Initial Reaction: Everything I expected

India was everything I expected when I arrived the next night. Rain storms hailing in the beginning of the monsoon season, mangoes signaling in the beginning of the mango season, cars weaving in and out. India smells fresh and humid, almost like Vietnam.

Wheeling and dealing: JFK, Terminal 4

JFK airport was funny. I’ve never experienced Terminal 4, JFK like I did on May 21, 2008. After finding that my direct flight to New Delhi, India was cancelled and rerouted, I had three hours in my possession. The terminal is split into two levels; a pit and an upper level. Tel Aviv, London, Buenos Aires, Mumbai flights were that night, and the pit was brimming with ethnicity and fabric. It was apparent I was not in the U.S. when I went to compare the rates at the foreign exchange booth. The conversation with the man at the booth was hilarious because I was having it in JFK Airport and not in India or Vietnam. It went something like this…

“How much do you want to exchange?”

“$200”

“Exchange more and I can get you a deal. See here.” (pointing to a leaflet)

“Alright, what about $300? And what’s the fee?”

“The fee is $6, but for you, $3.”

“What?! Can you do that? You just can’t do that. It doesn’t make sense. What about $2 then or $1.45?”

“I’m trying to give you a deal. You don’t want a deal?”

I hesistated, trying to think of the loop hole.

“Ok, ok, ok. I need to get more money…”

“I will be waiting” (smile)

[interlude while I went to pull more money and to think]

“I forgot to ask, what is the exchange rate?”

“36 rupees to 1 dollar”

“What? No way. Its rupees to 1 dollar”

“Where did you look? Hotel rates? Those are incorrect.”

“It’s supposed to be 40 rupees to 1 dollar. I’m planning on exchanging in Delhi. Just tell me, should I exchange everything in Delhi?” (smile)

Yassuf smiles back and leans in closer to the plastic pane.

“I am supposed to tell you to exchange here because I work here, but since you are so nice, I will tell you to exchange in Delhi. You can get at least 40 rupees at the airport, and even better on the streets, blackmarket, 42 rupees. Is someone coming to get you? They would know where. Look, now you know, what you are supposed to get. It’s between 40-42 rupees. Here, I was trying to save you some money on the fee.”

The advice was helpful and proved to be correct later on. As I walked up and down Terminal 4 pit, Indians from Mumbai or Delhi asked me if I was going to India or how to use international phone cards. An Indian man offered me his driver to where I needed to go when I landed. At the Lacome station, I got a free hand and face massage. Moisturized and relaxed I was ready for the 12 hour flight towards Delhi according to the masseuse.

Pre-Intro: Are you leaving?? No, I'm not

I missed my plane flight out of SLC to JFK to India. The month leading up to this trip was packed full of everything but lunches. I wrapped up 5 years of undergraduate work, 3 years of cancer research, sent lab equipment and, more importantly, data, to Toronto, squished in medical school paperwork, emergency root canal, and India pre-departure tasks up until my pseudo last night in SLC. So when I realized my plane had taken off without me, I felt stunned, then calm and strangely anti-climatic.

I really needed to miss that plane flight, though. If I was coming to India for two months, I couldn’t leave my brain in Utah. I needed to be mentally prepared to leave, be focused, to learn and to work in India if I was going get the best of this tremendous experience. The day I was supposed to be sleeping on Air India was the best day I spent in SLC in two months.