As I board my Delhi-bound flight, I'm feeling a tinge of anxiety re: my Executive in Residence program with Drishtee: did I choose the right organization? will I be able to make a difference in two weeks? are they adequately prepared for my assignment? As I make myself comfortable in my business class seat and home for the next 15 hours, my thoughts are interrupted by the loud-pitched scream of a young child.....who happens to be sitting directly behind me in the first row of Economy class.....now I love children, but 15 hours of that is going to be painful......
The plane ride over was uneventful, save for the occasional crying outburst of the little boy behind me. My fellow passenger to the left was a Wal-Mart International guy who was headed to India to try and help the retail behemoth to crack the notoriously difficult Indian retail market. He was a pleasant enough fellow, but not to keen to talk about his business, or much else, for that matter.
Arriving in Delhi, we walked for several kilometers to get to the immigration area, and our long walk was rewarded by the coolest sculptures hanging off the wall above the enitre immigration area - they were these exquisitely worked gargantuan silver sculptures of female hand gestures typical of traditional Indian dance. A perfect image to capture for readers of blog as I officially enter India....alas, I don't yet know how to use my Flip gadget, so I guess I need to read the users manual and make sure to capture that beautiful image upon my departure.
After a long ride late on a Sunday evening in streets totally clogged with traffic (welcome to Delhi!), we finally arrived at the Drishtee Guest House, a very modest (shall I say, spartan) facility in a working class neighborhood. Of course, after all that driving, the taxi man wanted to be paid, and of course, I didn't have local currency to pay him. So off we walked to a nearby ATM, which was out of money, and then off we drove to the next nearest ATM which had 12 people in line.....on a Sunday evening at 10PM. Then, of course, the 1000 rupee bills (equivalent to a bit more than $20) that the maching spit out didn't work for the taxi man as he as unable to provide change....so off we went back into the street to find some change....welcome to the developing world!
Finally, we made it up to the Drishtee Guest House. Actually, it's an apartment in a working-class neighborhood that appears to suffer from sporadic power outages (hate when that happens, as it disrupts my internet connection and shuts down my a/c unit). The electricity and internet typically come right back on, so I just have to reestablish my connection to the network with my little token, however, each time the power goes out, the a/c stops, not for minutes, but for an hour or two, turning my icy cold room into a bit of a sauna......and just when things start looking desparate, the a/c sputters back on :) ......welcome to the developing world.
All in all, my accommodations here are a far cry from the Four Seasons....or even Motel 6, but it's all good as this setting puts me in the right state of mind for the work that I'll be doing in the coming two weeks.
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