First Post in India!

What a trip it has been so far! This is my first post since leaving, but we have much to catch up on. On December 27th, I left the Charlottesville airport at 7:00 a.m. bound for Charlotte, NC where I connected and then traveled to Houston. I arrived there at about lunch time and proceeded to wait for everyone else to show up. Our flight for India did not leave until around 8:00 that evening so I had much time to kill. Unfortunately, Qatar Airlines did not open their ticketing booth until 4:00 so I could not go back into the airport until then. Instead, I went to the Marriot and relaxed in their lobby until the evening. Once I made it through security, I met up with everyone at our gate and we boarded our 14.5 hour flight to Doha, Qatar. Just my luck, about 15 minutes into the flight my television screen quit working. While everyone else was watching movies and playing games, I stared at a blank screen. As unfortunate as this was, I slept a great deal on the flight which was beneficial.

When we arrived in Doha, we deplaned and were bused to the terminal where we went through security and waited to board our flight to Delhi. After waiting in a crowded room, we were bused out to our plane and boarded for another 3 hour flight. Luckily, on this flight, my screen did work so I watched the movie “Eat, Pray, Love” because it dealt with a trip to India. After making it through security, we claimed our luggage and exchanged money. One U.S. dollar is worth about 42 Indian rupees (India’s currency). We met up with our professor, Dr. Joseph Aranha, and loaded up on the air conditioned bus provided by the Rai Foundation.

Before I continue, I will share the reason why I went on this trip and what I expect to see. To no surprise, I was constantly asked over Christmas break why I was going to India with a class that studied architecture when my majors are Animal Science and Political Science. (The class is an Honor’s seminar for Humanities credit- both of which I need for my degree). Last summer when I was studying abroad in France, I received an email about taking this class from the Honor’s College. After looking into it, I felt it was too great an opportunity to pass up. Though I am not 100% sure where my life will lead me, I know that to become the best and most well rounded person I can be, I have to expose myself to cultures and people who are different than what I am used to. I came to India curiously looking to learn about a culture which is completely different from America and Western Europe. Thus far, it has been one of the best and most educational experiences I’ve ever had.

Back to the trip…upon leaving the airport, it did not take us long to realize how crazy the traffic system in India is. Though it was 4:00 a.m., the roads were still pretty crowded. Traffic lanes are completely disregarded and horns blow constantly. Most vehicles do not have mirrors because they have been broken off…that is how close traffic travels together. Vehicle rides are thrilling to say the least! Another thing that quickly stood out is the poverty level. As we traveled up the road, there were several fires spaced out along the roadside where people were huddling for warmth. The structures most use for shelter are nothing more than run down mud huts with tarps wrapped around them. It’s sad to say, but I feel like most of our cattle back at home live in better conditions than a lot of people here. Traveling to our hotel, I felt helpless. Reading about poverty is one thing, experiencing it first hand, however, is completely different. I can’t believe how real poverty is…we are truly blessed to live in the country we live in and should take nothing for granted.

Once we arrived at our hotel, we were led to our rooms. To prevent jet lag, we stayed up until breakfast instead of sleeping. For breakfast we were served omelets which were delicious. We then traveled to the Rai Foundation (our hosts) where we met with the president of the foundation: Vinay Rai. He is a billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He explained to us about Indian and Hindu culture. When I have more time, I will go more in depth about what he covered. Needless to say, what he had to say was very interesting. We had lunch with him and then listened to another presentation about architecture...I don't remember much of this because I was fighting to stay awake. After that we went to a place called Humayan's Tomb...it was incredible to see and hard to imagine how they built it. Once we were done there we went to an outdoor mall. It reminded me of an Indian version of China town. They sold a lot of fabric and stuff there and really jacked up the prices for us. I didn't buy anything but it was neat to see. By then it was time to come back to the hotel. I fell asleep before dinner and slept for a very long time.