A long haul...but not too bad so far

A long haul...but not too bad so far.

I have started another movie now to pass the time. I just checked and we have about 11 hours until we reach Delhi. I just finished watching a movie with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz called What Happens in Vegas. I laughed out loud a few times much to the chagrin of my neighbors I’m sure.

Here I am - on the plane now. I don’t know how many times over the past couple of weeks when the reality that I was going to India really sunk in did I think about all of the things I had left to do and then realized that before I knew it I would be on the plane. I can’t believe how quickly time passes and by the same token, I know that soon I will be on the plane coming home.

I decided to purchase a one-day pass to the Admirals Club offered through American Airlines and would do it again in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. It made my stay at O’Hare Airport for the 5 hours or so until my flight left for Delhi much more pleasant. I walked in, looked around, spotted a bar to my left and felt right at home. Okay, just kidding - although I did enjoy a gin and tonic, (with two limes, of course), before my flight took off. It was comfy and cozy and much different than being in the “regular” airport. After a quick ride up to O’Hare in the shuttle I was happy to have the opportunity to be in such a great place until the flight left.

This is a particularly odd flight I understand because the flight is very empty. The row I am in was empty except for a man sitting all the way to the other end, (three seats between us), until he swapped with a couple, (Sikhs I believe), and the husband sat only one seat away from me so that his wife could have a couple of seats to lay down in. He asked me to move my things a moment ago so that he could lay down, but I’m afraid that once I give up the seat, I won’t get it back. I had to say no. I’m afraid that he’ll have to be sandwiched in between two women for now.

As I was walking down the bridge thing to board the plane I must have said, “Oh My God!!” about a dozen times! I can’t believe that I’m going to India. I can’t believe I’m going to India and yes, once again, I can’t believe that I am in a plane and by myself and on my way to INDIA, a place that is literally on the other side of my world back in Illinois.

One of the things that I use to tell people was that India was just simply an assault on the senses and that it is. In an attempt to prepare myself for the reality of it all I keep reaching back for memories that made such impressions on me almost two years ago. It’s overwhelming. The first time there I know that I was just too taken with everything. The responsibility of seeing patients, making sure the students were okay, being a part of such a large group not to mention just soaking in the sights, smells and energy of India.

It seemed like an out-of-body experience. I would wake up and enter my day only to realize that in some ways I wasn’t a part of it back then. I don’t want to do that this time. I want to be a part of every single moment and to enjoy it. I’ve taken every measure to ensure that the physical toll is not as difficult on me this time as it was before. The jet lag, the discomfort. It was all so difficult and I tried to think of anything and everything I could to make it better this time.


Not too bad....

We are a little over an hour away from Delhi now and I am amazed at how the time has flown. It has been nothing less than pleasant the entire trip. I did not have any trouble at all. The bathrooms are a little scary it’s true, but at this point I think I’ll be okay until reaching Delhi.

We were in so many airports when I came to India the first time that I’m struggling to remember what the airport in Delhi was like, but I think that it might be fairly modern and not “scary” like the old airport in Hyderabad was when we first landed. What an introduction to India! We had a layover in Frankfurt on the way over and so Hyderabad was our first exposure to India. It was quite something. We arrived at around 4 in the morning and of course, many of us needed to use the restroom when we landed. We walked in to be greeted by an attendant and various stalls with holes in the floor for facilities. It was unlike anything that we expected to be find at an airport and was a stark and immediate reminder that we had now entered a completely different world. Balance comes in handy in situations like that!

Each time I travel and each time I come home I am left with indelible impressions about the people, the smells, the EVERYTHING. It’s hard to forget. On the way over I began to count my blessings and realized what good fortune I have had to travel to so many places. My driver on the shuttle to Chicago was such a nice woman. I believe her name was Bernice and she was fascinated by my impending journey to India, which I have to admit I had taken a bit for granted. She had never traveled outside of the U.S. and she dreamed someday of taking a Caribbean cruise. Something I had done as well years before. It made me wonder what I had ever done to be able to go to such places. I started recounting them in my head: Clinic Abroad with Palmer to Bolivia and then to Peru to see Machu Picchu; Caribbean cruise to the Eastern Caribbean islands; all over the States; Hamburg, Germany and Rome, Italy to see the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel among the ruins of the Coliseum; now to India for a second time to be immersed even more fully in the culture by friends I could never imagine I would meet in the first place. I just don’t know what to think of all of this.

I spent an hour or so reading through every bit of information about Hindu weddings, particularly those of South India, and even though I’m still confused the take away message here is that everything that will be happening has been orchestrated in such a fashion that no detail is unimportant. These aren’t merely meaningless rituals, at least to most, and are done with all the best intentions. I don’t exactly know how I’m going to fit into all of this, but I’m open and ready for anything. Give me the henna, wrap me up in a sari and let’s give it a go! This will truly be an adventure of a lifetime.

I see that we are close to the Himalayas and Tibet and so many places I’ve always been curious about. When we flew to Germany we saw the Alps and on my journey before to India, we saw the Himalayas. Both are extraordinary.

I can feel that we are making our descent now and the flight attendants are anxious to get us the heck off this aircraft so that they can move on themselves. Being one of the only Americans on board, they’ve asked me a couple of times just what I’m doing going to Delhi and amongst the women expressed dismay at the lack of shopping opportunities due to Independence Day tomorrow. Oh well, they should be able to get a little power shopping in today!