The past few days in Hyderabad have truly been a whirl. We've been so busy with things that I'm sad to say, I've forgotten a lot of the details of my week. However, I've been trying to take notes of small things I've observed, witnessed or thought about as I've been out and about. So here goes....
Playing Chicken with Indians
There's one thing I know about the Indian culture - they don't share the road well. That is true whether you're in a vehicle or on a path. The past several mornings, Dhiraj has picked me up at 6:15 and taken me to the "jungle" or more accurately the state park in the middle of the city. Each morning has given me an opportunity to observe new things and reflect a little. However, I quickly found that the others out there exercising (most everyone walks, not runs) don't have a great sense of their surroundings. I frequently come upon rows of men walking on the small rock trail and they appear to have no sense of others around them. I'm constantly weaving in and out, even occasionally knocking elbows to pass by. I'm sure they think I'm rude in not slowing down, but I also think they're a bit absent-minded not paying more attention. So...I say we call it even. :) It's common that I come face to face with an Indian and we play this face paced game of chicken - which one of us will weave off our path first? It appears I win about half the time, likely because I'm a huge dude compared to these guys. There are other times where I just weave out of their way because there's no way they're going to look up and react in time. I figure a hospital bill here isn't worth it!
The park we go to is a really neat place. It's not really that much different than a state park back home, but there are some quirky things inside that set it apart. For example, when you enter the park, there is a sanctuary area where men stop to pray before proceeding. There are scented candles, lights and a replica of a god sitting there. Once you enter, you see people all around doing various things, including yoga, core exercises and meditation. This is true all around the park. The paths are well maintained, although small, loose rock, as I've mentioned. It's a little tough for traction but as I said, most people are walking. There is likely wildlife around too, but about all you see are peacocks. The other morning, I also saw a class of young kids doing karate.
One morning I asked Dhiraj what the street vendors had on their carts. There was this large green football looking fruit attached to branches. He said they were coconuts - they looked much different than the coconuts back home. When we came back out, Dhiraj asked if I wanted to try one. I had no idea what it was I was trying, but I agreed. The vendor has this huge sharp knife and they start hacking away at the coconut. They eventually pop off the top, stick in a straw and hand it to you. Then you drink the juice inside. After a run, it's really refreshing....and I don't even like coconut.
I appreciate that Dhiraj is willing to take me to this park each morning. He's a very busy man and enjoys playing tennis with his friends in the mornings. Later today (Sunday), I plan to see how far a run it is to the park and may do a run inside again before coming back.
Dillip the Driver
We consistently have the same driver taking us around the city and between our apartment and office. His name is Dillip. He's probably about 19 or 20 years old and just learning how to drive. He's definitely young maturity wise but has a heart of gold. Dillip is just learning how to speak English, so he like to try out his speech with us when we're driving.
Dillip is a pretty crazy driver. He's definitely of the younger generation in that he's more aggressive and honks his horn A LOT. I find it really funny how every time we turn the corner by CATT he starts honking his horn immediately. This is his signal that everyone needs to get out of his way and let him park right next to the door. He just lays on the horn and people stare at him (I know how that feels!). It's hilarious.
The other day, I had a few Starburst in my pocket and was eating them as we left the apartment. I decided to give Dillip a few pieces as I suspected he'd never had them before. He immediately turned to my colleagues and tried to gift them. We all had to explain that the candy was for him and no one else. It was a true insight into his character that he thought of others before himself. What a nice kid. I've got a couple packages of chocolate left that I haven't yet given to any of my CATT colleagues and think he'll be getting one. They love American chocolate here.
Other India Adventures
The week was extraordinarily busy. Our days consisted of getting into the office about noon, but not before most of us had worked 2-3 hours in the morning. We generally don't leave much before 9 PM, sometimes 10 PM or later. Dhiraj always wants to take us to dinner at that time, which of course we're not used to. By the time we head out, we're completely wiped but agree most nights to dinner to be polite. The restaurants Dhiraj takes us to are all amazing food. We usually have a beer or whiskey (which often makes me even more tired) and a progressive style meal. You walk out stuffed and then head to bed when you get home...never a good combination. Plus, you don't go to one of these resturants for a quick meal - they are all well over an hour, sometimes two. A 5:30 wake-up to meet Dhiraj comes pretty early! Thus the reason I'm usually dying out there when I run....a few hours of sleep with the previous night's meal still sitting heavy in my stomach. Back to the apartment, maybe lay down for an hour before I'm back up, showering and back to work. Whirlwind!
