SpiderMonkey Kid

I have made it to Varanasi! And it is not what I imagined it to be at all.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are sitting in a sauna. Now with them still closed, imagine yourself in a small airport with one baggage claim, less than 10 shops and very few gates. You are surrounded by several people pushing to get by you to claim their luggage. And you are being approached by men with carts asking if they can push your luggage for you.  

When our group of five girls all had their bags we headed toward the front of the airport with no idea of who to be looking for. Walking through the sliding doors, I was hit hard by the humidity and heat. Quickly, we found our ride. There was the driver and the coordinator of the school we would be staying at. The first thing I noticed as we walked to the truck was the steering wheel. It was on the right side of the car. I did not know that the driving would be opposite of ours. Anyways, after loading our bags on the top and in the back of the truck, we were ready to go “home”. Three of us sat in the backseat and the other two girls sat in the seats in the trunk.

As soon as we pulled out of the airport parking lot, I will admit that I was afraid for my life. The way people drive here is terrifying, honestly. Not only was I still wrapping my mind around the fact that we were driving on the left side of the road but I also had to realize that when you are on the road: everything goes.

Close your eyes and imagine two cars or motorcycles having a honking battle. Imagine a huge buffalo or two sitting in the middle of the road blocking traffic. Imagine stray dogs running this way and that way. Imagine bouncing up and down in your seat because of the unpaved roads. Imagine seeing a small child smile at you from the motorcycle next to you.

We would sometimes drive on the right side of the road. It felt and looked like we were going to be involved in a head-on collision but we made it each time unharmed.  The pedestrians walk without looking both ways, seriously.  Motorcyclists squeeze between cars that drive closely to each other.

Close your eyes and imagine a rainy night. Now, this is not your normal rainfall. The rain is so heavy that sounds like someone is standing outside the window and throwing buckets of water at it.  

There were several times that I jumped up because I thought water was flowing inside of our house through the windows. Turns out it was just the rain outside. When we went for our walk in the morning, I wore my rain boots and the locals stared at my feet. It is the most unnerving thing ever. Even the kids at the schools would stare. Yesterday was the first day that we talked to the students after school. The smaller boys actually wanted to touch my boots. It was the cutest thing ever! And the older girls complimented me on my boots. At dinner last night, I wore my rain jacket and one of the women in the café laughed at me for wearing the jacket for such a short walk from my house to the on-campus café. Dinner like every other meal eaten here is simple yet complex. By this I mean, the foods are simple (rice, potatoes and naan) but they are so complex in flavor. After dinner, we stayed the café for about an hour to use Wi-Fi to talk to people back at home and chat with the café’ manager. During this time we experienced yet another power outage. We have about two or three a day.

Close your eyes, it is time for bed. It is 9pm and pitch black outside. Again, you hear the honking of cars. You hear the barking of dogs. You hear the teetering of rain. You hear the voices of people in the street.

The first night here, it was easy to relax with all of the background noise because I was exhausted. Last night, I fell asleep earlier than I thought I would but I woke up at 3am. I don’t know if it is because of the noises I heard outside or if it was because of the two naps I took earlier. Anyways, I was up just listening to the noises outside until my phone started buzzing like crazy. That took me by surprise because the Wi-Fi never reaches the bedrooms. So I took advantage of this rare moment and talked to my brother, dad and best friend Keya via Viber. (I just talked to her on the phone and every other minute she says, “I can’t believe you are actually doing this. I can’t believe you are in India.”)

Close your eyes and imagine the sound of children. You hear a laugh here and there. You hear a conversation between two small kids in Hindi. You hear an older brother talking to his younger brother. You hear about 100 kids singing “If You're Happy and You Know It” to start off their morning.  

This morning as we sat in the living room area we saw a little friend playing near the window. His back was to us so we decided to play with him. Ivy ran to the window and tapped until he noticed then she hid he behind the wall. He laughed and waved hello. This went on for a few minutes until Ivy went out the front door. He tried to get into our house which he obviously is not supposed to do. When we all left for breakfast he was there and as soon as Shadi and I turned around he opened the door. Oh no, we have to watch this one. This same little boy pinched me on my thigh the first night here. We exchanged a few hellos and bye then out of nowhere, he pinched me… Very hard.  

Yesterday, we began our Hindi classes. I learned seven new sentences, how to count to ten and how to write my name and my family's names. Here are some of the things I learned.

1. Mera nam Daria (My name is Daria)

2. Mera pas do bhai hai (I have two brothers)

3.  Mei chatra hu (I am a student)

Numbers: ek, do, teen, char, panch, che, sat, art, nou, das (1-10)

Life on the other side of the world is truly different. And surprisingly the adjustment has not been that hard, so far. This guesthouse is quickly becoming a "home" from home. That may seem crazy but it just feels right.  The people, the food and the environment are great!

Funny/scary story: So using the bathroom as we are getting ready to leave the house to go shopping when this HUGE spider runs pass me. I don't think I have ever screamed that loudly. It caused all of the other girls to run in my bathroom (insert more screams). I actually cried and had a mini panic attack. The student from U of Chicago came out of her room to tell her about her experience with a spider a week or so ago. Fifteen minutes later, the spider was still alive so we ran to get help. Finally, help came and in five seconds the spider was wrapped up in a hand towel. The two men who came to the rescue walked out of our house laughing as they released the spider outside.