I have arrived

I arrived in India around 11:00 pm on Sunday. The journey was long, but the flight from JFK to Mumbai was not that bad. I was sitting in a middle seat, but luckily I was in between two very nice Indian men. After retrieving my luggage and making it through immigration and customs, I made my way out of the airport. I expected to see some sort of lobby where people can meet you, but to my surprise the only way to go headed outside. After being warned not to leave the airport by myself, I was a bit confused. But behind the crowd of people holding cards for the people that they were picking up, I saw Jeremy and Erik waiting for me. I made my way past the machine gun clad guard and through the crowd. The night air was very heavy from the humidity. We got into the car and went straight to the hotel, about 20 minutes away. This first drive in India was pretty interesting. Traffic laws are either non-existent or are not enforced (Jeremy said that you can just buy your license...). The drivers have to be very aggressive and take advantage of every inch of the road. When I asked if traffic accidents were common here, I was told that Erik has been in two while he has been here (for about 2 months). I guess that when the traffic is constantly bumper to bumper, you can only have minor accidents. But I am still going to use a seatbelt when I travel (even though it is not required).

After we arrived at the hotel, I went to my room to settle in. The room is nice, but I was a bit disappointed that my view is pretty much only what appears to be an office building. I tried to stay up as long as I could because I did not need to leave for work until 5pm the next day. After attempting to make some calls home and watching a bit of television in Hindi (very amusing), I went to sleep. I will write about my first days at work on my next post. I miss everyone at home and hope you all are doing well.