Arrival

So after a trip that overall lasted over 24 hours (and which included the spraying of insecticide on the plane from London to Bangalore which is apparently common practice), I finally arrived in India. After going through customs, I picked up my baggage and made my way outside of the airport around 5am praying that my driver had actually come. Since it was so early I wasn't subject to the massive groups of people that normally wait outside the airport, but instead a long line of Indian men carrying signs and waiting. It was an awkward process, the signs mostly were just pen on paper and so I had to make my way down the line one by one looking for my name while they all stared. I quickly became aware of the fact that I was the only woman who had ventured outside alone, but I told myself to appear confident as I refused others who asked me if I needed a ride. I finally (and thankfully) found my driver and we made our way over to his taxi.

The trunk was extremely small and so I was going to suggest he put my massive suitcase in the backseat with me, but instead he just placed it on top of the car with just four very shallow bars and a flimsy latch holding it in place. This was my first worry, as I kept looking out of the rear window expecting to see my suitcase fly off the roof into darkness. Once I realized how people tend to drive here, I became much more concerned with just getting to the guesthouse safely! I felt like my driver was fairly good, but this doesn't mean much when traffic rules don't seem to apply to the rest. Apparently it is common practice to drive anywhere on the road you see fit, with little regard to lanes. More than once we were in a lane facing head-on traffic before swerving back to the left lane at the last minute. You don't need to just worry about cars, but bikes going opposite traffic and pedestrians crossing the street at random intervals. It is no wonder that drivers here use their car horn liberally, practically every time they pass another form of transportation.

I finally made it to the guesthouse which is very basic (I don't have a blanket!) but sufficient. I am currently sharing a room (which I was not expecting) with a French girl who is leaving in a few weeks and the living situation may or may not be temporary. But it appears fairly clean, with a Western style bathroom, and I have wi-fi so I can't really complain :-)

After sleeping for a good 10 hours and waking up at 2:15pm I am spending some time getting settled...first day of work tomorrow.