Travel Log

5/25/06
Kim, Alexia and my mom came with me to the airport. The man at the ticket counter said “your bags are a little overweight but..” and he didn’t charge me! Also, he told me that my bags were checked all the way to Bangalore!!! I was way pumped about that! Kim gave me the book she put together with pictures and notes from friends. I definitely treasure it. On the flight to LA I sat next to a nice lady who has just recently been to Bangalore! Who could’ve arranged something so perfect. ;) Dad came and picked me up from the airport and we went to eat. I had my last big American meal: a chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and string beans. After our visit, my friend Courtney came and we went to In N’ Out to visit over a tasty shake. We realized that it had been about 3 years since we last saw each other! She then took me to the airport and I waited for the Hong Kong flight. It ended leaving a little after 2am. I was SO exhausted that I couldn’t do anything but think about sleeping.

5/26/06
While on the plane I was able to get some pretty good rest. I slept for most of the 14.5 hour plane ride. We did not make up time in the air for the time we lost by leaving late and so I missed my connecting flight to Bangkok. Luckily there was another flight that left that afternoon.

5/27/06
While in the Hong Kong airport I spent some time watching CNN and learned of the 6.2 earthquake that killed thousands in Indonesia. I realized that I was a lot closer to that part of the world and it made it seem even more real. Indonesia has experienced so much destruction recently. I pray that though their land may be ravaged, they would call on the One True God for their salvation of their physical bodies and most importantly, their souls. To pass the time I also worked on lesson plans, tried to contact Rita, chatted with Alexia and Krista online and ate Burger King. A Russian man came up to me after I sat down to eat and told me that I was “expensive and beautiful.” I don’t think he meant to tell me I was expensive. The interaction was a little awkward. I’m glad it didn’t last long. Afterward, I was off to Bangkok!

While descending I could see the beautiful tropical land of Thailand. I had lots of time to kill in Bangkok but not enough to go out and explore. I went into the restroom and a man followed me in. I thought he might have mistaken it for the men’s restroom thinking that I, the foreigner, had it wrong, but he kept coming back in and was walking all around. It was pretty obvious to me that this was the women’s restroom but he didn’t seem to get it. I thought “what is this man still doing in here? He’s got to know it’s the woman’s restroom and now he’s acting a little freaky.” He was looking around, took a pair of glasses off the sink and then left. So that explains why he might not have been able to see so well, but what were his glasses doing in the woman’s restroom? I got a kick out of it.

I had so much time to kill and so I listened to Yvonne Honeycutt’s 3 hour long message that I missed while taking Perspectives. While she was talking about God’s heart for the nations I looked around and realized that the nations were sitting all around me. I was sitting in Thailand amongst Afghans, Indians, Chinese, Thai, and Europeans. It was a pretty surreal experience. Most interesting were the Afghan women in their burkas with only their eyes, hands and feet showing through. They looked SO mysterious that I couldn’t help but keep staring.

As I waited for the last plane ride before I finally arrived at my destination, I was so tired that I kept falling asleep and bobbing my head up and down. One minute I was awake and the next I knew my head was jerking back up from the brief sleep my body so desperately wanted. I was going to try to stay awake for the next plane ride but my body could not take it. I slept for most of the 3.5 hours.

We finally arrived in Bangalore! I was surprised at how small, dirty and unfinished the airport was. Thanks be to God, my bags were not lost after 2 days of being transferred from flight to flight. After I lugged 150 pounds of luggage onto my cart I went out into the masses to try and find Rita, the principal of the school, who I had never met. Luckily, I look a lot different than most of those in India and Rita picked me out easily. Our driver found us and took us to the car. He loaded my luggage into the van as two other Indian men tried to help him hoping to get a few rupees. The driver then took us to the George’s place. I was so surprised by their place. It practically looks like a mansion compared to it’s surroundings. We were greeted by two dogs, which seems to be rampart along the streets of India, and two men who were staying at the house. I learned that one of them is Vornald, the “head of the house” and the other is a student at ACA. As I understand it the “head of the house” takes care of the house and I guess those who stay in it as well. The two of them served me a snack and then Rita and I went to sleep. I was so excited to finally, after about 45 hours of travel, lay flat on a bed and sleep! I didn’t even care that it was about as hard as the floor. It felt so good!

In the morning I was awakened by “Madam! Are you okay?” It took me a second to realize where I was and why someone was calling me Madam. Vornald served me a breakfast of cold eggs, toast and jam, pepsi and water. It is VERY strange to be served so often. I imagine that it won’t be the same in the village and so I might as well enjoy it while I get adjusted.

All in all, the entire trip was VERY long but it went so smoothly! God was truly my protector and gracious provider. I am very excited to be here and I look forward to exploring and getting acquainted with Incredible India.