Tuesday, January 25, 2011

53 hours later

traveling to the other side of the world requires one to throw out all concept of time. i arrived in dhampur, india on saturday evening around 7pm local time. i flew from atlanta to houston, houston to doha (qatar), doha to delhi. i finally arrived in delhi at 3am after being on & off of planes for something close to 24hrs.  i was supposed to meet my fellow volunteer in the airport around 8am once her plane landed... so i had to wait. i realized how the time difference was really getting to me when i ordered some chicken and rice dish at this place at the airport at 5am (getting interesting looks from the guy at the counter). finally after a few more hours in the airport, i met Anna, and from there the trip really started.  we got in our beautiful cab that was like a temple inside.. it had ornaments, colored tapestry & shag!  this man was weaving from one side of the road to the other, bypassing motorbikes, bicycles, cows / donkeys pulling carts! they don't just drive on the left side of the road, but all over the road. my eyes could not keep up with all there was to look at.. so many people, cars, smells, sounds .. so much going on at one time.

we arrive at the train station and are suddenly in a huddle.  the gringo parade has arrived and everyone wants to see the white people and all their luggage. we had people from every which way asking to take our bags to help us.  i have one huge bag, a duffel bag, a backpack, and a ukulele.  Anna has two small rolling suitcases.  this guy, who we thought worked at the station, tells us our tickets are not confirmed and to go to some other building.. then deciding to show us.  as we lug all of our things up to some random office across the street, we realize this was all a set-up.  they tell us our tickets are "not for tourists! you need nice car to take you.. this ticket is for local train and will take extra long to get to your destination."  a load of crap.  after realizing the trap, we lug all of our things, cross back over the busy street and walk to the train station again. we then find out that the platform for our train is all the way up a million stairs, over some bridge, then back down a million stairs.  Anna and i put on a great show.  i now know what it feels like not only to look like a complete idiot, but what it's like to have a thousand Indians staring at you.  the platform of people became a circle of people and we were in the middle while everyone just stared.  it was great.  i just stared back because everyone was just as interesting to me as i'm sure i was to them.  after about an hour and a half, the train arrived and we got lost in the bustle.  people every which way bumping into one another.. if i didn't push, i would get pushed.  Anna and i were some team. our tickets were for the sleeper cart. Anna, who had less to carry, got inside and grabbed us a seat as i shortly followed behind with the 50lb luggage and assistance of some other passengers. the worst was over and we were on our way to Moradabad, where some people from the school were to meet us.  we were squeezed into a tiny corner (luckily next to an open window) surrounded by people in all directions, even above in the bunks.. our next challenge was to stay awake the next 4 hours so we wouldn't miss our stop.. of course, we both did just that.  we fell asleep but luckily woke up only two stops before we had to get off.  woo! 

getting off was worse than getting on.  there is no waiting for the other person to get by you policy.. it's i will get by you even if i step on top of you while your face is pushed up against the wall.  i didn't know if it was the exhaustion or hunger or thirst that was contributing to the nausea but i think i had finally hit my wall after that train ride.  we were so happy when our group found us.  they were wonderfully welcoming and took us to a restaurant to get some food.  the ride back to the town was about two hours of the driver constantly honking his horn (because everyone just goes wherever there is space on the road) and weaving through buses, cars, people on bicycles, motorbikes, donkey-pulling carts, cattle-pulling carts.. insanity! we both fell asleep and arrived at dark.  it was cold.  Rajesh and Nisha (directors at the school) welcomed us and helped us to our room.  then they invited us for a quick snack and tea at their house (right in front of our building).  Anna and i share a room on the top floor of this three-story building where each floor has about 2-3 apartments where teachers live with their families.  the top floor is all ours.. we're on the terrace/roof where everyone hangs the laundry.  we have a front small balcony where Anna and i have been laying in the sun in the afternoons to get warm.  we have a small kitchen area and bathroom up there too.  the tea and snacks were great at Rajesh & Nisha's house, but i was getting too tired.  I went up to shower and go to bed while Anna stayed a little longer. 

It's cold here at night.  Days get up to 70 degrees but then get cold fast.. and when you don't have heat, 45 degrees becomes bitter.  our water heater takes a while to heat up but i got in the shower anyway.  the water doesn't get hot.. just warm.. but i didn't care since it had been 2 days of traveling without a shower.  of course, one minute into the shower and after i had shampooed, the power goes out!  i thought, oh well, i'll just hurry up cause it's dark... then i realize that the power being out meant the hot water turning into ice water.  i had never been so cold and so determined to finish my shower.  in minutes i could see my breath.  the lights went back on but i was already out.  going to bed with a wet head of hair only made it worse.  the two layers of pajamas, sweaters, and socks didn't seem to help much.  i was so tired i fell asleep at 9pm the moment i hit the pillow.




4 comments:

  1. brilliant! sounds like its been quite an adventure already! I have tried not to be like a worried parent wondering how my dear Nic is doing. Thanks for the update :) miss you and love you dearly. :) love, B

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  2. p.s. I have sent your blog information to one of my employers who is headed to India in March. Love!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Lol! Nicole!

    I posted a comment before and then noticed the way my photo looked ... alas it will not be deleted or allow me to change the image! So...

    Your adventure sounds intense and amazing so far! I can't wait to hear more and I am getting so excited to visit!

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