5 things I learned while traveling to India
As of 7 PM on June 11th, I officially arrived in Hyderabad, India; twenty-four hours later than I had originally planned. As you can imagine, a lot has happened since I left my house Saturday morning. It was an exciting yet extremely tiring journey but I am glad to finally be at ICRISAT as a Borlaug-Ruan Intern and I am excited to see what I will gain from this experience. Although I haven’t even been in India for a day yet, I thought I would share somethings that I have already experienced. Here are 5 things I learned while traveling to India:
- Things don’t always go as planned
Now, this is an obvious one, especially when it comes to travel, but I think it’s an important one to keep in mind. As I was in line waiting to check my bag at the Des Moines airport, I found out that my 9 AM flight to Chicago had been delayed by an hour. I didn’t think much of this, in fact, I was kind of happy to have some time to relax before going through security. So, after checking in my luggage, I said my goodbyes to my family, passed through security and made it to my gate. Nearly five minutes after I had settled down, the airline representative announced that our flight had been delayed until 12:55 PM, meaning that I would miss my connection to India at 1:30. I joined the several other passengers that were in line to speak with the representative about rebooking their flights. When it was my turn, I informed the representative about my situation and she told me that my connection to India was booked through another airline and she could not help me. Thankfully, I was able to reach my internship director, who re-booked my connection flight to the next day and arranged for me to stay in a hotel once I arrived in Chicago. This was definitely not what I had in mind, but that’s usually the case when it comes to traveling.
2. Electrical adapters are hard to find
I arrived in Chicago and checked into my hotel around 3 PM. I had nearly 24 hours before my next flight so I started to think of some last minute things I needed to get before I left the country. Two days prior to my departure date, I had realized that I would need to purchase an electrical adapter to use my electronics in India. I was told by another intern that I would need an adapter with three circular probes and had tried to look for one at different stores in Iowa. However, I failed to find this specific adapter and it was too late to order online. So I decided to walk around the Chicago O’Hare Airport in hopes of finding an adapter. I probably logged a record number of steps that day as I walked from shop to shop searching for an adapter. I was not successful and eventually decided to go back to my hotel room. Nearly an hour later, I realized that I had only been to shops located in the domestic terminals which is why I couldn’t find the adapter. I decided to leave my hotel once again to go to the international terminal stores and look for an adapter. To my surprise, these stores had the same European adapters I saw earlier at the domestic terminals and I did not find one that would fulfill my needs. Fast forward to a day later, I had a short layover in New Delhi and I thought this would be the perfect time to find an adapter that would work for India. I couldn’t find any with three circular probes but I bought one that had two just so I would have something when I arrived in Hyderabad. Fast forward to today: I met with my supervisor and showed her the adapter that I bought to see if it would work. She then told me that while India does use outlets for circular probes, the research center itself uses the European outlet system. So basically, I spent nearly two days searching for an adapter that I wouldn’t even be able to use while I passed up the countless opportunities I had to buy the European adapter that would actually work… But hey, at least I logged all those steps…right?
3. I’m better with directions than I had thought (well…..maybe)
My friends and I always joke about how I have no sense of direction and can easily get lost in any place. So, as I searched for an adapter across one of the biggest airports in the country, I was very pleased with my ability to travel from terminal to terminal and to my hotel room without ever getting lost. You’re probably thinking “well duh, you just follow the signs,” but as someone who gets confused driving around in the small Iowa town they’ve lived in nearly their whole life, this was quite a big deal. Once I finally gave up on finding an adapter, I thought it would be wise to look for the terminal where I would need to check in at the next day. I found the door where I had first entered, went up a nearby elevator to the international terminal train. Once I arrived, I took note of the specific area I needed to go to, and then went back to my hotel room for the night. The next day, I packed up my things, checked out of the hotel and entered the airport through the same doors I had entered the day before. However, I could not seem to find the elevator that would lead me to the international terminal train. It was as if it had suddenly disappeared. I began walking around, went up some escalators, down some elevators and somehow found myself back in the lobby of the hotel I had stayed in. Now, I still have no idea how I ended up there but I followed some signs and eventually arrived at my terminal 20 minutes later than I had planned. How does one manage to get lost on the same route they took the day before? I wish I knew the answer to that. For a little while, I actually started to believe that I was good at directions, but I think after that incident, we can all agree that I still lack an internal compass.
4. Honking is not just a driving technique — it’s a lifestyle
Despite my challenges getting to my terminal, I still somehow made it to India! Once I arrived at the Hyderabad airport, I headed to baggage claim where I saw luggage assistance cart drivers try to maneuver their carts around the crowds of people. They honked at people who were struggling with their own luggage and those who were simply trying to make it to their gates. After getting my luggage, I went to the exit where I found my driver holding a sign that said “ICRISAT”. I got into the car and was immediately thrown off by the placement of the driver’s seat on the right side of the car. As soon as we got out of the parking lot, the honking began. Slow truck? Honk. Motorcyclists going as fast as possible? Honk. Guys walking on the side of the road? Honk. I found this to be quite entertaining. It seemed that it didn’t matter whether or not honking was necessary, it was just a part of driving. Most times honking wouldn’t actually make a difference, yet everyone did it. I’ve noticed that honking is more like a way of communication than it is an attack on a driver. Just as we follow traffic rules in the United States, here they honk. My favorite honking “moment” was when my driver pulled out in front of a truck and honked as if it was the other driver’s fault…or maybe it was a way of apologizing? Either way, honking is a lifestyle, no matter the situation.
5. Dreams DO come true
I LOVE MANGOS. So naturally, when I found out that I would be interning in India, I just wished that I would be close to a mango tree. Before leaving for this trip, I would always tell my friends and family how excited I was to pick mangos. Of course, I had no idea if there would actually be any mango trees near me but I was hoping for the best! I arrived at ICRISAT around 8:30 PM and had finished all my housing paperwork by 9. I was then escorted to my dorm room. We had just walked about 200 feet after exiting the housing office when I felt my foot stepping on something round. I tried to keep walking but instead slipped and lost my balance. Thankfully, I was lugging my carry-on which kept me from falling. I looked down to see what was in my path and — you guessed it — it was a mango!!! As I looked around I saw several mangos that had fallen down from the mango trees nearby. This might seem silly but after 20 hours of traveling and feeling the oncoming jet lag, seeing those mangos trees made all the difference! It was a dream come true.
On a more serious note, being a Borlaug-Ruan Intern is a dream come true on its own. After meeting with my supervisor this morning, I am super excited to start my research project and I can’t wait to see where this takes me! But first, let me catch some zzz’s.
