Safe and Sound in India

Me on a visit to ruins of a Delhi palace with friends Yoav (Fulbrighter) and Walt (another scholar).


I arrived safely with no problems at 7am this morning, 30 minutes ahead of schedule (I figure that since I'm in India, that's probably an auspicious sign for a good trip ahead). I slept for most of my first plane ride and then watched movies and read on the second. The trasition between planes was seamless - I even had my name complimented by a nice Turkish man who sold me a bottle of water in Munich.

After I had cleared customs (which consisted of me writing down that I had no fruits or drugs and handing the paper to a guy, who smiled and didn't even read it) with my bags on a rolly-cart, I walked out the exit of the airport and soon after found my driver holding a sign that said "Fulbright Jennifer Rose Bunnell Miller". He led me to the curb, went to get the car as I stood looking out at the smoggy, brown morning (air so thick you can practically feel the particles on your skin), and drove me about 30 minutes through a gazillion traffic circles to the Fulbright House. I still can't figure out who he was from our conversation, because he nodded when I asked if he worked for the Fulbright (the sideways nod, which means maybe yes and probably no), but he had to ask neighboring drivers for directions to my road twice and then passed by it once, before I found the address myself!

The Fulbright property is beautiful and in a quieter, cleaner, richer (?) part of the city. They have a big plot of land with a security guard in the front and a gate. Behind the expansive front lawn is the "hotel" where I am staying, and behind that is a cafe and another lawn, and at the back of the property is the office building where I will meet with Fulbright staff on Tuesday. The security guard (who I am friends with now, since he's the only one here to talk to. Nice big guy with stained teeth who works 12 hour shifts. He is very kind and seems fond of me) led me up a flight of stairs (with my driver, who is only about 5', carrying my 60 lb bags - he wouldn't let me help but I thought he was going to fall over!). My room is HUGE! There is a "pantry" kitchen in the first hallway, which meets up with another door to another empty room, with fresh filtered water and tidbits of food and tea (they'll also serve me breakfast there tomorrow morning). My room has 2 beds and a separate closet and bathroom area. The shower even has a head and the toilet has a seat and toilet paper!!!! I was floored. My room looks out over the front yard of the Fulbright property. Stone floors, dark wood, a cold feeling, which is nice considering it is 75 degrees outside.

After I arrived I took a nap, which turned into 6 hours of sleep, and then decided I should find some food. The security guard recommended that I walk 10 minutes to a nearby market, so out I went wandering through 2 streets of Delhi. After getting lost once, I asked a woman who didn't speak any english words except "fruit?!", which she kept repeating, but she managed to direct me to the restaurant all the same. Feeling mildly out of place, I walked into the restaurant, which had glass cases of sweets in the front and tables in the back and LOTS of people (mostly men), and waited at the front until I was directed to a seat - at a small table directly across from a middle-aged man who was already eating. I didn't blink an eyelash, since this had happened to Dad and I on our previous trip, and instead proceeded to look every other direction possible except forward so as not to be rude. The man didn't seem phased. A waiter brought me a menu, I ordered a vegetarian thali (an assortment of different dishes with bread) with naan (!) and a coke, no ice.

The exchanges with people here are entertaining - here's an example of how they usually go:

Me: Could I please have a vegetarian thali?
Waiter: Mmmm, nummmm, dddrrrr, mmmmm, head bobble.
Me: And a coke? No ice?
Waiter: mmmmm, nummmmm, ddrrrr, rrrrrr, mmmmm, head bobble.
Me: Thank you.
Waiter: Confused look, head bobble, leaves.

Amazingly - thali, coke and naan all arrived! The food was good, but I began to feel a little queasy soon after, so I stopped eating, drank my coke, and asked for the rest to be wrapped. The food total came to 130 rupees, or about $3. I couldn't help but smile.

As I ate, I watched the people around me. All colors - brown hair, red dyed hair, light faces, dark faces, reds and green and blues with beads sweeping around shoulders and feet, red dots and sparkling jeweles on foreheads. Indian dress is so opposite to the pheasants I will be studying - here, the women shine with color while the men wear bland brown and navy sweaters (yes, I am a biology dork to be comparing Indian textiles to pheasants). The younger women, however, tend to wear tight jeans and American-style shirts, which surpised me and gave me a shread of hope that my own clothing might have blended in (ha - my clothing, maybe, but not my skin!).

On my walk home I bought some bottled water from a shop keeper on the street among a crowd of maybe 60 men. The streets are filled with them for no apparent reason - swarms of men, standing, soemtimes peeing on the side of the street. I walk around or through without making eye contact, and they don't pay me much attention. No cat calls, nothing. Only one strange incident, where a lone man approached me and started rattling off about something related to not walking alone and how many man would want to marry me ("where are you going? I can't follow you!")...strange, but not aggressive, and no harm done, except a boost to my pride that an Indian guy would want to marry some white chick like me off the street. :)

Now I am sitting in a computer lab below my room, alone but for the security guard outside and the calls of pigeons and crows outside my window. I feel peaceful, rested, and very comfortable. I can see the days ahead of me unfolding smoothly; I feel confident and clear that I am supposed to be here. No fear is in my mind - as I did 3 years ago, I feel at home.

Tonight I will call Yoav, another Fulbrighter who I will try to meet up with tomorrow. Perhaps we'll do a little shopping, or walk around the city together. I'm looking forward to my first cup of real chai in 3 long years. It'll be nice to have a friend in this large country besides the security guard.

My love is with all of you, thank you again for your support as I venture forth on this journey.