I have not been to Asia since I was eight years old on a family trip to the Philippines, so I was pretty excited to represent the work of my research team at a conference abroad in India. Aside from traveling across Europe throughout college, this experience became my first foray alone into the Far East. As a frequent flyer, I came prepared for the 15-hour plane ride across Europe and Asia—reading the “Divergent” series kept me somewhat entertained for a good chunk of the time.
The moments between landing in India and getting to my hotel were utter chaos. I landed in Mumbai learning that my negligent air carrier left my luggage back in Newark, NJ, so I was forced to live a week carrying only what I had in my laptop messenger bag. At first, I became incredibly irate with the travel agents who were filing my claim, but realized that this misfortune gave me the opportunity to learn to live with less for the time being. Side note: toilets in the airport were nonexistent—the bowel was replaced with a mere ceramic hole that lay surface level to the floor.
When I landed in Hyderabad (the “tech mecca” of India), I also encountered numerous language barriers with the taxi driver who tried to transport me to my hotel. Fun fact: the steering wheel for all vehicles in India is on the right side of the car. Of course, he spoke absolutely no English and his own car lacked a GPS. What was supposed to be a brief ride to my hotel lasted in two hours of confusing phone calls and random stops for soliciting directions from local vagabonds. And did I mention the lack of air conditioning under a triple degree heat wave? But that’s okay; I’ve been through much worse.
I eventually reached my hotel with my poster tube and laptop bag intact. In hindsight, most of my frustration and confusion on this week-long trip was front-loaded in the beginning—just getting here was half the battle. However, the rest of the week felt like smooth sailing, and I really enjoyed my stay.
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