What To Expect When In India...

I don't know how to begin. That's always the hardest part, the first sentences, the first paragraph. Thoughts forming into words, feelings being expressed. For the first time I'm at a loss for words.

I spent the last 19hours on planes & in airports. Planes in Atlanta, planes in Paris, planes in Mumbai.

A few beautiful things took place during & in between those flights. I was on my flight from Paris to Mumbai; I woke up from a short nap, lifted open the window shade & I was left breathless. I woke up to the sight of snow-capped mountains along the Caspian Sea! The sun was setting & it was -65 degrees outside.

I was then on my flight into Mumbai & the emotional reaction I had to knowing that I had entered into India was overwhelming. I watched outside my plane window as the dark sky became slowly lit up by the lights of India. I started to see the cars as they zoomed the streets this mid night.

I don't know what to expect when in India; but if my emotional reaction while arriving in India is any glimpse into what is to come - then I am no where near prepared for what India has in store for me.

India will wreck me. India will leave me joyful. India, I have no clue what to expect from you...

Teresa

Good Ole Southern Soil : Part II

Thursday evening (1/30/14) I was sitting on the passenger side of the car making my way to the Charlotte airport. I took it in: the conversation with Albert (learn who he is in the previous entry), the humming of the music on the radio, the slowing down of the car as I attempted to take pictures of Charlotte's beautiful skyline. We pulled up at the airport, Albert helped get my luggage out of the trunk in exchange for a hug.

Alone, I made my way into the airport with luggage trailing behind me. I had to be a sight to see: a barely 5"2 twenty-two year old young woman who looks barely a day over 18, the carry-on in my hand felt as if it weighed hundreds of pounds, my suitcase packed for 6months in the other hand. I put on "the face," the one that my family refers to as my "intimidating" one. Yeah, that one. I kept reminding myself not to look like a young woman who wasn't sure where she was going as I ventured to check in my bags in the First Class section. That's the benefit of so many delayed & cancelled flights - they reschedule you for First Class, where, interestingly, people had a tendency to question if I were Israeli.

I waited in line at security, looking at the floor mostly, but occasionally looking up at the people behind & in front of me. I tried taking it in: all of the different faces, the different ethnicities, the different languages. It was refreshing, so refreshing. It was so different from back in Mercer County, Ohio.

I almost made it smoothly through security. My purse was held back. I wondered what on earth I could have in there that was causing such havoc? I wondered if something was snuck into my purse? Then I wondered if I would ever get to India at all? That's when I heard one of the workers say, "Lighten up, it's only a water bottle. There are bigger things to worry about..." He handed me back my purse as I apologized for my inconvenient addiction to water. He sympathized. ;)

That trouble-some carry on bag, my purse & I made our way around for the next few hours in the airport. I made a few calls to people back home, as I hung up I realized just how alone I was & how far away the voices on the other end had seemed. I dug in my carry on bag to look through the snacks a sweet friend had given me for my trip. I wasn't even hungry, it just felt comforting knowing where they came from...

I sat & watched as people ran from one side of the airport to the other. Sometimes it was strictly entertaining & other times it was like rooting for the underdog to make it in time! I watched as people began to sit in the area of those who were boarding the same flight as I was. I wondered what each of their stories entailed. I like people-watching, for a girl like me this was heaven on earth...

A man who seemed to be middle-aged sat across from me & fell asleep while waiting to board our flight. I wondered what must have caused him to be so tired? I noted that he was traveling light & figured he must not be going far. A man who acted more like a boy sat across from me a few seats down, inappropriately talking on the phone with someone about the strip club he had just been to. To much of our dismay, he did not fail to leave out any of the indecent detail.

Just as I was about to move & sit somewhere else I realized that the man sitting next to me had been staring at the word written on my hand. He noticed that I had seen him staring & said, "You're not from the Middle East are you?" The tone of his words sounded heavy & demeaning; before I could inform him that the word, was indeed, of an African language, he had already turned his back. That's when I noticed that at some point a girl had sat next to me who was on the phone, speaking in a language unknown to me, that would be the only conversation she would have.

I turned back towards the man who had turned his back to me, only to see an Arab man making his way down the aisle to get a seat. I realized that nearly every eye was on him. He seemed nervous, I offered a genuine smile as he sat across from me a few seats down. No one sat beside him, I wanted to get up and sit next to him as the man beside me (yes the one who asked me about being Middle-Eastern) moved one seat away from me & did not take his eyes off of the Arab man.

I sat there, across from him, wondering what he must be thinking, what he must be feeling. I watched as way too many eyes watched him. I felt an urge to cry, an urge to sit next to him, I got up to do so - just as we told to prepare for our flight.

I walked away from my seat to get in line to board our flight. I stood there feeling like my carry-on was slightly heavier than before, I felt the emotional sting & disgust from what I had just encountered & experienced just 10 feet away. Now, unfortunately, that reminded me of home: the intolerant attitude towards anything or anyone different than you.

I stood there in line, next to a short, dark-haired, woman. I introduced myself & she did as well, telling me that her name was Sivani. She went on to ask me if I was traveling from the Middle East, I told her no, but that for some reason people have been thinking that lately! ;) I asked her if she was from India (she was) and informed her that I was traveling to India. As we boarded the flight we made promise that we'd wait for each other after the flight to finish our conversation that we had started about our homes, college, India and so on.

