One thing I just remembered: India and poverty. There are still poor people in India. Really poor sometimes. But during the time I was in Kolkata this time around, I was not approached one time by a poor person for money. Maybe they have honed their marketing strategy with all the non-Indians around. I'm overlooked due to my ability to blend in almost seamlessly. This used to happen a lot, especially if you were in a car and the car stopped at an intersection. The car was a sign of wealth. Now that there are cars everywhere, it's hard to tell if this even happens anymore. But it finally happened, at a traffic light near the airport. My mom did her usual and handed over a little bit of money. My mother has a soft heart.
We finally headed away from the traffic light and into the airport area. Kolkata airport is incredible. This airport used to be a small building with a single security point. In fact, a previous blog post has a photo and sort of funny description of the old airport (clearly indicating the need for a new one). I flew in and out of Kolkata in 2010. If they could build this airport in 9 years, I'm pretty sure they can build some amazing roadway infrastructure. Go India!
A couple of observations and experiences at the airport and the hotel before I forget. First of all, I was stopped in security because they insisted that I had a battery in my backpack. It turned out to be my jump rope (hey, I can at least try and exercise a little while I'm away missing my HIIT classes...sad face). The reason I'm bringing this up is that I had to handle that entire interaction speaking not in Bengali or English, but Hindi. There is a lot of value in knowing basic conversational skills in other languages. I mean, it is so cool that I can do that now. Thank you to anyone who ever had the patience to sit through me learning some Hindi. Mostly my mother in law, who was, fortunately, a Hindi teacher. LOL.
Along these same lines, while we were in the hotel, there was a front desk guy helping a customer with a phone call. The front desk guy first started speaking in English, then Bengali, and the customer asked him to speak in Hindi, which he was able to do. I mean cool. The average person in India can probably handle at least two languages with ease. It's always been inspiring to me.
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| The ceiling of the airport, artsy like Bengalis are |
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| Where I'm headed |
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| The new terminal |
Into Mumbai
There was a 30 minute delay getting into Mumbai due to air traffic congestion. I finally got out to meet my in-laws, who live here. I will hang out with them for a few days before the final leg of this crazy trip. Next update: a trip to the mall in suburban Mumbai...surprises everywhere.
