Departure from USA

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After mulling over what my first blog entry would be about I decided against attempting to write the minute after minute observations that can be found in my travel journal. The places, the people, and the sounds were all recorded and after scanning through my pages, I realized that 95%!o(MISSING)f my friends and family would probably stop reading after the second page. So here you will find a general overview of my trip, far less rich and exciting than the real deal, but hopefully enjoyable and informative to read. The trip begins in Minneapolis, and ends in Pune India, nearly 8000 miles away from home. Welcome to my journey.

11:14 AM, Minneapolis


I've been missing everyone back home. While my flight was delayed I realized that I had been second guessing myself all week about this trip. Was it worth the money, the stress, and the time away from my family and friends? Once I found my seat in the aircraft and the pilot announced that the flight was delayed due to windy conditions in Chicago, I immediately took it as a sign... something I inherited from my mom.

Shortly after the announcement we took off. I would be departing Minneapolis to Chicago, leaving Chicago for Newark, and then landing in New Delhi for the longest layover I had ever experienced. Ten hours. I'd arrive in Pune on December 22nd at 9:35 AM.

5:53 PM, Newark to New Delhi


After sitting on the plane for almost ten hours, I finally talked to the woman who was sitting next to me. She had asked me where I was from and after replying Minnesota, she laughed and told me it was such a coincidence... she was too! After a few more questions I found out that she was an ALL (Asian Languages and Literatures) professor from the University of Minnesota. The world kept getting smaller.

Her name was Simona and the rest of the flight was easier after that. We chatted, she gave me her contact information, and helped me through customs. She was also the first person to tell me that my name meant "water" in India and that it would be an easy name to remember amongst my colleagues. This, I learned, would be very true.

3:30 AM, New Delhi

What a crazy couple of hours. After attempting to sleep and relax at a lounge, I decided to rent a shower pod (yes they have that here), and freshened up before the showers were booked. Shortly after, I went to the restroom and my iphone was promptly stolen. Just like that. A few curses and heart palpitations later, I did the logical thing and called it from the phone booth nearby. I can't tell you how happy I was when someone answered. It confirmed that my phone was indeed not with me and gave me hope that I might be able to negotiate with the man who found my phone (or stole it). After a few "What?" and "Why do you have my phone and where are you?" questions later, I realized that it was security personnel and rushed to lost and found. Meanwhile, you are so lucky, kept ringing in my ears.

The story: A woman had stolen my phone in the bathroom. While I had blown my nose in one of the stalls, she had taken it and quickly left for a flight that was departing in less than half an hour. The security proceeded to explain this story in awe as he managed to say how they decided to do a random security check. My first thought after realizing this was, again, how lucky I was. Had they decided that the next woman after her would be screened, my phone would have been off to another part of India; long gone. They had confiscated the phone after noticing that the screensaver picture was of a couple that did not look like her (it was of me and Andre). I got my phone back, thanked them profusely, and slept with both eyes open for the duration of my layover. It wasn't until I got to Pune that I realized my paranoia had subsided.

Pune, India

The first thing I noticed once the plane landed was the heat. Unlike the chill and snow of Minnesota, the sun was shining brightly and even though I hadn't left the aircraft, I knew that it would be a great change from home. The second thing I noticed was the ladder that was being pushed towards the aircraft's exiting door. A flashback of old movies with people exiting the aircraft on stairs ran through my mind as I put on my sunglasses. I kind of felt like a movie star. After following the trail of passengers who, I assumed, was going to get their luggage, I looked back towards the plane and the last thing I remember seeing was a dog running across the runway. So different.

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