Another very productive week at work. Our trainees are taking what they have learned and already doing some great work for our clients. This week, I also had a couple of fun nights out of the hotel, which is always a nice treat. 

The first outing was with Saylee, Vijay and Andre (my three trainers) to the Skybar. It is just a few blocks from our hotel. It is up on the 16th floor with a great view of the city and very modern vibe, including the music and decor. Saylee and I enjoyed a nice bottle of wine, while the guys tried out some interesting beers and cocktails, which pared well with our shared appetizers. It was the night before Indian New Year, so we were treated to fireworks to start the celebration!

Although Wednesday was the New Year holiday, our team of 10 trainees and 3 trainers were all working. Since we are only training for 3 weeks, we hated to give up a day and our team was wonderful to give up the day (they are getting another day in the future). This meant however, that the rest of the city was relaxing and traffic was AMAZING...20 minutes both to and from the hotel, which was a huge improvement from every other day that ranges from 40-1hr 40 to go 5 miles. Not only was the traffic light, but the office was totally empty. What is normally bustling with hundreds of people all discussing and working on some of our most high profile clients, was totally silent, except for my guys and one other team (interestingly working on a project for one of our big universities in Texas!).  

Our traffic and office activity was back to normal on Thursday, and we had scheduled a team dinner that night. After much discussion it was finally decided on the Biergarten, a cool brewery with good food. It was a really fun evening, with our USI leadership joining and giving everyone a chance to relax, enjoy good food and non-work conversations.

On Friday, after working most of the day, it was time to head to Goa for the weekend. I have always wanted to visit Goa and to make this even better, my friend Maria from Dubai is joining me with her two daughters Ireland and Kiera. Andre, my colleague is also joining and will participate in activities with the ladies as he prefers. 

We got to the Bangalore airport, made it through security and got on the Air Asia flight with no issue. The flight was packed, but with the flying time only 1hr20mins, it isn't a big deal. We arrived Goa, to much warmer and muggier (think Houston in the early summer) weather ,found our Marriott driver (complimentatry airport pickup which is great) and were quickly on the 40 minute drive to the hotel. On the way we passed the normal Indian homes, which seemed larger and much nicer than most we see in Bangalore. As we got closer to the hotel, there were a bunch of large casino boats, all lit up and some motoring around the water. It was actually quite a sight.  

 After arriving at the hotel, I found Maria and the girls and we headed to the hotel seafood restaurant on the water for a really nice dinner. Lobster, fish cooked Portuguese style and pasta/garlic cheese bread for the non-seafood eaters. Wonderful to catch up and be with my wonderful friends!