The non-West again!

I made it! After more than 24 hours of driving, flying and sitting, I found myself here in New Delhi. Just moments after getting off the plane, I was once again immersed in the strange and exciting world of the non-West… and I love it! I think…

You know, returning to the developing world is a little bit like jumping into a freezing lake after not swimming for three years. First there is the shocking cold, then trying to remember how to swim, but eventually it all starts to come back. Right now, however, I think I’m still trying to catch my breath! Ok ok… can’t take that analogy much farther (besides... it's really hot here). Here’s what I’ve been up to:

A couple of the guys from Truthseekers met me at the airport. I had to search hard to find them. Mainly because there were literally hundreds of other people holding name cards, but also because I didn’t know any of them and my name was spelled “Barry Rodrgue” or something. Close enough.

After we met up, we piled into a car and drove to Sunil’s house. Now, if you’ve never driven in the developing world, you probably don’t have any concept of just how crazy the driving is. Let me see if I can capture it…

In Kenya I was always a bit shocked and amused to see how close people drove to one another. There were no such things as lanes. Horns honking, squeezing in between other cars, pedestrians crossing in the middle of it all… It was crazy. But believe me when I say that Indian driving puts Kenyan driving to shame. Read the third paragraph of this old post, then imagine all of that at speeds of 50 or 60 mph!

Today was spent mostly sitting around the Truthseekers office, meeting the staff, reading… I suspect it’s going to be laid back like this for a little while. I do know that on Monday, Sunil will be taking me with him to travel out into the rural areas, and on the 27th, we will be doing some actual cross-country travel (taking airplanes and busses, etc.). Looking forward to that.

Please keep me in your prayers. I’m adjusting to a new schedule, a new diet, a new environment and new relationships. Needless to say, it’s a bit draining!

Otherwise, I’ll talk to you all later!

p.s. If you are interested in audio or video chatting with me some time, my Skype name is “islaywombats.” Who knows how good the connection will be, but at least it's free...