Arrival in San José

I had the beginning to my next post all composed in my head. It would be a funny apology for writing yet another "pre-departure" post. I would talk about all my feelings about leaving and fears and excitement.

But I never quite got there. Mostly because I was in an impressive state of denial. Study abroad had sounded really fun and great until I started getting down to the details. Like how it would involve living in another country for four months, speaking another language, small things like that. So I settled into and thoroughly enjoyed my winter break. My family and I adopted two new fuzzy kittens. I watched TV, read books, and slept in. And shocked myself and my friends with how late I started packing.

It didn't hit me until I looked out the window of the plane on our final descent into San José and saw that the terrain was actually quite hilly, even bordering on mountainous. Which sent me into an utter panic that I had not packed any walking type shoes besides my beloved black converse. I proceeded to picture the conversation with my host family in my head about why I, the stupid American, had not thought to bring such an essential. Halfway through I realized that I had no idea how to say the word "hiking," so I resorted to saying that these were not shoes for walking, but for walking. It went poorly.

Luckily, everything in me calmed down the second I saw a very nice looking women holding a clear sign with my name printed on it, right where she was supposed to be.

I said hello to her and her husband and 10 year old son and we all did a weird handshake/hug/cheek kiss combo. (That would be a helpful thing to include in the arrival materials, btw: cultural customs around greetings.)

But anyway, it went fine. My brain started pulling out Spanish words that I hadn't thought of in years, and I even managed to make them think I was competent when I said "única" instead of "sola." Don't know why that's impressive, but I'll take it.

My stomach can handle rice and beans, they were very happy when I told them I liked their house, they have a cat and he likes me (!!!), I learned that I have a short commute compared to many of the other students, and I did not in fact break their shower door. It's the small things.

Suffice it to say, I survived. I might even continue to do so for another few days. 

Delhi

I have one more day here. I get on a plane at almost midnight tonight and begin the journey home. 

Physically I’ll get home midday on the 9^th, but who knows when my brain will catch up to me. But I am already making plans for when I’m home to go see friends.

We’ve spent a lot of time here in Delhi, but somehow it doesn’t feel like that much. It was broken up by a quick trip to Agra in the middle to see the Taj Mahal. Back in Delhi we’ve visited Lodi Gardens, the India Gate (which it turns out is actually a war memorial, which I was not expecting), driven past the PM’s house and the parliament fancy building places.

Obama will be visiting India for Republic Day, January 26. I first learned of this from some shop owners in Hassan, who immediately proclaimed “Barack Obama” after hearing that we were from the US. Made me feel like an egocentric stereotypical American, who knows nothing about other countries but who expects everyone else to know about her country of origin. Regardless, it’s a big deal and people are excited. It’s a big political statement that he’s making by visiting and people are well aware of this. We drove along the parade route, which is lined with thousands and thousands of bleacher seats. Delhi police gates are everywhere in preparation.

As a city, I feel like I’ve seen both the fancy side, with big boulevards and trimmed trees, and the other side. What some might call the “real” India. But I think you have to see both and everything in-between to begin to get a taste for this city, let alone this country.

Delhi is quite fond of roundabouts (with inexplicable stop lights in the middle), unlabeled one-way streets, and speed breakers. Temples and mosques are everywhere. Markets specializing in everything from car parts to gold and silver to wedding stuffs, to clothing and shoes. People everywhere. Cars and rickshaws and buses and bikes and trucks and motorcycles (my ideas about how many people can fit on a motorcycle have been blown away). Signs that call for people to “Obey lane discipline” make me laugh. I realize when I look around that my pictures and words will never be able to come close to capturing the essence of what I am experiencing. It takes all of my senses plus some to comprehend it.

Now I’m rambling. I think this is me trying to make sense of it all. From the tiny details like the color of our taxi driver’s hat (blue) to the wide overviews that climbing a mosque’s 40m minaret afforded me. It’s a lot. And I think that’s about all I can say for sure right now.

The Taj

The Taj Mahal.

I was actually freaking there.

It was quite surreal.

Moonlight viewing was wonderful, as it was quiet and peaceful and we just got to stand there and stare at it in awe. A half hour of staring is a good long chunk. So then today we got to go in the daylight (again, no mist, the weather gods were smiling on us) and get all the details, up close and personal.

Wonderful guide, lots of good information, some cheesy tourist pictures, and still time to sit and just be in its presence. Because it is truly stunning. 

Moonlight viewing. We were so lucky that the fog cleared enough for us to see it!

Being an embarrassing tourist.

on photography

I chose not to bring my camera with me to India. It was a decision I went back and forth on, but ultimately decided that I would be more comfortable without it. As a tall, white, blond, young woman, I stick out here. I felt that adding a fancy dslr to the mix would only make me more of a target. And as impossible as it is, I do like to pretend that I can sometimes blend in a bit, and I didn’t feel that that would be possible to do with my camera.

I’ve borrowed my parents’ cameras a few times. I love taking pictures, but it has also reaffirmed my decision to not bring my own. It is so easy for me to get sucked into framing the perfect shot, messing with the iso and exposure. Sometimes it’s so much better for me to just take in what’s in front of me. To accept that I will never possibly be able to capture everything that my many senses can. So I just turn in lots of circles, walk slowly, and enjoy it while I’m there. And let that be enough.

With that being said, here are some grainy cell phone shots I've gotten: 

My bed in Bangalore

A chilly arrival in Delhi

The autos that are everywhere