Yesterday (Saturday) was a shorter day for us. We "only" worked until about 5:30....so only about 8 or 9 hours. :) The three of us (Jay, Bruce and myself) decided that ordering some Domino's and having some beer (King Fisher of course) would be a great idea. We did so, but after one beer, I was down for the count! Today (Sunday), we're going to visit a fort in the city - it's supposed to be a neat place. This will be our final day of no work (I say that term loosely because we'll probably do some work tonight) before a few more intense days and then flying home.
I know I mention how intense the work is here. It's hard to explain why that is. I think it's primarily because you get into such excruciating detail in building software. Not only considering where everything must be placed on a specific page, but then talking through all your data sources, what clicking this button will do and how it should look, and so on. One wouldn't think this would be all that difficult - I certainly didn't before doing this project. But it truly is a ton of work. Next week will be interesting as we've built out all our screens and start to discuss functional specs. Deep, deep detail.
I think I'm starting to become more accustomed to how things work in this city/country. Still, I can't help but be overwhelmed every time we leave the apartment. There is so much to take in that your eyes and brain can't keep up. It's the definition of being overly mentally and visually stimulated at all times. I can't describe how many people there are here...and they all appear to be going somewhere and doing something. Even the simple things you see cause you to stop and stare a little - something as simple as a child selling fruit on the street. When you're in a car, you see flashes of what's going on, but only a small fraction of the full picture. It would be interesting to just get out and walk - observe, talk to people, ask them what they're doing and why - but as "rich" white people, we would be mauled in most circumstances. I also think it would be interesting to walk through Old Hyderabad where the street vendors are. There are just hundreds of store and carts set up all over, even right in the middle of the street. Everyone is struggling for survival - peddling their goods. Again, it's probably not the most safe for us to be walking in these areas but it would be interesting. Unfortunately, we usually have to stick to the malls and larger chain stores unless we're accompanied to a specific place.
A lot of what people think about India is true but only to a certain extent. Yes, it is a poorer country. Yes, people urinate in the street right out in the open. Yes, there are lots of beggars who walk up to your car window. On the flip side, there are many misconceptions or exaggerations that Americans make that are untrue and unfair. I know people get frustrated when they call a customer service line and get an Indian. They're hard to understand don't appear to grasp your issue. But I can tell you that they care. They want you to be satisfied with your interaction and they want to solve your problem. I can see now why companies use Indian labor. Yes, it's cheap but it's also high quality. That's not something most Americans believe.
Time to sign off for now...but more to come....
Playing Chicken with Indians
There's one thing I know about the Indian culture - they don't share the road well. That is true whether you're in a vehicle or on a path. The past several mornings, Dhiraj has picked me up at 6:15 and taken me to the "jungle" or more accurately the state park in the middle of the city. Each morning has given me an opportunity to observe new things and reflect a little. However, I quickly found that the others out there exercising (most everyone walks, not runs) don't have a great sense of their surroundings. I frequently come upon rows of men walking on the small rock trail and they appear to have no sense of others around them. I'm constantly weaving in and out, even occasionally knocking elbows to pass by. I'm sure they think I'm rude in not slowing down, but I also think they're a bit absent-minded not paying more attention. So...I say we call it even. :) It's common that I come face to face with an Indian and we play this face paced game of chicken - which one of us will weave off our path first? It appears I win about half the time, likely because I'm a huge dude compared to these guys. There are other times where I just weave out of their way because there's no way they're going to look up and react in time. I figure a hospital bill here isn't worth it!
The park we go to is a really neat place. It's not really that much different than a state park back home, but there are some quirky things inside that set it apart. For example, when you enter the park, there is a sanctuary area where men stop to pray before proceeding. There are scented candles, lights and a replica of a god sitting there. Once you enter, you see people all around doing various things, including yoga, core exercises and meditation. This is true all around the park. The paths are well maintained, although small, loose rock, as I've mentioned. It's a little tough for traction but as I said, most people are walking. There is likely wildlife around too, but about all you see are peacocks. The other morning, I also saw a class of young kids doing karate.
One morning I asked Dhiraj what the street vendors had on their carts. There was this large green football looking fruit attached to branches. He said they were coconuts - they looked much different than the coconuts back home. When we came back out, Dhiraj asked if I wanted to try one. I had no idea what it was I was trying, but I agreed. The vendor has this huge sharp knife and they start hacking away at the coconut. They eventually pop off the top, stick in a straw and hand it to you. Then you drink the juice inside. After a run, it's really refreshing....and I don't even like coconut.
I appreciate that Dhiraj is willing to take me to this park each morning. He's a very busy man and enjoys playing tennis with his friends in the mornings. Later today (Sunday), I plan to see how far a run it is to the park and may do a run inside again before coming back.
