Post Arrival Thoughts

I've safely landed in India and have been on a whirl-wind adventure. Sorry I haven't updated, the internet connection is super slow in the hotel. So, where to begin?

Let's start with the flights. PDX to SFO was pleasant but the SFO airport is annoying to say the least. To connect to my next flight, I had to go all the way around to the other side (the airport is a circle) and then re-check-in and go through TSA security again. It was a nuisance. Luckily I had 2 hours, I wouldn't have made it if I had any less time. SFO to EWR was uncomfortable. The airline had to assign my seat at the gate and the lady asked me if I wanted to upgrade to an exit row for more leg room. I accepted, later to find out that there still wouldn't be much room. I was in the middle and there was a bigger man sitting by the window. I had little room and ended up spilling my coke all over him half way to NJ. Oops!

EWR to DEL was good for the most part. Again, I had to go from one side of the airport to the other, in 20 minutes this time. I got there just as they were finishing boarding. There was definitely more leg room but the flight was super long. For some reason I was destined to sit in the middle for all of my flights and when both men on either side fell asleep, I of course had to use the restroom and couldn't get out. Upon landing, everyone in the plane started clapping which made me laugh. It wasn't because the flight was awful, it was because "they were home" hehehe The sucky part was the fact that I forgot to put on deodorant before I left so I felt smelly. Sitting for hours on end and then smelling of body odor too isn't too appealing. However, it wasn't bad like one of the Delhi airport workers who was standing near me at the luggage belt. He needed to invest in a good deodorant and learn to wash his pits. Yuck!

OKAY now on to the important stuff. New Delhi smells. I've heard it's a mixture of spice and pee and while it is an unusual aroma, it doesn't smell like spice and pee. Rahul was a little late picking me up; then again, my flight was early. We set off for my hotel in Noida, on the other side of Delhi. I didn't really get to see much. There's a lot of dust in the air from the heat and with it being dark, it hindered my visibility. Got to the hotel, it's nothing fancy but the sheets were clean, there were no bugs behind the bed, and I was tired!

Next day we set out to find me an apartment. We found a Realtor who said he had a few houses he could show. The first was 4 floors up and the dirtiest shit-hole of a room. There was apparently someone living there still and "the condition of the apartment was due to his standard of living" but I could tell it wasn't just him and the place wouldn't be cleaned when he left. To top it off, they wanted 9k rupees. I didn't think it would be worth it.

So we set off for the next apartment. The Realtor and his Realtor friend on their motor bike and Rahul and I in his car. The next place was nice. A retired software engineer and his house wife had two separate rooms upstairs and a split kitchen which they rent out. There was technically a separate entree too but they wanted me to be home every night by 930. To top it off, they wanted 17k for rent or around $400/mo (2k less if I didn't want to use the AC). I felt like the price was a little steep. I got to experience an Indian housewife hospitality and Indian negotiations. The Realtor would only speak in Hindi which meant I was out of the conversation but he apparently expected 1 month rent commission too. That is common practice if you're finding a 12 month lease, but I laughed at that proposal. We ended up walking away from the deal. The Realtor called back SEVERAL times throughout the day and lowered his commission from 15k to 5k. Since I didn't feel like the room was worth the price, it didn't matter what he lowered his commission too but that's Indian bargaining. The housewife asked where I was from and I said Seattle. Indians know Seattle, they don't know Washington. She became gitty. Apparently they (the husband and wife) had been to Seattle several times and loved it. They have a son in NY and one in Reno (which she thinks is in California)...it was nice to have someone who knew of where I'm from all in all.

After not finding an apartment, we decided to grab a bite to eat and rethink strategy. Off we set to Cafe Coffee Day which is the equivalent of a Starbucks. Next on the agenda was to find a prepaid SIM card for my phone. Found an Aircel nearby but in order to get a card, I would need a passport photo. So we walked around the shopping area until we found the passport guy. 8 passport photos for 50 rupees...that's hella cheap! The photographer ended up taking a pretty good photo of me considering my face was melting from the heat. He was telling me to tilt my chin down and move my head slightly like a photo shoot. After the first photo he said "Wow excellent! Okay one more" haha I was a temporary model in a passport photo shop.

I went back to Aircel to get my card. They handed me a stack of cards with numbers and said I could go through and pick a number. I said it didn't matter and they could just grab one. The replied "You can go through them and find the number you want." So I picked up the card from the top of the stack and handed it to the Aircel people who laughed at me. Numbers are a big deal in India but I could give less since it's only temporary. Got my card and surprise it doesn't work in my BlackBerry. Luckily Rahul had a spare phone and brought it with him just in case. That saved me 300 rupees so I didn't have to buy a new phone. For 120 rupees I got 300 minutes + a bunch of other stuff too. I didn't quite understand what they were referring too but Rahul said it was a good deal and as long as I could make and receive calls, 120 rupees was nothing.

