My first week in India...man it's HOT!! -- Week 1

For those of you who don't know the story, I moved to Hyderabad, India a week ago on an 18 month international assignment for work. I had only been to India/Hyderabad once, and that was back in August to check the city/office out. And although India probably wouldn't have been my top choice for an international assignment, I figured it would be an adventure and a great opportunity to work/travel in a part of the world I wasn't familiar with at all. Yes, it was very tough to leave family and friends from the states--especially my dog Chewy...

But 18 months will fly by and I'll be back in the states before you know it--at least that's what I told myself to work up the courage to head to live in a foreign land on my own, with very little knowledge of what lies ahead.

SO, the reason for this blog...I was posting updates on Facebook and chatting with friends/family via email and on Skype ('keith.auer' is my Skype name by the way--add me as contact), and thought that it'd be easier to create a blog to share updates, funny stories, bizarre thoughts and probably LOTS of inappropriate comments (i.e. two days ago I notied that really smelled like b.o., but it was a different b.o. than I had in the states--it was almost like my b.o. took on the scent of India if that's possible).  I also wanted to share photos of my time/experiences, especially for those who aren't on Facebook (you know who you are).

This is my first blog, so I have no idea what people find interesting, but definitely open to your thoughts/comments.  Even if no one reads my blog, I figure it will be cool to look back at it down the road to remind me of this experience...but I do hope people will read it ;-).

WEEK 1:

I arrived in Hyderabad last Saturday, April 14th @ 3am...probably not the best time to arrive in a city/country you know little about.  It all worked out and after a very grueling flight in business class on Emirates (Seattle to Dubai = 14 hrs., Dubai to Hyderabad = 3.5 hrs)...

I was expecting to have some issues at the airport with either my luggage (8 bags), finding my driver, customs or melting before I left the airport, BUT no big issues at the airport, which was a great way to start off the move.  Unfortunately the place they had arranged for me to live temporarily was was another story.  The airport was about a 20 min drive to my place and as we started to get closer, I was expecting to see the hotel, or at least some form of life around it, but when he turned down this dirt road, I thought he was going to throw me out and take off w/ all my stuff... At the end of this dirt road was the glamorous Mandava Suites (not).  The room was actually a lot nicer than the outside/surroundings, and the staff was super friendly, so I figured I could "rough" it until I found an apt. of my own.  Of course it was 3:30 in the morning and dark as hell, so I had no idea what was around, so I decided I'd unpack and before I knew it, the sun was coming up and this was my view from my back window/porch...

Yes, that's a little tent city in my backyard and the couple that lives in the one closest to my room were brushing their teeth and going to the bathroom when I looked out--"MORNING" I said ;-). 

It was all good--I was in a new country and keeping an open mind, but I did have my limit, and on the 4th night of being woken up at 2:30am by a pack of wild dogs just outside my window, I reached that limit.  Seriously, I think that couple might have been running some secret Hyderabad dog fighting ring in that area.  Regardless, they moved me to The Westin...

I know some of you are probably thinking "spoiled American traveler", well, I thought the same thing and then I walked into my suite and said "who the f*#% cares...this rocks!"  So I'm slumming it here at the Westin--and yes, that's a swim up bar in the pool! 

Work is going great and as I mentioned on Facebook, I always get really nervous on 1st days (school, work, dates, etc.), so I couldn't have been happier that my team took me out to lunch and then surprised me a 'Welcome to India' cake.  I'm going to learn a lot from this career opportunity...and will hopefully leave the team/organization in a better place than when I arrived.

This blog is starting to drag, so going to wrap up, and don't worry, not all my posts will be this long or dry, but wanted to set the context.  And I figure that by starting out w/ a really sucky post, it can only improve from there!  A couple more pics--tonight (Sat.) I went out to my first authentic Indian restaurant with some new friends I met.  The place is called Sholay, which is supposedly this VERY famous Bollywood film that ran in theaters for 5 straight years...which is crazy.  Needless to say, I'll be renting that to see how a movie can last 5 yrs in the theaters.

I was thinking of a way I can end all my posts and this is what I came up with...

DEEPak THOUGHTS BY KEITH--

• Best thing I brought with me...baby wipes--you'd think for a country whose food is probably going to make you shit buckets, they'd have some quality toilet paper!
• Whoever created bobble heads must've visited India and got the inspiration
• I will never lose my temper again while driving in the states and passing an Indian driver going to slow--I'll just be happy if he's actually staying within the lines on the road.
• And lastly, any of you who were horrified at Michael Jackson holding his baby over a railing should probably not come to India b/c you would freak seeing how kids are transported on motorbikes here--no kidding, the other day I saw 5 people on 1 bike...and no, there weren't any sidecars!

Until next time..."Stay Sunny Hyderabad"!!  Miss you all!

Keith