It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

The last two days, starting two nights ago was the best and the worst times of mine in India. Let’s start out with the bad.

Two days ago, we went to a mall. It was great. Pics to come. I don’t want to say anything else until you see the pictures. On our way back, we got an auto to take us. The first picture shows you what an auto looks like and the next shows us in one!

Trust me, by the end, we weren’t that happy. By the way, that’s my signature hat. It’s fantastic. It keeps the sun off my face. The Duke headband keeps sweat out of my eyes. Me and my hat and headband are like peas and carrots (note Forrest Gump reference).

The auto driver was speaking Hindi (so I couldn’t understand) but ended up ripping us off by 50 rupees. The entire trip only cost about 3 dollars (in Chi-town, this long of a trip would’ve been at least $15) and 50 rupees is only about one extra US dollar, so not that much, but it’s about the principle. What got me so upset though is that he kept saying that I, yes me, was supporting him in his endeavor to get him more money… I was quite ticked off that no one had told me what was going on and that I was the reason we paid extra.

It only worsened when we found out that our AC was not working. I didn’t get to bed until like 2 am.

The next night we worked from home (which meant some work, some play). We played some chess and just chilled a bit, which was nice. That evening we went to my Aunt’s house, which was nearby.

It was great seeing a few familiar faces! We got a home-cooked meal and Teagendra Uncle (who works closely with the family) gave us a LOT of great information, which helped today.

Today started off kind of slow and not so great (we were fighting amongst ourselves about something or another), but then as we were about to leave work at 4, things turned around for the better!

I was able to play a game called Carrom’s with some of our co-workers. It was AMAZING to play with locals and feel included in one of their basic games. Essentially, it’s similar to Pool (billiards), except you flick your finger at a white disc (similar to the cue ball) which then hits the other discs! It was great, even though I was terrible. I hit one in (out of like 10).

Afterwards, we decided to take the bus home, which was a whole different ordeal, but it was SOOO great. We had to wait a little while because we came too early, but when we got on, it was awesome. Again, I forgot to take a picture, but think of a really old raggedy bus (no windows, just bars; no doors; and people run to get on it…) and I was standing right on the bottom stair so that I was half-in, half-out of the bus… Ahh, so exhilarating! I asked some of the locals for help with directions and they were all extremely helpful!

After we got off the bus, we had to explore for a bit before we were able to find our house, but on the way, we stopped to get some fruit and we found a place where we were able to get a coconut and drink the water inside (which is delicious) and eat the pieces the seller scraped off for us, which even though they looked odd, tasted great.

Now, after having taken a shower, I’m just chilling in my room on this Friday night. I might play chess with one of the other residents. Test my brain against a locals’!

Reflections:

I’ve realized that this two-month span is much too short. It’s already been two weeks and we’re realizing how fast it’s going. I think if we were here longer (and didn’t have a budget that was too high), we’d take more risks and try more of the local traditions. I still feel like an outsider simply viewing their ways, instead of feeling like a local who is simply going about his day.

I am fortunate for my AC room and expensive, tasty 300 rupee lunch (the problem is, because of our short time here and large budget, we are having a tough time getting over the fact that such a great lunch is only $6…) but I also came here, largely, to experience what the “other side” is like, and not just view it through an outsider’s lens (like we do so often in the US). I worry that I’m missing out on (a few) opportunities to see that, but I am very excited to go to the villages (less than one week!) and live there for a bit.

I do love it here though. The heat is abominable (though getting better) and some of the people (auto drivers, in particular) can just be simply hellish. In general, though, everyone here is extremely helpful, relatively carefree, and, honestly, much nicer than I was expecting.

Oh, also the language barrier is probably the single most annoying thing when it comes to living in a new place. I’ve learned some of the basics, but I want so badly to communicate with the locals as if I was one of them.