12.1.08

India in 3 days. Seriously.

It's all in the title, folks. I'm departing from this country to another one half the world away. That's pretty far. Besides being excited to explore a foreign country on my own for the first time in my life, and realizing that my prospects for riding a camel through the desert are looking good, I'm going to be interning at the India Times.
This is big news for me. It means a foot in the door in my desired field; the fact that said door is in an ever-growing country where English writers are now increasingly in demand is an added bonus. The latest e-mail from the correspondent at my program ended with: "I hope you're excited!" Well, I'm not excited- I'm friggin' ecstatic!
The plan seems good on paper: flight to Chennai, with a stop-off in Frankfurt, Germany. I'll be picked up at the airport by a guy holding a sign with my name on it (just like in the movies) and then taken to the YMCA guest house for two days to recover from jet-lag, let my body and mind block out a horrific plane ride, and explore my new 'hood. Oh, and shopping is definitely on the list.
The latest isn't so I can buy various trinkets to hastily send back to awaiting family members and friends. Truthfully, I'm only packing two changes of clothes and enough underwear for two weeks. A back-pack that allows for 30 pounds max doesn't leave much room for clothing, if you take all of its other contents into consideration.
Above all, I am trying not to have any expectations. I don't want to imagine pristine conditions, because that simply isn't realistic. I also don't want to envision the worst-case-scenario, although I am prepared for it. I'm coming into India open-minded, and I hope to leave in the same way.

1 comment:

Arun Ramkumar said...

you mean the Times of India right?