Back to work

[WOXOF]

Great news Mark! I hope you have fun doing the needful.

[ashauler]

Great news Mark! I hope you have fun doing the needful.

That sounds dirty.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

Good luck and be safe!

Rich

[logan37]

Good for you Shelby. Congrats and safe travels.

[sammis]

Good luck and Safe Travels to you!

[Shelby07]

I'm back!

What a great and strange experience. A 3 week trip turned into 10+ weeks, and if Pauline didn't have a prior commitment to take some friends to Ireland at the end of this month, I'd still be there.

I am working in a town which is about 200 km to the northeast of Delhi. It is 7 hours away by car or train. Anyone who has been to Delhi, Mumbai, Agra or any other business or tourist area in India can not imagine what the culture in the village areas is like or how it affects your definition of what is "normal." The area I was in is very primitive compared to what we are used to in the US, but the people there are extremely resourceful. Being in a car is just plain scary at first, but after a while you get used to it. They are supposed to drive on the left side of the road, but that is more of a guideline than a rule. People do whatever they need to do in order to get around the bicycles, motorbikes, oxcarts, oxen, cows, monkeys, dogs, rickshaws. other cars, trucks and buses that crowd the roads. The culture and the many religions and casts were puzzling to me as I have never been exposed to anything like it. Stories in the newspapers include things like people being trampled in the sugarcane fields by elephants or being attacked by big cats and monkeys. These are almost weekly occurrences there. After a while, you are just not surprised by anything you see and your mind gets to the point where it accepts just about anything as ordinary.

I got back on Thursday afternoon. The entire trip to Denver took 35 hours, with 18 of them in the air, 7 in a car and the rest of the time waiting. It is very hard to explain, but I am finding that my mind is still being influenced by the culture there. It will take some time to decompress and get back to normal (whatever normal is.)

All in all, it was a very interesting experience and strange as it may sound, I am somewhat anxious to get back. The work is interesting and challenging, as is the local culture and people.

[craig]

You're alive!

Sounds like the India that I've been told about.

Never been myself, but many of my now-retired co-workers were from there. (Indians are big on statistics.)

One of the wonders of the modern age is that it is only 35 hours from rural India to urban Colorado. 3.5 months is probably a more comfortable journey length for the human mind.

Glad to hear that you survived the roads!