As many of you have by now gathered, I’m in the great nation of India, where I have just spent a week, and have another week to go. Let me fill you in on some of the details.

The project I’m currently working on uses a strong offshore presence, and in an effort to reduce costs, we are trying to outsource an increasing amount of the workload. Over the past few months, I have been working on a very specific component of the system we are developing, and have acquired some fairly unique information, insight, skills, and experience relating to it. I will be leaving the project soon, so it is my responsibility to convey all that I have learned to our Indian team. And so, I find myself here in India working side by side with the folks with whom I have been working over the phone and email for the past while.

The journey to India was exciting of its own accord, since it involved a layover in Dubai, UAE. There is a new flight non-stop from San Francisco to Dubai that traverses the Arctic Circle. Unfortunately, I did not have any substantial amount of time to spend in Dubai, nor was I able to leave the airport, but I did get a little peek into the Middle East, and was able to see the city from sky on the way out.

I arrived in Mumbai about 3:00AM, where a chauffeur was waiting at the exit gate holding a very official-looking sign with my name on it. Upon stepping out of the airport, the heat and humidity were immediately apparent, but those were soon overlooked when I got in the car and headed towards the hotel. One of the relics of British colonialism is driving on the left side of the road, and the driver’s seat being on the right side of the car. The Mumbai roads are bustling mayhem of cars, busses, bikes, motorcycles, motorized tricycles, and pedestrians playing a real-life version of ‘Frogger.’ Drivers use their horns more than they use their turn signals, and rarely slow down through the slalom of stray dogs, wandering cows, and vehicles swimming upstream on the wrong side of the road to avoid the traffic jam.

I made it to the hotel without incident, however, and there was treated like a king. The doormen are all dressed like maharajahs, and I’m greeted with a ‘good morning sir,’ everywhere I go. The hotel buffet is first rate, and after the initial cross-cultural awkwardness of figuring out what to scoop where with what, I found my way around, and had some good food. Adjusting to jetlag has been a bit tricky, considering the nearly 12 hour offset, but I’ve been able to manage anyway.

The office where I’m working here is very big, and my team occupies a few rows of desks in a large work bay. I already know most the people I’m working with, mainly because I’ve been on the phone with them a lot up until now. But now I’m putting names to faces, and personalities on top of that.

The knowledge transfer sessions I’ve conducted so far have been effective, and next week I’ll do some quizzing and some workshops to make sure they’ll be able to handle things once I’m gone.

All in all, this is an exciting experience, and I’ll be providing more details, photos and video soon!