Note: this post is copied here from one of my early blogs, and recounts parts of my trip to study abroad in India in 2007!

I am officially settled in Pondicherry. My flight from Bombay came into Chennai again at around 3. I searched for my luggage and said goodbye to my new friend. By the time everything was sorted out, I walked outside with all my luggage, officially alone and stepping out into a new city. (The airport experience now seems like nothing compared with this.) There were sooooooooo many people lined up waiting for people outside the airport. It took me a few minutes to find my driver, who held up a sign with my name. My first glimpses of India were ecstatically awesome… tropical climate, palm trees, guys sleeping all over the place, tons of activity. It was just so damn alive, in a completely different way than I know. We drove from 3:30-7:30 am to Pondicherry. I am still completely blown away by the drive down here. My initial thoughts involved things like, “Damn, there actually are cows all over, even in the city!” and “Why are there billions of people out even at 4am?” It is just completely…. different! Most of the houses I saw were tiny huts made with palms or locally available materials. It seems so dirty, chaotic, insane… but at the same time, really beautiful and incredibly interesting. Cows, chickens, goats, feral dogs, everywhere…. People, everywhere… The driving is really crazy. They honk every second and pass each other like mad, and drive into oncoming traffic and nearly hit cows, pedestrians, and bikers. (But then again, it seems to work…) I arrived at the hostel at 7:30 this morning. I got a bit settled and had a MUCH needed shower (3 days of travel in a tropical climate really does a number on you…) and then had some breakfast. Now, I’ll be napping for quite some time, and this afternoon we’ll go into Pondi city to get oriented a bit. Honestly, this is nothing at all like I expected. It is a million times better and a million times worse all at once, which I think is excellent. Adapting to live here is going to be a big challenge, but is something I think will be incredibly rewarding. I’M FREAKING LIVING IN INDIA, BABY!!!!!!!