If you know me at all - you know that I try to be a person of my word, so I stood there waiting as she got off of the plane. We continued our conversation as we practically ran across the Atlanta airport laughing after every one of our mishaps. After minutes & minutes of running & searching we were finally told that we had to take a train to the baggage claim... A train the airport? Yeah, that was a definitely reminder that Coldwater, Ohio is insanely tiny! Not that I was in need of such a reminder!

Sivani & I exchanged phone numbers & hugs before going separate ways. At that moment I saw a blonde-haired, young looking woman (from the organization I am going to India through.) I greeted her with a hug as she took my luggage & informed me that I wasn't using the correct handle for pulling my luggage. I laughed from either literally thinking it was funny, or realizing just how easier my ventures through the airports would have been knowing that simple fact. Thanks to Susan I now know how to make my ventures in Paris & India a bit smoother. ;)

More soon!
Teresa

Good Ole Southern Soil : Part I

(From 1/29/14)

I apparently wasn't being honest when I said that my next blog would be written from India; but I'm almost as giddy to be able to share with you from the good ole Southern soil! ;) If you know me at all you most likely know that I am a lover of the South. I do not care what part of the South I am in; but if you put me in the South I am one happy girl! :)

In the past few days I have been to two Southern states that I had yet to step foot on: North Carolina & Georgia. A bit more has happened during the past 4 days as well, so I should probably start from the beginning...

Fore-warning, I have a feeling this is going to be just a bit scattered.
I warned you. ;)

Wednesday I left home to head to the Dayton Airport to begin my journey to North Carolina. This was my first time traveling alone, my first time flying, & my first time being away from home for so long (6months.) You can imagine the possible frantic state I could have been in; but to be honest, the only thing I was nervous about was learning how to navigate the airports - I was the person nervous that they would accuse me of having some sort of thing in my bag that wasn't really there at all & have to be searched - fortunately I worried for nothing. ;) I made my way through the Check In, went through security (which went a lot smoother than I had expected), found my gate & then had a good hour wait. That hour wait turned into two hours, but for someone who likes to people watch as much as I do, that flight delay from Dayton to Charlotte was heaven on earth. ;)

It can be interesting, the people that you meet, no matter where you are or what you are doing. I took my aisle seat on the plane & watched as everyone passed me by, I began to think that I was sitting alone when a young looking gentleman walked up to me & said, "I believe I'm sitting next to you Miss." I glanced at his name tag which read "Matthew Shultz: Pilot." I informed him that it was my first time flying & as we took off he looked over at me & said, "Are you sure it's your first time flying? Most people are clenching their seats, you look like you're at complete ease." My Mama has been telling me lately that I do a really good job at not showing fear or stress - apparently she may have been on to something! ;) But to be honest, I didn't only look to be at ease, I felt completely at ease flying in that plane. I was calm, I was at peace. :)

Pilot Matthew and I talked the entire flight, which was only 2 hours, but it felt good being able to share with him & learning about him as well. As we talked I learned that we live just 40minutes apart from each other, this young looking gentleman has been married for 11 years & has 3 adorable sons (who he was kind enough to show me pictures of.) He asked me where I was headed & I, of course, didn't hesitate to tell him that I was flying down to Georgia & would soon be going to Paris & India - which led into an amazing conversation about the Dalit people of India (which he knew about) & modern-day slavery. Before we knew it our flight was ending & I was repeatedly thanking him for being so kind; but by surprise he looked over at me & said, "There's no need for you to thank me, you have a gentle spirit - it was easy to get along with you. And, I need to thank you...Thank you for doing what you're doing in India, most people wouldn't do something like that, especially at your age. I'm impressed, I may not know you, but I'm proud of you." In response to that all I did was say, "Thank you, but no, there's no reason to be proud or impressed with me - all I am doing is what I feel has been on my heart to do. All I am doing is what I believe is God's will for me."

From there he helped me off the plane (I had gotten somewhat light-headed) & helped me navigate my way through the Charlotte, NC Airport to find the baggage claim. Our 3 hours together ended with a photo of Matthew, my constant repeat of "thank you" & a hug.

I was supposed to have a connecting flight from Charlotte to Atlanta - but that connecting flight was cancelled due to the fact that the South struggles with knowing how to handle snow & ice. ;) It's okay, I am not dissing you, you hospitable Southerners - because that very incident left me with several family members & old friends willing to let me to stay with them. I ended up staying with an old family friend, Tasha, who I probably haven't seen since my single-digit years! ;)

I spent Wednesday evening in Charlotte, NC, aside from driving through it - it was my first time to that state! From what I had seen, it was beautiful. I spent that evening with Tasha & her boyfriend Albert, who I am happy to say once played in the Minor Leagues! ... Which, incase you didn't know, is a huge deal for a Baseball fan like myself. Spending time with them talking about our individual past, present & future while eating Mexican food & watching our choice of television shows was a good way to spend the night. I believe that I thanked them well over 100 times for allowing me to be a part of their evening & for being as kind-hearted as they were! :)

I felt that the South was treating me well already...
This had all happened within 1 day and I hadn't even made my way into the state of Georgia.

Teresa :)