Arrival

I'd taken enough classes on India that I felt pretty sure that I would know what to expect before I arrived here. The biggest thing that I worried about was being restless during twenty hours of riding an airplane. I get irritated and restless on days when I can't go outside because it's raining, so not being able to move more than twenty feet from one chair sounded like torture.

Due to a delay in a connecting flight, I was moved to a more direct, fifteen-hour flight at the last minute. The reduction of five hours from my travel time was probably helpful. I also underestimated my ability to sleep on moving vehicles. I slept for thirteen of the fifteen hours, and somehow miraculously wasn't jetlagged when I arrived in Mumbai.

I spent the night in Mumbai, then took a four-hour bus ride to Pune. This wasn't as boring as it sounds because there were other students to talk to and the view was beautiful. Unfortunately, as it was from a moving bus, I wasn't able to get any pictures.

The only inconvenience in my arrival was that my luggage got lost. I wasn't too bothered by this experience because I had packed the minimum of items, expecting to buy more once I reached Pune. Everything that I purchased (two kurtas, an adaptor, soap, and shampoo) were things that I would have needed to buy at some point during the trip.

Classes have been good, and I've been enjoying exploring the city, which is largely why it took me a week to get around to writing about arriving here.