Hi All,
I’ve made it to Ahmedabad, India and have been settling in over the past few days.
The flights were long and uneventful. I made sure to eat beef during each layover and drink the free beer on both international flights since I wouldn’t get a chance to do either for a while (Gujarat is a dry state). The funniest moment of the trip occured as we arrived at the terminal for our flight to Delhi in Amsterdam; everyone at the terminal was Indian. Jas remarked “well, we must be in the right place. Only Indians would go to India in the summer”.
Indeed the first thing I noticed about India was the heat. On our flight into Delhi, I kept a close eye on the “outside temperature” measure on the headrest TV in front of me. The temperature kept climbing and climbing, finally reaching 95. 95 isn’t bad normally, but we arrived at 1130 at night. My Dad told me yesterday over skype that the temperature on our first day here was nearly 110. Every moment outdoors (and most indoors as well) is accompanied by sweat and I have run through about half of my T-shirt supply. Local folks predict the monsoon season to arrive in about two weeks, earlier than normal, bringing some relief.
My initial feelings and reactions getting here were similar to when I arrived in Uganda last summer. In both cases I experienced a sensory overload from the new sights, pungent smells, hot temperature, and ever present city buzzing and beeping. In the taxi ride from the airport, both Jas and I stared out the window taking in the new environment. Maybe it was because we were tired, but I think when you get here after being in the States there is a short mental adjustment period where your mind is unconsciously shaking away the old comfort zone and attempting to adapt itself. I think the conscious way I helped adjust myself to the new environment was by comparing everything to my experience last summer in Uganda. I’ve brought up Uganda about a billion times in conversation already.
So what is this new environment like? Ahmedabad is a congested, dusty, hot, dry city of about 5 million people. The city has a pungent odor of sweat and smoke (not as strong as Kampala’s odor, though) that is evident right when you get off the plane. The streets are crazy as there appear to be no traffic laws (very similar to Uganda last year). However, the roads (at least where I live and work) are really nice and relatively wide, although I am told that many of them crumble during the monsoon season due to flash flooding. Ahmedabad citizens have been very nice and friendly. I wish I spoke some Gujarti, the local language spoken in the State of Gujarat. I hope to pick a little up by the time I leave.
At night, Ahmedabad is totally dead. There is absolutely no nightlife here. Two days ago some of us went out to watch Barcelona upset Manchester United in the Champions League final, which we watched live from 12-2am. There was nary a soul on the road except for us and a couple of stray dogs, such stark contrast to the bustling daytime.
There’s tremendous economic disparity that is evident nearly everywhere I’ve been in Ahmedabad. It’s typical to walk by a small slum-like area and then quickly arrive at a very nice lunch spot. Below my apartment building, several young kids have been working each day digging trenches for new water line. I live and work in a nice area, where (I am told) a lot of middle-upper income people work and live, so I probably haven't gotten a well-rounded view. I hope in the next week to venture out to some of the other parts of the city, including Old City
The food here has been so good. I’ve always loved India food in the States and the real deal hasn’t disappointed. I’ve enjoyed trying different things and learning about regional culinary differences. Gujarti food is known for its sweetness; sugar or sugar cane syrup is added to many of the spicy dishes to make a sweet and spicy combo. It’s also rich in vegetables; most Gujartis are vegetarian. The food here hasn’t been spicy, and I hope to travel to south India at some point where the food is prepared much hotter. My favorite dish so far has been the Punjabi Thali, a platter of food that is a combination of dishes indigenous to the state of Punjab, at a restaurant called HonesT (which we’ve been debating whether to pronounce as honest or honesty). The huge meal was only 75 rupees, about $1.50.
