first impressions

i'm in india! it's difficult to even put into words. though i was mentally prepared for most of what i'm seeing, it's an overwhelming sensory experience and hard to describe. the airport met my expectations...huge queues for immigration, baggage claim taking somewhere just shy of forever, someone trying to grab my bags to help me (for a tip of course), smog hanging low in the sky, etc. thankfully i have a very kind colleague (named GN) meeting me to help guide me through the hectic airport. his tee shirt cracks me up and surprises me - it has a fake blood splatter and says "i went hunting with dick cheney". ha!

onto the crowded highway, where painted lane dividers are only a suggestion. a two lane highway can fit 3 cars, 1 bicycle, 1 motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw across, didn't you know? making turns is even more frightening - just inch your way into oncoming traffic until they slow down enough to let you squeeze through. this tactic is used by all modes of transport already listed, plus pedestrians. honking horns are the music of the roads - you don't honk out of irritation, but just to announce your presence...constantly. trucks even have painted across the back "please honk!". we got stuck in a 1am traffic jam because wheat had been spilled all over the highway.

the conversation is entertaining. GN asks me at one point if i'm a christian, then assures me that there is one in the office so he will tell her to say hello to me. he asks me if i go to pubs and discos (yes); when i ask him if anyone in the office does, he says they might "in secret". apparently religion is an acceptable topic for the office, but drinking and dancing is not - ha! he asks me if i'm married and i think is shocked that i say no. when he later asks me my age, i think the shock deepens - 30 and unmarried?! tragedy! :) GN tells me about how the office has been planning for my visit, and they will make sure that i have things to do on the weekend. they take great pride in showing off their country, and they want me to have a fantastic experience. i heard hospitality would be overflowing, and it's true! he says the office has asked if they can "play holi" with me during the upcoming festival...can't wait to post about that!

after a few hours of sleep, GN meets me to take me to lunch and grocery shopping. we go to the new mall in the area, which surprises me with its size and modernity. security checks bags and pats us down at the entrance. most of the shops i don't recognize, but a few surprise me: GNC, papa johns, KFC, benneton. GN helps direct me in the grocery store so that i may find a few "eatables" for the evenings. the lychee juice is delicious! we then go to a very nice lunch at what i think is a quite posh restaurant. the food is delicious - yogurt chicken and honey lamb for starters, followed by indian vegetables and lentils with rice and chapati. GN and i each have an alcoholic beverage, which he assures me he will keep a secret. i mean, what would the girls at the office think of me?! after lunch we head to a local market for a SIM card. everyone stares at this strange white girl waiting outside the vodafone shop. i use the term shop loosely...it's really a small storefront in a cinderblock crumbling building. this description really doesn't do it justice...it's so hard to describe what this average street market area is like. there's a man next to me who is hand-stitching up car tires for a fee, while he sits on a homemade bridge that runs over stagnant water with an unpleasant smell. there are street dogs and cows everywhere, chewing on the garbarge that litters the side of the road. one woman empties her garbage into the median road divider. it makes me feel guilting about throwing away anything here...knowing that it will probably end up somewhere similar. apparently the cows are continuously having stomach problems from the garbage bags getting stuck in their guts. while everyone stares at me, i can't help but stare back at my surroundings and drink it all in...