10.23.09
I woke up this morning in India! I did not see us pull into port. I figured Chennai would look a lot like Casablanca with it being an industrial port and everything and I was right.
I had some breakfast and looked into India. It did not smell as bad as I thought it would. Actually, I really can’t smell anything at all. The ship took forever to clear, but before that there was a diplomatic briefing. There were 4 people from the US consulate speaking to us. It was pretty interesting. They review over 500 applicants for visas to the US in Chennai alone! And that is considered a slump. At peak, there are about 1800 a day. Afterward, I went and got some money exchanged and headed back to my cabin to wait for the ship to be cleared. We do not carry our passports, but rather a shore pass while we are here. Shore passes are really important and if we lose it we are screwed. They were calling us by seas to come pick up our documents from the faculty/staff lounge. While waiting, I receive a phone call from the pursers desk saying that my pick up is here and I can leave. I was a little confused because the ship wasn’t cleared. I was thinking what crazy mystical power does Shashank have to get me off the ship before it clears? I went to the pursers desk and a woman was telling me that I needed to leave, but I didn’t have any of the proper documents so I was super confused. Once I relayed this to the woman she told me to wait. But she did tell me that Shashank was waiting for me at gate number 7. I just couldn’t really believe that I was in India and going to see Shashank.
The ship was finally cleared and Katie, Kelli and I set off in search of Gate 7. Well, we are in the super industrial port and there are trains and buses and rickshaws and random people and it is hot as hell. Welcome to India. Gate 7 turned out to be a 15 minute walk through the port. By the time we are reached the gate we are dripping in sweat because most of us are in jeans because we were told to dress conservatively. At the gate, we have to show our shore pass and get checked my the port agents. The process took forever! I finally got through and walked through the gate and there are Shashank and his girlfriend. I got so excited I ran and gave him a huge hug. He told me we were headed to Bangalore. The only issue with that is that I didn’t pack anything for overnight. That was a little dumb on my part because I really don’t know what I was thinking. I convince Shashank that I have time to run back to the ship and pack a quick overnight bag and that I will be back in time to catch the bus to Bangalore.
I sprint back to the ship. I pass a ton of SASers and they all look at me pretty strangely because I am running back to the ship rather than into port. But I get to the ship in record time. I am running back to my cabin when my purse handle catches on the banister in the hallway and I pretty much flipped backwards. I am really surprised that I 1. My purse didn’t break or 2. The banister didn’t rip off the wall. After recovering, I made it to my cabin and packed a small backpack. I had 2 shirts, my jeans, and a skirt and my tennis shoes. It was packing REALLY light, but I figured I would buy clothes along the way. I ran off the ship and found a rickshaw driver to drive me to the gate. I kind of cut the shore pass line so I would make it out in time. I stood in line longer than it actually took me to get back to the ship and pack.
I eventually made it back out to Shashank and we made our way to the bus station and all three of us squeezed in an auto. An auto is a three wheeled, mini bus looking things that runs on a go-Kart engine. After about 45 minutes, we got there and found our bus, which thankfully is air conditioned. We all chatted and caught up and it is so good to see him!!! A friendly face.  We made a small pit stop at this little place off the side of the interstate to have a meal. They call it a meal and it is basically rice with all sorts of fun things you can put on it. Shashank thought that they were really bland, but I thought they had a little bit of a kick. This does not bode well for future meals. I am convinced that Indians burn their taste buds off since birth so therefore they can’t really taste the spiciness. But that is just a theory. I also tried to eat with my hands like the Indians do, but I looked stupid. So much so that Shashank laughed at me so I gave up and used a spoon. We got back on the bus and continued our journey to Bangalore.
We stayed on the bus for what seemed like forever because of the traffic once we got into Bangalore. Shashank’s girlfriend, whose name I can’t pronounce and therefore need to give a nickname, got off in front of us because it was closer to her home. Shashank and I had an interesting conversation about arranged marriages. I never realized how common they still are. He said that about 6 or 7 out of 10 are still arranged. That blew my mind. Then we moved on to the caste system and I always assumed that the caste system was monetary, which I think a part of it is, but it is also about what denomination (which is probably the wrong word to use) of Hindu you are. He did say that you usually marry within your caste. There are agencies and databases of people to help get matched up for arranged marriages. I think that is absolutely fascinating. I would have never guessed. There is no way that would fly in the US.
Once we got off the bus in Bangalore, we were both hungry and Shashank suggested I try KFC in India. It was so good! Definitely better than in the US. We had to cross a busy street to get to the KFC and there were autos and rickshaws and cars and buses and about every other mode of transportation you can imagine. They don’t exactly obey traffic laws or lanes so it is kind of confusing. Luckily, Shashank guided me across the street.
After we ate, we grabbed an auto and drove to his university. Everything here is so colorful! I love it! The only down side is that there is a lot of pollution. It was kind of giving me a headache.
He got me all checked into my hotel, which is on his campus. They have a hotel on their campus so the hotel management majors have a place to practice and then students families have a place to stay when they come and visit. The room itself is much better then I was expecting. There is a big bed and air conditioning. The shower is a different story. I can’t really figure it out. There is a showerhead, a drain on the floor, a stool and a bucket. I ended up flipping my hair over in the bucket and washing my hair and that made me feel a million times better. I was also really excited to see that I had a normal toilet. That has not been the case in some of the countries we have been in. And bonus! They provided toilet paper!
I got all cozy in my bed and settled in to watch Disney Channel. So I am happy. I am a little nervous because this is really the first time that I have been away from SAS. I also had my Mauritius green sheet, rather than my India green sheet, which sucked. I just have to put it out of my mind or else I will not be able to enjoy my time here. I just keep having all these irrational thoughts go through my head like the ship was going to leave a day early and I wasn’t going to know and I was going to miss the ship. Stupid, I know. I ended up going down to the computer and checking the dates to make myself feel better before I went to bed.