Our First Few Days

January 3, 2014

We are now in India!!! It will be hard to fully capture even our first couple of days, but I will do my best.

The plane ride was…not my favorite. Having a cold + being pregnant on a plane is no bueno. In total it was about a 36 hour journey, but it felt longer. We started at SLC, went to Atlanta, then Dubai, then Hydrabad (capital of Andra Pradesh, the state we are in), and then finally Visakhapatnam (commonly called Vizag). We flew with the rest of the students though, so that made it a lot more enjoyable. There is Craig and I, two guys named John and Peter, and then Britt, Sarah, Elly, and Carolyn. Another girl is coming later because of visa problems.

I was so happy when we finally landed in Vizag!!! When we stepped off the plane I could feel the increase in humidity, which I like. The others didn’t like it so much (including Craig). The airport we landed at had clearly been affected by the cyclone that took place here a couple of months ago. It was basically an open building that looked abandoned. Luckily our flight was the only one there at that time, and so customs went super fast and so was our baggage claim. Dr. Nuckolls (professor at BYU, will only be here a short while) and Krishnayya (program director) were there to pick us up. They had beautiful flower leis that they put around our necks to make us feel welcome. Many Indians stared at us throughout the airport. People in Vizag just aren’t very used to seeing white people very often.

The drive to our home was like taking a huge gulp of India…almost too fast. We rode in two vans and were quickly exposed to the wildness of this place. People drive wherever they want. There are no set boundaries on when you can change lanes, cut someone off, etc. It really feels like a roller coaster sometimes! Honking is constant so that people are aware of where you are when you decide to move unexpectedly. It’s loud, colorful, and vibrant everywhere. Our eyes feasted on everything the whole ride home. Many people stared at us as we had our windows down. A homeless lady came up to us in an the middle of an intersection asking for money and stroking Craig’s arm. She couldn’t understand us of course, and kept asking until the light was green. People walk very close to the edge of the road and it constantly feels like you’re going to hit another car or person. All of this sort of reminded me of China. Craig said he had nothing to compare this to.

We live in a place called Lawson’s Bay Colony. It is apparently one of the most affluent areas in the entire city, which was hard for me to believe. Housing standards are so different here. I will write more about our apartment in another post. We eat our meals and congregate in a separate apartment. There is a hired kitchen and cleaning staff and we are SO grateful for them!

For the rest of this post, I think I’ll explain what we’ve done so far through pictures. Every day spontaneous things happen and so it’s hard to keep up!

This is in front of the apartment where are group meets to eat:

Walking around our neighborhood area. I really like the feeling of where we live. It’s casual and there are always interesting things going on. People sit outside and chat and the trees and vegetation everywhere are lovely.

A beautiful gated garden in the center of our square shaped neighborhood. People have to pay a yearly fee to be able to use it. I have not been inside yet.

These pictures are of a beautiful temple that is part of our neighborhood. The priest rings the bells and plays drums at 5:30 AM and Noon everyday (there may be another time too). People in the neighborhood (especially the elderly) come and worship Krishna and a couple of other gods at those times. We were walking close by right when it happened.

There are random cows everywhere! (Just like the random chickens in Hawaii). They walk around sides of roads, sometimes very close to cars. Sometimes you’ll see them eating trash. There are also dogs everywhere doing the same thing. This cow decided to stroll by our apartment.

This man was walking around our neighborhood the other day singing and playing an instrument. I think it was for the upcoming festival. You can kind of see on the left a little stand where the ironing man does his ironing. You see those a lot. Everyone nearby has him do their ironing.

The below pictures are from our visit to the Jowri fishing village that is nearby. Dr. Nuckolls has been researching these people for the last 30 years. The first two photos are of us in a man’s home where Dr. Nuckolls used to stay whenever he visited. He is very close to the man on the left.

The beach was beautiful. You can see their fishing boats everywhere. Some of them were damaged in the recent cyclone, but it sounds like they still have enough to function.

Children following us around the beach. Children LOVE to come up to us and say, “Hi!” They also ask us what our names are. Most of them have never seen an American.

Water buffalo roaming the beach. Apparently they milk them.

These are the toe rings that I wear to signify that I am married. I just got two new pairs because one of these ones broke. I like them : ) 

Rickshaw rides! Rickshaws are crazy, but fun. They're like motor cycle taxis that fit way more people. We always just laugh at how crazy people drive here. It's amazing that we live through each ride! On our first day we fit 13 people in one rickshaw.

Henna! So we have a neighbor who goes by Ronnie. She is THE nicest lady ever! So friendly and hospitable. She came over one night indicating that she wanted to do henna on my hands. I was happy to oblige! She has two daughters and one is in high school and speaks very good English. Ronnie has also helped me with my sari. I'm sure I'll get a picture of her in here at some point. The  henna lasts about 2 weeks. 

Below is the clay that she applies through a frosting type applicator. Later I wash off the clay and the ink is there. 

On Sunday night we visited a man who is a top music artist in India. He has won some awards that are the highest of honors. He plays a horn-type instrument. It sounds jazzy, but Indian at the same time. I can't remember the name of the instrument unfortunately.