Days 1-3: The Journey to India

Hey guys! I finally got a new blog. And, I finally had some time to write a little bit (or a lot...) about our recent trip to Vellore, India to rotate though the CMC hospital. I'll put what I have up now, then I'll try and add the pics later... Here's our story from the beginning!

The journey started with a series of flights through the US to the JFK airport. We checked some bags in, but with the understanding that if the bags were lost then we still had all our necessities in our carry-on baggages. I’ve had the fortune to be able to visit India a lot as a kid, but this was the first time I was flying without my parents. Those times my luggage always decided to be more of a world traveler than I. But this time I had Frank and Edna with me so I knew I’d have a great time flying, and at least my bags would have other bag friends to get lost with. I basically slept through the first 3 stops, since I hadn’t had any sleep the night before. (I may have succeeded in proving that no sleep before international travel= sleep on plane = no jet lag! Genious!) For some reason our agent decided we needed to up our quota of random airports and took us through Jacksonville, FL after a stop in Atlanta and before our last US stop at NYC. I was told these flights were pretty cool.

Then, we boarded the Emirates flight which stopped in Hamburg before going to Dubai. All I can say about the flight was… wow! The ceilings had stars and colored lights. They also had an endless supply of movies, music, and incredibly good food. And, to make things even cooler, we happened to have seats in the emergency exit area! YAY for leg space! My only problem was that I was so sleepy that I had trouble staying awake until the end of the movies. While it could be understood that I didn’t last through Step Up, I still can’t believe I fell asleep during X-Men 3. I also fed Frank's ego a bit in pong, chess, and tetris (I suck, I know) but I killed him in this weird tic-tac-toe/connect 4 game!

In Dubai, we had three hours in the airport, which was beautiful! I'll stick a pic in here. (I wish we had more to get out and look around), and then boarded an equally nice fight to Chennai. I slept on this one too, but did stay up for the Hindi movie “Black” which was a spin off of the Hellen Keller story. It was really good! I had a neat converation with an older couple from Switzerland who were travelling to an ashram nearby after they got to Chennai. They've travelled all around the world together, and they definitely reminded me of who I'd like to be when I grow up. The best part of the journey happened as soon as we reached Chennai: our luggage made it! All of it too, no stragglers deciding to tour Tokyo without us (this is where all my lost luggage seems to go before coming back.)

After getting to Chennai we took a car to Vellore since it was only 9am. I don’t remember being the car ride being 2 and a half hours, but apparently it was. The whole time I remember thinking, 'wow its great to be back!' since India always reminds me of being a kid and coming to Bangalore during my summers every few years.

Here’s where the perfect journey took a dramatic turn. We arrived at the hotel in Vellore that was recommended to us, which was beautiful for Indian standards. Very clean, and quiet even though it was right off a busy street. And very booked. Who knew there was a winter conference? At this point the three of us tried not to panic but decided to go straight to the hospital to figure things out. Frank ended up saving the day—he met a pastor from the hospital chapel who helped us find what may be the only open hotel on the street nearby. It was clean, and aside from constant honking of cars not too bad of a deal! Thinking of past summers I’ve spent with the family traveling through India, this actually was a really good place. But a cheap American motel would still offer more comfort. Trips to India always make me reevaluate how I live my life and remind me to not be wasteful or take for granted what I do have.

After a long day filled with registering at the CMC college campus, reuniting with Amy and Sarah over dinner, we all went to bed. And wow, did it feel good to sleep again!