India - Day 6

(Original post date - January 11, 2017)

Day 6

The events of the wedding must have really tuckered us out because we slept until 10am and only got up because I had to get ready for my flight to Delhi. Once I was all packed, Lori and I explored the town a little bit and had time for a quick foot massage for me, and facial for Lori. It was not the best experience I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t expensive so I shouldn’t complain.

Cynthia and Arun took me and Valerie to the airport since we were on the same flight. We said our goodbyes and once inside the airport I was glad to have Valerie with me because even though navigating foreign airports is not new to me, this one was a little bit confusing and it was comforting to have a friendly face with me. They changed our gate from upstairs to downstairs and there were 2 flights with similar #s (0786 and 7086) which was confusing almost everyone in every line so they kept making announcements and trying to herd the passengers to their correct gates. Once through the gate, we were led outside to climb into the plane by stairs, but it was a bit of a walk to get there. It wasn’t even clear which plane to board, just a wave of the hand by the gate agent.

It all worked out and I was seated next to a very chatty Indian man who befriended me on Facebook (which I later regretted and defriended). We talked about where I could buy souvenirs in Delhi. I was inquiring about where to buy loose leaf tea, and he proceeded to explain to me the process of brewing tea.

Anand: First you boil some water, and then you put a tea bag into a mug. Then you pour the water into the mug and let it steep for a few minutes.

Me: Oh no, I already know how to make tea. I just want to know where to buy it.

After arriving in Delhi and retrieving my suitcase I said goodbye to Valerie who was continuing on back to the states, and I made my way outside to find my driver: Prem (who reminded me of an Indian Tom Selleck…I think it was his mustache).

The drive back to the YWAM base where I would be staying was very long due to traffic. Along our journey, there were multiple times when my eyes went wide with terror, but I stayed silent. If I thought driving in New York or Cambodia was crazy, I was wrong. So much bumper to bumper traffic and honking that when a space finally opened up and we could drive at a normal speed, it almost felt euphoric. I felt like I was finally getting a glimpse of what I expected India to be. Very busy and dusty and chaotic.

While driving I saw a short little truck (which I thought was adorable and kinda wished it was my job to drive it around…another one of my crazy career ideas) and asked about what it was used for. Prem said that people used trucks like that because at night large trucks were not allowed on the roads. Then a large truck drove by and he said it was a “milk van.” I guess you can get away with being a large truck on the road if you call yourself a van.

The YWAM base was not at all what I expected. However, they fed me a late dinner of rice and daal (lentil soupy type stuff that I HEART) and some chicken with no meat attached. Pretty sure it was just bones with sauce.

Then we had an awkward discussion about money. The situation in India has made things very difficult. I was short some cash to pay for my stay there, but we finally worked it all out when I said I would have Arun send money from his Indian bank and would reimburse him later through PayPal.

I had to borrow a blanket and pillow because I did not bring my own, which I was instructed to do, but was impossible for me considering that I was only traveling to India for a short stay and did not have room in my suitcase for those things. “Bath time” was a challenge. I wasn’t exactly prepared to be back in missionary mode, but because I’ve already taken many bucket showers in my day I was able to manage. This was the first time, however, that I had to heat the water with a mess of wires plugged into the wall and then submerged in the bucket while balancing on a little wooden stick. It seemed a little bit precarious and dangerous to me, yet I survived.

The water got super hot, almost boiling in fact. So to make the water safe, I mixed the hot with the cold and managed to get clean. I borrowed an adapter (which I hadn’t needed in Pune) so I could charge my phone. I went straight to bed because I was getting up super early so Prem could take me to see the Taj Mahal.