Arrived in Baroda today and already off to a rough start… First, the weather is HORRIBLE. I seriously thought nothing was comparable to Cairo heat… well now I’m wishing I was BACK in Cairo heat. The humidity off my flight was absolutely atrocious! I think it was worse in Mumbai due to the flood of people and just the completely disorganized site they call an “airport”. I thought Cairo International Airport was bad… walahy Mumbai Airport is worse. I hate that I’m already complaining about very stupid things. Anyway, so the second thing, I waited at the airport for about 2 hours before being picked up and it seemed as if AIESEC Baroda didn’t even know they were supposed to pick me up… They were kind of rude in asking, “Who are you?” Maybe I’m just over thinking things due to the long travels? Who knows, I’ll figure it out as the days go by.
Apart from my complaining, I did see some interesting things. There are cows EVERYWHERE – in the street, sidewalks… they’re just randomly everywhere, going about their own way. I shouldn’t be surprised as I know cows are highly revered animals in India but I guess I just didn’t expect to see them in such abundance. I also met two other interns, definitely some cool cats – Lahiru from Sri Lanka and Emily from Taiwan. It’s seriously such a RELIEF to be able to speak in Mandarin! I miss it dearly especially when I’m in Egypt since I don’t really have the chance to speak it with anyone. They’re both matched to work with tribal people.
I feel bad and a bit embarrassed but I have to say I found it a bit hard to understand some of the Indians. I’m still not used to their accents and I feel bad that I’ve had to ask them to repeat things two, three or four times… By the third time I’ve just learned to say, “okay” or “mmhmm” and then try to either ask someone else who was with me or just try to figure something else out. I’m sure it will get better as I spend more time here – I miss hearing Arabic.
Aside from that, not much else happened today, just got moved to a second apartment, no key though. They said it’s only temporary for the next day or two, until they get us settled into the intern house. The house is rather dirty, and these floor mattresses gross me out – definitely NOT clean in the least bit and I was not prepared for this. It’s only supposed to be temporary, for the next day or two. I think I can try to manage… In other news, I’m also supposed to meet with my NGO tomorrow. I can’t wait; I need to start work, the sooner the better.
On a final note, I don’t have internet which is by far the most bizarre thing EVER – so I’ll blog, save and do the posting later on when internet is available. I also have no SIM card and I’m not sure how long my BlackBerry from Egypt will last… I’m pretty sure my credit will be completely depleted within the next day, two at most; am supposed to get an Indian SIM card tomorrow so insha’Allah that will work out.