Dillip the Driver
We consistently have the same driver taking us around the city and between our apartment and office. His name is Dillip. He's probably about 19 or 20 years old and just learning how to drive. He's definitely young maturity wise but has a heart of gold. Dillip is just learning how to speak English, so he like to try out his speech with us when we're driving.
Dillip is a pretty crazy driver. He's definitely of the younger generation in that he's more aggressive and honks his horn A LOT. I find it really funny how every time we turn the corner by CATT he starts honking his horn immediately. This is his signal that everyone needs to get out of his way and let him park right next to the door. He just lays on the horn and people stare at him (I know how that feels!). It's hilarious.
The other day, I had a few Starburst in my pocket and was eating them as we left the apartment. I decided to give Dillip a few pieces as I suspected he'd never had them before. He immediately turned to my colleagues and tried to gift them. We all had to explain that the candy was for him and no one else. It was a true insight into his character that he thought of others before himself. What a nice kid. I've got a couple packages of chocolate left that I haven't yet given to any of my CATT colleagues and think he'll be getting one. They love American chocolate here.
Other India Adventures
The week was extraordinarily busy. Our days consisted of getting into the office about noon, but not before most of us had worked 2-3 hours in the morning. We generally don't leave much before 9 PM, sometimes 10 PM or later. Dhiraj always wants to take us to dinner at that time, which of course we're not used to. By the time we head out, we're completely wiped but agree most nights to dinner to be polite. The restaurants Dhiraj takes us to are all amazing food. We usually have a beer or whiskey (which often makes me even more tired) and a progressive style meal. You walk out stuffed and then head to bed when you get home...never a good combination. Plus, you don't go to one of these resturants for a quick meal - they are all well over an hour, sometimes two. A 5:30 wake-up to meet Dhiraj comes pretty early! Thus the reason I'm usually dying out there when I run....a few hours of sleep with the previous night's meal still sitting heavy in my stomach. Back to the apartment, maybe lay down for an hour before I'm back up, showering and back to work. Whirlwind!
Yesterday (Saturday) was a shorter day for us. We "only" worked until about 5:30....so only about 8 or 9 hours. :) The three of us (Jay, Bruce and myself) decided that ordering some Domino's and having some beer (King Fisher of course) would be a great idea. We did so, but after one beer, I was down for the count! Today (Sunday), we're going to visit a fort in the city - it's supposed to be a neat place. This will be our final day of no work (I say that term loosely because we'll probably do some work tonight) before a few more intense days and then flying home.
I know I mention how intense the work is here. It's hard to explain why that is. I think it's primarily because you get into such excruciating detail in building software. Not only considering where everything must be placed on a specific page, but then talking through all your data sources, what clicking this button will do and how it should look, and so on. One wouldn't think this would be all that difficult - I certainly didn't before doing this project. But it truly is a ton of work. Next week will be interesting as we've built out all our screens and start to discuss functional specs. Deep, deep detail.
I think I'm starting to become more accustomed to how things work in this city/country. Still, I can't help but be overwhelmed every time we leave the apartment. There is so much to take in that your eyes and brain can't keep up. It's the definition of being overly mentally and visually stimulated at all times. I can't describe how many people there are here...and they all appear to be going somewhere and doing something. Even the simple things you see cause you to stop and stare a little - something as simple as a child selling fruit on the street. When you're in a car, you see flashes of what's going on, but only a small fraction of the full picture. It would be interesting to just get out and walk - observe, talk to people, ask them what they're doing and why - but as "rich" white people, we would be mauled in most circumstances. I also think it would be interesting to walk through Old Hyderabad where the street vendors are. There are just hundreds of store and carts set up all over, even right in the middle of the street. Everyone is struggling for survival - peddling their goods. Again, it's probably not the most safe for us to be walking in these areas but it would be interesting. Unfortunately, we usually have to stick to the malls and larger chain stores unless we're accompanied to a specific place.
A lot of what people think about India is true but only to a certain extent. Yes, it is a poorer country. Yes, people urinate in the street right out in the open. Yes, there are lots of beggars who walk up to your car window. On the flip side, there are many misconceptions or exaggerations that Americans make that are untrue and unfair. I know people get frustrated when they call a customer service line and get an Indian. They're hard to understand don't appear to grasp your issue. But I can tell you that they care. They want you to be satisfied with your interaction and they want to solve your problem. I can see now why companies use Indian labor. Yes, it's cheap but it's also high quality. That's not something most Americans believe.
Time to sign off for now...but more to come....
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