The Last Day in India

The trip, for me, was probably five days too long. I could have done without the company trips and the corporate mumbo-jumbo that truly doesn’t have much significance in my life. And so, when I finally made it to the last day, I was ready to go, but the flight wasn’t until the evening. Alas, during a late breakfast a snake charmer came to fill up some of our time. The snake charmer wasn’t thrilling, as the only time the snakes moved was when he pulled them out of their boxes or around the floor. (He still found it appropriate to ask for tips.)

After giving up on the snake charmer, we had to decide whether we wanted to hit up a touristy spot or go shopping, and being that I needed to be guaranteed some shopping time, I passed on the tourist destination. A bunch of us took the metro to the bazaars. Kristin and I went to where we were familiar with the merchandise, knew what we wanted, how much we were willing to pay for it, and were above ground. I bought some shoes and failed at getting a bargain price even though I got three pairs. I found myself needing to get more rupees for the third or fourth time on the trip, even though the first few days I told myself that India didn’t have much to offer. Where my money was going, I wasn’t positive. It felt like play money. It came out of a machine and gave me junk in exchange for it. I ended up spending probably one hundred dollars too much.

Kristin and I had a mission for the day – to obtain those pretty embroidered sheets that could eventually be made into a comforter or whatever. As it turns out, all of the women who sell those things work together and make it really frustrating for someone trying to get a good price.  One lady would tell you that small elephants take more work and are more expensive, and another would say that the big elephants were more expensive. These ladies needed to get their stories straight. We got some bidding wars going, but I still didn’t get my price. I ended up with a beautiful, orange sheet and two matching pillowcases. They’re really very beautiful.

After a really tiring few hours of handling with sneaky, deceitful people, we were ready to head back to the hotel and take an hour to pack up our things. The obstacle this time was taking the metro by ourselves. It was quite crowded and going through security with so many new, loose items was a hassle, but we made it back alive, with time to stop in to RelianceFresh, the convenience store near the hotel. I was very proud about taking the metro without any help. [insert smug smile here]

We had dinner at the hotel and then had to deal with tipping the people at the hotel. I couldn’t handle it. It was too annoying. I didn’t want to go up to every person and tip them especially when none of them really ever helped me. The plan to leave a few rupees in the room failed when one young man came in and kept pointing at it. It was an uncomfortable situation that made me want to get out of the country even more urgently. I didn’t want to deal with everyone wanting money anymore.

Security at the airport was the most intense I’ve ever been through. Two rounds of having to take off your jacket and get the carry-ons checked. It wouldn’t have been so annoying if the airport had left more time before our departure time for everyone on the flight to go through that extra security. It delayed us an hour and a half.

I couldn’t have gotten home soon enough. India was an experience, definitely something I’m glad I did now because it gave me a different view of… everything. I had a sense of adventure, I guess, but I had never wanted to be home more. Taking off on that plane was an amazing feeling.

-Emily H. Morris

A Fun Day in India

The second full day in India started out early. We were expected at an automobile expo before noon, and although of course we were delayed a bit coming out of the hotel, we stopped at India Gate along the way. India Gate is a war memorial strikingly similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. It was fun to look at for two minutes. We moseyed around because there were some practices happening for an upcoming parade. There were many young schoolchildren around watching too and we stopped to take pictures with them. Over the loudspeakers there was really loud Indian music playing, which made for great dance music. Melissa received an impromptu dance lesson from a few of the young girls. It was a special cultural experience. (My favorite girl was the one with the Hannah Montana backpack).

After having our fill with the soldiers and tourists, the group set off for the automobile expo. Never have I witnessed, first-hand, the privileges of being a white girl. The auto expo was filled with older Indian men, and the people showing off the cars let the other two girls on my team and me do practically whatever we wanted. I’d say it was a blast, eating dominoes and roaming all over, until it got insanely crowded. We were being shoved in every direction, brushing against too many people. Not willing to bear with the crowds, and being that it was surprisingly nice out, we tried some of the outdoor activities. Soon enough, it was time to go.

