Day 1

India Monday 1/31, 6:00pm / US Monday 1/31, 7:30am

The Flights
Joe and I said good-bye Friday night at approximately 8:30pm...it was much tougher than I anticipated -- what can I say? I kinda like the guy :)

From the US to London I had a great trip -- the plane was not very full and I had my own row! I slept most of the trip (surprise!), but did manage to watch part of a few movies: Wallstreet (finally! I have been seeking out this movie) and Sharktale (the one with Will Smith) -- unfortunately I only caught a few minutes of this so I will need to catch this one again.

While at Heathrow (a 10 hour layover -- planned because I thought I would go to London), I felt as though I was Tom Hanks in The Terminal. I ended up not going to London because I did not call any of my friends that work in the UK office ahead of time and did not feel adventurous enough to go without a guide -- I will definitely try to go on my return trip though. At Heathrow I mostly slept in a quiet room and walked up and down the shopping/eating areas...lots of shopping, through prices seemed very expensive, especially considering the conversion rate of the dollar :(

The flight to Delhi was overbooked and passengers were being offered 250 pounds ($471 US) to delay their flights. I couldn't delay because (1) I didn't have Ashwin's phone to call and let him know I would be later than expected and (2) I needed to sleep on Sunday to attempt to lose the jet lag. So on the flight I did not have my own row this time, but I did have an aisle seat. I did not have much luck sleeping on this flight, but I read most of a book and watched another two films: Wimbleton and Collateral -- Joe, I am naming the films so that you know to watch them and not wait for me!

Arrival to India
I arrived at Delhi International Airport yesterday at 10am local time. A driver picked me up from the airport -- it seemed like most of the folks getting off the plane were being met by drivers as there had to have been at least 100 men standing just past baggage check with placards. I found my driver pretty quickly and he helped my with my bags. Once we got the parking lot, two other men helped with my bags...I liken those men to the men who insist upon helping with your bags when you depart for cruise -- not necessary, but force their service on you and then demand a tip. I didn't tip... (1) because I didn't know whether it was appropriate as tipping is not common in India and (2) because I hadn't changed any money and $1 US would have been too much.

The driver (not the man who would be my usual driver, but a man from the apartment complex) drove me to Gargaon (gar - gone; a city a few miles outside of Delhi where the office is also located). Drivers here are nuts! Elana, remember our taxi driver at Isla de Roaton? -- he would fit in perfect here! Everyone uses their horn as often as they use their accelerator. The roads are only paved in the middle and cars change lanes constantly. We were in a near accident with a bus...luckily, it was a near accident.

When Indian Americans told me about the Delhi airport, they told me two things: (1) it smelled, as did most of India and (2) it was one big cluster f%$#. It did smell, but not nearly as bad as I had imagined and because the airport is relatively small, it was not that poorly organized. I moved through the lines rather quickly...of course I exited the plane pretty quickly and that always helps.

The Apartment
The apartment is pretty nice. Three bedrooms, four bathrooms. I have the master bedroom which includes a separate dressing room. The floors are not carpeted, which makes for cold feet -- Julie and Mike: bring slippers and/or flip flops. The kitchen is nice, though limited. Instead of a stove and oven, there is a hot plate-like appliance. There is a microwave though. The fridge was stocked with a few items for me: orange juice, bottled water, coke, diet coke, and eggs. Bread was also provided. I will need to go to a grocery store soon, but I hear it is like the mall at Christmas time and that is slightly overwhelming in another culture.

Showers need to be kept to under 5 minutes...there are individual water heaters for each bathroom and another for the kitchen. Hot water runs out in about 5 mins, but after the water is luke warm.

Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to call the US and therefore I could not call Joe or my parents to let them know that I had arrived safely. Also the wireless internet is not yet set up....

I slept most of Sunday...it was a reality check that I had committed to one month halfway across the world where I knew no one except Ashwin Bhave, the director of the CEB India Office.