Home at last.

This post was written several weeks ago, but just posted today

I'm home at long last but wiped out. Got in last night, but will only work a little today. I'm physically and emotionally drained and am trying to make some sense of the last six weeks.
This trip was considerably harder than the previous in every way.
As the Lonely Planet guidebook says: "No matter how diehard you are, it's hard to find anything in Chennai to rave about". It's a tough city and we were staying out by the airport. It's hot, rough-scrabble and there isn't anything really to do. There is a tax on alcohol that ranges from 50% to 70%. Even the models and actors we saw at fashion shows and tv shoot just weren't that hot. The hotel gave us problems and the food just wasn't as good as Bangalore.
But it isn't just our entertainment and creature comforts; Chennai was a depressing city that assaulted your good will. Poverty and slums were always a step away and it was hard to miss. People relieve themselves everywhere and it's muddy and dirty. Everyone gets sick and has a perpetual cough.
The work was harder, longer and more desperately required. Starting something is easy; finishing it is hard. This trip we were trying to wrap things up but there was a lot conspiring against us. You can only do so much, but working hard and not getting the results you want is difficult. And I had to do some things as a manager that were hard
It was a tough trip.
But it was a great trip.
This trip had a lot of growth experiences built into it. And those kind of experiences aren't always pleasant. You can wrinkle you nose at the guy in the elevator and think he's a creep for not bathing, but then you see how they have to get water from a hand pump every day and you start to get it. While we griped about the sub-standard showers in our hotel rooms our driver slept in the car at night and somehow looked crisp in whites in the morning. We understand these things, but It's hard to get over your upbringing and truly empathize.
We saw abject poverty and stunning riches. We saw fashion shows on the catwalk and cows eating the glue off of posters. We saw markets so dense with people that you couldn't move. We heard songs to Allah sung in the catacombs of emperor's tombs. We were threatened by a snake charmer, brow-beaten by monkey-handlers, harassed by a transgendered beggar, and stared at by nearly everyone.
We watched ceremonies to ward off the evil eye, painters etching palm leaves, security guards sleeping at their posts, lions having sex, stoneworkers at the grinding wheel, and more. Our friends went on engagement-meetings to find brides, had cake smeared on in their faces and were kicked in the air for their birthdays.
It was a great trip. It was a hard trip.
And it's the last one I will make there in the foreseeable future and I'm ok with that. I've been too long on the road. I've been away more than I've been home for the last year and a half and I need to work on reconnecting and building a life here. So, thank you India, thank you company for sending me, but now I need to put you aside and look to my home.



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