're in India, nothing is easy here. There wasn't a single snow globe in the airport. Total fail on the one thing that someone asked me to bring home! :(

Since we were flying business class home, we were invited to the Kingfischer First lounge. Kingfischer is the local beer in India but they also have an airline - bizarre combination! It was a strange mix between mod and sad. But it was quiet and the drinks were free.

At 11:45 we began boarding our flight from Delhi to Chicago. The flight home would be 15 hours and 15 minutes, one of the longer direct flights offered by any airline. I had a great seat at the bulkhead and we had successfully swapped Mike into the seat next to me. Or so we thought. Almost as the cabin doors were being closed, the ticket holder for the seat next to me came by and said that he had to switch back because the audio/visio unit didn't work in Mike's original seat. Bummer! Mike went back to his seat and I switched with the guy next to him so we could still sit together. We figured we could figure something out. Turns out the audio/visio unit in my new seat didn't work. And add insult to injury, the reading light in my new seat didn't work either. We asked the crew if we could move to one of the empty first class seats and they said no due to 'policy'. Instead they provided us with portable DVR players pre-loaded with movies. Ok, that's not perfect but it's better than nothing. STOP! The power outlet in my seat (or was it Mike's) didn't work. OK, at this point, I was done. I was already cranky because of the layover. Now, I'm at my wits end. What else can I do but take a sleeping pill and attempt to sleep.

Sleep I did - for 11 hours. There wasn't anything else to do and I had slept very little the last two weeks so why not. It turns out in some ways, the lack of entertainment options was good for me. I had gotten my body back on ET and should be able to better manage jet lag.

Upon deplaning in Chicago, Mike and I rushed through customs and straight to McDonalds where Mike ordered a chicken biscuit, yogurt parfait and orange juice and I ordered breakfast burritos and a sweet tea. Oh to be back in the USA!

The flight down to Tampa was a breeze - First Class usually makes it so.

Mike was greeted by his beautiful family - wife Kerry, daughter Naomi and son Miles. They had come straight from church and were dressed to the nines. They were clearly happy for the return of their husband and father, as was Mike to see them! It was a wonderful way to arrive back home.

I can't believe it is over. All the anxiety I felt preparing for the trip, all the adventures I had with the three guys that made the trip memorable and finally meeting the team that works so hard every day to delight their clients was overwhelming and deeply satisfying. I feel so amazingly blessed to have had such a wonderful experience! I am also so blessed to have a home to come home to, friends and family that love me and a future full of dreams and opportunities. Life is good!

Until my next adventure....Namaste

Day 11 - The Last Day

I can't believe that it's the last day in the office and the second to the last day in India. This trip has been a whirlwind and oh so enjoyable.

The day was pretty typical. Into the office at about 10 a.m. Catching up on emails and visiting with the team. Mike and I took two of our TCS team members, Jitendre and Komal, out to lunch at Sam's Sizzler - or rather Jitendre took us as he treated us. That was so very nice of him! Sam's Sizzler is more like Chinese food meets fajitas. All the food comes out on red hot wrought iron pans and the food is 'sizzling'. The food was absolutely delicious and the company was marvelous.

After lunch, I had the pleasure of going saree shopping with Komal. We went into a few different shops. Each with a traditional saree buying experience - the women sit in chairs as the shop workers (mainly men) unfold and drape the beautiful sarees over large beds. The fabrics were beautiful, the bead work to die for. Every color and pattern imaginable. I was in heaven. I wanted to take one of each home. After a bit, I decided on two beautiful cotton sarees, one in a wonderful blue and teal flower pattern and the other in a stunning deep teal, navy blue and gold geometric and flower pattern. You are probably asking if I plan on wearing these sarees. I do hope to wear one at least once while I'm in the states - I may have to get my friend Jignasha to help me wrap it. I bought the other to use as fabric for something for my home. We'll see how it turns out. Overall, the experience was wonderful and I look forward to my next visit when I can go shopping again with my wonderful Indian friends.

Eventually we had to return to the office. I finally met the last two teams, the Wireless Flowshare team and the Advertising Insights team. As with all those I met before them, they were very kind and shared with me what they do to support our business. Each team is so dedicated to their work and to delighting our clients.

After a few more hours of work, I took some time to sit with some of the women on the team. I saw them gathered by their desks and inquired about what they were talking about. They said they were 'gossiping'. Perfect, I love gossip! Turns out their gossip was about sarees, when a woman can/should wear them and when not. This is perfect for me since I love clothes and I have a lot of opinions about when someone should wear something and when they shouldn't. ;)

Unfortunately, the day came to an end, and I had to say my good byes. I was gifted some beautiful jewelry by the women of the team. Tears started to well in my eyes so I needed to make a quick getaway. After a few words from Mike and me, we left the TCS office and the team for the last time. I will miss each and everyone of the Telecom team members - their smiling faces and wonderful attitudes. I look forward to the day I return and am reunited with them!! :)

After returning to the hotel, Schick and Kevin picked us up for dinner. One last scooter ride for me as we went back to the mall where Mainland China is for our last traditional Indian meal. It was absolutely delicious. While at dinner I became quite overwhelmed with sadness that this wonderful trip was about to end but also so thankful for the time I had in this mysteriously delightful country.

We said our good byes to Schick and Kevin - luckily I'll see them again in July in Chicago when they graduate from the Program, so it's not good bye for long.

