I am finally heading home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are not enough exclamation points to emphasize how excited I am to be leaving India and going home!
Let me back up just a bit to our 30 hour train adventure the past few days.
After getting to the train station in New Delhi, we only had to wait about an hour before boarding the train. I was with almost my same comrades from all our other sleeper trains, except Camille wasn't there because her and Stephanie flew from New Delhi back to Hyderabad. They did not want to do another sleeper train, understandable. I just didn't want to spend any more money so I stuck with the train. I also got to have a great last day of only bonding with everyone (because what else can you do on a train?) so I can't complain at all.
Well anyway, Camille wasn't there, so that seat had been available for sale. This happened to us last time, that a stranger ended up in our cubby, but we offered him a different seat so we could all be together and it wasn't a big deal, but this time, he outright said "no" which left us a bit of a shock. Why do you want to be surrounded by 5 English speaking people who are going to talk all night? I'd personally find us annoying. But we got one of the RC and he sorted it out for us, because honestly I just didn't want a stranger in that close of quarters with us while sleeping that they could steal our things. Well, we got our wish and he was off. We played a game of life, simultaneously a game of Cards Against Humanity was going on, when both were done all of us say together and chatted until lights out at 10:30ish, when I promptly passed out. I slept until about 6:30 where I was wide awake, so I read for a while. Right when I was falling back asleep, I was shook awake to eat breakfast (it's been sitting in a box since we got on the train, it could have continued sitting while I slept, but whatever). After eating (not a good last breakfast in India, BTW, since it had been sitting as earlier noted, but that's ok), I crawled back up into my penthouse cubby and finished Gone Girl, good book. I finished just in time for lunch, and now everyone was kind of awake again. We played Cards Against Humanity, which is kind of funny for me being the only person with English as their first language, and also half the cards are of things only existing in America so no one else understood, like GoGurt and lunchables. I know it's really immature, but this finally made me feel smart, since this whole time people are able to switch in and out of tongues, 2,3,4 languages some people, with no problem, and I'm just over here like "yeah I speak English, not even really that good of English, and I've dabbled in Italian so I'll pretend that counts" wishing I knew some other languages as well as they do.
At this point some people gave up and napped some more, including myself. I woke up in time for dinner (cookies, more of a snack), packing up, and really having it sink in that some people are leaving for good now.
When we arrive in Hyderabad, we retrieved our luggage we stored in the bag claim -- mine was still there, yes!! My luggage lock strap thing, however, had the code cracked and was unhooked, but I wonder if I left the code set and it just came apart. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one because there was literally nothing in there worth stealing unless they were into dirty dress pants. Unfortunately, I noticed a big huge mark on the top, and it was none other than (what I hope is) bird poop! And I'm not talking a little poopie, I'm talking a smear the size of my hand. Like if it wasn't white and green I'd think it was dog or human and I'd have been far too grossed out but dried bird I can handle.
We said our goodbyes to everyone who was headed straight to the airport, and the rest of us boarded he bus to the hotel the RC booked for those of us who needed accommodations.
Oh side note I forgot to mention earlier. One of the RC came and found me around lunch time saying they had recorded a call from Camille. Her and Steph had decided to stay at another hotel, one they had stayed at before World Congress, which is totally fine, except: 1. the ride to the hotel everyone else is at is provided to us. This hotel is really far away, and they aren't willing to bring me there, so I will need to take a taxi. 2. The hotel is even farther from the airport than the one everyone else is staying at, and does not have an airport shuttle bus stop near by like the other, so I would need a taxi to the airport in the morning, 60-90 minutes long. Now, neither of these is a big deal, except for the fact that I only have 95 rupees to my name. I was able to spend perfectly that I had just enough to get myself home assuming we were staying at the same airport as everyone else. Steph was booking a room for 2 nights but actually only staying for 1, I was giving her money for the second (USD) night so Camille could stay in the same room and I could just go jump in to shower and sleep a little before heading out in the morning. I have plenty of USD, but no rupees. Again, not a problem, if the train station has an exchange counter or an ATM, I can get more rupees. Naturally, of course neither of those things exist, and we get in late that anything else isn't open, so basically, getting to Camille and Steph isn't an option, long story short.
Luckily, Bec (Australia) and Bethany (UK) are willing to let me come crash their room, use the shower, etc., so I can stay with everyone, not need money, and have an easy way to the airport. I am so so thankful for them seriously. Now my 95 rupees wasn't quite enough; the bus to the airport costs 200, bur luckily Bec collects foreign currency and changes me $5 for like 180ish to get me through which is great and I again am so thankful for her.
I realize after looking at the bus times that I'm going to need to be on the 5:30 bus. It's already almost 9:30, were just getting to the hotel, haven't had dinner, need to all shower, and repack, and I napped on the train in the afternoon, so I decide to stay awake to make sure I don't miss he bus and sleep through r and miss my flight, because he airport is about an hour away and the buses only come every hour and I can't afford to miss one.
Bec and Bethany got sarees they needed the tops made for, and someone from the hotel said that a tailor was still open, so we set out for it. However, they were clearly closed, so that journey ended real quick. We ran into some other students from our group, who were all heading for dinner -- there was a KFC below the restaurant!!!! So, of course we went there for dinner (they accepted credit cards which was great, so I was able to really eat for the first time in way too long). We enjoyed it way too much, and basically our entire group was there. Before the rest of our group joined, it was just the three of us, and one of the men working, who had very good English, asked us how Indian KFC was compared to home, and if we would mind taking a picture with their staff. Normally I am so annoyed when people ask us that, but he was so nice and the staff was so attentive (in a KFC?) that we were like yeah sure. And when basically our whole group walked in, we made them all take it too, and it truly made the staffs day. They didn't mind staying open for us to have dinner past closing.