Walking around the shopping area was an experience. Every one was staring at me. I expected it. Some of the stares were of curiosity and others were from obvious perverts. I really need to get some appropriate female Indian wear to cut down on the looks.

We got a call from Sid who wanted to meet up and go out to a movie. Later we met up with him and his girlfriend Shweta. Those two love goofing around and having fun which isn't what I'm used to but it was refreshing. Instead of a movie, we went to Gurgaon to a coffee bar called Mocha. Up on the top floor was a hooka bar so we ordered tapas, a hooka and drinks (Non alcoholic MOM...I had coffee -- I was still exhausted!) and sat around talking until after midnight. Both Sid and Shweta think I should be able to find an apartment, no problem. They had several ideas and everyone kept talking discussing what to do to get me into my own apartment and out of a hotel.

I really want to learn Hindi so I can follow conversations. Everyone apparently speaks English, but they enjoy speaking Hindi. There is a course I could take for 6k but it's 4 or 5 months long. I would sign up for the class if I were staying longer. Hopefully in time I can learn more words and start speaking a bit!

Driving is like the scariest roller-coaster ride. There are lines painted on the road but it doesn't mean shit. You're driving at 60khm with another car 2 feet in front of you and one inches from you on either side and speeding around corners which you can't see, laying on the horn and flashing your lights, and then have to swerve and miss the rickshaws and people riding bikes or walking (yes, walking in the middle of a crazy busy road!) and then you end up swerving to the other side because there's a huge group of cows eating garbage. Now I know why everyone honks their horns. It's a "I'm nearby so either get out of the way or don't move" signal, depending on if you're to the right or left of the overall lane. Amazingly, there have only been near misses and not actual accidents. However, it makes sense why the Indian government has banned talking on the mobile phone while driving. Dad had called to discuss my BlackBerry and while we talked, I was screaming and freaking out. Dad could hear the horns and laughed at me. I'm definitely not used to it but will think nothing of the near misses in the US when I get back.

At one light a little beggar girl in the most beautiful, and obviously expensive, sari came up to my window and kept tapping at the door asking for money for food. It's hard to ignore that but I kept telling myself "A clean beautiful sari equals money. Money equals food." Rahul kept motioning to her to move on but I think she saw me as a foreigner and a sucker. After 2 minutes of repeated tapping she finally left. While we were driving away I swear I saw a dead kid on the divider of the intersection. That, is the shitty part of this country. The extreme difference in wealth is sad. I feel like a bad person for not caring more but I have to remember whats common in the US is definitely not common here. Kids here exploit the fact that they're kids in order to make money for their family. It's sad.

I haven't taken pictures yet. I'm still soaking in the atmosphere. I will have to take a quick video and upload it of the driving. Every time I think of it while driving, I get side tracked by the fact that we almost got hit or someone almost hit us and filming seems so unimportant. Rahul laughed and joked that my imaginary brake is getting worn down too quickly from my repeated foot slamming on the floor =/ The crazy part is, they replace their brake pads about once a year. And no matter HOW expensive the car is, there are dings and scuff scratches from being hit or hitting someone. Makes no sense why there are Mercedes and BMWs on the road but to each their own.

Overall, I feel like I have a good group of friends here who care about my safety and well-being and are doing their best to make sure that I am taken care of. This place is definitely crazy but I'm enjoying it. Then again, I'm protected by said friends and haven't had to experience doing anything on my own yet. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't survive here. I'm too big of a wuss!

Today I'm chillaxing in the hotel watching Indian Serials (soap operas) without closed captioning. The hotel staff speak next to nil English which sucks because a sweet Lassi sounds so appealing! The AC in the room has no freon and I'm relying on a high powered ceiling fan to circulate air. A Lassi would be just the treat to cool me down while I wait for news. In the mean time, Shweta and Sid are working their connections in order to find me an apartment. Rahul had to go in to work for a bit. If the websites will load, I need to search for apartments in Noida or Gurgaon. After, it's more searching until we find something. I would like to see more of Delhi but I'm not in control of this adventure...it's being planned out for me.

Noida has no real sights even though it's different than back home. It's just a bunch of old looking buildings, and building in the process of being built, and building being remodeled, and dirt and garbage piled up in the road. Oh, and cows eating the garbage cause its tasty apparently. Now I know why cows are sacred, they're the universal garbage disposal! ;)

I'll update again with pictures and video in due time.