the flight and day one

So, right now its 8:50 in the morning here. The flight wasn't too bad last night. The whole time we were at Newark airport, I kept thinking I was flying back to pgh. Even on the plane, I couldn't seem to stop missing those three rivers. Anyway, I watched two movies on the plane, and somehow one made me a little teary-eyed. The Freedom Writers - it was really cheesy and like Dangerous Minds, but watered down a bit. Its based on a true story, but I have a feeling the characters weren't as molded in reality. Fourteen hours on a plane is really way too long. I think I might upgrade my seat to first class on the way back, just because more room really does make a difference. I got lucky and didn't have anyone sitting next to me, but my mom had an aisle seat with two people next to her. (A 777 has three colums of three seats, if that helps paint the picture). After the second movie, we were still only somewhere near Newfoundland, so I started to read, but fell asleep somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. My mom woke me up around Greenland to switch seats with me. There was an older Sidar sitting next to her and he was talking up as much room as he could. So, I stayed in her seat for the rest of the flight, and didn't sleep much.

Delhi airport is just like anyother airport, except its in Delhi. By that I mean its congested, the lines are long and skewed by everyone finding their own shortest way to the front, and the ads are more cosmopolitan than you might expect for India. Of course there's the typical talk of "indian standard time" by people in line saying things like "My dad couldn't even get the time of our flight right. It was at 8am, but we were at the airport at 8pm. So we had to take this flight instead, and now we're here four days late." Well, we got our bags and went to find my mom's aunt and cousin who came to pick us up. The second we walked out of the airport, I finally felt like I was in India, and it started to sink in that Pittsburgh was so very far away. The second you walk out of an air conditioned building, you feel the heat. In fact, you can smell the heat. Its a familar smell for me and brings back memories of our last time here. I started to feel like I was settling in. Also typical to India, people waiting outside the airport take your bags from you and walk you to your car. Of course you say, "no thanks," because you know you have tip them, but they do it anyway, and they know you're from abroad and instead of asking for rupees, they ask for American money.

Driving is another things that is so familiar, but yet so strangely foreign and unique. As expected when not in America, you drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. However, the turn signal is used maybe once, the traffic lights seem to have a "obey if you want" policy, the speed limit signs are new, there are bikes, rikshahs, scooters, trucks, and other assorted vehicles on the road with you (all moving at different paces, of course) and to pass, you just have to honk...kinda.

The life here is interesting. Its so very different from anywhere in America. I can't even explain it. But, I'm gonna go out today and take a few pictures of where I am right now in Delhi. There's wireless at my mom's cousin's so I'll hopefully be able to update tomorrow.

p.s. The lechee are so sweet and fresh. They're more juicy and fleshy than anything else. You peel one open and it immediately oozes juice the way an animal might bleed if you peeled back its skin. The honeydew is so fresh that I'm allergic. Oddly enough, lunch wasn't that spicy.