i lived overseas for 4 years. my dad's job took us to indonesia, and they moved to egypt when i went to college. by all means JUMP at the chance to go. it's only a month. you'll get to experience an entirely new culture and india is so close to so many places. DO IT! :)

Re: Update!
 

They told me today that if everything stays on schedule they would want me to get on a plane by Sept. 11. Call me superstitious but I'm a little nervous about flying on Sept. 11. Plus, the date is bad for me anyway since I'll be "house-sitting" for my parents who will be out of town until the 20th. I hope the date gets pushed back (everything they do gets pushed back usually *cross your fingers for me*) so that my parents will be back in town & can watch our dog & help pay my bills while I'm out of town!

Looks like I'll be traveling around the 19-20th & I'll be in India for about 3 weeks!

That's very exciting! Enjoy your time there!

Congrats! What a cool opportunity for you!:)

Congratulations!! This truly is a chance in a lifetime!!

Having done this for about 9 months once (only a different city every week or so), I recommend that you keep some sort of journal, and take photos. You may never get a chance to do it again, and whether it's a good experience or a bad one, you'll never forget it!

Oh, and ask about a per diem. I managed to pay off ALL of my loans in that time by banking most of my per diem!

So, after weeks of having the date pushed back, I finally found out the actual date that I leave! My plane leaves @ 3:13PM on September 23 & I will arrive in Bangalore, India @ 2AM on September 25. :)

I got some shots today-Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Polio, & Typhoid. Tomorrow I'm getting my MMR & tetanus shots. I also have to get a prescription filled for Malarone, I'm supposed to take it to avoid Malaria.

I had to go through some cultural diversity training & I'm actually terribly nervous about going! I wish that I were traveling with some co-workers closer to my age! I want to go dancing on the weekends when I'm there! :D

Umm this is India, not NYC.

Most likely you'll be staying at a corporate campus which will provide you with some comfort, but really once you leave I don't think most Americans would be comfortable.

-Rudey

Have sooo much fun!

This is done with Canadian in mind but you might also find it useful. It's from the Canadian Government Travel board. It has all sort of information on the country, etc. You might find the "culture insight" portion very useful - I know many people who have (though, not to India particularly).

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/ctry/co...country=128000

Actually, you are forgetting that there are some cities in India that are just as westernized as NYC. In fact, Mumbai is considered the NYC of India. Lots of clubs that play hip-hop, rock, electronic, etc. Bangalore is also very westernized & some fellow co-workers of mine that have been before me tell me that there is a lot to do there. The night life is a lot of fun & dancing is aplenty. And I'm not staying at a corporate campus, I'm staying at their version of a 5-star hotel (as I understand it, the hotel would be considered a 3-star hotel here in the U.S) & I'll have the weekends off work!

Now, I know that I've never been to India before but I've got a few friends that live there now -one of which is studying abroad there- that I can't wait to meet up with. I'm going to take their opinions (as well as those shared by my co-workers that have already been) before yours. Sounds to me like you haven't been to any of the westernized cities in India, or maybe you haven't been to India @ all?

Thanks for the info! Before you travel for work for my company they send you to an orientation about the country before you leave. So, I've got about 30 pages of printed material on India from the CDC. I want to be as informed as possible so I'll check out the web site!

No, I'm not forgetting anything. Have fun though!

This is from Lonelyplanet (one of the largest and best travel guide companies):

Mumbai (AKA Bombay) is the glamour of Bollywood cinema, cricket on the maidans on weekends, bhelpuri on the beach at Chowpatty and red double-decker buses. It is also the infamous cages of the red-light district, Asia's largest slums, communalist politics and powerful mafia dons.

Mumbai leapt into the new millennium determined to become the most populous city in the world by 2020, when it might hold as many as 28.5 million people. This upcoming stature is, however, of little comfort to the 50% of the city's inhabitants who presently still live without water or electricity. Nothing demonstrates Mumbai's deteriorating environment better than a recent report which claims just breathing the air in Mumbai is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day, hence the popularity of recently opened 'oxygen bars'. It's hoped that the satellite city of New Bombay, which is taking shape on the mainland, will relieve some of the pressures on the urban environment.

-Rudey

I hope you enjoy your trip, even if some people want to rain on your parade. India is an interesting country, and a trip there is a lifetime experience. One can learn a lot from a place that's different than their own.

Good luck and have fun! Don't work too hard! :D

This is effing hilarious.

I live in NYC. Whenever I need help with something technological, my calls inevitably get routed to India. WTF?! :( :confused:

Personally I think its great that companies are able to help provide jobs in a developing country. You'd be surprised to know how much it really helps their economy. The Discovery Channel did a documentary on outsourcing in Bangalore, India & it was terribly interesting. It showed both the good & bad sides of how it was impacting India's society. Personally, I've always thought that growth is good.

I just wish that American callers were more patient with some of the Indian call center agents that they encounter...just because they have a different accent does not mean that they can't help you!