jet lagged

Writing thoughts down, wish I had internet so I could blog, but this post will just be delayed.

So far I’ve had the normal reactions I expected: Excitement, anxiety, realism, and a small attack of “get me the f out of here.”

Biggest challenge is culture. I’m not really sure what is correct, what is not. It's hard to even understand queues from mannerisms b/c they are so different (for instance, shaking your head no here is a common movement to express "I'm listening"). I am also having a hard time communicating with the two people I interact with most (cook/driver) making my stay here very isolated. Last time I stayed at hotels so the staff was able to converse and I was in a 5 star hotel which made it feel a bit more like a fun international holiday. Now, in an apt., the Indian way of life is surrounding me to the fullest. The smell of the apartment is distinctly indian (curry?) with stone floors to keep the place cool (makes it less homey and cold feeling) and weird bathrooms (really, what is up with the bucket in the bucket that is in EVERY bathroom in india? Even at the work one?). The kitchen at first glance seems normal but there is no stove or oven and this is common. A 3 burner hot plate sits on the counter instead. A washer but no dryer (uncommon for dryer, people hang stuff outside their windows and doors alll over the place which does nothing to help with the aethetics of the city).

My housekeeper guy is very nice but we can’t talk and this has already led to multiple episodes of blank stares and wild gesturing which has yet to clarify anything for me. I think I am constantly saying the wrong thing: Today I spoke to a co-worker and mentioned how nice it was that it was sunny, not raining. He told me “this was not a good thing, to have monsoons end so quickly.” Whoops.

I guess it’s a sad state of affairs when everything is so foreign around you that a can of coke is the most wonderful thing you’ve seen all day. Then just as you go to take a sip of it -- as if a slow motion movie is playing out infront of you -- 3 people scream “nooooo!” as you put your lips to the outside of the dirty can. Well shit.