We got off the plane and were able to get through customs and out to baggage claim really quickly. At baggage claim, I felt like I won the lotto - 3 of our 5 bags were the very first ones off the belt! We didn't have to wait too long to get the rest. We headed out to meet our social sponsors who were picking us up from the airport. While we were waiting to find out about the dogs, I headed off to the bathroom..... and ran into someone I knew! It was the weirdest thing. I kept staring at this girl thinking she looked an awful lot like someone I knew. She stared back at me, and I apologized and said she looked like someone I knew. Then she said Kari? The world is truly getting smaller.
Getting the dogs was an adventure in itself. At first, no one knew where we were supposed to go to get the dogs. Stewart had to go back to the customs area and speak with them. Finally, he found out that we needed to go to the cargo dock away from the airport. We got in the van and headed over that way. We got to the gate and the guard said we needed to go to a different gate. This happened about four times before we finally got through one of the gates we had already been to. There we were told 45 minutes. Then another 15 minutes. Time was dragging on and still no word on our dogs. Finally a well dressed man with a satchel came out of nowhere to escort the van to where the dogs were. He basically ran in front of the van directing the driver where to go. They brought the dogs out and then attempted to load the kennels in the back of the van. Both dogs were a little scared of what was going on (in India, it appears that you will always be surrounded by a crowd of people watching the 1-2 people who actually work). We opened the kennels and put the dogs inside the van while everyone else tried to fit all of our stuff in the van. I was in the van with both dogs and very little room. Scout (70lbs) was sitting on my lap. He would not get off or move. He's never been a lap dog but he sure was one at that moment. Bella was sitting next to me and didn't want to go anywhere either. When Stewart got in the van, he called her up to him and she went and sat in his lap for the ride to our new home. I think the dogs were very happy to see us again. I can't articulate how worried and anxious I was about locating our dogs but I'm already stressing about our move out of here in three years.
We got to our new home ... a flat on the second floor of a three story building. Our social sponsors had been by to stock the fridge and turn on the air conditioners so it was nice and cold. I was so tired when we got there. It was about 3am. We quickly walked the dogs by the nearest tree we could find. Walking the dogs is a scary undertaking. We're hoping to make some changes soon to help with that but we're not holding our breath. We settled in for the night. I was thankful I had an extra blanket as it was chilly in our room when we went to bed. We slept for about three hours and then got up to head to the embassy to start our in-processing. I can't even remember who all we saw or what all we did. I just know I walked a lot around the compound in 108 degree heat.
Hopefully as we settle in a little more, we'll get out to see the sights more and begin to explore our new city. Right now, it's all quite daunting. This is unlike going to any other city or country. I think back to my time in Paris or Italy and how carefree it felt to go out and explore. That is not the same feeling I have here. Tomorrow we just have a couple of things to take care of and maybe we'll try and see part of the city. It's also quite hard to find the motivation to do that in this weather. Today it was up to 113. Ugh. Monsoon season is on it's way which will be followed by the cold season. Maybe we'll acclimate to the weather soon and it won't feel quite as stifling.
Getting the dogs was an adventure in itself. At first, no one knew where we were supposed to go to get the dogs. Stewart had to go back to the customs area and speak with them. Finally, he found out that we needed to go to the cargo dock away from the airport. We got in the van and headed over that way. We got to the gate and the guard said we needed to go to a different gate. This happened about four times before we finally got through one of the gates we had already been to. There we were told 45 minutes. Then another 15 minutes. Time was dragging on and still no word on our dogs. Finally a well dressed man with a satchel came out of nowhere to escort the van to where the dogs were. He basically ran in front of the van directing the driver where to go. They brought the dogs out and then attempted to load the kennels in the back of the van. Both dogs were a little scared of what was going on (in India, it appears that you will always be surrounded by a crowd of people watching the 1-2 people who actually work). We opened the kennels and put the dogs inside the van while everyone else tried to fit all of our stuff in the van. I was in the van with both dogs and very little room. Scout (70lbs) was sitting on my lap. He would not get off or move. He's never been a lap dog but he sure was one at that moment. Bella was sitting next to me and didn't want to go anywhere either. When Stewart got in the van, he called her up to him and she went and sat in his lap for the ride to our new home. I think the dogs were very happy to see us again. I can't articulate how worried and anxious I was about locating our dogs but I'm already stressing about our move out of here in three years.
We got to our new home ... a flat on the second floor of a three story building. Our social sponsors had been by to stock the fridge and turn on the air conditioners so it was nice and cold. I was so tired when we got there. It was about 3am. We quickly walked the dogs by the nearest tree we could find. Walking the dogs is a scary undertaking. We're hoping to make some changes soon to help with that but we're not holding our breath. We settled in for the night. I was thankful I had an extra blanket as it was chilly in our room when we went to bed. We slept for about three hours and then got up to head to the embassy to start our in-processing. I can't even remember who all we saw or what all we did. I just know I walked a lot around the compound in 108 degree heat.
Hopefully as we settle in a little more, we'll get out to see the sights more and begin to explore our new city. Right now, it's all quite daunting. This is unlike going to any other city or country. I think back to my time in Paris or Italy and how carefree it felt to go out and explore. That is not the same feeling I have here. Tomorrow we just have a couple of things to take care of and maybe we'll try and see part of the city. It's also quite hard to find the motivation to do that in this weather. Today it was up to 113. Ugh. Monsoon season is on it's way which will be followed by the cold season. Maybe we'll acclimate to the weather soon and it won't feel quite as stifling.
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