First Impressions

Hello!
I made it! And I can't really believe I'm here. I got into the Hyderabad airport at about 11:15 PM. The flight was nice - it was Lufthansa again - and I managed to sleep through a lot of it. I just followed the crowd through the airport and got through customs and to the baggage claim. It took almost a half hour for my suitcase to finally appear. Then I walked into the exit room which was just filled with people. Fortunately I found the "Isabella Esler" sign quickly and met Dr. Ram who took me to the car driven by someone else from AVRDC.

It was about an hour drive, and it was pretty crazy. The driver sits on the right side of the car and you drive on the left side of the street. Except the street lines seemed more like vague guidelines than anything. People don't really use turn signals, they just honk. The landscape outside changed so quickly, too, from the relatively nice airport to plain freeway to driving through a city street with tents and shacks and slums on either side. And then, suddenly, the gated, guarded entrance to the ICRISAT campus. We pulled in and I registered my laptop, and then in the office, and then was escorted to my dorm in the "Sorghum" building. (All the dorm buildings are named after ICRISAT crops). It's pretty basic, but bigger than what I assume my dorm will be at college in a few months. There's a bed, desk, closet, and TV (which doesn't work, though), phone, screened sun room. Bathroom is right outside around the corner. No air conditioning, but most places don't here, and there is a ceiling fan which keeps it pretty comfortable.

The next morning I met Dr. Ram at 7:30 AM (9:30 PM at home!) for breakfast. I got my first look at the campus, which is beautiful. There are nice green lawns and fancy white fences, wide stone walk- and stairways, beautiful trees. The canteen is buffet style, and I thought I might ease my way into the food here with a bowl of cornflakes, toast, and a banana. The milk was hot (for sanitation purposes) but it was actually pretty good. Then Dr. Ram gave me a walking tour of the campus - it's huge, 2,000 acres I think. I saw other dorms, the permanent living spaces, a lake, the pool and recreational center, the green houses, the medical center and bank, the regional offices for things like AVDRC... It was pretty empty, though, as it was the weekend. There were a few people riding around on mopeds or bikes (Dr. Ram warned me to be careful of traffic, since drivers just don't yield for pedestrians). There are a lot of cool birds here, and I've seen a bunch of lizards, two wild cats, and some frogs. There is also a really cute white fluffy dog in the reception office. I'm hoping to see a peacock and monkey at some point.

Dr. Ram met me again for lunch, tea (chai - delicious) and dinner. He is really nice, helpful and patient - I feel like I am asking redundant and sort of silly questions, as well as getting the directions down slowly. I'm attributing it to jet-lag. In between meals I got to nap, read, walk around outside my self, and try to stay awake.

One of the best parts of campus is the mango trees right outside the dorm buildings. There are different varieties, all smaller than the ones I was used to. Dr. Ram showed me which ones were the best. Apparently it's the end of the season, so people are out all the time gathering mangoes. I had one to eat and it was delicious. Every time a moderate breeze blows by, a couple fruits just drop off. I've started anticipating hearing the thuds from my room.

This morning, I met Dr. Ram for breakfast again and then we went to the AVRDC office, where I was given my own cubicle and laptop! I'm not entirely sure what to be doing right now, so I thought I would update this. While I have internet access in my room, unfortunately my laptop died and they didn't have a converter that fit the charger plug. But I think I'll be getting one soon. And even so, it's not a big deal since I now have this access at work and they have computers that are for public use in the campus office. I'm just hoping to get my laptop working sort of soon so I can use Skype again.

I hope things are well at home! I miss everyone.
-Izzy