For the third time, I've packed up my bags for the long term, said goodbye to America and headed off to another country and another adventure. After China and England, the next logical choice would be India, of course. And so within the last three months, and a long series of disappointments, successes, and surprises, I decided to work in India for six months. Within this last month I graduated Dartmouth, traveled to New York, back home, back to New York and then to India.
Even before I reached India I got a taste of some of the craziness that awaited me. Visa troubles abound! After weeks of calling the visa application center at least once a day, getting ambitious answers, and fearing my visa would not be processed in time, my friend and I spent a total of 17 hours waiting at the India visa application center for my visa (my friend clocking in more hours than me). Thankfully, I have an amazing friend who was willing to wait at the application center when I had to go home and picked up my visa after waiting for 8 hours (14 hours in total).
Another good friend kindly let me sleep at her place (since my plane from Durango to New York came in at midnight and my flight to India was not until 4:30 the next day). We went into New York City together to meet up with my friend with the visa, enjoyed some dim sum, and then turned around to head back to the airport.
The flight to India, though extremely long was not too bad. I enjoyed watching movies (one American and one Bollywood) slept a lot, and thought the food was much better than what was served on United. After 20+ hours I arrived at the hotel in Bangalore where orientation was held.
The best part of orientation was getting to know the other fellows. Unfortunately, most of them are based in Bangalore or Mumbai, but hopefully they'll be able to visit us in Hyderabad and perhaps I'll be able to visit them in Bangalore and Mumbai.
On Friday, we traveled to Hyderabad by sleeper train. I was reminded of my travels in China. By Saturday morning we had arrived at our new home. It was pretty bare in terms of amenities. Though we were given a stove, a dead-bug infested fridge, a bed (no bedding), a sofa and coffee table, we were missing basic necessities, including, but not limited to: everything else. On top of that, though we were told that we would have someone who would show us around and help us get settled in with internet, buying stuff, etc. we were promptly left to fend for ourselves after our 'guide' got us breakfast (street food...probably not the smartest idea, but I haven't gotten sick yet, knock on wood).
Welcome to more unexpected surprises in India. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, with a lackluster orientation, lackluster accommodations, and a fear that maybe this entire thing was a scam (I am not being paid to work and I actually had to pay the program I am with, IDEX) I took a shower and promptly took a nap.
After waking up, my roommate and I decided to explore. We ate at McDonalds, (I had a Maharaja Mac burger), found a cafe with wifi, bought some basic things for the house and cleaning supplies. When we returned we cleaned the house. I was definitely feeling much better. Cleaning is definitely therapeutic and can get you out of any funk. On top of that, when I was at the cafe I was able to get in touch with my mentor at my host site and she invited me to dinner.
At 7 my mentor picked me up and we ate at this wonderful South Indian restaurant. She told me a little bit about Gray Matters India, the place I would be working at for the next 6 months. I was pretty impressed with what she told me (I had looked up the organization online, but you get a better sense of the culture and what they do when you hear it from someone who works with them). She also gave me a lot of advice on where to eat and how to get to places and where to go to visit. By the time I got back to the apartment I was feeling much better about the next 6 months.
I remember my two-three first weeks at the orphanage in China and the amount of frustration and uncertainty I felt. I remember not being able to shower for the first few days, being completely useless because the ayis wouldn't let me do anything in the baby room, and being the only English-speaker in what felt like a 10 mile radius. At the time, I thought those next three months would be a complete waste of time. Instead, they became probably the most important of my Dartmouth career and sparked my passion in social impact.
Comparatively, the set backs I've had so far in India have been minimal, and I'm sure that these next six months will be just as or even more transformative than my time in China. Let the adventures begin!
Even before I reached India I got a taste of some of the craziness that awaited me. Visa troubles abound! After weeks of calling the visa application center at least once a day, getting ambitious answers, and fearing my visa would not be processed in time, my friend and I spent a total of 17 hours waiting at the India visa application center for my visa (my friend clocking in more hours than me). Thankfully, I have an amazing friend who was willing to wait at the application center when I had to go home and picked up my visa after waiting for 8 hours (14 hours in total).
Another good friend kindly let me sleep at her place (since my plane from Durango to New York came in at midnight and my flight to India was not until 4:30 the next day). We went into New York City together to meet up with my friend with the visa, enjoyed some dim sum, and then turned around to head back to the airport.
The flight to India, though extremely long was not too bad. I enjoyed watching movies (one American and one Bollywood) slept a lot, and thought the food was much better than what was served on United. After 20+ hours I arrived at the hotel in Bangalore where orientation was held.
The best part of orientation was getting to know the other fellows. Unfortunately, most of them are based in Bangalore or Mumbai, but hopefully they'll be able to visit us in Hyderabad and perhaps I'll be able to visit them in Bangalore and Mumbai.
On Friday, we traveled to Hyderabad by sleeper train. I was reminded of my travels in China. By Saturday morning we had arrived at our new home. It was pretty bare in terms of amenities. Though we were given a stove, a dead-bug infested fridge, a bed (no bedding), a sofa and coffee table, we were missing basic necessities, including, but not limited to: everything else. On top of that, though we were told that we would have someone who would show us around and help us get settled in with internet, buying stuff, etc. we were promptly left to fend for ourselves after our 'guide' got us breakfast (street food...probably not the smartest idea, but I haven't gotten sick yet, knock on wood).
Welcome to more unexpected surprises in India. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, with a lackluster orientation, lackluster accommodations, and a fear that maybe this entire thing was a scam (I am not being paid to work and I actually had to pay the program I am with, IDEX) I took a shower and promptly took a nap.
After waking up, my roommate and I decided to explore. We ate at McDonalds, (I had a Maharaja Mac burger), found a cafe with wifi, bought some basic things for the house and cleaning supplies. When we returned we cleaned the house. I was definitely feeling much better. Cleaning is definitely therapeutic and can get you out of any funk. On top of that, when I was at the cafe I was able to get in touch with my mentor at my host site and she invited me to dinner.
Mickey-D's, India style
At 7 my mentor picked me up and we ate at this wonderful South Indian restaurant. She told me a little bit about Gray Matters India, the place I would be working at for the next 6 months. I was pretty impressed with what she told me (I had looked up the organization online, but you get a better sense of the culture and what they do when you hear it from someone who works with them). She also gave me a lot of advice on where to eat and how to get to places and where to go to visit. By the time I got back to the apartment I was feeling much better about the next 6 months.
I remember my two-three first weeks at the orphanage in China and the amount of frustration and uncertainty I felt. I remember not being able to shower for the first few days, being completely useless because the ayis wouldn't let me do anything in the baby room, and being the only English-speaker in what felt like a 10 mile radius. At the time, I thought those next three months would be a complete waste of time. Instead, they became probably the most important of my Dartmouth career and sparked my passion in social impact.
Comparatively, the set backs I've had so far in India have been minimal, and I'm sure that these next six months will be just as or even more transformative than my time in China. Let the adventures begin!
The view from the rooftop of my apartment
No comments:
Post a Comment