One of the harsher pieces of feedback that I was given this term was to “stop identifying so much as a consultant” (and with my former employer). As I prepared for this trip to India, I felt those old habits dying hard. Determined to pack only a carry-on, I dutifully bought detergent and a clotheslines, rolled my clothes carefully in my sturdy little rolly bag, and packed my liquids and half my medicine cabinet into my backpack. Netbook charged, ipod loaded, and Bose headphone case packed with spare batteries. I had made it to China for 3 months with only a carry-on – I'd do it again!
The polite Cathay Pacific gate agent burst my confident up-in-the-air bubble, informing me that my little bag was 2x the weight limit (Seriously, a 7 kg limit? My school bag weighs that much on a good day). So 45 minutes into my journey, my hopes of confidently rolling around the airport George Clooney-style were dashed.
Airplane rides, if done well, are usually uneventful. You watch crappy movies and TV shows that you wouldn't normally (NB: Steven Moffat's modern-day Sherlock Holmes is actually somewhat awesome). You get fed every few hours with totally unnecessary trays of individually packaged food that all tastes vaguely the same. After an interminable time (shorter if you can sleep), you emerge bleary-eyed into a bustling airport. After a quick meal (I had REALLY wanted soup dumplings at the Hong Kong Airport, but those restaurants were past immigration – although I still have a Chinese visa...), it's back to your next plane, your next flight, your next meals, your next nap, and apparently a quarantine spray of the cabin before landing.
My first impression of India was one of wide-eyed confusion – how was I going to meet A., who was picking us up? However, after a quick moment of “what have I gotten myself into?” I located the telephone booth, made my two rupee call, got the change to pay for it, and was able to find my benefactor. A fellow travelers' delayed flight left us sitting in the cool night air and soft lights of the towering modern airport waiting, slowly waking up to the morning. By 7 AM Bangalore time, we were at our hosts', coffee'ed, chocolate'd, and ready to face the day.
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