It seemed like just a normal Tuesday before a co-worker says, "So, what is the rumor mill saying about who is going to India from your team?"  That is how the journey began back on February 2nd, and now here I am with my trip confirmed and airplane tickets reserved.

I will be heading to Bangalore, India for virtually the entire month of March 2010 to assist in bringing several of my co-workers up to speed on my current work project.  We are gearing up to have project work completed nearly every hour of the day.  You can think of it this way: while the team in California goes to sleep, the team in Bangalore (13.5 time zones away) will be awake and starting their day.  It will be a really cool setup, but it will definitely have its challenges the first few weeks while all the coordination is setup.  I'm sure we will run into things that just do not work, and we'll have to troubleshoot around them as quickly as possible.  That will be half the excitement though.

I've had other co-workers work in Bangalore, and they have provided some excellent information.  However, I'm sure it will not truly compare to my own real life experience.  I had my vaccinations last week (my arms are no longer sore), and I just need to finish up one last thing before finalizing my India business visa.

My other duties as assigned on this consulting project now include a trip to India.  My flight will take me through Amsterdam and Paris before landing 27 hours after my departure in Bangalore, India.  I will do my best to sleep on the plane, so that I am able to tackle the work month ahead of me there.  It would be nice to come back to the U.S. rested after the long return flight, but I think it will be an interesting and challenging month both culturally and work wise.

I'll keep you posted while I'm on the journey... Joel