Welcome to Mumbai!

October 3, 2009 ~ Saturday 1:46 am

I am officially in India! My feet have touched the concrete at the airport! Woohoo! I am currently in the Mumbai airport in the domestic terminal where I will spend the night until my flight to Jodhpur tomorrow morning. I'm not quite sure how much sleep I will get since I'm here with my pile of luggage by myself. But let me say this: I did not bring that much stuff. Even Gaurav, the guy that sat next to me on the flight here and then helped me get through customs, get my luggage, and get on the shuttle and off at the right terminal, commented on the fact that I didn't have that much stuff for a 13 month stay. I have my backpacking backpack, which is slightly bigger than me, a little checked bag, my normal book bag and a purse like thing. So to both Ashleys, Jon, and Robyn: I think I have lost my "worst packer in the world" status. And I hope you are all proud. So far my trip has been uneventful. Everything has gone very smoothly. As I mentioned, Gaurav, a nice Sikh gentleman, who was surprised when I knew what Sikhism is, was very helpful and while I could have managed by myself, he was definitely more adept at getting to the front of the lines than me and grabbed my bags off the conveyor belt which meant I could spare my guns (arm muscles). He complimented me on my ability to sneak up slowly to the front of the lines and so was already acting like an Indian. So woohoo, adaptation is happening already, although it's more of mimicry and using my experience from attending an overcrowded high school. Now I just have to look forward to meeting the other intern Andrew tomorrow morning and having a smooth flight to Jodhpur, where we will be picked up at the airport by the site team and brought to a hotel. I hope that I am not catatonic upon Andrew and mine's first introduction. Now onto to watch Ellen's stand up from like 1986 – horrible hair and outfit but still hysterical. Hopefully I won't scare those around me with my laugh…