First Week in India

I have a lot to recap from the last couple weeks, so I think I'll just start typing and see what comes out. It may or may not be coherent.

The rest of orientation in Colorado Springs was awesome. It involved a lot of introspection about my natural gifts and strengths and the various life experiences that have shaped me. That's not something I do often or naturally, so it took a little work for me, but it was really useful. I think the best part of the week was getting to know the other 20+ interns and staff and hearing everyone's life stories. I've never gotten that close to so many people in just one week. Sadly, we all had to go our separate ways last Monday, when I hopped on a plane bound for India.

I arrived in Delhi last Tuesday night after a relatively smooth 15-hour flight and 12-hour jump in time zones. 6 days later, my body is still fighting the jet lag. The descent of the plane into Delhi was a little surreal. It was super foggy, but when the ground became visible I saw the cars driving on the left side of the freeway and had my first “I'm in India!” moment. Customs and immigration were a breeze, and after a night in a Delhi hotel, my fellow interns and I took the 7-hour train ride and 1-hour taxi ride up the mountains to my new home. I must say, this town is gorgeous. Sorry Wisconsin, but I'll take mountains in my backyard instead of flat plains any day. (I'll try to get some pics on here soon.)

My first week here has been more orientation, but at a much more relaxed pace than in Colorado. We did some cultural training, a lot of mental preparation for the next few months, and a lot of just getting to know each other. There are 4 other interns, 4 staff architects/engineers, and 3 kids under the age of four running around. I'm the new guy at the office, but everyone has been very welcoming to me, and I get along really well with all of them. I'm looking forward to spending the next few months in community with them. The hardest part so far has been adjusting to life without the luxuries I'm accustomed to – hot showers, central heating, fast and reliable internet, meat in my daily diet – but I'm slowly getting used to it.

Yesterday I had my first encounter with the infamous red monkeys here. I walked to the market to get some bread and chips, and on my way out, I was surrounded by a few of them who wanted my food. I turned to walk the other way, but one of them jumped from behind me and slapped the back of my arm in an attempt to get my food. He missed, and I went back to the store, where the clerk wrapped my food in some newspaper so the monkeys wouldn't see it. I somehow managed to return home unscathed. Nick: 1, Monkeys: 0.

The first part of this week is more orientation, but with more of a focus on the actual design work that we'll be doing here. I'm feeling a little rusty after a 5-month layoff from anything engineering-related, so I'm hoping it all comes back pretty quickly.