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!

So actually right now, I am in Pondicherry, but I will back up and talk about the arrival in Delhi and my stay in Bombay airport. So, we got into Delhi airport sometime at night on the 12th, and then flew straight to Bombay airport without departing the plane. The past few days have been such a blur that at this point, I don’t really remember what that flight was like. Anyhow, I arrived in Bombay, FINALLY, at about 3 in the morning on the 13. So I exited the plane, was hit by a blast of heat, (it was 85 degrees F at 3am!) and followed the rest of the crowds towards customs. Going through customs and more security was easy enough, or if it wasn’t, then I just don’t remember. After being “free to go”, however, I had no clue what to do. My next flight wasn’t until 22 hours later, so I had all that time to wait in the airport, with no clue what to do, seeing as it was my first time on Indian soil, or any non-North American soil, for that matter. The first hour or so was pretty terrifying, but liberating too. I was completely alone, without even knowledge of how to use the phones to call home, without having changed any money, and sticking out of the crowd like a sore thumb. At one point, I hopped on an elevator to get to the upper level of the airport, and some guy started trying to push my cart for me. I had no clue if he worked for the airport or was just trouble, though, so I firmly thanked him but scurried on my way. I somehow navigated changing some money, making calls, printing out a ticket for my next flight, and finding the waiting area to sit it. This airport was not at all comfortable, and especially not in my first few hours in a new country. However, the 20 hours I spent there became pretty damn enjoyable. Right now I can’t really imagine how I actually filled up all that time. Everything really took me awhile. Going to the bathroom (after 20 hours of flying) involved squeezing a huge luggage cart into a tiny door and maneuvering all of my belongings around to find my toothbrush, for example. Getting food involved sorting out my new Indian money, standing for awhile to pick something unknown from the limited selection of airport food, and then finding a nice spot to settle down and explore that new Indian cuisine. I also found a good spot near the wall to sit, and made myself a nice little fort with my luggage, and ended up sleeping most of the day away, which was surprisingly comfortable and pleasing. I also read a ton. My flight would depart at 12:45 am from Bombay to Chennai. At around hour 17 at the airport, and hour 37 of my whole trip, I made a very nice friend, and we ended up chatting for the rest of the evening, including on the plane. This was very helpful since most conversation revolved around a nice little insider’s guide to visiting India. All in all, the day was extremely interesting and bizarre. It felt like some weird dream, but it was very good to have that time in the airport to adjust a bit. I realized the world is so incredible weird and cool, that one day I could be living in NJ like normal, and then so suddenly find myself in a completely different universe (figuratively, that is). Get out in the world, people, see for yourself!