First Encounters

Monday, August 2nd

Hey y’all! Yesterday’s post was all about the plane ride to India and today’s will continue where I left off – which was when I stepped off the plane. Hopefully, even though it’s a day late, I’ll be able to recall my first impressions of the sights and sounds.

The Bangalore Airport

Stepping out of the airport, the group of us are greeted by Dr. Lawrence Mur’ray and our tour guide Sandhya. After making sure that we have gathered everyone, we board our luxurious chariot for the week: our !ncredible India bus (not a typo):

From there, we then take an hour bus ride to our hotel: the Ista hotel. Along the way we get to pass by many areas that are not, let’s say, the nicest and richest parts of India. However, I did not see anything that gave me the cultural shock that everyone told me to expect. Honestly, my first impression was that it looked a lot like Mexico, complete with the dirt sidewalks, brightly colored yet run down road stores, and the animals crossing in the streets. It actually looked a lot like South America, except with all the signs being written in Canadans (sp?) rather than Spanish.

What I found the coolest, however, was seeing the random temples and shrines that we brightly colored and decorated with statues. As soon as I find some free time, I’m going to go find some and explore them.

The Ista Hotel

Arriving at the Ista Hotel, I am shocked by the beauty and excellence, even though we are surrounded on all four sides by completely run down areas. No sidewalk, potholes in the road, etc. etc. Yet, here in the middle of all of it was this beautiful hotel. Absolutely gorgeous. India really is a country of contrasts.

Exploring the hotel, we find one of its coolest features: the pool. Check it out. Pretty awesome stuff, right? One side is one of those rimless ones so the water overflows, making a waterfall:

Awesome, huh? The restaurant is nice, though expensive and its br was voted the best of 2010 by the Times in India. We had a brief debriefing (its about 9am by this point) and we were told that we had the rest of the afternoon free until 4 pm. Most people decided to nap. I decided to catch up on my blogposts, since I love you guys so much, You can thank me later. The only thing that stinks, is that not is the internet NOT free, but for the five days I'll be here, internet will cost an exorbitant $120. Yeahhhh, not much Facebooking for me this trip.

Oh and the funniest thing about our hotel is that our guide told us that the main reason she chose this hotel was because, nope you didn’t guess it, it was right next to a McDonald’s. Seriously. That was one of the main reasons. Normally I would be appalled at this, but after trying that airplane food, a McChicken ain’t sounding so bad.

Exploring the City

A few of us decide to meet around noon to go explore Bangalore some. Noon rolls around, some people are running late, others are eating lunch, and others just chatting. Before you know it, it is two o’clock and we have still not left the premises. Much to my grumbling annoyance.

But we finally manage to amass everyone. There are about ten of us (and you know how I feel about travelling in large, obviously American packs of tourists..shoot me now) and we just pick a direction and decide to go walking. First of all, there are no sidewalks. There is no walking around and sightseeing. It is a careful picking of your way around the many loose bricks, giant potholes, the open sewers covered in wooden planks and the whatnot. It was quite fun actually.

Crossing the street was another matter. There were no crosswalks and cars did not yield. Eventually, we decided to follow the advice of our tour guide, Sandhya and just “find and Indian and follow closely”. It was a but awkward duck-tailing this poor Indian man, especially when he noticed the gigantic group of Americans following directly upon his heels, but the important part is that we made it across alive. Keep your expectations low and you are forever crossing things off of your “to accomplish” list.

Stores along the MG

Mahatma Ghandi is the major road in this city (as it is in every other city in India – a bit like MLK is in the US), and we wander along it visiting some random shops. One guy started talking to Ben, our student leader, and eventually dragged us down some small alleyway where I began to moderately begin to be concerned about whether we would be mugged and have our blood drained or something.

Luckily, this was not the case, and we were instead lead to an interesting shop selling all sorts of Indian goodies. Typical. He’s probably working on commission. They did have some beautiful rugs, but I didn’t even bother inquiring of the price. (I did try and drop a few little tidbits I learned in Turkey to make it seem like I was moderately knowledgable about carpets…and I think it worked, tehehe).

We wandered around some more, visiting a few shops here and there. We came across one with two peopled dressed in Tiger costumes. One was tall and the other short so we assumed it was a man and his son. That is until we heard the small one speak. That was not  a child.

We also saw a random small church (and lots more references to Christianity – like Bible World, etc., which surprised me a lot). We did go and check it out, got a small feel for it, but left soon after. I think the caretaker was surprised to see people come visit, but he responded well to my attempt to be respectful when I bowed slightly with my hands pressed together.

