Surprise!

The most important thing to remember when visiting India is to expect the unexpected.  Plans are consistently changing, and the only way to keep up is just to let go and enjoy the ride.  You may have a tentative schedule, but in India everything is subject to change.  Take this past week for example.

Last Friday I ran into two international students outside my guest house after eating dinner.  They tell me that the next day I need to be awake and outside my guest house at 6 AM sharp so we can cook breakfast for an event that takes place at the beginning of every month.  So I show up at 6 AM, but of course nobody else does until around 7 AM (Letting go of my punctuality is proving rather difficult).  Then I find out that were cooking breakfast for the founder of KIIT and his entourage.  Surprise!

After the breakfast I’m told that the international students will put on a fashion show on Tuesday for the NAAC committee that is visiting KIIT this week.  (NAAC is an organization in India that ranks universities; KIIT is hoping to go from an A+ to an AA…or something like that).  Monday comes around and I’m told that the fashion show is actually happening that day at 4 PM and not on Tuesday.  So I show up to the auditorium at 4 PM, but nobody else does until at least 5 PM.  I then learn that were actually sitting in a meeting with the NAAC officials because they want our input on the university.  The fashion show itself doesn’t actually get started until around 7:30 PM.  Surprise!

Then yesterday I find out around 5 PM that we have to be out of our rooms in the guest house by 10 AM the following day (today) because they need our rooms at the guest house for a conference.  So we packed up all our things and moved out this morning to a different guest house, which is a littler further from the university.  Surprise!

As a result, we need a shuttle to take us to the university for our classes.  However I was just told by one of my professors that today, tomorrow, and Friday are all holidays, so most likely my classes will be cancelled, but then again they might not because of the NAAC committee visit.  Surprise!

Although these surprises tend to wreak havoc on your plans, I’ve come to appreciate them.  The fact that you don’t know where you’ll be bussed off to next forces you to really live in the moment.  Your mind stops being focused on future plans or past happenings, and you learn how to enjoy the ride that is India.  Sure it’s not always convenient, but a convenient life doesn’t challenge you.  And what’s the point of leading a life of complacency?

So who knows what will happen tomorrow.  For now I guess I’ll just keep on keepin’ on until the next surprise comes around!