20091011 - Less then one week until I head for Ahmedabad!

This is my first time to write a blog... I figured it would be better to try how it works before I leave for Ahmedabad.

For three months now, we have been preparing for this assignment. We have held weekly team conference calls and finalised the necessary pre-work. We have learned about IBM values, high performing teams, cultural diversity, Indian culture, etc. We have a wiki-site, a team name (Rangoli Team) with accompanying power point template and we planned a team event to Udaipur. I received my visa already about two months ago, same goes for my vaccinations. I even bought a proper suit case. In other words: we are well prepared!

Then... why am I getting so nervous?

• Usually I start travel arrangements (visa, vaccinations, etc.) at the last possible moment. The evening before my departure I start packing my rucksack. Quite a different approach.
• Colleagues, family and friends all provide advise and information (´Do you know there was a flood in India last week?´, ´You will definitely get stomach problems because of the food´, ´Most people come back from India with sore throats due to the pollution´). I prefer to take things as they come as it makes me tense to think beforehand about what could go wrong.
• But the main reason for my growing nervousness is that I will go to India to make a difference. The assignment addresses one of the very basic needs of people (housing). I will work on this assignment in a different country and culture with the Rangoli Team which represents various countries and cultures. That is definitely very different from any assignment I have ever done before…
  

However, the main feeling is: I cannot wait to start!

I´m looking forward to:

• Finally meet the Rangoli Team members in person, work with them and go on site seeing tours together (e.g. Udaipur)
• Meet the clients and start working with and for them
• Visit the slums of Ahmedabad to see the current situation which will improve as a result of the Ashoka project
• Be part of Indian society for a month: walk between people in colourful clothes, eat the nice and spicy food, learn to correctly interpret the frequent head shaking of Indian people, see and understand how Indian people live, etc.
• Go to the IBM Event in Bangalore and hopefully meet some Global Delivery colleagues that I have worked with in the past (conf calls, mail, sametime) but never met in person
• All the new experiences and adventures!
  
  Yahoo! In less than a week I will leave for Ahmedabad!