The Traditional South Indian cuisine

After our meeting at four, where we went over our itinerary, and a brief nap on my part (when I felt like the living dead upon awakening), we met up to take the bus to dinner. I can’t remember the name of the place we went, but it was very fancy, schmancy and we were the only ones there. I don’t know if its because it was expensive or if it was too early for most Indians to eat, but it was slightly weird to see no one else there.

The meal started off with some green soup. Like bright green soup. Apparently made from drumsticks – but the vegetable drumsticks (I don’t know what these are). But it actually was really good, so my confidence was improving a little bit by little bit.

Then came the starter round. Servers came around and served bit by bit and served us what appeared to be brightly colored glop. Oh I;m sure it had some real name, and I’m sure I knew what was in it. I was just impressed that my plate covered the entire color spectrum, just about. I was so excited by this, I took a picture:

So yes, all that I heard was true. South Indian food was spicy. Very spicy. Like I have permanent holes burned into my tongue spicy. God dammit, even the bread has spices. But my main problem was staying awake. I was having trouble dealing with the food, but my main problem was not collapsing my head into the food. I’m afraid I was very sociable that first night, but despite sleeping on the plane, I was ready to conk out.

We finaly make it back to the hotel, but likeI mentioned earlier, all I could think about was my nice cozy bed. So despite it being only about 9:15, I promptly surrendered to the subconscious world.

Well thus concluded my first day in India! Not too exciting, I kinda wish we did something to keep us busy, and thus awake, but it was a pretty relaxing day. Still waiting for that culture shock to hit, but when it does, there is always the McDonald’s next door!

♪ Hopped on a Plane at LAX ♪

Monday, August 2^nd

Yes, I am aware that there is no Sunday post. This is because I have been travelling across many time zones for the past two days so I was never quite sure what day it was. And seeing the sun set and then rise again from the same aircraft (twice) really screws with your mind.

LAX-ing It Up

After saying goodbye to Ruth and Wayne Glass and grabbing a few snacks to stuff into random pockets of free space, my fam and I were off to airport! Seeing the giant LAX letters as we entered the Los Angeles airport unfortunately prompted Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA. Which was stuck in my head for hours. I cannot excuse it. I can only apologize.

After saying farewell to the fam and wishing them good luck on the rest of their journey, I entered the American Airlines terminal and was immediately greeted by a large, sweaty conglomerate. Yay. Competitively maneuvering my way to nearest kiosk (elbows may have been used) and chasing down an airline staffer to check my travel documents, I finally manage to obtain a boarding pass. Thank the gods I didn’t have to check in any luggage. Thumbing my nose at the long lines of jealous bag-checkers, I arrived at my gate only a mere twenty minutes later.

So the goal I set for myself for my journey across the world was to not buy any airplane food. That was the plan. Besides who wants to pay $9 for a slice of pizza?  So prior to leaving, mi madre got me several granola bars to ease the hunger pains between airplane meals. However, not five minutes after I got to my gate (still in Los Angeles, mind you), I got so hungry that I immediately devoured two granola bars. Hunger discipline, fail. And I devour two more on my next flight. Hmmm….my plan might not work out as well as I planned.

Los Angeles to Chicago

The only thing of interest about this four and a half hour flight was that American Airlines didn’t feed me any. Nada. Zilch. Noodles. I mean, come on people! Not even a tiny bag with 3 peanuts like they used to?! Pshh, lame.

Chicago Airport

Now I have only ever heard horror stories about the O’Hare airport. Apparently it’s a nightmare trying to make connecting flights, as it is huge, weather often disrupts flights, and transportation and security are a bear. So you can understand my apprehension as I deboarded my plane, ready to make a dash to get to my connecting flight in time. Yet, despite me readying my running shoes, I was fairly disappointed to discover that my departing gate was close by. And by close by I mean literally the gate right next to mine. That was lame. Now I don’t have an exciting story to tell about me stealing one of those handicapped transport cars and running over old ladies in my rush to make my connecting flight.

I will say also, that once again, my mental discipline down, and I broke my inner promise not to buy airport food. Great job, Ellen. You made it 4 hours into your 34 hour travel time.

I also got Chinese food which was another slap in the face to my ability to keep mental promises. EVERY time I am hungry in an airport or a mall, I ALWAYS get Chinese food. And I always eat about 3 bites, get tired of it, and regret getting it. Without fail, every time. Yet, I never learn. I’m pathetic.

