Machu Picchu and the faraway Google office

How I took and went to South America

This post is a story about my trip abroad in the form of Google advertising for programmers. And although some time has passed since the text was written, and I haven’t been working at Google for a long time, I want to recall my grafomania on my journey, at the same time telling readers how pleasant it is to work with, as we all know, the best employer in the world.

This story began quite a long time ago, in hot Israel, where visiting my classmate, I casually started a conversation that the rules in Google allowed an employee to sometimes work in the office in which he wanted, and next to which he found himself personal affairs. And he, a classmate, convinced me, how should I use this, since the geography is vast (by the way, the list ). But the story stumbled about another year, until two more classmates appeared: Hospitable and Energetic, and then I thought: it's time! South America - the most it.

Since teleporters are still being developed in Google, and it is impossible to disclose secret projects, I bought a plane ticket and rested for 11 hours from wi-fi, gprs, edge and sms.
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It turned out that ordinary people also live on that edge of the Earth. And yet I was very happy when I saw a person I knew from school among those who met me. My second joy was a small card, which is inserted into the smartphone and connects it with the local Internet. Finally, mobile applications have acquired a special meaning. Why there are still no special kiosks at the airports right in the arrival hall?

I could get lost in a big unfamiliar city, but fortunately my classmate settled near the lighthouse. But the office still had to find in the city. Probably at this very moment you understand what a foreigner feels when trying to find the address “st. Mayakovsky, 3-B, letter "A" ", written in Cyrillic.



So, when the office building was found, - a new test for the engineer: how to call the elevator? No buttons on the wall can be seen, and even if you break into the elevator car, they will not be there either.



Perhaps the answer is already known to many: the administration of the building has installed a particularly advanced system. In the hall on a special remote you need to dial the number of the floor where you want to go, and then the display will show which of the 6 elevators you are lucky:

— , «» «»!




The office itself is quite cozy and similar to mine, where I work. So you feel at home. And what do you need for work, except for a comfortable table, wi-fay, ocean view and coffee?





The office is still rather small, it takes only a few rooms on the floor. This is familiar, because the Petersburg branch began as well. At that time, the administration tried to solve the problem for a long time, so that young people in shorts and barefoot did not frighten business people in suits. It is interesting how here management wittily applies “soft power”: it makes it colder - and it is prestigious for a hot country, and you don’t look much like shorts.

The people in the office turned out to be very nice and friendly.



The male half of course loves football. For example, on this screen I was able to see only
broadcast football, or "football" from the game console (and with the current quality of graphics you will not always understand what this time is).



Was it hard? Did I have to rearrange the ip-address and subnet mask, or get used to how the Coriolis return force twists the water in the bathroom in an unusual direction? Not. But the main problem for me was the Spanish language. Fortunately, Google Translate often helps out. It is still exotic, but in a few years, the world will probably change thanks to automated translation, as it has changed with the advent of mobile communication. Particularly advanced taxi drivers also mastered Google Translate. Not to, of course, to better understand where you need, but to chat along the way.

But Google Maps'u still recklessly not worth it. Otherwise, once instead of the highway, you may find yourself in a fog at an altitude of 4300m. (And yes, the Andes are pretty cool.)



At parting, I left a gift exclusive exclusive T-shirts and went home to his hemisphere.



It is very nice to combine travel to a distant country with the opportunity to work there. It’s a shame to fly across the ocean for just a week, and being able to continue working in another city is a great way to spend more time in a faraway country without spending too many vacation days on it. Of course, there are costs, it is still difficult to continue working with the same intensity, but sometimes it is possible.