Oct. 3

The Trip

Of course I chose the last few hours before my departure to research how to spend my 10 hour overnight layover in Dehli. I would say that it certainly added to my anxiety to see that it was once rated the worst airport to sleep in. There were many descriptions of dirty, toilet paper-less bathrooms and no food. But I can thank the Common Wealth Games that are taking place in Dehli right now for a nice renovation to the airport. I had no issues except for having to sleep in a very uncomfortable chair.

Coming out of the airport I found my ride and hopped in the car. An hour later I was surprised to hear we were still in Bangalore, and picking up two other volunteers who were coming back from their two week vacation. An hour after that I arrived at Shanti Bhavan.

Traffic observations: I would never ever attempt to drive in India.

1. There are no street signs/road names that I could see.

2. There are dividing lane lines, but no one seems to pay any attention to them. Everyone is always weaving in and out of traffic, but they make it work granted a lot of honking is involved. I suppose in a way it makes them better drivers because they are constantly aware of everything around them.

3. I spent most of the trip bracing myself for what I was sure was about to be a collision, while the women riding side saddle in their saris on the back of their husband’s motorcycles without a helmet don’t even flinch.

*Something else I noticed; only the driver of a motorcycle wears a helmet. You could have a family of four piled on there and only the man driving had his head protected.

The School

I arrived in time to put my bags down and relax for a quick moment before going to a delicious lunch in the open wall dining hall with the rest of the volunteers and all the students. Oddly, it reminded me a lot of eating at the camp this summer. They even played “Waving Flag”. Then I took a nap, took a shower (from a bucket), unpacked and went to PT out on the main field to interact with the kids some more. Got to know Rebekka, a German girl who also arrived today, then went back to my room to find two largish spiders that took Yazmany (my neighbor) and I about 15 mins. to get into position (and work up the courage) to kill. I spent the rest of the time writing this trying not to fall asleep before dinner. Oh, just discover a largish gecko and larger frog in the bathroom too. I’ll deal with those after dinner. Still waiting on the roommate to get here too…..