Finally Here

I 'm in India!  After a very long and mundane 30 hours of traveling, I am finally sitting in my hotel room in Chennai.  

I was so nervous about the traveling part of this adventure, but my flights could not have gone more smoothly.  I arrived at the Salt Lake airport around 5:00 and went up to the counter to check in.  They gave me my boarding passes for every flight and made it so my bags would transfer without me having to go pick them up between flights.  Everything from there was a breeze.

I landed in Chicago, then Frankfurt, and finally Chennai.  The whole experience was a bit unreal. It was so strange to be flying for so long and so far.  One of the overwhelming emotions I faced was a sense of isolation. It's interesting to feel so alone when there are so many people around. I had a moment in the Frankfurt airport where I couldn't connect to the internet, so I was unable to talk to my family.  I felt so frustrated and lonely in that moment. However, I realized it was a very temporary situation, and I got up and explored the airport.  

A huge statue in the Frankfurt Airport.

A little makeup shop that kept me entertained.

The fanciest McDonalds I've ever seen.  I went and sat in there at the Frankfurt airport for a little while because I found it comforting to be around all the Americans in there.  Weird, I know.

So far, Chennai is incredible. The airport was actually fairly calm and normal.  My bags all arrived here without any problems, so I headed outside to find my driver.  It was crazy! There were people everywhere.  They had set up these railings, like they use at movie premiers to seperate the crowds from the red carpet.  So there was a path along the railing and then right through the middle. On the other side of the railing were hundreds of people all yelling and holding up signs.  Most of them were drivers for passengers or were taxi drivers trying to get some passengers.  It was completely surreal and so strange.  Luckily, my driver was there holding up my name (the sign said Mr. Berlyn Prince, which I thought was funny). I was so happy to see him. He was so polite and friendly, despite having waited there for almost two hours because my flight was delayed.  He brought me here to the hotel, where the incredibly helpful staff checked me in.  I felt so dumb when they were talking to me, because they do things so differently and I didn't understand their instructions a lot of the time,but we got through it.

My hotel room is so beautiful.

The view out my window.  Look at this place.  This is the perfect example of Chennai.  It's so crazy and dirty, but look at those beautiful fabrics hanging out to dry.  There is beauty amidst the chaos.

Another shot out the window. It's amazing.

Well I have to go grab some breakfast because my Rising Star driver will be here in about an hour to take me to campus. This is incredible! I love you all and am thinking about you.