destination

Hello again everyone! 

It is approaching midnight here now and I am so so so turned around about what time it is! 

I thought you all might be interested in a full recap of my journey, and of course my initial impressions of the city :)

Here we go... 

The friend I made on my super long flight was asking me some general questions about what I was doing this year, and I told him that I was working with a human rights NGO. He has been in the US for the past 8 years but was returning home to South Asia for the first time to see his family and be where he grew up. Anyways, he was super nice and gave me the lowdown on a lot helpful things. He also bought me a Swarovski crystal pen from the Sky Mall to have as a token of thanks for coming to his country to help people. It was really kind. 

I got to my second city inside the country and had an 11 hour layover in front of me. I had a little scare basically getting scammed into giving this man money at 3 am who made me get in a car with him to go to an ATM, but crisis was averted and I got out alive. I can give you a better explanation via email if you're interested. So for the rest of my layover I got eaten by mosquitos, sat on top of a cart on top of all my bags, checked out the new kind of bathroom (an experience in itself) and then I saw this sign in front of me and knew that the day was going to get better: An Airport Spa! I made the judicious decision to get a facial because it had been like 3 days since I was able to wash my face and I knew it would help pass the time and make me feel cleaner. Best decision of the day hands down. My last flight was only 2 hours and I slept through the whole thing. When I landed, I couldn't believe that the day had come, I was here, and that I wasn't leaving for almost a year. Both bags came in fine (slash RIP the side zipper of one of them Mrs. Arrington..) and I had no problem contacting the other girl intern who was picking me up. The office driver took me to the flat of two other interns, where I am staying for 2 weeks until my roommate gets back so that I am not alone at the beginning.

My first impressions (I am definitely going to get photos up of all these things as soon as I can)

-People who warned me about cows walking around everywhere were NOT kidding. We passed about 100 of them on the street/sidewalk just coming back from the airport

-The driving is RIDICULOUS! There are no side mirrors really, no lanes, no organization whatsoever, and the taxi drivers just go in and out like maniacs. I hear you get used to it

-It is extremely hot!

-I keep getting the feeling that I am on a jungle safari trip, I'm not sure why. I also feel like I am in a dream and I am going to wake up in Greensboro tomorrow.

-Also, as far as a visual of the city, all I have seen so far is crazy lanes, buildings everywhere, carts/tents/TONS of people sitting on the side of the road selling things. There were also a few babies walking around in diapers or naked just playing in the mud on the street

-The food is extremely cheap- I went to a restaurant and got a sandwich for like $1.30 or something

-Everyone in the office, Katherine and Aimee are all extremely nice. I am getting excited about my first day of work on Monday. More updates to come! Tomorrow I am going to go around and sort of get acclimated and begin my search for a blow dryer! Obviously.

Love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers! This jet lag is going to be intense..

xoxox