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July 02, 2009
Travelling
Riding in an airplane reminds me of taking the elevator – we get to ride in uncomfortably tight quarters with people we don’t know. However, while an elevator ride is a pretty mundane event that lasts about a minute and is usually awkwardly silent, a plane ride is the beginning to an adventure, and long enough that a little conversation to pass the time is almost a guarantee. I was thinking about how many different conversations I had on my trip from Ann Arbor to Bangalore (where I arrived safe and sound last night at 2 AM), and it’s pretty neat to reflect on them.
Dave gave me a ride from Ann Arbor to the Detroit airport, and on the way we talked about his first day at work with the Clean Water Action party, and all the things I should have taken care of before leaving that I was dumping on him to get done. Then on the flight from Detroit to Charlotte, I sat next to an elderly lady from Pittsburg and we talked about her grandchildren who are looking for jobs and how enjoyable Pennsylvania is to live in. From Charlotte to Frankfurt, I sat next to a physicist who taught me about proton accelerators, how to make thin-film superconductors, and his religious views. In the Frankfurt airport, I was taking a shuttle between terminals and I was alone in the compartment with an American army officer who had spent four years in Germany, and he advised me on the best types of beer to drink while there. I followed his advice, and had a .5 liter of rocksabababsdf;lkjasdf-weizen and a turkey sandwich for breakfast.
Then on the stretch from Frankfurt to Bangalore, I sat a in a row with three young Indian professionals, who talked about differences between European and Indian lifestyles, and also how to best take advantage of one’s sick days. At one point on this trip, one of the three guys asked the attendant for jam to go on his bread, and the attendant said “We aren’t serving jam since it’s dinner time” to which the guy replied “Madam, we Indians eat jam whenever we want to.” Chuckles from all around. Finally, in the cab from the airport to my grandparent’s house, I spoke with the driver about the traffic jams in Banglore that are epically terrible, and how the city is addressing the issue by installing “magic boxes” which are the same as over passes, as far as I can tell. I got to my grandparents house, and after several hugs and a quick call home to confirm my safe arrival, I passed out for the night.
So in one 26 hour period (which is how long it took to get here), I spoke with a good friend, a grandmother, a physicist, an officer, three young professionals, and a cab driver. I wonder about all the other people I would have met if one of my flights had gotten delayed, or if I had a different seat on one of the planes. Travelling is such a strange and surreal experience – I feel that I completely lose touch with time and zone out for hours without noticing what’s going on. It’s a good way to transition between mindsets, because I think I need several hours of just sitting and doing nothing for my mind to really accept that I’m going to a new place. It’s almost as though the best way to approach a change is to think about nothing at all and let your mind get used to a new situation when you’re not paying attention. I wonder what it’ll be like in fifty years when travelling around the world will only take a few hours. I’m not sure if I think that will be a good thing. Sometimes I like to move slowly. Like Jack Johnson sang in that one song “slow down everyone, you’re moving too fast. Frames can’t catch you when you’re moving like that.”
I’ll be in Bangalore for a few days, and I’m looking forward to spending time with my grandmother and eating all the wonderful creations that come out of her kitchen. My plans for my time here have already changed, just as all my family warned me they would; I was hoping to go to Pavagada, the village where I’ll be staying, in two days but right now there is a case of “Chicken Gunaya” in the area. Both my uncle and aunt and have it, but it’s nothing too serious, and after they are healthy I will make my way over.
I already have many thoughts about my first ten hours here that I’d like to share, but I think it’s probably better to split things up so that this isn’t too long.
And here’s the soundtrack for my last-minute scramble around Ann Arbor in preparation for this trip. It came from Dave’s “Best of Motown” tape that was in his beautiful minivan. I owe both Dave and Nate big for all their help in the last week – “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
“Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelletes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nuEY6fQgzk
-Raj
Posted by avable at July 2, 2009 05:14 AM