Don’t Have a Cow, Man!

Last Friday, we packed our bags and took the 4-hour bus ride to Bangalore. We were greeted with traffic and pollution. It was official: we had arrived to one of the biggest cities in India. We found our campus about 15 kilometers from downtown Bangalore, which was very similar to Mysore’s, but a lot more compact. The benefits of finally being in a big city (as opposed to the more rural Mysore) overshadowed the denseness of our new home.
My second day, I decided that to truly be happy, I would need a motorcycle. I was on a hunt for 5 hours until I finally found a small shop owner who would rent me his motorcycle for a couple of months. I rented a TVS Fiero, a 2-year-old machine which could easy handle any hectic city driving: easy to maneuver, and powerful enough to keep up with any traffic.
My third day, a few of us with motorcycles went out and rode around the town to get a better idea of where everything was. By the end of the day, the pollution had really gotten to me. A pounding headache later, I was back in my room, and my face was completely black from the dirt and fumes hitting me all day. I had definitely reached the limits of Bangalore driving, six hours being the absolute maximum.
Well, it has been a week since I’ve moved to Bangalore, and much has happened in terms of work. With the training in Mysore finally complete, it was time to go into production. I am working for my company’s Banking and Capital Markets division, being assigned to a major financial institution in the States. This being our very first time in this environment, we have been going through domain specific training, and have been assigned a project. We have not been given many responsibilities as of yet, still learning the terminology and methods used by the company. In any case, I am looking forward to getting some real work experience under my belt!
In the coming weeks, we are planning a trip to Delhi, to see the Taj Mahal. More updates coming up!