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My life in India, 2005-2006
8/18/05
My
first day in India was pure chaos. If I
really put my mind to it, I think I could come up with 10 somewhat interesting
stories from today. First of all, today, the day before, and the day before
that have all melted into one long, arduous period of time in my mind. Two days
ago I was in Logan airport saying
goodbye to loved ones. Hours later I was in Heathrow eating McCoy potato chips
for the first time in five years and chatting with my last remaining friend in
the UK over a
cold steel payphone. A few hours after that I found myself
trying to navigate my way around Mumbai International Airport at 1:00
in the morning. And later that morning I was flying down crowded Bangalore
streets on the back of a motorcycle. In the afternoon I sat with my boss, the
very accomplished and well-respected Dr. Gopakumar,
and discussed the Public Affairs Foundation’s plans for me this year. And later
that night I navigated the streets of the city trying to find my way home,
somewhat successfully.
This year is going to be a tough one for me. I think that
truth hit me as soon as I got off the plane in Mumbai, hours before I even set
foot in Bangalore. There is surely
a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But the rainbow itself is a long one,
and that is what’s so daunting.
There were many small things I saw or experienced today that
I feel, after a while, might collectively drive me bananas. I’m not going to
chronicle every one. But the biggest one deserves mentioning: less than one
minute after leaving my new home for work, I saw an old man get absolutely
flattened by a motorbike going no less than 30 mph. The road conditions are downright frightening here.
I’m sure I will write a lot more about that as time goes on.
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