Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore…
*driving in India makes New York City traffic at rush hour
seem like a stretch of Montana interstate.
Most roads we have traveled on have two lanes and no sidewalks or
shoulders. Sharing these road are
pedestrians, bicycle riders, motor cyclists, auto-rickshaw drivers, cars,
buses, trucks and a variety of animals.
Plus, every one appears to be late for where they are going. Drivers are aggressive and highly
skilled. No texting and driving here as
100% attention is on the road. Untapped
pool of NASCAR winners here for sure.
*animals seen today include dogs, cats, monkeys, horses,
goats, sheep, cows and Bison. Most are roaming,
seemingly without owners. We did see
several Beware: elephant crossing zone,
but no elephants. Maybe tomorrow.
*saw exactly 8 white (as in people of suspected European
origin) people today including 4 from our group and one when I looked in the
mirror.
*here is a riddle—two teachers and an IREX program
coordinator walk into a bar in India.
Only two are admitted into the establishment and one is not. Who gets admitted and why? Respond and if you get it correct, consider
yourself culturally aware. Full disclosure—no
one actually went to the bar because everyone wasn’t welcome.
*most students attended school today even though it is
Saturday.
*summited the tallest mountain in southern India today which
is taller than every U.S. mountain east of Colorado. Full disclosure: our driver drove us to the top.
*ran into another group of IREX Fellows at the Botanical
Garden in Ooty. With 1.2 billion people
in this country what are the odds of running into someone you know, especially
when you only know 19 people in the entire nation?
*most meals eaten with fingers, not utensils. This includes the garlic chicken in sauce I had
last night. My grandmother would not
approve.
Oh, I also saw the Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion in an
auto-rickshaw.
A beautiful picture from Ooty which is where the Eastern and
Western Ghatts meet.
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