Between the auto expo and dinner there was some free time and the majority of the group voted to fill the time by paying a visit to the Lotus Temple. I have to say it was probably the coolest place we visited next to the Taj Mahal. There was a long pathway up to the temple and it was surrounded by green grass and palm-tree-like vegetation. The temple looked strikingly similar to the Sydney Opera House, but more symmetrical. I suppose the theme of the day was naming what other monuments the Indian monuments looked like. We all had to take off our shoes and leave them outside the temple. Inside the temple it was completely silent. It was a grand hall of benches, very cold, very austere, and yet very bright from natural light shining through the windows. And outside the main temple, there were pools of water, making the spot even more photogenic. The temple was raised up (you have to walk up some stairs to get up to it) and it allows for some views of Delhi. Whether or not I was looking at slums or mansions was difficult to say.

That evening we went back to the hotel and did some shopping around the hotel. I bought two embroidered pillow cases. Soon after, we walked to the restaurant for dinner. The group was broken up into maybe three tables and each table had a 100% authentic Indian student to sit at their table (I say this with humor because my high school had a very large Indian population, as does Binghamton I think). I can’t remember the name of the one who sat at my table, but he was nice enough. The food was more bread and dips. The rice was better though – I especially liked the rice with the lentils. My food was supposed to be spicy, but I found it mild.

We all walked back to the hotel and I went to sleep relatively early. The day wasn’t too hectic even though we saw a lot of stuff, and I didn’t feel trapped anywhere, which was unusual during the duration of my stay in India. Ergo, good day.

-Emily H. Morris

My First Impression of India

Getting off an airplane isn’t the most fun activity. You’re tired and groggy and there’s a feeling composed of an anxiousness to begin fun activities and an overwhelming fatigue. Getting off the plane in Delhi, I immediately wanted to see bright things. Instead we were greeted by an Indian-lined tunnel to the airplane gate, all of whom stared at us like we had just come off of a mother ship. It wasn’t the warmest of greetings when it came to sentiment, but it was physically warm. The air was stuffier than the airplane had been and I needed to remove some of my layers.

I went through customs and was somewhat nervous about the questions I was going to be asked, but the man who stamped my passport neither looked at me nor spoke to me. I moved on to the baggage claim area where I was pleasantly surprised that my bag had made it to India with me (my brand new orange piece of luggage, with brand new brown marks on it). While waiting for everyone to get their luggage, I began to sweat. It was a false indicator of how the climate would be during the trip.

We then walked parade-like through Indians looking to greet other arrivals. We were spotted by Prof. Gupta, who was very energetic. He led us to our bus. The bus was parked at maybe a forty-degree angle against a wall. We were at the front of the bus, wondering where our luggage was going to go and realized we had to go to the back of the bus. We chose the wrong way to go around, though, and those at the front of the group go stuck because the luggage couldn’t fit through the squeeze between the bus and the wall. As it turns out, that lovely piece of real estate didn’t smell so great and it took a minute to turn around and go around the bus to get to the back. It was dark, and a bit too chaotic for my liking.

When we got to the other side of the bus there were many, many Indian men. I thought they all worked for the bus company. They were grabbing our luggage and pushing it five feet to put in the back of the bus, which was full after six suitcases were stuffed in it. Actually, ninety percent of the Indian men just wanted to make a buck by moving our suitcases. They asked for ten dollars, and it was very uncomfortable because we couldn’t leave our suitcases there. I definitely wanted to see my suitcase be put somewhere, and there were so many suspicious people around.

Finally, I think my suitcase was put atop the bus, where we were sitting. The seats on the bus were terribly squishy and there were awful curtains on the windows that I didn’t want to touch. It was too dark to see Delhi, not that I was interested at that particular moment anyway.

A first impression can say a lot about someone or something. In this case, I knew that all trip I was going to long for all of the comforts of America.

-Emily H. Morris