A Long Time Coming

First, I must apologize for the delay in getting this blog off the ground.  The first few days of our trip were so incredibly busy that we had barely enough time for food let alone sleep or blogging…and just yesterday we finally had access to a computer but the internet here in Mungeli is very spotty and it is difficult to secure a connection.  So, it appears that this project will be more of a diary than I previously anticipated.  We saw the updates Landa posted and would all like to reiterate that we are happily settled in Mungeli and beginning to go about our various services.  O, and I also apologize for any grammatical mistakes, the interface here is rather difficult.

Being conscious of the value of this internet time I am tempted to gloss through and give the highlights of our trip so far, but I feel that wouldn’t fulfill this purpose or do justice to the experience.  Instead, I will try to write well, when I can, and try to give a proper account of our exploits.

On the 27th of December our group departed a foggy Atlanta on an evening flight bound for London.  Waiting on a runway queue we watched the planes before us shake and roar into takeoff their lights soon enveloped by the silent southern smoke.  Unbeknownst to us then, this farewell was to become our theme as we seem to constantly discover and depart new places in mist.  After eight hours of pleasant British service we arrived at Gatwick around8:30 or 9am local time, passed through coustoms, played a game of which-luggage-is-ours, and made our way by bus to Heathrow, a pleasant drive through picketted pastures where homely ponies took their breakfast as our bleak stares passed them over in the sun-lashed morning fog.  We were tired, but only in the sense of having a poor night’s sleep and, by all accounts, were still quite functional.  In Heathrow we met up with Nancy’s sister, Barb, and departed for Delhi.  I was fortunate to find myself in a window seat with two amiable companions who were heading home for the holidays.  They were excited to learn of our first trip to India and were happy to help break the experience in with stories and tidbits of wisdom to lessen the impact of the shock which lie across the threshold of our runway.  One comment they made really resonated, and I have tried to use it as a filter to understand the many cultural differences we are faced with each day, they said – In the States we develop systems around our concept of convenience, while in India the underlying mindset is, “What is life without challenge?”.  But if this is so, as it seems to be, it is a compassionate challenge rather than the competitive sort we are used to.

From our arrival in Delhi things, as they say, hit the fan.  hahaha ok maybe I’m being overly dramatic but it was certianly a struggle to navigate life after another long, fairly sleepless flight, and exhaustion hit like a train wreck as we stood on a curb beside a sand bagged bunker surrounded by luggage while we waited nearly half an hour for our driver to retireve his car from the parking lot.  The soldiers staitoned there quickly shouldered their arms and retreated behind their walls to muster a leering defense against our unconventional assault on their sensibilities.  The sentiment was soon repaid as the moment our driver arrived we were accosted by half a dozen willing hands to carry and load our bags in exchange for a few battered one-dollar notes, the residue of our lengthy and partially failed attempt at currency exchange with the National Bank of India.  But soon enough we were off into the morning’s third hour and a fog as thick as pea soup (this is the first time in my life I’ve had occasion to use that line, couldn’t pass it up).  But really, visibility was 20ft max, as we were introduced to India’s unique style of automotive transportation.  It’s funny, but the best description we’ve gotten of the roads came from Vishal, the son of Anil’s sister-in-law, Shashi (forgive sp), “In the US we drive on the right side.  In India we drive on both sides.”   Though in those wee hours and poor conditions there were few drivers out, we enjoyed our freedom of the road with all the tremendous beeping and sudden stops and starts one would expect from a system where traffic lights are optional and the only presiding rule is that the biggest car wins.  I enjoyed myself immensely, though the others seemed less impressed…  In any case, we made it to the YMCA where Anil had arranged our lodging sometime around 4am and awoke the staff to request the fulfillment of our reservation’s implicit promise of restrooms and beds.  But here, our challenges began, as the reservation in question did not exist, and because their reservation system (a big book with names and dates and father’s names and addresses and passport numbers and signatures) did not update until their 12pm check in/check out time, it appeared that our reservations for the following night were also nonexistant.  Needless to say our already frazzled nerves began to fray, though in hindsight, perhaps this was the most characteristic introduction possible – here were four dirty travelers who bust down the doors at 4 in the morning demanding a service which all the records say they did not deserve – any normal city hotel manager would have us back on the streets as soon a look at us, but our kindly host worked through the issue at great length and eventually arranged a room for us to store our luggage during our trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. 

At this point in our journey I wasn’t sure whether to laugh at the absurdity our plans or cry because they meant at least another 10 hours before we could sleep (in actuality it turned out to be more like 16), but the gauntlet was laid and the only way to the other side was to pass through, and so we dropped our bags, brushed our teeth, and jumped back in the car.

~ by packerk on January 2, 2009.