Chicago to London

This six or seven hour flight wasn’t too bad, mainly because I not only got a window seat (score!) but there was no one sitting next to me! I thus curled up across the two seats slept most of the way. After I watched Shrek: Forever After, of course. Which I must say, was not as horrible as it could have been. It was just annoying that every time the PA came on, the movie turned off and didn’t pause. Starting off as minorly annoyed, I soon became bitter and started the cursing the pilot when he turned on the PA to give SkyMall advertisements. Really?? Jerks. That was a crucial scene.

London Airport

Now, let me just say that I pride myself in my airport navigation ability. If you haven’t read it already, check the rules of my airport navigeer-ing here. But something about the Heathrow airport turned me back into a bumbling idiot. I got lost, I was slow through security, I kept dropping things, I looked like a newb. Needless to say, I was relieved to finally make it to my gate.

Unfortunately no one seemed to be there yet (I was meeting up with about 15 other GLIMPSE people), so I just chilled by myself in a seemingly empty terminal. Luckily, not too long after, I spotted some people who looked young, American, and wearing Carolina gear. Well, that was handy with the ID-ing. Not many Londoners wear Tarheel baseball caps on a daily basis. Call it a hunch.

London to Bangalore

Now, every flight, something must go wrong. This is Ellen’s Law regarding airplane travel. Something, be it flights randomly being cancelled, wings falling off, people having panic attacks and planes turning around, something can and will go wrong. Every time. This trip it was mechanical difficulties causing us to sit on the track for an hour and a half. Annoying, but definitely not the worst that’s happened.

Luckily, this flight I ALSO got a window seat. Three for three, baby! It was a packed flight though so no laying down for me. Damn. The guy next to me was nice, though. Sophomore engineer from D.C. heading home to visit his parents. Normally I despise airplane small talk, since you can’t escape after you exchange the basic pleasantries and factoids (Hi! Where are you going? What do you do? What was your favorite stuffed animal as a baby? The usual.), but once it wasn’t too bad. Besides, this poor guy had to put up with me crawling over him, me dropping things on him, me curling up awkwardly in his space, and the whole ordeal of Ellen Finding Space for Her Luggage.

I also saw the Milky Way. That was cool. I’m not normally in the right place or with clear enough skies for me to see it clearly. However, the flight did give me my first encounter with Indian food. And it was everything I expected it to be. A fiery, mushy dish of tongue-dissolving tendencies. And only one small water to stop all of my taste buds from dying completely. Sadness. Ah well. I shall just have to build up my tolerance. I should’ve eaten whole chilies in preparation for this trip.

Arrival

We finally arrive in Bangalore, India at the ripe old time of 5 am. We waited for everyone’s luggage forever (so glad I only brought a carryon), but finally, bedraggled and smelly, we step out of the airport and into India, our home for the next two weeks.

Well, that’s all I’m going to post right now. I’ll give you more details about my first impression in the next post. It’s dinnertime now. Cross your fingers that I don’t die! (I would be the first casualty from spicy food…)

Until later, mis amigos.

The PDPDP

The PDPDP

Saturday, July 31^st

Hello all! Welcome to my blog which follows what I am sure will be a grand adventure to the subcontinent of India. For those of you just coming from my West Coast blog, (first of all, thanks for your support!) you are probably already familiar with the title of the post. For the newbs/those with leaky memories/those with better things to do than read every bit of my babble (no hard feelings, I skim too), the PDPDP is my post-departure pre-departure post.

But Ellen, you ask. Isn’t that a bit of a conflicting statement? Why yes, young grasshopper, it is. But unfortunately, as is oft to happen, I keep running out of time and having to write my customary pre-departure post after I have already departed. It’s a sad life.

But basically, I am going to use this post to give you all, my ever faithful (*cough*) readers, an overview of this trip and to highlight a few events leading up to this trip. A glimpse of our GLIMPSE trip. Hahaha, I crack myself up. (This is what happens when you write blogposts in the wee hours of the morning after several cups of coffee and being on an airplane for the last 9 hours – it’s not pretty).

Bad puns aside, here is the overview:

The Overview

Starting today, Saturday July 31^st (Harry Potter’s birthday – just in case you were wondering) I will fly out of the Los Angeles airport, connect in Chicago, and then London before finally arriving in Bangalore, India on Monday, August 2^nd at the ever convenient time of 4:30 am. Provided I make all my connections of course, which is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a guaranteed thing. (I have absolutely horrid luck with airplane travel, as seen in this particular episode).

