Sleep Country

So I’m writing two posts today because I have to catch you guys up to what’s going on since I arrived in India two weeks ago.

It’s been a rocky start, that’s for sure. The flight was smooth – didn’t get more than an hour of sleep, but I expected that – and once we got to Delhi, we were greeted by my fabulous grand-uncle (is that the proper term?). Delhi has changed so much since I’ve come last. There is a metro system in place, the airport is beautiful, the traffic is much less congested than it used to be. I can’t wait to go back and wander around the city.

The morning after we arrived, I had a slight contact lens mishap and basically couldn’t see out of my right eye for the entire day. Rather, I had an icepack on it all day to keep it from swelling and running like a waterfall – not exactly the best ‘welcome to India’ gift, I have to say. I had to take a facecloth, tissue, and ice with me on the train to Chandigarh that evening and greet the rest of my family half blind. That was fun.  It’s healed and I’m good now.

The next couple of days were full of food and family. It was the first reunion we’d had in years. Actually, my uncle had come from Bangalore with his wife and son and my aunt and uncle had come from Shimla, making it the first time in about 23 years that my mother and her siblings were all together at home with their parents. This has been really special.

The third day in India, I ate something strange and got sick. Yay. Somehow I went three months in Kenya last summer without any horrible illnesses but three days in India and I’d already had to get two sets of medicines from the doctor. How fun. I’m back to normal now. I hope it stays that way for a little while.

Along with all the sickness and humidity and chaos that has come with my Indian experience so far this month, my research contract has also fallen through. I’ve been a bit frustrated as a result. Therefore, I will no longer be going to Ahmedabad in October after I write the LSAT (which has itself been a rollercoaster ride), but will rather be staying either in Chandigarh to work on domestic violence issues with a family friend who is a human rights advocate or I will be going to Dehradun, about a 5 hour drive away, to work with the Vice-Chancellor of the a university there who is doing some amazing work on issues of culture, religion, gender and development.  Who knows, maybe I’ll find a way to do both. 

While my original plan has not worked the way it was planned – for organizational reasons that I don’t care to describe – and I am disappointed that I won’t get to stay in Ahmedabad for a long period of time, I’m still planning a visit there and I am keeping my head high. At least now I’ll get to stay closer to my grandparents and there is more flexibility for travel around the country! After all, being in India for 6 months is never a bad thing.

Despite all the bumps so far, seeing family and friends has been incredible. You forget what it’s like to have the love and support of family around until it smothers you. It’s amazing. I have a feeling that my cousin Satvika and I will get very close by the end of these 6 months. I’m also super excited to discover this country that is so much a part of me. 

It’s amazing, too, what difference there is between the constant stress in North America and the slowness of life here. 3 PM every day is nap time, and while I have so much work to get done – figuring out job details, preparing for the LSAT, doing my research on sex-selective abortion in Canada – somehow sleep is a necessary part of my day.  I feel like such a slug, it’s fantastic. Such a pace reduces stress and increases productivity for the things that you do set your mind to, I find. This was why I became more patient and less stressed last summer in Kenya, and why I hope to find that feeling again here in India.

This is also why I’m already starting to love it here: The beautiful chaos is coupled with days that are enjoyed moment by moment. So, even while things haven’t exactly gone my way, it’s just the beginning and there’s so much more to come.

Until next time!

Mom at the train station in Delhi chatting with the 5 baggage handlers that were hired to take care of our million suitcases.

Me with my baby cousin, Ojus. He is the most amazing child I've ever met, no exaggeration. Grandparents and others are eating in the background.