Drive to Dharmshala

After almost not making it through immigration (did not know the name of the hotel I was staying at OR a staff member's phone number) forgetting what my luggage looked like and picking up 3 stranger's bags, and believing the GLA group left the airport without me- I made it safe, sound, and successfully to New Delhi, India.

Even at night the heat was incredibly oppressive and the humidity gave the air a certain heaviness, like weights where sitting on your shoulders. I still had an awesome first impression of India and the wild hustle and bustle of Delhi traffic. After an incredible first night of meeting all the kids I'd be spending 3 weeks with came the dreaded 12 hour ride up north to Dharmshala. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and was actually a great way to spend the first full day because we got to know one another really well and get a glimpse at rural and urban Indian life from our windows. It was difficult driving through the slums and seeing children sleeping in dirt or even trash piles as well as laborers slaving away in the sun. It wasn't just a town or a couple streets of this, it was miles upon miles that amounted into hours and hours.

Indian driving cannot even be considered a skill, but an art form or even a sport of extreme difficulty. Our driver was weaving between gutsy cows, aggressive pedestrians, motorcycles with three passengers, bicycles, little tuk-tuk taxis, compact cars, tractors, buses, and raw material transport trucks. By weaving I mean going into the next lane headed towards on-coming traffic and just at the very last second swerving back into the proper side of the road just to get ahead of a little taxi. It added a big thrill factor to the ride, especially when we were inches away from other vehicles (the roads there are SO narrow). It took cutting off to a WHOLE 'nother level.

The drive highlighted a really interesting aspect of India, the countries still very traditional but is modernizing. There were Coca-Cola signs right next to a small food hut selling local produce, or women in saris wearing Nike sneakers, and even fields of men plowing (with oxes) next to power plants and factories. That was an aspect I found fascinating throughout my entire trip, Indian's without running water had satellite dishes or cell phones.

Seeing 12 hours of Indian people, land, and life made me realize how fortunate I was to have a home with so many pleasures simply because I was born into it, I could of grown up so differently but instead I got lucky. Realizing this shaped my attitude for the rest of the trip and made me determined to make a change.

here are some pictures from the drive!