Tomorrow we begin our journey home. Until then, Namaste . . .

Day 10 - Scoots & Hangovers

No, I'm not talking about my hangover (one of which I do not have). We reserved this day to go to an American movie in an Indian theater. But I'll get to that later. . .

The day started just like many before . . . I got barely 4 hours of sleep, Mike knocked on my door to go workout, I skipped working out and I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep (unsuccessfully).

It was a normal work day at the office. There are two things different about working in India: 1) the day starts later and goes later - most of the team doesn't come in until 3:30 - 7:30 pm and work into and through the night; 2) the time zone difference makes it difficult to work normally - I send a batch of emails during the day and then receive responses in the middle of the night. Both of these things make the work day quiet but is part of what is keeping me from a good night's sleep.

Mike was experiencing 'Delhi Belly' so we decided to head back to Little Italy for lunch. I decided it was time to risk life and limb by climbing on the back of Schick's scooter. Wow, I should have done that on day one. It is definitely the best way to experience the city of Baroda. Most people here ride scooters, so being on the back of one is normal and helps me blend in . . . kind of. It's pretty hard to blend in when I am still the only blonde I have seen in Baroda since I arrived. Schick mentioned that we were getting far more attention then he does when he is on his scoot alone. I kind of like it . . . does that make me vain? I'm not sure I should consider it flattering, I mean people look because I'm strange in comparison to the norm. But I'll take it as a complement and smile at everyone that looks my way. (This is the great advice I had been given by a wonderful Telecom team member who had come to Baroda earlier this year. Thanks Deborah!)

The EB Telecom team planned a potluck dinner today. Each member of the team brought in homemade dishes, just like in the US. I was amazed at the spread! Homemade dishes of all sorts - mostly favorites of each team member. There were veg dishes and non-veg dishes. Everything was delicious!!! I would have taken pictures but I'm not allowed to have a camera in the TCS building. :(

I sat with three intelligent and beautiful women from my team - Komal Shah, Archana Chauhan and Ketki Kulkarni. They told me about all the wonderful places I should visit in India on future trips here. This country has so much to offer - different religions, different cultures, different landscapes. I can't wait to make another trip to this beautiful place!

After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects - Schick and Kevin. They picked us up from the hotel on their way to the movie theater. We were heading to see The Hangover II in English. I rode with Schick on his scoot (I feel like it's a drug and I am full out addicted), Kev and Mike took a rickshaw.

The theater looked just like any theater in the US. They sell similar concessions. One difference, they have Tomato Chilli Popcorn. Had I not just eaten a huge potluck meal, I would definitely have tried it. Another difference - here there are assigned seats at the movie theater with different prices depending on where you sit. Schick picked a great spot right in the middle of the theater. There were some pretty hilarious advertisements before the meeting. One in particular for some kind of tooth care product is a favorite amongst the Indians and Americans alike. Once the movie started, there was non-stop laughter - it was a very funny movie. Half way through, at a very random moment, we took a 10 minute intermission. I'm familiar with intermissions at movies, they have them in Europe also. But there they try to find a good moment to stop the movie. Here they just stop it exactly half way through. Interesting.

After another exhilarating scooter ride home (it's even better at night because there isn't much traffic so I could look around more and Mike could open it up a bit), it was time for bed.

Namaste

Day 9 - Back in Baroda

It's hard to get back into a normal routine after such an amazing weekend. But fun ends eventually and work begins again. Mike and I were back into the office with training sessions, information sharing sessions, emails to answer, etc. Luckily, it was a pretty light day.

One interesting event occurred today. Mike and I were guest judges for Global Village. Global Village is an opportunity for TCS associates to learn more about different topics pertaining to the work they do for Nielsen. They build teams and then create presentations about a new topic each time. This time, each team had to research Advertising in the specific country they support and put together a presentation, along with visuals, to share the information they learned. There were teams from 10 different TCS process teams supporting different groups within Nielsen from Emerging Businesses (my group) to Retail Measurement in Switzerland, Germany and France.

We listened to each of the 10 groups present for about 5 minutes. We were asked to judge each presentation on Quality of Content, Creativity, Presentation and Quality of Visuals. Each team had a very unique take on the topic. We learned about 'hoarding' which is a new word to us but not a new concept. It basically means all the different eye-catching outdoor advertising along the street, sidewalk, etc. We also learned that Switzerland is the largest consumer of print media and that most Swiss people still get the newspaper and several magazines. We learned about the history and evolution of the Mall. It was informative and entertaining.

One of the teams representing Emerging Businesses did their presentation on the Super Bowl and tied it to the Indian Premiere League (cricket). They built a stadium with all the different types of advertising - on the field, on the big screen TVs, on the boards around the field. Each of them dressed in an American flag bandanna. One even dressed up like Ronald McDonald. They did a great job! I love my team!

After work, Mike and I took the leadership team to dinner. We went to a concept restaurant called Barbecue Nation. Upon walking into the restaurant, I thought I was home. It smelled like a backyard barbecue - all smoky goodness. We ordered some mocktails (remember Vadodara is a dry state) and then began munching on the fantastic grilled food - both veg and non-veg. The food was delicious and the company was excellent. We have a great leadership team here!

Kind of an uneventful day today but tomorrow will be full of new stories, I'm confident of it.

Namaste