Okay, I woke up at a hotel near the JFK airport and had breakfast at the complimentary continental breakfast(or whatever it is called). I remember eating fruit loops, many fruit loops. Which is interesting because I rarely eat sugar cereals. My family then dropped me off at the airport and I pulled out my cell phone and began to text my friends where I was. That was the last time that I could use my mobile(that's what they call it here in India, I purchased a new mobile today with some friends for 2,800 Rp.). One of my friends just stepped off the plane arriving from Puerto Rico. She was at the same airport too! Well, I flew on the Etihad airlines the official airlines of United Arab Emirates(I flew from JFK-UAE, to Mumbai or Bombay India) and was I should say far, far more luxurious than any airline that I have taken before within the country and outside(including Spain). It was 8 seats accross(2-4-2) and each person had an "entertainment screen" in front of them and could play games, watch movies from a diverse selection of countries, listen to music from all around the world(I liked the classical selection) and they could view a variety of maps covering the flight(which I did 90% of the time). On the first flight that is the flight from JFK to Abu Dhabi I sat next to the window on the left side of the plane next to a Indian woman flying to India(same itinerary as myself, there were perhaps 30 of us with the final destination India). We talked a little(she slept Alot! I didn't(couldn't) sleep much) and I learned that she was studying at a university in NY for her masters in Occupational Therapy. She was returning to her home state of Maharashtra(Mumbai, Pune, and Spicer are located therein) for the summer break. She was nice but I found it difficult to speak with her because I had bronchitus or some kind of an itching cough in my throat and my voice was weak and difficult to understand(I could barely understand myself). This flight was approximately 12 hours far shorter than the 17 hours I had imagined. It was smooth and I slept for only 30 minutes on it because of my cough that prevented me from regulating my breathing and to relax. I spent most of my time glued to the window as we flew over Halifax, London, Budapest, Bucharest, Baghdad, the Black Sea, the Arabian Sea, Abu Dhabi, and finally(on the last flight) Mumbai. I also cycled through the variety of maps that were provided in flight(this is how I knew that I was flying over what). On the descent which was at about 7 AM in the morning local time(UAE) I experienced something that I have never before experienced while flying. I'm not sure why exactly I had never before experienced it having flown many times and internationally as well. It was during the last 30 minutes that my ears began to feel a most intense pain that was almost(and I am not in the least exaggerating) beyond that which I could bare. It felt as though hot, hot liquid was poured down my ears and was flowing to the most sensitive parts of my ears. This led to a horrendous headache. This did not last for the last two minutes of the flight but for the last 30 minutes. I could hear children crying around me and most people were hunched over holding their heads in their hands. I remember looking out the window and seeing how far we were from the ground as this occurred and how slowly we descended and thinking, COME ON!! Land!! Well anyways I told myself on the plane to appropriately mention this ordeal! Upon landing I grabbed my backpack and walked teetering off the plane and stepped down steps onto the land of the Arabs. Immediately a thick, heavy heat seemed to encompass me and I made my way to the bus that carted us to the right gate. I could not hear normally at all. My ears felt as though I had placed two thick shells on them and my ability to hear was likewise terrible(this made my speech even worse). I entered the Abu Dhabi airport(which is located in a desert san trees, and all form of life) and proceeded to my next gate (number 5) for Mumbai. I had an hour until I could enter the "waiting area" near the gate so I walked around the dome like room that led to many other gates. I found an internet booth and checked my email and sat down next to a tv that was covering soccer(futbol) around the world. I couldn't really hear it though. My ears did not return to normal during my time in UAE. People looked at me closely with a pensive, askant countenance which only encouraged me to hold my neck passport holder closely. On the short flight from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai I sat next to a precocious young Maharastran. He laughed at me a few times when I performed some random fax paus and we had a small conversation about India and the food and peculiar culture.
Unfortunately the internet room here at Spicer is being closed(it is now 10 PM local time) and I must defer this post till tomorrow. I have not even begun to describe my first experience. I have much more to write. I must go!
Namaste!
Ok I'm back! It is now 11:28 here and I am in the internet room with a friend that is studying for his masters in theology through Andrews here. I let him listen to a sermon earlier by David Gates one of my favorite speakers and now he is listening/watching a sermon by him from Hopevideo as I write this! I will endeavor to continue the post now.
Abu Dhabi to Mumbai
This flight was short and I rested for about half of it(I think it was 2 hours, I'm not sure it flew by(pardon the pun)). On the descent the same numbing pain hit my ears as we made our slow, slow descent into Mumbai. I got off the plane, retrieved my things, and headed toward the egress to find my ride. As I walked out I saw maybe 50 people waiting and walked around them to a place were I could relax and wait. A young man then walked to me and mumbled Benjamin and do you know Solomon...(and I said Lazaar, yes. Hi Jegan). He is a little bigger than myself(he is studying at Spicer(day scholar) as well) and has slick, oiled hair. My hearing was still once again very distorted as it was in Abu Dhabi. He then helped me with my things and we found a few ruff looking guys that Jegan asked to drive us all the way to Pune(4 hours). Then we waited as they tried to do something(I'm not sure what the problem was really). Jegan turned to me and suggested that we take a bus after we had been sitting in the sun waiting for about 40 minutes. I simply responded,"whatever you think is best."(I said this many times to his questions throughout the day actually). We found a rickshaw(which is a tiny, tiny three wheeled vehicle) threw my luggage in and packed ourselves around them. We rode to the bus stop and found a nice bus rivaling the ones that I rode on in Mexico and Spain with Bel Canto that was traveling to Pune and hopped on. I remember(this was two days ago) being very, very exhausted at this point and sleeping for part of the trip holding my big black backpack in my lap(it was quite heavy too) which I kept close it having all my documents and money, and electronics inside it. We stopped a few times to drop people off here and there. When we arrived at a certain part near the college Jegan called me and we jumped off and grabbed my things from the luggage retainer on the side of the bus. We then walked on the road for a few kilometers to the college with cars, motor bikes and rickshaws screaming by. There were many on the side of the road too. When we drew near to the college Jegan began to point out some buildings that I really couldn't see because of the darkness. Apparently the city of Pune has recently aggrandized its borders quite a bit and swallowed up Spicer's campus. I met the dean of the hostel and dorm when we arrived at the dorms and he greeted me kindly and told me that we would talk later till then Jegan had apparently made plans that I would stay with his friend Vijayan. The dorms were by western standards dilapidated at best but I was not in the least surprised. I haven't really been surprised with anything here. I guess I prepared for the trip well and so am not taken aback by the lack.
It is lunch time now so I must go. I will continue and finish this blog when I have time. It costs me 12 Rps. per hour to use the internet facilities(about a quarter). Until then Wanakam(Tamil)!
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