Despite the rocky start... I'm in India!
Last Friday I woke up at 4:45am for my 9:45am flight. I get to the airport, get checked in, buy two wonderful books (Water for Elephants and Sarah's Key), and get settled at my gate with a cup of coffee. As I'm reading and sipping I look at my watch and see that it is 9:15am, time to board! But wait... over the loud speaker: Flight 1196 to Chicago is CANCELED! All I can think about is the fact that I'm going to miss my connecting flight to Delhi. After a minor freak out, I jump in line of angry passengers to see what the rebooking situation is. The nice American Airlines lady got me a seat on the 12:45 flight and put me on stand by for the 10:40 flight. One problem, if (and when) I get on the 12:45 flight I am going to have to RUN through the Chicago airport to catch my flight to Delhi. Well, everything ended up working out and I finally got in my second to last row, middle seat for the 14 hour flight from Chicago to Delhi.
The flight was long. I read two books, made friends with the Nepali man to my left (med student at John's Hopkins) and the Indian woman to my right. Both were very confused as to why I was going to India.
After enduring the torture of airplane food and 14 long hours in the plane, Kylie (the girl I traveled with) and I got through immigration, found our bags, and found Passangla (the man in charge at the Sara Campus in Dharamsala) and Craig (one of our TA's). The taxi ride back to the YMCA was quite the experience. I still don't understand why there are even lines painted on the roads, cars are EVERYWHERE yet nobody hits each other... A slight (or loud, depending on the situation) honk of the horn is the equivalent to a blinker. The concept of a traffic jam has a whole new meaning now after being in India, rikshaws and trucks and cars all wedged together trying to get through the traffic signal. Did I mention all of them are honking their horns at each other to move?
Once at the Y, Kylie and I quickly realize our beds are made out of bricks and there is absolutely no heat. So, I pull on long pants, snow socks, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece and a wool blanket over the blankets on the bed.
After a good nights sleep (ha!), we both wake up around 11:30am, ready to experience our first day in Delhi. Britain (our other TA) and Cynthiala (our mother/the person in charge) take Kylie and I out to a beautiful lunch! Navigating Delhi is difficult because there are a complex maze of ally ways that are not marked and it's quite the mystery as to where they come out!
After lunch Britain offered to continue to show me and Kylie around Delhi. We went to the Lodi gardens first. The Lodi gardens are a vast green space in the middle of a huge city!! We climbed around the old mosque's and then continued on to the Khan marketplace in New Delhi. Since it was Sunday, almost everything was closed but we continued to explore and made it to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. The difference between New Delhi and Old Delhi is amazing! Khan marketplace was a newer and more organized shopping area while Chandni Chowk was absolute chaos. The little winding roads filled with stalls and shops were absolutely amazing! While in Old Delhi, Britain took us to a Sikh temple. The decorations in Sikh temples are so colorful and they are always playing music! After the Sikh temple we walked around a bit more then went to dinner at the Y. Despite the fact that reviews said that the food at the Y isn't good, I found it to be delicious! We had a type of curry and rice. My new favorite food is naan (Indian bread).
Overall the travel experience and the first day of jet lag was really not bad at all. More to come! I have some catching up to do now that I have internet!
(Pictures will come once I get to a place with better internet connection!)
Last Friday I woke up at 4:45am for my 9:45am flight. I get to the airport, get checked in, buy two wonderful books (Water for Elephants and Sarah's Key), and get settled at my gate with a cup of coffee. As I'm reading and sipping I look at my watch and see that it is 9:15am, time to board! But wait... over the loud speaker: Flight 1196 to Chicago is CANCELED! All I can think about is the fact that I'm going to miss my connecting flight to Delhi. After a minor freak out, I jump in line of angry passengers to see what the rebooking situation is. The nice American Airlines lady got me a seat on the 12:45 flight and put me on stand by for the 10:40 flight. One problem, if (and when) I get on the 12:45 flight I am going to have to RUN through the Chicago airport to catch my flight to Delhi. Well, everything ended up working out and I finally got in my second to last row, middle seat for the 14 hour flight from Chicago to Delhi.
The flight was long. I read two books, made friends with the Nepali man to my left (med student at John's Hopkins) and the Indian woman to my right. Both were very confused as to why I was going to India.
After enduring the torture of airplane food and 14 long hours in the plane, Kylie (the girl I traveled with) and I got through immigration, found our bags, and found Passangla (the man in charge at the Sara Campus in Dharamsala) and Craig (one of our TA's). The taxi ride back to the YMCA was quite the experience. I still don't understand why there are even lines painted on the roads, cars are EVERYWHERE yet nobody hits each other... A slight (or loud, depending on the situation) honk of the horn is the equivalent to a blinker. The concept of a traffic jam has a whole new meaning now after being in India, rikshaws and trucks and cars all wedged together trying to get through the traffic signal. Did I mention all of them are honking their horns at each other to move?
Once at the Y, Kylie and I quickly realize our beds are made out of bricks and there is absolutely no heat. So, I pull on long pants, snow socks, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece and a wool blanket over the blankets on the bed.
After a good nights sleep (ha!), we both wake up around 11:30am, ready to experience our first day in Delhi. Britain (our other TA) and Cynthiala (our mother/the person in charge) take Kylie and I out to a beautiful lunch! Navigating Delhi is difficult because there are a complex maze of ally ways that are not marked and it's quite the mystery as to where they come out!
After lunch Britain offered to continue to show me and Kylie around Delhi. We went to the Lodi gardens first. The Lodi gardens are a vast green space in the middle of a huge city!! We climbed around the old mosque's and then continued on to the Khan marketplace in New Delhi. Since it was Sunday, almost everything was closed but we continued to explore and made it to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. The difference between New Delhi and Old Delhi is amazing! Khan marketplace was a newer and more organized shopping area while Chandni Chowk was absolute chaos. The little winding roads filled with stalls and shops were absolutely amazing! While in Old Delhi, Britain took us to a Sikh temple. The decorations in Sikh temples are so colorful and they are always playing music! After the Sikh temple we walked around a bit more then went to dinner at the Y. Despite the fact that reviews said that the food at the Y isn't good, I found it to be delicious! We had a type of curry and rice. My new favorite food is naan (Indian bread).
Overall the travel experience and the first day of jet lag was really not bad at all. More to come! I have some catching up to do now that I have internet!
(Pictures will come once I get to a place with better internet connection!)
