Stacy Does India

My journey began in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon. My flight from SF to Frankfurt, Germany took nearly 11 hours. I slept for a few hours, ate “dinner” and watched a few movies: Over the Hedge, Take the Lead, and Stick It. Over the Hedge was cute and funny, Take the Lead couldn’t keep my attention because I fell asleep right in the middle of it, and I wish I would have slept through Stick It. It was lame.

I arrived in Germany on Thursday at 9:30am local time, who knows what time that was for me! I was tired, and little disoriented, as it took me three attempts to find the train that would take me to Terminal B. After finding my departure gate successfully, I took a few minutes to call home and let my parents know that I had made it to Germany safely.

The flight to Hyderabad was over 8 hours, and I luckily slept most of the way. Immigration and customs at the Hyderabad Airport was pretty easy, and I recovered both of my bags with ease. I pushed my cart-o-luggage out the double doors and was greeted by heat, humidity, and one of our drivers holding a “Welcome Stacy Hartman” sign and a long handmade flower lei of sorts. We packed my luggage into the small white car, I sat in the front seat on the left side of the car (so weird!) and we were off!

The drive to my house took about 25 minutes, and boy was it an adventure! Cars share the roads with pedestrians, bicyclists, rickshaws, autorickshaws, stray dogs, and large tractors. If traffic laws exist, certainly no one follows them. Let’s just say, I’m glad I we have good drivers and that I’ll never be expected to drive a car in this city!

We arrived at my house close to 1:00am local time. The security guard greeted us, and woke up one of the house attendants to let us in. The house has 4 bedrooms and is brand new. There are marble floors, tall ceilings, and neat archways. My room is the only bedroom on the first floor, and I have my own bathroom. The room is very clean and has its own air conditioner, which is nice. I have lots of closet space (thank goodness, right Mom?), my own TV, and mini fridge. I haven’t explored the 2^nd level yet, as my housemates were all asleep last night when I arrived. I’m sure I’ll get the full tour later today.

I couldn’t go to sleep last night without contacting my family and Sean, so I got online, chatted with Sean and asked him to call my parents (because they were expecting to hear from me). It was nice to get in touch, and let everyone know that I’d arrived safely.

I slept surprisingly well last night for nearly 6 hours or so. I did a little unpacking this morning, showered, and decided that I’d head into the office since I was feeling so perky! I met one of my housemates, Alysia, and she and I walked to the office together this morning (about a 10 minute walk).

Since being here, I’ve met a lot of people! Everyone is very friendly, and welcoming. I’m not going to last all day, in fact, as I type I’m getting more and more tired. I'm glad I have this weekend to adjust to the time change, and recover from my case of jetlag.

It’s good to finally be here. I am excited for the challenges and adventures that lie ahead. I hope to make my house here my home away from home. I’ve taken a few pictures, and promise to upload them soon so you all can see what I’m talking about!