Incredible India!

Wow! I'm finally here!  After over a year of planning, I have finally reached India!  My direct flight from Chicago to India was very uneventful.  Of course, it's not super easy to sit for 13 and a half hours, but between watching a couple episodes of 30 rock, reading my book (In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India - pretty good so far), some games of solitaire, and a little bit of sleeping, the flight flew by (pun intended).

The first thing that hit me when I stepped out of the plane was the smell.  The thick air of spices and dust seemed to envelope me as I walked to customs and immigration.  Thanks to my dad's best friend who is the #2 guy in the Delhi police force, I was out of the aiport very fast.  My cousin Monu, his wife Yakshi, and their 5 year old daughter Kamya came to pick me up.  Monu is my late uncle's son.  Their family (and my aunt, Monu's mom) live right across the bazaar from us, so we are very close to them.  Kamya is a spunky little girl with so much energy!  We have already played many games, sung songs, etc.  She's a hoot!  Yakshi is 7 months into her pregnancy....I'll be in India when she is due!  I'm so excited to see the "Chotaa baby" (which means "small baby")!

The most amazing part of my last day and a half has been spending time with my grandmother, or "Biji" as everyone calls her.  Biji is 93 years old, and still fiesty and sharp as ever!  I came downstairs this morning, and the first thing she asked me before I ate was "Did you brush your teeth?"  Nothing gets past that woman.  I have been spending the majority of my time with her and her butler, Raj, listening to Biji's stories about my dad, hearing the gossip of the family and practicing my Hindi now and then.  It's a wonderful feeling.

After some shopping today with Yakshi and Kamya, I started to observe and recall many of things that make up the Indian "way of life."  For instance - there is always an overabundance of people for everything.  Wherever you go, it is always crowded!  In every store, there are A LOT of sales people waiting to help you.  At the salon where Yakshi and I got our hair cut, there was one person brushing my hair and one person holding the hair dryer at the same time!  Another thing I forgot - they drive on the other side of us!  I got a little chuckle from the driver when I tried to get into the car on the driver side (I thought it was the passenger side!).

One last little morsel - today Monu Bhaiya came to visit me before he went to his offices (catering business and Reebok franchise).  I heard him talking on his iPhone, and he said something in Hindi, but then said "Obama." I didn't understand, so I asked him what he said.  He told me someone at his shop called him and told him to hurry up and come to the office, to which he replied 'What, do you have a meeting with Obama?" Haha - I found out this is a saying in India when someone is trying to rush unneccesarily.  Fancy that...Obama is famous everywhere around the world!