Just three weeks separate me from my return to the US! It's hard to believe that we're over 2/3 done, but we are. In many ways I'm excited to get back to PSU, but in many ways I'll be very sad to leave India. However, I'll just plan to enjoy these last three weeks as much as possible, because who knows when I'll be back on this part of Earth.

Today was a nice break from work as we got a chance to visit ITC Infotech, a subsidiary of ITC Limited. Originally a tobacco company, the parent company now has their hands in many things, one of which being IT Services/Outsourcing. The two gentlemen we talked to were very nice, and it was so nice of them to take time out of their day to show us around and talk about what they do. As they were talking about their successes and some of their projects, it made me think more about some of the benefits of being a small company, and that keeps alive the ongoing wrestling match in my head between which is better and which I'd rather work for: a small company or a large company.

We had heard coming into this summer that Bangalore is the "Silicon Valley of India," but that never completely rang true to us until today. Their campus looked a lot like a Silicon Valley startup. It had all been built out of old tobacco bunkers, and it was completely modernized and gorgeous. The big conference room we met in had a table with sea shells featured in glass cases under the tabletop. The stairway to the mezannine level of one of the buildings was comprised of glass steps. The palm trees and tropical plans outside the buildings completed the ensemble to make it a very cozy-feeling atmosphere. I know that I would enjoy going to work at a place that is visually impressive, and seeing this place was really cool.

In addition to ITC Infotech, I actually got a chance to go to TCS for a conference on Wednesday. TCS is one of the real heavy hitters in Bangalore (and really that's an understatement considering their parent, the TATA Group, owns seemingly everything here), and as you can imagine, their facility was also impressive. Because I'm working on a KM project, one of my colleagues invited me to this conference, which was part of the "K Community" in Bangalore. Once a month or so, KM professionals from all the major companies in Bangalore get together to discuss their KM initiatives and talk about what's going on in the industry. I was practically in heaven here getting a chance to walk around and network with people from all the big name companies, and hearing about what they're working on. It was a great day.

Wednesday started off really well before the conference too, because I flipped on the TV (a rarity since I usually spend very little time in my room) early in the morning on the off-chance I'd get to see some of the MLB All-Star game, and it was on! I caught a couple innings before work, and was happy to see some baseball for the first time in a long time. I couldn't check the score at work, but later found out the AL had won after a 15-inning thriller, so I was happy about that. And Wednesday continued to get better after the conference, too, because I went straight from TCS to a restaurant to meet the rest of our group of interns, Eric from Intel, and four interns from Infosys. I'd been talking with Margaret from Infosys over the course of the summer, but we'd yet to all meet up, so it was fun to see and swap stories with some more people who'd been having similar experiences.  

Our plans for this weekend are to first get some much needed R&R, and then explore Bangalore and see some of the state buildings and parts we have yet to see. The past three weeks have really been a big blur with all the travel, so sleeping in on Saturday will be very much welcomed. We may even take in a Bollywood movie at some point on Saturday or Sunday, and that should be pretty fun. I feel it's probably an injustice to ourselves to leave India without seeing one.

It's funny how many differing perspectives there are here when you have a BILLION people in your country. I was talking to one of my colleagues Maria this week, and she was telling me about the striking differences between generations here because people in their 20's grew up in such different circumstances. Some view this as a good thing, and some view this as a bad thing. The beautiful gardens (now buildings), large families (now nuclear), and some parts of the culture have pretty much been completely wiped out by all the changes here. On the other hand, though, some people say that is good that India is "keeping up with the times" and that so many people are being given so many new jobs and opportunities. It's fascinating to hear about these two points of view, and I know a lot more of it is way over my head as I try to comprehend and decide where my opinions lie. I just want to make sure I experience as much as possible and talk to as many people as possible before I leave here in three weeks. Like I said, who knows when I'll be back, and I just want to enjoy the ride.