June 23rd 2014

Delhi to Lucknow

We arrived in Delhi on the 21^st and flew to Lucknow later that day. We had a brief 7 hour layover in Frankfort, so a group of us ventured from the airport into the city. It was nice to take in the clean air, eat delicious pretzels, feel the cool air, and get my passport stamped (really the only thing I wanted out of the layover).

As we drove away from the Delhi airport and towards our hotel, I was hit by waves of déjà vu and nostalgia. I couldn’t help but think about when I arrived in India for the first time in September 2012 and how intense I thought everything was. I’d like to think that I held in all my emotions pretty well, but I distinctly remember being completely overwhelmed by the humidity, the fact that I knew I wasn’t leaving anytime soon, and upon seeing the mangy dogs and the people sleeping all over the place outside. This time, I was pretty calm, but I couldn’t help but think “What am I getting myself into?”

It’s hard for me to say much about Lucknow thus far, or about what I’ll be doing. We just took our placement tests today, so I won’t know what my class schedule is until tomorrow. But I can talk a bit about my host family. I moved in yesterday. My house is only about a 5 minute walk from the Institute where I will take all of my classes. I walked into the house and was escorted into my host mother’s room. She was reading from a huge Urdu newspaper, which she hastily put down and told me to sit on her bed. We talked in Urdu for a while. She told me she knows Arabic, and reads from the Quran and watches TV serials every day. She was very nice and insisted that she is my mother and her house is my house.

After unpacking my things, I fell asleep for a while, and when I woke up I met one of my three host brothers. Shah Rukh is the youngest, and is probably around 25 years old. He, his two brothers, and my host father run “the best” optometrist businesses in town. Everyone in the family wears very nice glasses. My host brother drove his friend and I all around Lucknow to give me a tour. We walked through Ambedkar Park, the massive Park created by Mayawati with tons of state money filled with statues of herself, the Buddha, Dr. Ambedkar, and elephants. It was beautiful. I was surprised by how many people were outside walking around after dark, but I guess when it’s over 110 degrees Farenheit during the day, you’ll take whatever chance you get to be outside. Lucknow at night is beautiful, and I was lucky to get a tour by car at night.

I met my host father when we got home. “Do you know who I am?” He asked me (in Urdu). “No…” “I am the father. This is my wife. We are not aunty ji and uncle ji we are your dad and your mom.” He was so welcoming to me and I talked to him, my host mom, and Shah Rukh for a while and watched a Bollywood awards show. I feel very welcomed in their home, and I couldn’t be happier so far with my family. Another bonus is they make great chai.

Love from India,

Ada

P.S. I’ll try to post photos soon.