Well, here I am. India. Traveling around I wondered to myself how I could put this experience into words. Like anything--since our language system is too general--I could never effectively describe India for anyone who hasn't been (though I suggest you all do). It's chaotic yet structured, disgusting but beautiful, ephemeral yet so concrete. I do have to admit that since I read many, many travel books, stories, weblongs and the like I couldn't help but to expect the poverty and seemingly crassness of the culture so, for me, it hasn't been too much of a culture shock or surprise. Even the dying (sometimes already dead) animals, the stink of rotting trash and excrement, the penetrating stares that result in the feeling of being the absolute minority, and the endless stream of hawkers and beggars calling you for your money don't seem to phase me as much as some. I actually enjoy the chaos and craziness of India. The drivers are crazy and roads unstructured--everything and anything can be on the road (no "middle" lines to divide the flow of traffic, mind you) from cars, trucks, and buses to autorickshaws, cows, bicycles, and carts. Pretty much cows have the right of way and everything yields to that. Next is the largest-fastest vehicle. Thus, everyone is trying to weddle their way through--endlessly honking their horn to let others know that they're there (no side mirrors). It's fun, scary, and nerve-wrecking and you never know what to expect. The constant barrage of horns and exhaust aren't too bad to get used to. The colors of India is what attracts me to this country the most I believe, besides the inexpressible presence of spirit--I think these two factors are interconnected anyways. I'm really not sure where to begin and how to go on from here so I guess I will go by day to day....
My journey to India really started on the plane ride over (Jan. 19), especially from Chicago to Chennai. I sat by this man (called Izudin...Izu for short) who was originally from Bosnia. Him and his family had to move when he was eight because of the war there so he was going back for the first time since leaving. The next 7 hours were spent in conversation and it was a very incredibly experience--emotions ranging from uplifting to heart-wrenching to blessed. We talked of many things--war, what it's like to be Muslim in America (he was Muslim), the possibility for an American civil war (he brought that one up, not me...but we certainly agreed on a lot of things), poverty, materialism...all in all a very good talk. In Frankfurt, the two other girls who I went early with and I went to sit in the cafe before our connecting flight to Chennai. I had a beer and a pretzal (after all, it was Germany)...we talked and I knew right away we would all get along. The next plane ride (for 8 hours and 45 minutes) I spent sitting next to a woman originally from India (her and her husband moved to Chicago in the 1960's) and who was going back to decide about moving back. We talked and I did sleep for a bit. It was pretty crazy to know that I was flying over the Middle East--Saudia Arabia, Iran, etc. Pretty cool. Well, we arrive at 11:50 at night in the Chennai airport...it wasn't too crowded (not as much as I thought it would be). Auroville had a taxi waiting for us so we hope in with our driver. As we're leaving Chennai, he puts on the radio (Tamil Nadu's top hits) and we got our first taste of Indian driving. I sat in the front and so I had a pretty good view on all sides. It was pretty surreal being at night. People along the road hunched near small fires, run down buildings with chipped paints, cows nosing through trash, the smell of pollution and exhaust wafting though the car. ....Our driver would stop at random food/drink stands along the way (the drive took about 3 hours) to talk, take a piss, and wash the front windshield with bottles of water. Pretty interesting. We finally arrived into Auroville around four in the morning and call the couchsurfer we were supposed to stay with, Sneheval. At first he didn't answer but finally--after fifteen minutes--came outside and told the taxi driver where to take us. He came along for the ride to show us....Basically Sneheval is trying to create a volunteer based system of dormitory-like housing, the "kofi-bar" (a self-service, pay as you feel, cafe/tea/coffee hang-out where you can cook for everyone if you please, clean up for everyone if you please, or basically do whatever you please--hang out, talk, play chess, play guitar, etc.), and hopefully soon a school where volunteers can come to teach whatever they want to teach. The dormitory-housing is on his family's compound and is a three tiered bungalow house. The living quarters are one floor up (all open aired) and there's a third story for additional living. Very rudimentary but I enjoyed myself greatly ( I will hopefully have pictures soon).....The next morning we met up with two other girls who came early and we all went to Pundicherry (a still very European town). Walked around and tried to find food which turned out to be more of a debacle than I thought possible.
Anyway, I'm tired of writing....I will be posting pictures and that may be more easy/interesting to follow. For now, it's getting cooler in the day and I want to bike down to the bakery to get some snacks and read/write. I'm sitting in the courtyard/dining area of our guesthouse in Auroville surrounded by trees and singing birds. Absolutely brilliant and mesmerizing to say the least. I miss everyone back home-hope you're staying warm.
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