Here's the deal - I'm in India. I have just had the first opportunity to get to a computer, so this will be the first major update of my adventures. Expand to read the whole story.
Here's the short version of my arrival: Air India is a micro-expression of India. We were herded into the terminal in LAX where they searched us a second time, and the flight was delayed 3 hours because someone died on the plane we were supposed to be taking. Rules are not rules, they're suggestions. People are chatty and nice. Flight attendants wear uniform saris. Bollywood reigns. I personally appreciated "Namaste London" but I've seen the leading man in other movies, and well, he's hot. The plane arrived in Frankfurt after 10 hours, and the German airport guy freaked at the lack of rule-following. So classic. Another nine hours and we were in Delhi. There, we went through customs, got our bags, and went out into the heat. There, a man named Vicky took two of us, via car, to Chandigarh. Most of the drive was heart-stopping (you've never seen driving until you've been to India), with an on-going dialogue as we passed through villages and cities on our way. Driving - again, everything except red-lights and policemen are suggestions. The road is shared by rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles, buses, pedestrians, horses, cows, trucks and cars. When we got to Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab 5 hours later, Jessie and I were totally exhausted.
We were met by the wonderful Professor Mann, who greeted us with hugs and quickly brought us to our room. Then we went downstairs for a bite to eat before collapsing for 12 hours sleep.
The next day we were joined by Joy and David which gave us a little group to explore the near area. We went to the market and got some fabric to have salwar kameez (sp?) made and also have some ready made clothes (currently I'm wearing a magenta/green number which is both comfortable and flattering...YAY INDIA!).
The day was HOT, and I mean, HOT. For being a weather wimp, it totally wiped me out. The next day, of course, I fell ill. I stayed in bed the entire day and only drank water, emergen-C, and ate some crackers. Fortunately we had no program things yesterday.
Today was our first program day. We first spent some time learning Gurmukhi (the Punjabi script) which is fun. This was followed by fresh mangos and tea (chai). After snacks, we had a lecture by an eminent scholar on the historical geography of the region. This was followed by lunch with a little siesta time (as it is too hot to really do anything during this period of the day). Then we had a lecture (which was more of a experienced elder imparting his life knowledge as opposed to a traditional lecture) from Mr. Prakash who was one of the architects who planned Chandigarh in the early 1950s. We got a book of poems from him which he had drawn a picture instead of signing (a different one for each book).
And now...you know what I'm doing, so I won't bore you with that.
Much love and happy wishes from India. If you're dying to see pictures, you'll just have to wait. Although, I will say, bright colors abound, and so do interesting sights. The caste system is visible everywhere I go. It is strange, but religion is a part of everything here - from greeting, to dress, to eating, much more so than all my prepartory reading led me to believe.
In any case, namaste!
We were met by the wonderful Professor Mann, who greeted us with hugs and quickly brought us to our room. Then we went downstairs for a bite to eat before collapsing for 12 hours sleep.
The next day we were joined by Joy and David which gave us a little group to explore the near area. We went to the market and got some fabric to have salwar kameez (sp?) made and also have some ready made clothes (currently I'm wearing a magenta/green number which is both comfortable and flattering...YAY INDIA!).
The day was HOT, and I mean, HOT. For being a weather wimp, it totally wiped me out. The next day, of course, I fell ill. I stayed in bed the entire day and only drank water, emergen-C, and ate some crackers. Fortunately we had no program things yesterday.
Today was our first program day. We first spent some time learning Gurmukhi (the Punjabi script) which is fun. This was followed by fresh mangos and tea (chai). After snacks, we had a lecture by an eminent scholar on the historical geography of the region. This was followed by lunch with a little siesta time (as it is too hot to really do anything during this period of the day). Then we had a lecture (which was more of a experienced elder imparting his life knowledge as opposed to a traditional lecture) from Mr. Prakash who was one of the architects who planned Chandigarh in the early 1950s. We got a book of poems from him which he had drawn a picture instead of signing (a different one for each book).
And now...you know what I'm doing, so I won't bore you with that.
Much love and happy wishes from India. If you're dying to see pictures, you'll just have to wait. Although, I will say, bright colors abound, and so do interesting sights. The caste system is visible everywhere I go. It is strange, but religion is a part of everything here - from greeting, to dress, to eating, much more so than all my prepartory reading led me to believe.
In any case, namaste!
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