First Day In India

Metre haaki (pronounced similar to "meter hockey") mean put the meter in Kannada (the local language in Bangalore).  This is very useful when taking the auto rickshaws to make sure (or help make sure) you are not being cheated.  Most of the time they will not use the meter and charge you 2-5 times as much as a ride should cost.

Some of my postings may be off by the day since I am writing them like a journal when I can and putting them on the internet when I have a chance....

I. Am. In. India.  After a full 24 hours or so of traveling we got here yesterday at the lovely local hour of around 2 am.  I was prepared for the flight to be devastatingly long and awful, but I was surprised to find that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.  By the time we left the airport, got to our apartments, and unpacked it was 6 am.  The apartments we are staying in also surprised me.  They are way nicer than I expected: three large bedrooms (I am sharing), two bathrooms with nice toilets and a shower, a small kitchen that has a water purifier built in, a living room with a tv and internet box, a small refrigerator, a microwave, a toaster, a stove similar to a camping stove, and a prayer room that I thought was a dungeon due to the barred door for the first half hour we were there.

We were meeting to start the day at 10 am, so we took a 2 hour nap and were off for our first day in India.  We were shown around by the hospitality students at Christ College (where we will be taking classes), got a campus tour (very small, but very nice campus), and some of us ended the day after a quick nap by finding our way to a restaurant for dinner.

I am still on sensory overload.  Just driving and walking is an adventure here.  Each time we crossed the street successfully we celebrated.  Successfully meaning we lived.  There are pretty much no traffic laws so the smaller your vehicle the faster you will get through by weaving through traffic with inches (or less) between cars, bikes, and people.  We took a small van sent by USAC for most of the day, but when we went to dinner we took an auto rickshaw, which was very exhilarating.  Cars are sometimes blocked by the cows walking in the streets, there are stray dogs everywhere, and our apartment is surrounded by pigeons. 

All of the people here are beautiful.  Seriously, the women are gorgeous and all the children are adorable.  Bangalore is a relatively clean and upper scale city, so I haven’t seen that many beggars, but it is very hard not to feel guilty turning the children away with their hands out for a rupee.

I am already in love with the country and its people.  I can’t help but smile most of the time and I have a feeling this will feel like home very quickly.  

Namaste!