The Arrival: Great Success

I flew into Hyderabad from Delhi on Kingfisher airlines (yes it is an Indian beer, and yes it is the only Indian airline with 5 stars!). It was GREAT! Amazing amazing Indian food and they gave us pens and as much bottled water as we wanted. I recommend them to anyone who flies in here. Apparently it is owned by the Richard Branson of India, so it is like Virgin. There were gorgeous cumulus clouds all over the sky just like blobs of whipped cream. When we finally got over Hyderabad I was shocked by several things. First off, it is huge! It is just hard core city for miles and miles. Imagine the entire bay area with no bay packed like Civic Center! Also, instead of dark roads underneath the city, it was all red dirt. This might not sound strange but next time you fly you will notice the dark roads.

Finally I landed in Hyderabad after nearly 28 hours of travel. After having overcome the ghetto Delhi airport I knew I could handle Hyderabad's, which looks quite modern from the outside. It was clean and bright on the inside with huge pictures of beautiful things to see in India. When we got downstairs people working for the airline bombarded me to help me get my bags. I really didn't need help but they are very sneaky and forced themselves on me. I know I was supposed to tip them but I was not sure how much so I just avoided tipping them in the end (update: 100 rupee is normal for tips). This made me realize that I do not like to be waited on.

As I left the airport and the heat sunk in. I am sweating SO much. So much more than I usually ever do and I think I am even slightly dehydrated! Who knows what will happen when I am drinking my regular amount of water. The airport landscaping is lush and tropical. There were women on the front lawn in amazing bright outfits irrigating the lawn. They were the first thing that shook me into realizing that I made it to India. As we drove out, there were more colorfully clad people watering by hose and trimming the landscape. It was to notice magenta and electric orange beings scattered through the green bushes and trees.

The drive to my place was about an hour. I saw so many amazing things! Stray dogs, buffalo blocking traffic, and crumbling buildings. What stood out the most was for me was the color! Women are all dressed so bright and the buses and trucks are adorned with flair and colorful paint- similar to something you would see in Puerto Rico. Men are dressed in oxfords despite the heat. Nobody really looks dirty- but everything around them does. It is strange balance. Wires in pillars stick out of the top of almost all buildings as if they are planning on adding on a second level. The weirdest thing I noticed is that there is no pavement in front of stores, just red earth. Nothing looks like a store I would want to go into but never say never!

I finally arrived at my place which is in a gated apartment building with 4 armed guards. It looks like a building nestled by the ball park in SOMA, which made me happy. My flat is very modern. It is two stories and has three bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. I have my own queen sized bed, bathroom, and wooden cabinets to hold the 120 pounds of things I carried with me. I am sharing the flat with a member of my team Neelima, who came over for a quarter a year ago and never came back. I am glad to be living with someone that I know and who can show me around and introduce me to people. My biggest fear is not making friends while I am here. There are about 40 people traveling from Europe and America from Google now so there will be plenty of people to meet.

Someone from Google met at my room and gave me everything I needed from a toothbrush to Pringles and took me over to our office which is a two minute walk away. Google looks just like Google at home so I felt comforted checking it out. I ate some lunch which was delicious. I have so much trust in Google that I ate some raw vegetables my first day- some people visiting NEVER eat them. I guess getting sick from the water in Spain and Arizona have prepped me because it has been almost 24 hours since ingesting them and I have yet to get ill. I could have gotten lucky so I am going to avoid them as best I can. Who can say no to fresh tomatoes though?

Overall I am excited for what is to come. I hope to master the art of wearing clothing that covers most of my body despite walking in humid heat. I also hope that I avoid getting deathly ill from the food/water here. My first day was a great so hopefully things keep getting better.