I made it!

I made it to India! After days of traveling I am finally sitting here in my room in Mysore. I slept for about 11 hours last night, but I am still exhausted. The whole group went for a walk after we got here yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon to try and stay awake until a normal hour so that we could adjust better, but we just ended up getting lost, which exhausted me even more. So I ended up falling asleep literally the minute we got back, which was around 6pm. I sat down on my bed and that is the last thing I remember. But, anyway, a few things I've experienced so far:

• The ride from the airport to Mysore took about four hours, which is all I could handle: the driving is INSANE here. The dotted white line on the roads is merely a suggestion. If our van driver felt like he had space to squeeze between a huge truck and a car that were side by side, he would blare on his horn and go right ahead. The horn is everything: "Move...I'm right behind you...I'm passing you...I'm going to hit you if you move over more than two inches..." The backs of the trucks here even say "Sound OK Horn." There were so many times I was convinced we were going to run someone over, but no one was even fazed. I wonder how many times a day the average person almost gets hit by a vehicle...
• There are advertisements EVERYWHERE. People's houses, WHOLE houses, have been painted with Virgin Mobile and Sprite logos, I guess to make some money. It is an odd thing to see a Sprite shack on the side of the road with children sitting in the doorway and clothes hanging out to dry.
  
• The food, so far, has been amazing. On our way from the airport, yesterday, we stopped and got dosas for breakfast, and had lunch here (I missed dinner because I fell asleep, so now I am starving but I have to wait until 7:30).
  
• Our rooms are much better than I anticipated. Each one has two single beds, two desks, two large dressers, which have room for hanging things, and a bathroom. We actually have a shower head, but we quickly discovered it does not work very well because when we turned it on the water went every which way except down. So I think we will stick to the bucket method for now, which really is not that bad. There is one large bucket on the floor underneath the water spouts, and a smaller one for pouring water over yourself. I had one yesterday, and it was very pleasant.
  
• We have wireless Internet throughout the entire building.
• For those you who were concerned about the toilet paper situation: first of all, I have plenty of toilet paper. They gave us two rolls per room, I brought three, and my roommate brought three as well. But beside the toilet is a water spigot and a little bucket to wash yourself whenever you go to the bathroom. I've tried it once and it is actually refreshing. (At least it was yesterday, when I was so tired.)
• Today, I think I am going on a city tour (no more getting lost, I hope!), tomorrow is orientation, Saturday we are going to a play, and on Monday we start classes.
  

Although India will take a LOT of getting used to, I have enjoyed myself so far, just from looking around. I'm very excited for the next four months, and I have a feeling it is going to fly by me.