The Patience of Traveling

It’s only three hours into a thirteen hour flight to Delhi, and I am already antsy. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my in-seatback entertainment system is not working. So I have opted to not try and relocate to a seat with a working video station, but instead write and read. To be honest, I have relied on the company of my feline family and film/TV entertainment for distraction, a lot more than I care to admit to.

Jinx, Scraps, Balu and Anukis politely tolerating me taking their pictures the day I left.

This particular journey has brought up memories of what I felt like when I first left my home in Jamaica to live on my own in a foreign country, England. I was still fifteen. It was hard to anticipate what I was going to feel, and as I boarded the plane in Kingston leaving behind everything that was familiar and that that I did not know I took for granted. I had some idea of what to expect in England, but that was like imagining yourself living in story that you once read about life on another planet. In hindsight, I could not anticipate the initial culture-shock that would trigger an anxiety attack a month into that first year in England. Nor could I understand that it is normal to be lonely and feel overwhelmed with the stimulus of managing new social customs, sights, sounds, smells and learning to build a routine so that I could focus on my objective rather than always “problem solving.”

I was born in Libra with Aries rising, but I am going with Libra for this reading. And I am hoping I can at least learn to pronounce the Sanskrit based script while in India.

I am not an avid follower of horoscopes, but in perusing the Air India in-flight magazine, my mind highlighted, "It will help you get some clarity on certain things. You will return happy and rejuvenated (misspelled in the magazine), with a zest for life." I can only hope that the open-ended writing of such predictions will cover me for this six month sojourn, and not just the current astral cycle.

The Fulbright office in Mumbai, have assured me that I should take my first night there to rest and we would dive into all paperwork, personal meetings, finding housing and setting up communications the following day. The hotel where they have me booked for seven days will send an airport pick up for me. I realized that as a touring performer, I was used to landing and heading straight into a welcoming and strategy meeting, as the turnaround on our work was very immediate, as opposed to having a week or more to consolidate options.

It's been a while since I've had to think about living out of what I can carry at once. At least I didn't have to fit everything and a tent into a backpack.

Packing… hopefully whatever is not in the bags can be picked up locally.

I like to think I plan ahead for most eventualities. In this instance, Fulbright India provided a handbook for Fellows in the program. This is a 200-odd page document that covers everything including contacts, procedures, and numerous annexures regarding a host of related topics like visa applications, reporting protocols, and bureaucratic paperwork for both the Indian government and

The collection of electronics that I use regularly is decidedly fascinating, when I realize I am bringing with me a considerable cornucopia of cables, chargers, adapters, etc.

For this trip, I finally broke down and bought an unlocked quad band smart phone for my local communication while out of the USA. For the last ten years I have used a very basic Nokia mobile that is pretty hopeless for texting and VoIP with apps like Skype and WhatsApp. Typically, when I have been traveling for work, it has been to work with a single organization, or serial engagements, but with this Fulbright-Nehru project, I will be working simultaneously with multiple institutions, and better telecommunications seems prudent. I have been wondering why this is such a begrudging upgrade for me.

As with all transitions from the familiar to the new, the requirement to re-learn how to setup and operate a mostly familiar device (like a smart phone) brings to mind the old adage, “if it ain’t broke…” And again I remind myself that I am not the first person to be going through this. Even so, I have also added-on to my USA mobile plan to allow me international texting and discounted calls in case of emergency.

This next paragraph is just to indulge my inner-Nerd…

It has become super critical to have access to electrical power to charge all of the aforementioned accoutrements of the digital age. And I was astonished to realize that my “old” collection of Targus plug adapters from the 90’s contained telephone line plugs for the days when “dial-up” was the only way to connect to the internet. I also found that my old “cheat sheet” of power adapters from Targus had an error in its listing for India, stating that it used the same standard as in the UK, WRONG! With a little online research I found that India did indeed adopt a standard originated by the UK, prior to 1947, and continues today with primarily using a Type D plug. Other countries in the once perpetually “sunny” British Empire did adopt the rectangular pronged standards post 1947, but not India. This aside also reminds me that India gained its independence from the British Empire in 1947.

Post script: establishing a consistent internet connection at my hotel has slowed my ability to publish this post.