Getting here

Wow. I am in India. After months of planning and discussing and packing, I am actually here. It's still a bit surreal, but I'm getting used to it quickly. I think I have adjusted to the time difference already because I didn't sleep much on the plane so I was exhausted when I finally got to Hyderabad at 11pm (1pm at home).

To get here I had to take two 8 hour flights. The first flight, from Detroit Metro to Frankfurt, Germany was uneventful. In Frankfurt I had some time to kill so I sat at the bar and ordered a genuine German beer, a Heifeweisen. It was very refreshing. On the second flight there were so many babies that I swear, there must be a baby convention in Hyderabad this week. There were literally babies in every row of the plane and they were not happy to be there. To drown out the cacophony I watched a movie. As is usually the case on planes the movies offered would all be classified as "films I would never watch unless I was stuck on a plane". I had to choose between Paul Blart and Marley & Me. I decided to go with the one with a sexy woman instead of a fat, mildly funny man with a terrible moustache. This turned out to be a bad choice as I ended up sobbing uncontrollably at the end of the movie. I'm a sucker for "boy and his dog" stories. Oh well, it took up some time.

When I finally got to Hyderabad and got my suitcase I walked outside and it felt like I was stepping into a sauna. People weren't kidding when they told me it was hot here. Outside the airport, three AIESEC guys, Anuraag, Shashank, and Prashanth, were waiting for me. Shashank was wearing a LeBron James jersey. We talked all about Michigan and Hyderabad and got to know each other as we drove to the Old City. We stopped at the Charminar, which is a 400 year old mosque/monument. I have seen so many pictures of it that to actually be standind next to it was a cool feeling. Then I went to the home of a family that was putting me up for the night. Their house is also a 100 year old mosque, built and run by one of my new friend's great great grandfather. Sanaullah, my host, and I spent a few hours eating mangoes and talking about music. I played Oh No and RJD2 for him and he loved it. He played some Indian music for me and then we we went to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of a family making breakfast. I left my room and found Sanaullah's mom, dad, and four sisters cooking cheese and onion paratha as well as mango ice puree and chai. It was one of the best breakfasts I've had in a long time, possibly ever. As I ate, Sanaullah, his father and mother and I talked about Indian and American politics. Everyone here loves Obama and they were happy to know that I was a big supporter of him. After breakfast I took a shower and then Sanaullah and I left his house to come to the AIESEC office. He failed to mention that we would be getting there on his moped. If you have heard that traffic is crazy in India you have no idea until you're actually within the swarm yourself. We zipped past autorickshaws, other motor bikes and pedestrians all over the place. People drive where they want, when they want, and just hope no one runs into them. I bumped a bus with my elbow as we drove past. A man drove up next to us to say hello and he shook my hand.

Now I am at the office, meeting a lot of people (I can't remember any of their names). I have been taking a lot of pictures that I will post to facebook when I have a full album. I don't know what I am up to the rest of the day, but I know I am having an amazing time already and I've only been here for one day!

Oh yeah, and Go Red Wings!