If adventure is what I traveled to India for, then I have surely gotten what I want out of this experience. It has been a memorable past couple of days- I’m not sure I can classify them as days- just stringed together groupings of hours. When I arrived in Istanbul I had little time to catch my next plane, and I was frustrated that I could not get Internet. I hopped onto the Mumbai flight and was happy when I arrived six hours later. It is at this point in my journey that my strength was tested. There were three things I was nervous about coming into the travel component of the trip, and I had to overcome all three of them. I still have a great sense of happiness about this trip, and feel very accomplished to have managed these. The first is that my checked bag did not make it to Mumbai- this means that some of my clothes, toiletries, and my precious yoga mat will not make it to me until tomorrow. As long as my bag comes soon I do not foresee this to be a big deal since I packed all my necessities in my carry-on. One point for me. Next, when I tried to transfer from the Mumbai International airport to the domestic one, which are both zoos, I was told I could not go on the complimentary shuttle because I did not have my boarding pass. I had my e-ticket on my phone, but of course the pile of papers I left at home had that included. This meant that I had to take a taxi in Mumbai to get there! Would I make it in time? Would I make it alive? Mumbai is a big crazy place, and I was afraid it’d swallow me right up. Luckily, I saw a long cue in front of the prepaid taxi line, so I realized that would be the best option. I probably got ripped off; I paid 150 rupees, or around three American dollars to go ten minutes. Of course it takes a lot longer because he makes stops to see his friends, the petrol station, and the administration building where he gets his pay. Overall it went fine and I got there with plenty of time. I was confused about tipping protocol, but since I already paid him a hefty sum, I wasn’t worried about not tipping- still; I need to get the breakdown from Jabeen on that matter. Lastly on my list of fears was not having anyone meet me when I got out of the airport in Ahmedabad. You guessed it, no one was there. I paced up and down the pick up line a couple to times to double check, then I waited for a few minutes. My plane was delayed so I didn’t think it could be that they were running late, so I tried to go back inside the airport to use the pay phones. When I was trying to get past security back into the building, a woman who said she runs an NGO offered me her phone. SO NICE! We called the numbers I had a couple of times, and no luck. We found another woman to help me that had a land line in the administration building, and I ended up being like a lost kid at the museum- hanging out in the airport manager’s office, chatting with all the managers, getting served chai, and trying to figure out how I was going to get to Dahod. Luckily, Jabeen, my boss, was also coming into the airport from Mumbai, so I just had to wait 20 min for her arrival and then another 20 minutes for Ranvir and our car. Speaking of Jabeen, I love her! I am very comforted by the fact that she is my boss! She is a beautiful tall woman who wore jeans and a maroon corto and muted gold scarf- an outfit I could totally see myself wearing. I remembered her from the party back in December, and it was nice to connect a face to the messages I have been having over the past three months. On to Ranvir, he is also so nice! He is the one that gave us the tour of Sahaj back at my last visit, and he has been so friendly and inviting. After we all met up, we went on the road to go to Ahmedabad to have a meeting with sanitation NGO Environmental Sanitation Institute. It was very nice, and I should have brought my camera. It is very similar to Sadguru in that it is a campus training facility, and it is very beautiful too. Sahaj and an offshoot of ESI want to form a partnership for income generation crafts for women. They are planning an exhibition for October. I got to take a nice nap while they all had a meeting about details. There is a lot more Hindi/Gujarati spoken than I would have anticipated. I need to start learning now. On our way back we stopped at a McDonalds to meet someone- I got a coke and it woke me up just enough to have a great conversation with Jabeen about preconceptions of India and the U.S. and how they are developing and the difference in the way of life. It was really great making that connection with her, and realizing we are on the same page in terms of the pros and cons of development. I realize that while I have a love for India and its culture, I also have a very naïve perspective from my last trip because we were sheltered and stayed in Chosala. Now, I’m living in town and will lead the life of a typical Indian- or at least will try (I do not have a cell phone yet, and that is an Indian staple. They are ALWAYS on their phone; way more than Americans if you can believe it!) The car dropped off Ranvir then Jabeen, and I was taken last to my house. I live on the top floor of a family’s home, and there is one bedroom and a water closet. The family is so kind and have three or four generations living here. I currently share my room with Dharmi, who is an engineering student taking her finals this week and temporarily leasing the space. She will be gone in a week, and I wonder if I will get a new roommate or live alone all summer. I am told I get my meals provided for me, and I get a ride to and from work every day. I am excited to meet everyone from Sahaj; my hope is that I can live a balanced life here, have friends that I socialize with, and that I can do good work for Sahaj. It is important to note that coming here is like erasing all my experience with social norms and living with universal humanity to count on and instinctive survival skills. There is no doubt that I will learn a ton on this trip- I am living a completely different life than I would at home. This experience- to be able to see the world in new light- will be amazing. I can’t wait! Oh, and I can’t wait to get used to the toilets, or holes in the ground. I have not perfected my technique yet.
-Your CV,
Lauren
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