The Short Version

Markus Meyer, Production Manager for Activeark JWT.

Expatriate in Pune, India 1st October, 2013 – 31st March, 2014.

This blog is a personal journal of observations by someone who took a long leap out of his comfort zone and found himself moving to India for six months.

The Long Version

It started as a crazy idea.

On a Monday morning, December 2012, we had the regular company meeting with internal news and updates. During this it was briefly mentioned about some possible projects coming up in our office in India.

I found myself in a state of curiosity and after a moments pondering I sent my boss an e-mail and asked to stay in the loop for further developments on the subject. Obviously the morning coffee hadn’t kicked in yet; under normal circumstances I would have just gone about my regular business and not given it another thought.

But not that Monday. Without realising it I had planted a seed in myself, one that would grow and push me forth.

Some time passed and little was heard. A couple of months later we had a few projects, something that our guys in India handled the technical development of. My role in those projects came to be a production manager, acting as an interface between the client and the team, coordinating tasks and overseeing the process.

Skype and e-mail are good tools for communication, but not everything can be handled remotely. It became apparent that there was a potential need for someone onsite, there, helping out and making sure everything runs smoothly. We could send someone there.

The idea sprouted. It could be me. I could go.

And now, half a year later, I’m in the middle of making preparations for leaving. In the beginning of October I’ll be heading to Pune for six months.

Not many days left until departure.

It’s going to be awesome.

So what’s the deal with this blog? Why not just go, without making a fuzz about it?

I’ve always liked creative writing: describing places, situations and feelings. Painting the scene with words. Writing is something I turn to regularly when I want to express myself. With this site I’ll be keeping a journal of my experiences in a foreign culture, far away from everything I ever knew.

No matter what awaits let’s still keep in mind this memorable quote from Douglas Adams:

“Don’t panic.”