Mooventures

Whenever I travel overseas, it usually takes a few nights to get into any semblance of a sleeping routine. Given the rough trip over here and battling some sort of illness the first few days, it’s taken longer than normal.  The first few nights I was knocked out by 9PM but waking up at 2:30AM and unable to fall back asleep.  Every night my goal was to wake up later than the previous day.  Anyone who’s traveled can probably relate to what I’m describing.

However, the transition into finding a good night’s rest over here has been made much more difficult when there are numerous, seemingly unnecessary noises in the night.  For example, every night I can hear a series of shrill whistles.  It happens every evening so I started listening for a pattern.  The only pattern I found is that it wakes me up a different time in the middle of the night.  Another noise I hear, usually right before going to sleep, is metal clanging against metal – like construction work is being done…at 11PM! Strangely enough, the noise can’t be heard at all during the day.  Wouldn’t it be more efficient to complete construction work during daylight hours?

And then there are the various voices and knocks.  In the middle of the night (have you picked up on a common theme here?), I can hear someone calling something out loud – as if he’s either lost and looking for help or as if he’s looking for someone.  Not surprisingly, no one answers him, but he continues to call out repeatedly anyway.  I wish I understood the language so I could help him (and more importantly so I could eliminate one more interruption in my sleep!)  The daily Laundry Man is yet another disturbance .  He is the most slick of all, managing to make his rounds and knock on every door at a seemingly early hour.  Breakfast doesn’t begin until 7:30AM, and it seems as if Laundry Man has taken it upon himself to also serve as our alarm clock.  It’s not a gentle knock either – it’s more of a loud, desperate knock which might make you think it’s an emergency.  The first morning this happened, my roommate answered the door (at 6:00AM) and was half-asleep as she told Laundry Man we had nothing for him.  We’ve quickly learned to ignore that early morning knock, and we’ve been able to squeeze a bit more sleep out of the mornings as a result.

High-pitched whistles, late night construction, lost individuals, and a sunrise Laundry Man.  The noises of the night will serve as a challenge as I continue to seek a full night’s sleep.

The Fourth of July marks my fourth day in Delhi! The first few days were rough for me. The program officially started on Sunday afternoon, but that morning after breakfast, I got really sick again. I had to miss out on our first class and orientation because I was in my room alternating between sleeping and puking my brains out. I managed to get up and venture to dinner – just to get out of the room for a while. I was fine until the middle of the night when I got sick yet again. Fortunately, it looks like the getting sick part is over for now, but it was not a fun way to start off my first few days here.

The part of Delhi that we are in is quite an interesting place. Lots of dirt roads with random holes (no, not potholes – literal holes) in the road.  It’s not unusual to see cows grazing in trash piles on the side of the road or cars driving in opposite directions towards each other.  The one thing that stands out the most for me is the excessive amount of car horn honking! I think it’s an average of 15 car honks for every 10 feet you walk.  We’ve wandered around our neighborhood a little bit, but between classes and the excessive heat (the first few days the temp was 112-115), we have been seeking solace in our AC rooms for some relief. We’ll be exploring lots of Delhi through our program over the next week so I’m sure I’ll have more to report soon.

Our classes have already started – we have about 3 lectures a day.  So far we’ve been looking at the evolutionary history of the concept and practice of nonviolence, and learning the basics of Jainism. So much information has been taught already and while it seems overwhelming, it’s exciting to be part of the dialogue that’s been happening in class. The challenge of the day for me today was taking part in a 15-minute mediation exercise. I already find it hard to sit still for long periods of time, but asking me to meditate after 2.5 solid hours of lecture is just cruel! I was thinking about anything and everything BUT meditating for the 15 minutes (which felt like and eternity)! I’m not sure how I’m going to do with the 24-hour mediation camp that’s coming up next week – yikes!! Tomorrow we’ll be having one lecture at a local university – the seminar will be on ahimsa in different religions. 

That’s the quick update for now – I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! 

We landed in London around 7:45am, and were welcomed to the U.K. with a 2.5 hour wait at customs to exit the building.  Apparently the lines have been long the last few months – I hope they can get a more efficient system before all the Olympics traffic begins!

