We have arrived!

July 15-16 was a travel time for most of us. Seven people left West Lafayette together in three cars to drive to Chicago (through a thunderstorm at the beginning), one left at 4 in the morning and took three flights before she joined us in Chicago, and two others drove with family to Chicago. Unfortunately, one other was going to fly from Indianapolis to Chicago, but thunderstorms resulted in a cancelled flight. She couldn't be rescheduled until the next day, so she is being picked up at the airport at this moment. Three others flew out of Newark on the 15th and met us in Delhi, and the last person left South Korea, flew through Japan, and also met us in Delhi. I think the most common movies viewed on the flight were The Timetraveler's Wife and How to Train Your Dragon. Some people slept well during the flight and others had a harder time.

The travel agency patiently waited for all of us (except for Kathleen who was delayed) to go through immigration and customs and to get our luggage, and they they took us by air-conditioned coach to the hotel--after putting garlands of marigolds around each of our necks. In the bus, they gave us water (not very cold, but still very welcome!) and refreshing wipes. When we arrived at the hotel, the staff greeted each of us by putting a red and yellow mark on our foreheads and gave us more to drink. They gave us our room assignments, and we were happy to sleep--although some could not do so until 3 or 4 in the morning.

This morning a number of us were awake much earlier than usual. Breakfast was provided by the hotel--corn flakes, milk (cold, thank goodness), fruit, guava nectar in a juice box, fresh papaya, coffee, and toast. We did some orientation, and then we went out to town. Most of the trip was for shopping in a store called Fabindia. Everyone got at least something. We have some beautiful, colorful clothing now! We also got set up with 2 Indian phones. Let us know if you would like to have our numbers. In midafternoon we walked to a restaurant were we ordered a variety of things (often without being entirely sure what we would get) and decided we liked everything! But what is not to like in a restaurant called Relax Restaurant?

A little while ago we had a group meeting to get better acquainted and to share some of our reactions so far. A major purpose of the meeting was just to keep everyone awake--something that was moderately successful. :)

During the meeting, we asked for their reactions to the first day. Here are some of their thoughts:

It's hot.
We're tired.
Shopping was fun. We like the things we bought. ("My pants fit well.") It was chaotic in the store. It could be intimidating, not knowing what you are looking at or for. When an Indian person would come up (and often walk in front of us), we would just watch and see what they were doing.
The "trial room" (fitting room) was a fun experience. Many were in line at once, and we would all comment on each person's choice and provide feedback and suggestions.
We have learned that Indian's don't like up. They push ahead to get where they are going.
Traffice has been very interesting. We took auto rickshaws (or "three-wheelers) to go shopping. Some of the group have been very comfortable with the traffic and say that they can see that people clearly know what they are doing, while others thought they were going to die at times. Some of the drivers seem to have been very aggressive and never seem to use the brakes. But they seem to be very good and accurate when driving. Wehave realized that drivers beep their horns constantly, and it seems to be a good thing. One of us that she thought drivers in New York used horns a lot, but they are nowhere close to India's horn use.
One group got in a rickshaw with a person who clearly didn't know where the hotel was and must have asked 6 or 8 people for directions before finally arriving at the destination. It was fun to watch one person point one direction and another person a half block away point in the opposite direction. But some of us thought rickshaws seem to be fun to drive.
There are a lot of motorcycles, and it is amazing how many people are on them, like a father with one child in front and two behind.
Dinner was good. Some people thought it was spicy. Some people thought almost all the items looked the same. We talked about how many dishes had the same sauce, just with different vegetables or chicken. The spices seemed to be very similar.

So tomorrow is our day trip to the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Maybe we will add some photos the next time we post something here!

(Posted by Judy based on contributions by all)