July 29, 2008

As I board my return flight in New Delhi, I realize this trip seemed to move a lot quicker than Peru. But experiencing India was a wonderful thing. The largest culture shock for me was the transportation. Think the worst near death experience you have ever had driving in the States and imagine it happening every 30 seconds or so over the course of a 5 hour drive. There was a point where my driver decided it would be a good idea to drive down the middle of the road in between two container trucks going more than 50 mph on the highway in the dark with maybe 12 inches to spare on each side.

I began my trip by flying into New Delhi before driving to Agra where I met up with my friend Michael Rubenstein. Michael has been based in Mumbai for almost a year now and was kind enough to keep me out of trouble and show me the ropes a bit. Thanks to him I managed to avoid eating anything that would put me in the bathroom for days and I learned how to put my foot down if anyone tried to take advantage of me.

I got up around 4:45 each morning to catch a tuk tuk (auto rickshaw) over to the Taj Mahal. It is a stunning building that takes more than one viewing to truly appreciate. I was incredibly lucky to actually see some light in the morning, which is a rarity during monsoon season. The touts in Agra are very aggressive and the heat oppressive. India as a whole moves at a mind numbing pace, so after a few hours of shooting each morning I would return to the hotel, completely spent.

There was a small school in the backyard of my hotel and after an afternoon of watching the kids run around during recess I decided to wander over and see if they would let me visit for a bit. After a few minutes of explaining what I hoped to accomplish the powers that be granted permission and a wonderfully sweet woman guided me through the school, classroom to classroom. After a week of being barraged by people, I left the building with a huge smile, completely rejuvenated. The children had such an unbridled enthusiasm and the teachers seemed incredibly passionate, despite the lackluster teaching conditions. This marks the end of my first two-part assignment of the summer. Rumor has it there may be more travel ahead.

            

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