When we got back, our group chilled in the common area of our floor for quite a while, no one really wanting to say goodbye, because once we went to bed we knew we were all leaving at various times over the next 12 hours so goodnight was goodbye. We stayed out there until about 2:00AM, which made my night a little bit easier because I only had to keep myself awake 3 hours after that. I re packed to make everything fit in my backpack and my now even more broken darn bag I bought in Hyderabad (wheel truly broken, duct tape not enough anymore, and the duffel strap broken, so now I only have the two little handles which rip into my hand as I carry it). I really really hope I right and I can check 2 bags no charge because even tho it's carry on size I don't want to deal with it, especially when I get to New York to see Alex (HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY ALEX!!) so fingers crossed on that one. I showered, Bec and Bethany went to sleep, I willed myself to stay awake even though it was dark, we said our goodbyes at 5:00, and I headed downstairs to go to the bus stop. Well, I wanted to ask the desk attendant about getting a ticket for the bus, but there was no one there, so I said YOLO they already showed us where the stop was on our drive to the hotel I'll just head there. Well, as I try to walk out he front door, the gate is down, and I can't get out. Great. I head back to the elevators to head back up to the room to use the phone, but I don't want to do that because I don't want to wake up Bec and Bethany AGAIN. As I'm waiting by the elevators, I hear men talking, can't tell if it's guys with us or not. I also hear honking quite loud out the open door next to me, I assume it's because it's just on the other side of the patio fence (elevators are night next door to the patio area) but when I step outside I see that it's open to the front!!! I can leave!! I start to walk there and see someone sleeping at the steps though, I can't tell how big they are, who they are, but I know I don't want to walk past them. That's really silly because they're just sleeping and probably homeless and won't even notice I walked by but I don't know I was being silly and nervous. So I loitered by the elevators some more trying to decipher the voices and decide if I want to go back upstairs or not. While deciding, the security guard comes downstairs (turns out the voice was his) and I ask him what I should do. He informs me in really early for the bus, and walks to the front desk, yells a name I don't hear, and a man jolts up from behind the counter. The desk attendant was sleeping on the floor behind the counter!!! I thought maybe I should have been a little bit louder, but I had no idea anyone was back there!! Anyway, he wakes up, tells me I lay on he bus, and makes the security guard walk me out. I thought I was going to be really lucky and have him walk me there (the stop is on the other side of the street, but this street is a heavy trafficked 4 lane divided highway). I asked his advice for crossing, and set on my way. Naturally collecting stares and unwanted attention, I shoo away about 5 tuktuks and 2 taxi drivers. I DONT HAVE MONEY TO TAKE YOU PEOPLE. I LITERALLY JUST HAVE ENOUGH TO RIDE THE BUS! Not their fault they don't know that but I'm still not taking a taxi no matter how many times you ask.
In the dark, it was freakin hard to find the bus stop. I finally had to ask for help, the only person nearby a taxi driver. Yes I'm sure I don't need you to drive me! Yes I'm sure I'm taking the bus!! I found it, and just waited. A bus came and men jumped on, but it was labelled AirIndia, and that's not the bus they told us to get on, so I didn't even though chances are it was also going to the air port. It also wasn't 5:40 which is when the bus was coming, but then again based on past experiences I don't know that I trust that time table at all. Well, I should have, because the correct bus came at 5:31 and we left promptly at 5:40. And although they said it would take an hour to get there, we arrived in about 35 minutes.
This airport is set up nothing like any airport I've visited before, where you go inside to get your ticket then head to the gate through security, no. Everyone outside had tickets waiting to get them check to go inside to the ticket counters, and I was super confused. Then I was at the wrong door, and when I got to the right one the lady didn't want to let me in because I didn't have the ticket (that's the point of the ticket counter on the other side of this door?). After showing her the email I got with my itinerary and some pondering on her part, she finally let me in. Well, naturally I'm about 4 hours early for my flight now because I planned on nothing going according to plan, so I had to wait for the counter to open. Oh also, there was a random security scanner in the middle of the floor with no one going through it because there was no line, but naturally the guy calls me over and makes me scan my bags. Not surprising, they've double checked my things so many times on this trip and I have no idea why. I have nothing in there and I don't think I'm particularly threatening looking, but what do I know. I was wearing some new sandals I bought here and almost fell a hundred times because they had no grip, but they're cute and kind of dressy and I got dressed this morning ready to go to dinner with Alex, but I gave that up and went to my burks because last think I need is to face plant with all my luggage and not be able to get up. Luckily I'm so early I have time to sift through all my stuff to change my shoes right? I loitered by the line soon-to-be-opening, and I guess this made the attendant nervous because he asked me to go away several times. Then he opened the line and I went in and he again asked me to leave because the attendants weren't ready. Can I really not just stand in line? I won't stare at you guys and make you feel obligated to hurry up? All my stuff is just super heavy and I don't want to carry it. (I didn't word it quite like that but this was my reason for not wanting to move). He said I could stay and so I was he first person with a boarding pass. Even though the bag I bought was carry on size, the thing is so broken and so not meant to be used like it's built, my hands are all ripped and painful from carrying that darn thing, that luckily I could check 2 bags all the way to Florida free of charge and not worry about the darn thing until I have my dad to help me carry it when I get home (