Day One

April 1 2016

We hung out in the lobby of the airport for a few hours. Got in line for check in a little over three hours before departure. Our overweight baggage charge was $300 which was more than the stated rate on the website. A fight to be worked out later as the clerks could not resolve the discrepancy. We did some gift shopping for Ron’s India contact, grabbed a meal then headed for our gate. The plane boarded way ahead of schedule and we took off 15 minutes before our scheduled time. We de-boarded in Mumbai and caught another plane with our same seats and flight numbers. We left late although we boarded way ahead of schedule again. Five passengers never showed up after checking in but their bags had been loaded so the airline crew had to remove their luggage once they found it. This made us 30 minutes late. Who were those people and where did they go?

 When we got to Ahmedabad airport at 2:30 a.m. we went through the passport control line. They would not let us proceed because the form required us to put where we would be staying. We had filled in ‘hotel’ but they insisted on a name and address. Unfortunately Meghal had never told us this information since a driver was picking us up and he would take us to the hotel. We were basically kicked out of line with no where to go. I told Ron to open his email and get the driver’s phone number and have one of the staff call the driver to tell the staff member where we would be staying. This worked but made us even later.  We got out of the airport at 3:30 a.m. but body time that would have been 5:00 a.m. Bangkok time. We were taken to the hotel, unloaded the eight pieces of luggage (four carry ons and four large bags) and the driver took off. Guess what? He had taken us to the wrong hotel. Back to the computer and had him called back. On to the right hotel, fortunately not too far way. How did that happen? We have no idea and the driver was not forth coming.  We went to our room and when the staff member plugged in the refrigerator it blew a circuit and all the lights and AC went out. He took us to another room with a working refrigerator. My eye medication requires temperatures below 77 degrees. In this part of the world, when you leave your room all electricity goes off when you remove the room key. We have learned ways to keep the refrigerator on after removing the key. We got to bed as soon as we could. I think it was around 5:00 a.m. then. We slept until 10:00 a.m.

That is what I would call a ‘ruff’ start to our sojourn. Okay, so now we are India.  India is not for everyone. You either love it or you don’t. You may even love it but you can still have your moments. Our room is a good size. I would call it worn. We have laminated flooring and some of the finish is long gone. We have a large window that cannot be opened and when I opened the curtain this morning I was greeted with a blast of hot air from the sun’s radiant heat. So it will be smartest to keep the heavy curtain closed to maintain a decent temperature in the room. If you know me at all you know I thrive on natural light. Not going to happen in this room.

We got up, showered and headed down to breakfast. The manager (?) came to our table and opened the menu to “Lunch.” We said we wanted breakfast so instead of showing us the menu he told us what we could have. We ordered fresh fruit and bread and butter. The fruit was pineapple and papaya. I had forgotten to say ‘no papaya’. The bread was crust-less  Wonderbread and had a thin layer of butter spread over it. Coffee was instant and not good. Hopefully tomorrow we can find another place but we have no rupees yet.

Next we inquired about getting on the internet. Sorry the internet is down today. We walked down the street to an ATM. The streets are dirty, the traffic heavy and there were a couple of produce vendors along the way to the bank. One woman greeted us with a happy and warm ‘hello’. Needless to say we stand out here. Did I mention we were the only ‘gringos in line at the airport check in? No luck with the ATM after trying both cards. We assume it has to do with the internet but don’t know. Back to the hotel. Meghal originally scheduled to pick us up for lunch at 12:15 then changed it to 1:15 and now has changed it to 1:50.  Ron has a 3:00 meeting with the president of CEPT University, originally scheduled earlier as well. It’s India and not unlike other developing countries. We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Early evening

It has been a long day. It is way hot here and it is only the beginning of summer. Summer is April and May. June starts the monsoons which bring horrible humidity from what I have read. At breakfast we were handed a note saying Meghal would pick us up at 1:50. At 1:15 I was at the front desk asking for a second room key when a man in the lobby called my name. It was Scot and Meghal, ready to go for lunch. I raced upstairs and woke Ron who was resting. Off we went to a terrific restaurant. Ron and I ordered India, Meghal ordered veg pasta, Scott ordered Burmese spaghetti and Manvita ordered a wrap. Our two dishes were incredibly good. I tasted Meghal’s pasta which was equally good. It lifted my spirits after our breakfast. During lunch I listened while the group started talking about the project and how things work here. It was a lively exchange.

We all went over to the university. Remember we are in India so the road and parking lots were dirt not paved. There are several schools clustered together within walking distance of each other. Some are in new buildings and others in older buildings and there were some buildings that have been abandoned. At 3:00 we all went into the president’s office and he was a delight. He is so excited about the program and wants it to start NOW. He enthusiastically encouraged the group to jump in. Scott said they would use the admonition of ‘building the plane while flying it’. Bimal, the president, wanted them to start teaching some courses and building the vision and structure as they went. He offered his support. He asked about where we would be living and encouraged us to get a nice place. The meeting was brief but upbeat.

We found out that all banks are closed today and that the ATM was probably just out of cash as staff were not on hand to replenish. We also found out that one of the biggest internet providers was out all over the country. By now you should be getting a sense of India.

At the end of the day we went to the Vodaphone store to get a SIM card for our cell phones. This took two trips. Here is the documentation required: 2 copies of Ron’s passport page, two copies of his visa page, a copy of his letter of invitation to the university and his driver’s license and FOUR passport photos. In Thailand he can pick up a SIM card at the airport or many outlets with just a copy of the passport. It took nearly 30 minutes to complete the transaction in a room with no AC. I was shiny with sweat when I got out of there.

We next went to look at one of the two places they have lined up for us to consider renting. It was rough. It was a multi story building, maybe four or five stories. It is a old building and not in good repair and looked very poorly maintained. We walked up to the second story and were welcomed by the owners into the apartment. It had two bedrooms and two ‘baths’. It was totally unsuitable for us. The bath rooms were standard baths for this part of the world: a toilet, wall sink, and a hose on the wall for showering. You basically shower in the bathroom with no divider separating you from the rest of the small room. So the toilet and entire floor get wet when you shower and it is difficult to not get the toilet paper wet while showering. We do not expect to live at the level we have at home but this place was depressing. We are curious about the house we will see tomorrow. When we learned what the budget was we knew it would be different from our former experiences and agreed we may have to pay some amount over the budget in order to get a suitable place. We asked about the rent and were told it was 30,000 rupees. On the way back to the hotel I asked what the budget was and was told it was 40,000. When we got home Ron said his contract says it is 50,000. All I can say is stay tuned!