One thing that continues to impress me here is that I get pretty much anything and everything I ask for. To be fair, I don't ask for that much, and generally nothing extravagant, but still it's remarkable to me that there seems to never be anything too hard to get or to arrange.
When I first got here, I asked if someone could take me clothes shopping, if someone could take me on an outing somewhere, if I would get to go to the field, if someone would teach me to cook, etc. Within a week, I had taken a field visit, learned to roll purri, gone to a park, bought clothes in the market, and more. So on Monday, when I was getting really excited about Helen's arrival on Friday (today), I told Anand that I would really like to be able to greet her at the airport. He said he would arrange it, and here I am, in Ranchi, waiting until her flight is scheduled to get in at 2:45.
The title of this post is "Waiting," because that tends to come along with getting things I ask for. I usually don't have to wait too long, but I do have to mentally adjust to the fact that when I want something (or need something) here, I have to ask, and I have to wait. In the U.S., I avoid asking anyone for things if at all possible, knowing that I am putting them out if I ask, and it's faster if I do things myself anyways. While waiting here, I sometimes find myself thinking, "If they would just show me how to do it myself, it would be so much faster!" But in reality, it wouldn't be. I don't speak Hindi, I am white, and I don't know where to get things or how the bureaucracy works.
Satish told me that I could absolutely greet Helen at the airport, but the easiest way to make that happen would be for me to go to Ranchi with Rahul (who was flying to Kolkata) on Thursday afternoon. I got here around 6 in the evening yesterday, and I had all evening and now I have all morning to wait.
The great thing about this waiting period is that some interns from UNICEF just got here, and they've been lovely to hang out with. They're smart and friendly and three of them are Indian and speak Hindi and one of them is from the UK and can relate to differences from the US, etc.
Plus, the beds here have actual mattresses, rather than the homemade pads that mine have, and the mosquito nets stay tight and high over the beds, rather than drooping and making me claustrophobic, and the weather is cool and they gave us blankets to sleep under, and overall it has just been very comfortable to stay the night. I'm wondering whether we'll stop back here on the way to Hazaribag or whether we'll just go straight there after we pick Helen up.
The driver who brought me here and will bring Helen and me back is named Surtaj, and he is very friendly and speaks a little English. And he is willing to make the effort (sometimes a grand effort) for us to understand each other, which is nice. Maybe I'll work on studying some Hindi while I'm waiting today.
When I first got here, I asked if someone could take me clothes shopping, if someone could take me on an outing somewhere, if I would get to go to the field, if someone would teach me to cook, etc. Within a week, I had taken a field visit, learned to roll purri, gone to a park, bought clothes in the market, and more. So on Monday, when I was getting really excited about Helen's arrival on Friday (today), I told Anand that I would really like to be able to greet her at the airport. He said he would arrange it, and here I am, in Ranchi, waiting until her flight is scheduled to get in at 2:45.
The title of this post is "Waiting," because that tends to come along with getting things I ask for. I usually don't have to wait too long, but I do have to mentally adjust to the fact that when I want something (or need something) here, I have to ask, and I have to wait. In the U.S., I avoid asking anyone for things if at all possible, knowing that I am putting them out if I ask, and it's faster if I do things myself anyways. While waiting here, I sometimes find myself thinking, "If they would just show me how to do it myself, it would be so much faster!" But in reality, it wouldn't be. I don't speak Hindi, I am white, and I don't know where to get things or how the bureaucracy works.
Satish told me that I could absolutely greet Helen at the airport, but the easiest way to make that happen would be for me to go to Ranchi with Rahul (who was flying to Kolkata) on Thursday afternoon. I got here around 6 in the evening yesterday, and I had all evening and now I have all morning to wait.
The great thing about this waiting period is that some interns from UNICEF just got here, and they've been lovely to hang out with. They're smart and friendly and three of them are Indian and speak Hindi and one of them is from the UK and can relate to differences from the US, etc.
Plus, the beds here have actual mattresses, rather than the homemade pads that mine have, and the mosquito nets stay tight and high over the beds, rather than drooping and making me claustrophobic, and the weather is cool and they gave us blankets to sleep under, and overall it has just been very comfortable to stay the night. I'm wondering whether we'll stop back here on the way to Hazaribag or whether we'll just go straight there after we pick Helen up.
The driver who brought me here and will bring Helen and me back is named Surtaj, and he is very friendly and speaks a little English. And he is willing to make the effort (sometimes a grand effort) for us to understand each other, which is nice. Maybe I'll work on studying some Hindi while I'm waiting today.
Ready for more pics! Especially you and Helen! Glad she's finally there (and that your Mac came with her)!
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