First Month in Bangalore

India? 

If you've made it to this page you probably don't need a recap of the backstory on how Jo and I ended up in India. To summarize: We punched out of Malaysia and the working world in December '24. The subsequent 6 months of retirement skiing, hiking, and goofing off in central Oregon was fantastic. But also probably a little premature. So we both engaged in a game of chicken to see which one of us would fold first and go get a job.

Jo has more nerve...she won. But to be fair, I'm not really feeling like I lost. Contacts in the Malaysian job laid the foundation for this current adventure - we're here in Bangalore as a part of getting India's fledgling semiconductor industry off the ground. The job so far is challenging and interesting - its rewarding to work with a crew so committed to what is largely viewed as a matter of national pride here. Plan is 3 years, and we'll be in our current location for about a year and then move north to Assam (just north of Myanmar, at the base of the Himalayas) once the factory construction is ready.

Prior to departure we spent time with dear friends and family and especially our kids

And soaked up as much Oregon early summer beauty and chill as we could before departing right after the 4th of July

I'll emphasize the chill part...because that's tough to come by. So far India is has been a lot of things. And all the things it is, it's a lot of those things. And finding chill and relaxation requires an intentional effort. We kind of knew this going in... And yet - its not real until you see it for yourself. Especially the traffic.

We recently moved from the hotel into our more permanent housing, which is great because my time spent in intersections like the one in the video has decreased from about 90 minutes to 50 minutes/day. Despite this change, there's been no reduction in what I'll call daily roadside miracles - marvels of courage and creativity all around me. Such as:

Also, roads aren't just for people and cars

Since we're starting to feel a little more settled here, it's been nice to venture out a bit and explore. We went for a hike last weekend with a group from work, to what had once been a hilltop lookout for the local Raj. It also included a visit to a decaying temple with a posse of resident monkeys that weren't  really down with Jo and I just dropping by. Felt a few King Louis from the Jungle book vibes.

Since we had friends in Penang that had gotten bitten by monkeys and had to go thru the full series of rabies shots we played it safe, despite our evolutional superiority. 

Up top there were more, but also an awesome view. And I'm experimenting / learning with my insta360 camera, which you can tell from the fancy effect that it applied to the group shot.

Also in the spirit of getting to know this place more we visited Lalbaugh Botanical gardens - the stuff that grows here naturally is such a novelty to me still, tropical fruits, crazy huge trees, and flowers. So here's a few flowers from our visit...enjoy

Lastly, this last weekend was Independence day here. It was interesting to contrast the celebration here vs July 4 back home. We both share the common experience of throwing off the oppression of British tyranny, but I think the similarities end there. At work there was a cultural celebration with singing and dancing in the cafeteria

In our neighborhood there was more of the same as well as a flag raising, and a poetry reading by a local dignitary. 

I was struck by the tone here - measured, respectful, and humble. The presenter in the picture above highlighted the 1000s of years of history of Mother India, the cultures and languages represented, and the statement of " if we all do our part, India can be great on the world stage". Don't get me wrong, I love fireworks and BBQ as much as anyone. But it was so refreshing to have the language of independence to be about celebrating the common good and shared destiny.

India has a lot to work on. There's brutal poverty I witness every day. The infrastructure is a mess - our power goes out half a dozen times per day. The road to the airport has ruts that rival the most washed-out logging road I've ever taken to get to a trailhead in Oregon.  I've seen some unspeakable stuff that I wouldn't post here or anywhere. But my observation so far is that they have national pride figured out. And seem willing to include instead of divide. Glad to have witnessed that this week.