After twenty-four hours in three different airplanes, we've finally arrived.
Our flight from Paris landed in Bangalore a little before midnight last night (so, around 2 in the afternoon back home). Two nuns from the Home of Hope headquarters were waiting to pick us up. The forty-five minute drive from Bangalore International to the headquarters was, as exhausted as I was, exhilarating. From what I could tell, road laws are essentially nonexistent here. Wanna switch between the left and right lanes as you choose? Sure, why not. Cutting off an eighteen wheeler - an act that would most likely warrant the finger back home - is justified by a brief honk on the horn.
When we weren't on the edge of careening off the road, I made a point to pay attention to my surroundings. After all, this area will be my home for the next two weeks until we head north to Delhi. Granted, it was the middle of the night, so I was a bit limited as far as people-watching was concerned. However, from the dilapidated homes that seemed to sag to the point of near-collapse along the dirt road, I think I got a solid idea of the poverty that plagues the region, the poverty I'll be experiencing firsthand when I work with the girls in the school for the next thirteen days. Seeing this made me all the more excited to get to Hassan and begin my work.
I'm currently still at the Home of Hope headquarters in Bangalore. Sleeping will be something to get used to... after all, I'm ten hours ahead of the schedule I'm accustomed to. I'm still pretty exhausted, but my mom and I a point this morning to wake up at a reasonable time, explore the headquarters and meet the nuns. Breakfast consisted of curry, spiced chicken, and milk tea. Since we woke up and ate late, I passed on lunch, but did grab a mango, grown on the grounds of the headquarters. It was delicious, but I'm concerned about what to eat and what not to eat. The mantra "don't drink the water" is resonant (we're brushing our teeth with Dasani for now).
We're still unsure as to when we're heading up to Hassan - hopefully tomorrow or Monday. The drive is about four hours, and I anticipate further near-death experiences. As for now, we're just relaxing and recovering from the unavoidable jetlag. I'm still getting my bearings on things - it's all still very, very foreign.