Please please extend my visa...

I originally got a 1 year work visa in India.  I got the visa from the Indian embassy in NYC.  It was a very straightforward process.  I sent ~8 documents to the embassy along with my passport, and they immediately sent my passport back with the visa.

Now I need to extend the visa, as I plan to stay here longer into 2012.  However, once in India, the process needs to happen at the local offices here, and the process is not so simple.  Everyone has heard of the horrible bureaucracy in India, and of the corruption as well.  I did my homework and went to the immigration office with all my documents in order.  They still sent me away saying that my documents were insufficient.  They don't believe that I am a permanent employee here, they require my contract dates.  They also require proof of address, so I brought my lease agreement, which is good until Feb2012.  They told me I need a lease renewal agreement.  How stupid, to require proof of where I will be living 3 months from now???  This should not be required, and my landlord has moved to New Jersey, so I can't get these notarized docs so quickly.  I think they purposefully ask for unreasonable things so that they can take bribes.  I will be very upset if I can't continue my work here.  I am learning so much and enjoying this time in India immensely.

Its a small (pharma) world, and Goa

My company is a CRO/CMO (contract research/manufacturing org), so we get a lot of client visits (current and prospective clients).  It amazes me how many visitors work with people that I have also worked with.  It is a much smaller world, in this industry, than I would have figured.

I just met a Genentech guy who works with my ex-Pfizer friend Jack.  I have met Pfizer Animal Health guys who worked with me and Dennis/Sunil from PAH Kalamazoo.  My former Merck colleague Pete joined a company in NJ, and his new boss came to my company.  Also one of my current colleagues previously worked at my old Merck site.

I have surprised myself recently with my schmoozing ability.  At first I hated the client visits, I just wanted to get back to the "science", project work.  But lately, it has become more fun to do the business activities.  Chatting it up about industry trends, "oh I also know so-and-so person", considering project costs and profits, all have gone from dull to interesting for me.  Who would have thought?

On a separate note, now that SNOW has come to Philly, I am not feeling homesick at all.  Weather is beautiful here.  My hindi is improving.  All in all, I am pretty happy here these days.

Went to Goa for Diwali.  What a lovely place.  Heavily influenced by Portugal, which is still apparent in the arcitechture and prevalence of christianity (including lovely old churches).  It is so christian that you can actually eat beef here!!  But I did not.  I ate some great fish curry though, a nice alternative to my usual diet, as quality fish is hard to come by in Ahmedabad.  The beaches are great, but not as good as Carribean.  I also helped teach my friend Vipin how to swim.  Can you believe only a small portion of the Indian population knows how to swim?  It was funny for me to teach a grown man to tread water.

Our beach hut, right on the water