Once in India, I will spend the next two weeks travelling around the country with a group of students from Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School through the GLIMPSE study abroad program. And no, I’m not super excited and thus yelling the program title – GLIMPSE is an acronym (though I am ashamed to admit that I have already forgotten what for). We will be spending about half our time in Bangalore, the other half in New Delhi, and then a few of us will continue on the Jaipur for a few days at the end. Yayyy I’m excited.

While in India, we will have the opportunity to meet with many different types of businesses that have offices in the area. We will also get to tour the US embassy (which I am pretty pumped about) and see many of the major cultural sites, like the Taj Mahal and the Friday Mosque. The cool thing about the trip (besides the fact that the B-school is covering most of the expenses) is that we all get course credit! Credit for travelling around and seeing cool, amazing things? Sign me up.

I believe there are about 20 of us students in total, with Dr. Lawrence Mur’ray leading this expedition. Leigh Babian and her husband will also be helping lead our group. In addition, several people from the travel agency will be accompanying us, filming us for a promo video (I think – I’m a bit hazy on the details). They actually asked me (as well as a couple other people) to help out and be periodically filmed giving our impressions, which I am really pumped about. Hahaha if my blogs are any indication, I really have no problem giving my opinion on matters.

Prep Time

Now that we are all on the same page, we can move onto the pre-departure aspect of this post-departure post. Thrilling, I know. Well, as I alluded in the second sentence, I am coming from a bit of travelling prior to this trip. For the past couple weeks, I have been travelling with my family all along the western part of the U.S. We went to a family reunion in Colorado, hit up Vegas, the Grand Canyon, San Diego and Los Angeles. They will be continuing their way up the West Coast without me. Tear. Not that I would trade places with them or anything. If you’re interested in reading about any of these adventures, click here.

I also did a bit more travelling earlier this summer, I got to spend time travelling in Turkey and Mexico. They were awesome trips and if you want to read more about them, click on their names above.

But back to the trip at hand. (I really need mind-blinders or I am going to keep going off on these moderately relevant tangents). Prior to departure, I am staying at the house of my second cousins, Ruth and Wayne Glass, outside of Los Angeles, CA.  Because I am getting tired, I shall summarize:

1.       Packing is so much easier when all you have is your one suitcase of clothes to choose from. (ßthat was quite a revelation, Ellen. Sometimes you shock me with your genius). But in all honesty, it was a nice change from my usual ahh!gogogo!throwinsomeclothesI’mlate!

2.       Despite being already packed, I got very little sleep (though I didn’t pull my usual all-nighter). Hey, creating this masterpiece of a blog takes precedence. [that’s your cue to fill in all the comment fields with your fervent agreements on the all-around beauty of my blog. Get crackin’ :P]

3.       Steve Huyler, my cultural anthropologist cousin who has been coming to India for the past 27 years or so, was very kind and shipped me several of his books on the regions we’ll be visiting in India. I’ve only read a little of them so far, but they look great.

4.       Not checking in luggage is always the greatest decision of any trip I take. There is nothing quite like the feeling of thumbing your nose at all the long lines at the ticket counter as you breeze on by them with your nifty carry-on.

Also, since this is a for-credit study abroad experience, we did have some prep work prior to departure. We had two or three pre-departure meetings during this past semester in which we did research on various aspects of India and presented it to the class. We also watched the movie Outsourced, which was quite good and I recommend it.

In addition, we had to do a brief paper on a business topic in India (I chose the recent declaration of the Indian gov’t demanding that Google, Blackberry, and Skype allow access to their encrypted messages) and a summer conference call. I was initially a little apprehensive about the conference call as I had never done one before and talking on the phone deeply terrified me as a child (ask child me to call a store to find out their hours and I would very near wet my pants), but it turned out to be fine. One cool thing was that I got to be interviewed and filmed by the travel agency peeps for the promo video that I mentioned earlier, which was a lot of fun.

I will admit, I haven’t done as much reading on India as I wanted to do in preparation (but isn’t that always the case?). However, I still have about 20 hours of travel time left and the always reliable Wikipedia page on India up on my computer so that I can at least put on the appearance of being prepared. Which is always what it seems to come down to. Sigh.

Ok, I’ve rambled on quite enough I think for a simple PDPDP. Apologies. But accolades if you read this far.  The next post should (hopefully) detail my victory dance on arriving safely in India. Insha’allah.

Hasta luego, mis seguidores.