Snapshots of Life!

Longest blog ever!

June 1st
Flight to Mumbai, India
It’s 9:35pm London time and I am sitting in a super warm plane because the auxillary unit is broken. The passenger next to me is African by birth, Indian by ethnicity, Muslim by faith and British by nationality. (woah!)

June 2nd
I have just arrived in India…am hit by a blast of warm air! Gosh! This reminds me of Singapore and Las Vegas…heat combined with the humidity…it’s making me swim in my own perspiration. :P
I spend 4 hours on a wild goose chase for an air ticket to a non existent flight! Indian Airlines had offered me an air ticket to Baroda at the price of an Indian National…but the happiness is shortlived when I find out the flight has been cancelled and I have to seek a refund as well as buy another air ticket from Jet Airways.
Lesson learnt: Never go for deals that sound too good to be true!

I’ve realized the horrors of miscommunication, especially when someone only has partial information and attempts to convey the big picture or when the information given is so vague it’s open to interpretation. Take for example: Seeking directions from strangers. Cab drivers keep insisting on following me when I ask them for help, and they all want me to take their cabs to the place I want to go. Airport authorities tell me to follow the signs posted and wave me on. Strangers on the street explain the signs are wrong and wave in another direction telling me to go another way. At the end of the day, I am not sure who is telling me the right information after being told contradictory things.

Anyway, I finally make it to the domestic airport and try to find Deenal (a TN coordinator in Baroda) but I have no idea how he looks like. We finally spot each other when we board the plane! J
I’ve always wondered how our trainees feel when we meet and greet them at the airport. It’s a mix of child-like excitement and bewilderment. All the happy faces and excited chatter filling the air! Frankly, I feel a little overwhelmed and am desperately trying to remember the names of the people I am meeting. It is rather embarrassing after talking to someone for 10 mins only to turn back to them and ask for their names again.

Ketan (LCP of AIESEC Baroda) is hilarious and introduces himself as James Bond. In my disorientation, I actually take him for real. (talk about being slow) I am staying with an AIESECer, Ali and his family for the next few days. He takes me home on his motorbike (hehehe!) and it’s a fine balancing act since we aren’t wearing helmets and my luggage is not the lightest thing on earth. I look forward to speeding on Ali’s motorbike (without my luggage) like one of those hot chicks on those Harley bikes!

Their household help (who is male) places a floor mat which we are to sit around. And a big metal dish (1 meter in diameter) is placed in the center where the rice is placed. Sweet chutney is added to the rice and everyone occupies an area of the metal dish to eat from. In true Asian fashion, I have to request for a plate and spoon to eat the rice. Everyone else eats with their hands….something which I have to learn soon. J

June 3rd
It’s been another hot night in the city of Baroda. I managed to fall asleep at about 2am when the night gets cooler and am up again at about 8:30am. I don’t think I have led such a disciplined lifestyle in the states and even back at home in Singapore. Who would have thought I would be such a good girl (*_*) in India? For those who care, Gujarat is a dry state meaning no alcohol allowed for people below 21 years old. No, I am not an alcoholic junkie but it is certainly interesting to see what people do to get alcohol for parties. Apparently, foreigners are allowed to purchase 1.5 liters of alcohol and will need to apply for an alcohol permit in order to do so. In addition, one is not allowed to buy alcohol for the next 7 days following a purchase. Because of such restrictions, liquor is rather expensive in Baroda with prices that are comparable to the States. As I stand in the liquor store buying whisky and rum for the party later tonight, I ponder the irony of the situation since back in the States, I am the one who usually “enforces” the No Alcohol Policy at AIESEC US conferences. Of course, whether we really stick to the rule is another matter….

AIESEC Baroda threw a pool party tonight. It was held at a farm house which really resembles some theme styled park. It’s also a camping lodge with its own internal pool, a stage with amphi-style theatre seating complete with flood lights, and features a playground. I have never partied outdoors in a farmhouse….and we could blast the music without neighbors complaining through the night. This place is located in a rather obscure area and rather far away from the city of Baroda. We stayed till the wee hours of the morning…and went home in time to see the morning sunrise. During the night, we experience 2 power cuts and some people have to ride their bikes back into the city to buy diesel to power the generators. At the first instance, I spend almost 1 hour chatting to a German guy in the dark. He talked a lot about his experience being in India and described how he had to meet the family of this local girl when he had asked her out to a date. He was shocked because the entire family tagged along for the dinner and he wasn’t quite prepared for that. Life here is difficult to adjust to if one is living alone given the differences in the way people communicate.

posted by Li'er @ 12:53 AM