I'm here!!!

Here's the SparkNotes version so you don't have to read the whole thing:
1. I arrived and haggled!
2. Indian traffic
3. English speaking??

So it's been a really long time since I posted so this may be a crazy looong post...we'll see how long I stay awake :) Also my thoughts are ver ver jumbled so we'll see if there's a sense of order.

It's been amazing so far! India is my first trip abroad. So naturally I acted like a complete dork in the airport when I saw how big the plane was!!! For heaven's sakes there was two floors!!! (most of you already know this:) ) I also had to give a quick shoutout to Anna W.- I flew through Frankfurt! So much German! But not enough of you! The stewardess even asked whether I spoke German or English :)

Travel tip: Never, ever land in a developing country with which you are not familiar at 1:30am. I mean it all turned out ok but really what was I thinking??? Totally had to haggle at this hour with a taxi driver (and I succeeded!). This is exciting for two reasons: 1. Drivers here love to overcharge foreigners (particularly white people) 2. Matt was with me and 99% of the time drivers won't listen to you if guys are there too

Let's talk about driving in India. First off, there are very few rules and fewer traffic lights. So they do drive on the opposite side of the road and the driver is on the other side of the car. Other than being split up based on direction of traffic there are no lanes. Whatever is biggest wins (except cows...cows ALWAYS win). And drivers let each other know where they are by honking...it's a symphony (cacophony? CULTURALLY RELATIVE!). Rickshaws, cars, trucks, and motorcycles all are VERY close to each other! literally I could clap the motorcyclist on the shoulder without stretching. This brings me to a defining feature of my experience so far: the rickshaw. The rickshaw is like a small car that is covered but has no doors (it's just open). Two fit very comfortably, three are cozy, and four you have one on your lap (we have done this several times). You have to haggle with the driver when you want one. Sometimes drivers will refuse you just because they don't want to go where you are going. A lot of the time they want to charge you the foreigner price or just a higher price. So you have to convince them that you want the meter. Then you clammer in and hope they actually know where they're going. Anytime we can't walk, we take them (so rather often).

Which brings me back to my experience on the first night. Rickshaw and cab drivers in Bangalore do not know where most places are. When you ask to be taken you have to give several landmarks and major streetnames. So as I'm sitting in the cab, with Matt (who by the way rocks as a travel companion) trying to mitigate my sheer excitement, all the differences I'm seeing, and the overwhelming terror that my body is going to be dumped off by a rogue driver, I realize that our driver does not know where he is going. Finally, he asks us. So to recap: now 2:30am. First time abroad. Lost in foreign city. And the driver and I speak very different English. So most people in India speak English. However, the amount they speak is a huge range among the population and often they have only spoken English to other Indians. It is not their fault that they don't understand me, anymore than it is my fault that I don't understand them. So, our accents definitely get in the way. We did finally find the place.

Phu was there to greet Matt and I (we were VERY hyper and Phu was VERY patient). 4 hours later I ate my first Indian breakfast which consisted of chutney, flat bread, and a light stew (so the Indian food words...I'm still working on them). Then I went to a Hindu temple with a small group of the GSE and Lily kids. This was a very cool experience and deserves more detail than I would give it tonight.

We are 9.5 hours ahead of Eastern Time so it's 1:30am here (Jet Lag, never will I underestimate you again!)