One thing I haven’t been good at doing with this blog is track my train of thought from as soon as I arrive in the country, to what I think when I am leaving!  I couldn’t really do too much of that in London, since I had been before and it’s really not a whole lot different than the U.S.  Dubai, the shock didn’t hit me until I left, but in a very real way Dubai changed my viewpoint on the difference between the U.S. and an alternate reality like the one in Dubai.  So for India, let’s be a little more formal about it!

Even upon getting on the plane in Newark, NJ, I could already tell that I was in a different cultural environment.  From seeing two Indian gentleman discussing the best strategy for putting bags in the overhead compartment (and looking like a fight was going to break out), to seeing an older India man “guide” a woman to her seat by placing his hand at the small of her back and giving her a bit of a push, I could only laugh while I thought about how different things would be in a dozen hours or so.

Landing at the Delhi airport, the idea of Customs is a lot different than I’ve experienced before.  In the U.S., security almost seems like a joke the way they shuffle you through the line.  When I arrived in Dubai, they didn’t utter a single sound, then stamped my passport hoping I was there to spend big dollars.  But in India…the line just kept piling up, as the Customs agent took whatever time he felt like.  When I got to the agent, I was worried that my current beard not matching the passport photo would be a big deal.  It wasn’t, and yet I still stood there staring at him for 5 minutes.  He checked every single line, of each document, to make sure everything was legit.  Not that I’m complaining about good security, mind you, just that it was just very unexpected.

After passing through the line, all the classmates and I began to follow the instructions that Taniya (classmate) put together.  Taniya did an amazing job setting up this “pre-trip” for all of us, from the hotel tonight to the Taj Mahal tomorrow, and Jaipur Friday.  Like a bunch of fools, the two dozen of us got in line for the ATM; I don’t know how many Rupees you guys took out, but they emptied the ATM!

Outside, the behavior that my co-worker Chaitanya warned me about happened; the airport worker ripped the bags out of my hands, to carry them for me.  Even as I tried to get him to stop, he wouldn’t…and of course, he wanted to be the recipient of a tip.  Since there were such a large number of us, the “helpers” figured they could get the Americans to pay $100 USD just in tips.  Luckily, Rahul and Ahson got in there and gave them the “Come on, we’re all Indians” approach, and left us somewhat alone.  Come to think of it, maybe it was my beard, fierce stare, and my growl “I don’t have any #$%^&@! cash” that got them to leave the us alone.  No matter what it was, I didn’t give those guys any money for a service that I didn’t ask for, nor want…

India, again as expected, definitely smells different than what I am used to.  The “fog” (which I assume is pollution), gives you the feeling of being at a fireworks display at the 4th, but there are no fireworks.  My eyes are burning, and breathing is a bit difficult but not too bad.  Traffic is as I imagined; a quick succession of honks is in the NYC tradition, meaning “I’m right here, just wanted to let you know”, not an angry gesture.  Finally, it’s a bit weird to drive a dirt road up to the hotel you are staying at, especially when said hotel has marble floors in the lobby, hardwoods in the rooms, and mounted LCD TVs.  I guess that’s the dichotomy of a developing country; sometimes you’re in luxury, sometimes you’ve got to travel a bit to get where you are going.

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• In Search of India – Part 4: Back to the Future
• The Road to the Taj Mahal
• CCMBA 2012 – China Residency Begins – Part 1
• I remember….
• March 22 is U.N. World Water Day