A friend I met while traveling in Mexico several summers ago, came to pick me and Laura up at the airport. We went back to his place where we got a proper welcome with authentic English tea.  Then we were off to do a little sightseeing of London. We started with lunch near Charing Cross station and then walked through Trafalgar Square, past Westminster Abbey, and made our way to Buckingham Palace. While we enjoyed seeing the sights of London, both Laura and I were struggling to stay awake due to our lack of sleep on our first flight.  We forged through the day, and were able to meet up with some other friends (shout out to Doreen and Devon for their patience with us during our “zombie” hours!) before we headed back to Heathrow for a 10:00pm departure for Delhi.  At this point, we were exhausted and really hopeful for some sleep on the flight. I was hoping to make it without getting sick. Fortunately, both goals were met and we arrived on an uneventful flight this morning at 11:00AM. I managed to force 2-3 hours of sleep, but by the time we landed I was delirious!

We were welcomed at the airport by one of the coordinators of the program.  He got us into a cab and were taken to the place we’ll be staying for 2 weeks. I’d heard time and and time again about how hot it would be here, and so far it really is THAT hot!  Even in the cab with the windows down and the air coming through, I could feel the intense heat emitting through the windows.  In the short 30 minute ride to the complex, my arm that was by the window got burned!  We finally arrived at the complex and another coordinator of the program met us at the door.   We were then taken to our rooms and  which are much nicer than I anticipated.  I’m not able to post any photos right now (I’m at an internet cafe on a time crunch).  We will each be sharing an air-conditioned room with a bathroom.  The downside? We don’t have an actual shower – just 2 faucets over a large slab of tiles with some buckets.  Interestingly enough, there is also no cold water coming out of any of the faucets – only warm or hot.  Hopefully having AC will help counter the warm washing.

After a quick snack and catching up with our friend Jami (she arrived last night) I went to my room and slept till dinner at 7:30.  Right now it’s just me, Laura & Jami, but everyone else in the program should be arriving tonight or tomorrow.  There is not wireless or internet connection in our complex – so far this internet cafe is the closest thing I’ve been able to find. As a result, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to blog, but when I get a chance, I will. I’m anticipating many more stories as the adventure continues!!

The last 72 hours (including any and all time zone changes) have been…eventful! This post is about the first flight of 2 to get to Delhi.  Our flight left JFK airport on Tuesday evening.  All day leading up to the flight, I had a slight headache but right before we boarded I took 2 advil hoping it might help.  About 3 hours into the flight, I made my way to the bathroom and got violently ill! As soon as I stopped puking, my head instantly clogged up: my nose was stuffy, my ears popped, and my throat closed up and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Fortunately, that feeling only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.  I was washing my hands and face and when I looked in the mirror, I noticed that in the top corner of my right eye, there was a huge red splotch. I looked closer at it and started to worry as it seemed to be getting more red as I looked at it.  I finished washing up and made my way back to my seat, knowing there wasn’t much I could do until we landed.  It wasn’t till we got off the plane and my friend Laura looked at it and said it looked like some capillaries had burst there. So after a sleepless night on a 6-hour overnight trip, I learned a new meaning to the term “red-eye” flight.

I’m one step closer to leaving the country! I arrived in Long Island last night to meet up with my friend Laura, who I’ll be traveling to India with. We were chatting last night that the anticipation around this trip has been building for so long, that we’re both ready to just get there.  We’ll spend the day here and our flight leaves tonight at 7:30pm.  Our first stop will be in London – we have a 15 hour layover so we’ll be able to get some sightseeing in. We both have some friends we’ll be able to meet up with and it’s nice to break up the very long flight to Delhi.

I’ll be in the air during the NBA draft, so I’m hoping someone (I’m looking at you Leon, Sekou and Jason) will please comment with the highlights (Anthony Davis, Dion Waiters, Austin Rivers) and any big surprises! I might be leaving the world of sports for a bit, but my sports pulse will always be alive and kicking!

Well, I managed to set up a blog before leaving the country- it’s a miracle! I can’t believe I leave in 5 days! The last several weeks have been nothing by packing, packing, packing! Not only for the trip, but also prepping my place for the two fantastic friends who will be staying here for July and August. While it has been stressful at times, I’ve found it has forced me to purge unnecessary “stuff” in my house. Very symbolic since I’m hoping this whole adventure will help me purge of some of the mental baggage I’ve acquired over the past several months.