Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Post Dho: Welcome to India

Well, I had an interesting few weeks leading up to this trip. The most interesting happening was having to get an emergency appendectomy the day of my sister's graduation (2 Fridays ago). But it was fine. I'd rather have it out than in, as it can no longer bother me at this point. Plus, it got me out of a final, which was fine, just FINE.. =)

So, the day I was to head out was a bit hectic as well. I was to fly to Chicago through American Airlines & then catch a connecting flight to Delhi. That's not quite how things panned out. The flight to Chicago was delayed, which would have caused me to miss the flight to Delhi. So, after waiting a billion years in line at the airport to figure out what to do, the guy said I'd have to wait until the following day to head out. Once I got to Samara's place (my sister's; she agreed to let me stay the night at her place), I realized that I HAD to arrive sooner than this flight could get me there or I'd miss the bus with my group to Dehradun & would have to find a way there on my own- which, of course, I could have done with no problem, but preferred yo take a free ride with people I halfway knew. From Samara's I called the airport, went round & round, until they said there was a flight heading to LA in an hour that I could catch. So, Mara & I grabbed my stuff, rushed out of the house & down the highway, & I said, "We'll never make it.. Let's go back." Fortunately, I have a very determined & wise eldest sister who said, "We're already halfway there. There's no harm in trying." And she was quite right, because I did make it after all. Flew to LA (in the opposite direction of where I needed to go), caught a connecting flight to London (my first time in Europe & I didn't see a thing besides the airport. Damn!), & then hooked up with British Airways to go to Delhi. After flying BA, I never want to take AmAir, Continental, or any other silly US airlines. They had a complementary bar, a bag with a sleeping mask, socks, a mini toothbrush & toothpaste, & headphones to plug in to watch movies or shows.. Oh! And GOOD food. They know how to treat a person real nice.

The 3 other students I ran into taking the same London flight & I took a cab to the hotel where the rest of the students were staying, had time for a hurried breakfast, & hopped on the bus to Dehradun with everyone. The ride took about 7 hours, but it was fascinating because it seemed like there was never an end to Delhi & the beginning of open countryside. That's what happens when a billion people inhabit a country a third of the size of the US. I saw tons loads of people in the street during that long ride. So many people, with so many different modes of transportation (they were on foot, bicycles, on horses, on carriages led by horses or cows, riding motor scooters, in cars, buses, rickshaws), some were pissing or defecating in the street, some were selling fruits, snacks, or other goods, others were just hanging out outside, waiting for something. Most of them were men , half wearing western clothing. The few women I did see were all wearing saris or the silwar camis- the beautiful, traditional dress of India. I saw loads of stray, mangy dogs, cows wandering the streets (but not on a milk shed), and signs in both Hindi & English. I head horns, bells, horns, birds, and more horns (I'm still hearing horns as I sit in my room typing). I tasted & ingested pollution & caught whiffs of delicious Indian food. The wealth disparity was apparent, as there were beggers in the streets & people in shiny new cars.

Finally, we arrived at the hotel, had a lovely buffet dinner, & I passed out for the night. Yesterday at 8am we had our first Hindi lesson, but we only made it to the vowels as the lesson was prefaced with a 45 minute poetic shpeel about the beauty of language, communication of the soul, and the necessity for understanding. The teacher is a local, and quite a romantic. But he's still fun. The we got our cell phones & internet cards & had the rest of the day to ourselves. Many of us went to explore the Pultan Bazaar, the open air market. We had a wonderful time riding in rickshaws (I'll take pictures of them later so you know what I'm talking about), sort of open taxis on 3 wheels, to get to the market & we each paid only 10 Rupees (about 25 cents). At the Bazaar, everything you can imagine was being sold cheaply (but of course they jacked the prices up for us). I talked a guy down to giving me a nice Indian shirt for 120 Rupees ($3), so ladies, let me know your sizes & I'll hook you up. In the midst of all the cheap goods & fruit stands, there were random piles of trash everywhere. Some of it had been partially burned, but of course the aluminum & ashes remained in piles in the streets.

I have to run to a party, but I'll be back to finish updating the post...

-internet/phones/ WATER
-Hindi class
-sleep schedule
-wondering about everyone
-IRB
-Recruitment
-Phone #: The # is: 011-91-975-839-1502
-Address
-Will put pics up later/ maybe video

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What an initiation...the third world way!

You have the right perspective: what will be...just deal with it!

Stay confident, have fun, keep your eyes & ears open, and remember to soul search on a frequent basis.
yl

Nikishka said...

oh my god i miss home!

keep writing, and remember-live like a local, not a tourist :)

have fun in mi casa!