For those who don't already know, Colin and I are going to India. Tomorrow night. There's general excitement, stress, and "what the heck are we doing??" which Colin can easily answer "Work, work, work." Me? I'm mostly just tagging along, having no real commitments until school starts Wednesday, September 2nd. So yes, nearly a solid month of India is quickly approaching.
It wasn't until less than a week ago we knew for certain we were going. I'm already a bit hazy on exactly when the suggestion was made, but it was roughly a week before that that Colin's bosses asked "Is your passport up to date?" This resulted in a scramble to find it. That weekend we made a trip south to Bloomington (I really needed more clothes anyway) where we hung out with Susan, did tons of laundry, and I grabbed whatever I thought might be needed.
We'd spent the following Tuesday getting the visas. Colin and I drove downtown to drop off the forms and passports and had to scramble when we found we went to the wrong address listed on the application ten minutes before our appointment. Since he was the one who had to go, I drove around in circles - downtown Chicago (first time actually) - while he went in. Later that day I took the train and picked them up. Apparently, a generic name like "Karen Larsen" takes longer to check than a unique one like "Colin Alworth" because my email notifying the visa was ready to be picked up came quite a bit later than Colin, much to his nervousness. I hadn't taken my cellphone since you can't take electronic devices and only a small lady's handbag is permitted. I scribbled down some sudoku puzzles for the rides and only carried a bright yellow folder in my hands. On the way back, I was hot and thirsty so I grabbed a strange but tasty drink called Strawberry Pom Smootea at an Argo Tea.
Wednesday night we went to the airport to get the tickets; the website wouldn't deal with the travel vouchers Colin had gotten last December from agreeing to wait for later flights from San Mateo. They needed to be used soon before they expired. Thursday I got a camera at a local store called Wolf Camera. I'd done some research and decided a Canon point-and-shoot (SD1200 IS) would fit the bill. Initially, I was quite happy with just ordering another Minolta Dimage X (or any of the newer versions in that series) but Colin pointed out that there's been a lot of development in digital cameras since I got my first one in 2003. I could have ordered it online and fretted about when it'd get here, but I wanted to test and play with it, especially since we were spending the weekend in Duluth. I'm quite happy with it, don't have any complaints so far and I've taken about 200 pictures.
Duluth was a whirlwind but, as always, it was great to see Colin's family. Sure, there's the drama of the extended family but I knew the "battlefield" and wasn't too affected. Finally got to meet Nina! She's quite the energetic tomboy and I got lots of shots of her goofing around with Colin. We had a boat tour along the shore Saturday. The weekend was cool and cloudy, with some short thunderstorms and rainshowers. Since India is going to be really hot and humid, Duluth wasn't helping us prepare for it. But then again, what the heck would? I spent a lot of time wrapped up in blankets and never took my sweatshirt off except when we were at Nana's in the tropical heat. I even slept with the bed electrically heated.
Most of my spare time has been spent reading, either online or print books, about India. We will be mostly in Hyderabad, which is not touted as a tourist city. It is also known as Cyberabad (cyber city); Colin will be working in an area where there are 80,000 other programmers. However, there are things to see and places to go in the area, it is known for its fabulous food, and we know we are going to spend time in at least Delhi and at the Taj Mahal on the weekends. I've skimmed a few guidebooks (Lonely Planet's is by far the best) and other non-fiction. I really enjoy reading "A Traveler's History of India" by Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda but it's a library book and I'm planning on taking very little and mostly stuff I can leave behind. After all, stuff is cheap there and I have only clothes appropriate for northern US colder climate and society (shorts aren't worn in India). So my backpack is all I'm carrying. To India. For a month.
I'm constantly wondering, "What the heck am I doing?" The answer: Going off on an adventure (with the love of my life during monsoon season to the most foreign land I've been to yet that had never really been on my list of places to visit).
No comments:
Post a Comment