The Journey

Hello readers,

I'm coming to you live from the computer room at St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute in Kottayam, Kerala, India. More information about the program will be coming soon, but right now I'm just to tired to think about all of that, so you'll have to bear with me. Instead, let's do something easier: recap the trip and first impressions.

The Trip

The first 14 hour leg - from Houston to Doha, Qatar - was, as you would expect, incredibly long. Thankfully, after a couple of melatonin pills and a tylenol pm, I could hardly stay awake. In fact, I probably slept a good six or seven hours total. The rest of the flight was made more interesting by some good conversations with the Bangladeshi man next to me and the abundance of crying children on the flight (I've never seen so many children on one plane before)...

The next phase of the trip was my five-hour layover in Qatar, during which time I drank a Pepsi, used up alot of the battery power on the netbook by getting on Facebook, etc., and read on the Kindle.

The 4.5 hour flight from Doha to Cochin was excellent. I was told at boarding that because the flight was full, I had been moved to Business class. Score! Business Class? This was like a beautiful unknown land to me, with its reclining seats complete with footrests, dedicated service from the flight attendants, a meal that was served on a legitimate plate, with about five articles of silverware... yes, I was living large. My seat neighbor, Thomas, who currently lives in Manchester, England by grew up in Kottayam, my destination, was also quite friendly and helpful.

Upon landing in India, I was soon reminded of the realities of the developing world: inefficient customs agents, irritating out-of-order ATMs, and the strange sensation of stepping outside of the airport to bustling crowds and honking vehicles. After hiring a taxi, I experienced the honking vehicle phenomenon firsthand. My driver probably hit the horn as much as the gas petal (which was also quite frequently), and for two hours, we wove our way through the two lane curvy roads of Kerala to arrive in Kottayam.

Note: Kerala really is a beautiful place. It's described this way in tourbooks, but it really is the case. Pictures will be forthcoming, I can assure you. However, one jarring feature of the area that can clash with this natural beauty is the abundance of billboards. You'll be cruising past a lovely valley with pineapple plants or banana trees, when all of a sudden, a 10x20 version of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be smiling at you trying to sell you something. Or, in another case, you may encounter a billboard featuring a grinning young Indian fellow with a blonde European on one arm and a brunette on the other advertising "Learn English Fast".

In all honesty, though, what's really jarring is the sheer number of people out and about, even in what seem to be small towns or rural areas. And this is replicated all over India, and around the world. It's mind-blowing to think about. My world really is quite small.