48 Hours Later

After farewells in Kalleda and Hyderabad, I boarded the first of four planes that would eventually take me to Colombia. This plane was bound for Delhi where I had a thirteen-hour layover, graciously hosted by Nikhar’s parents. I took the opportunity to soak up just a little more Indian history before leaving the subcontinent and spent a few hours exploring Indira Gandhi’s memorial museum and Nehru’s library. After a lovely evening with Nikhar’s parents and my last home cooked Indian meal, it was back to the airport to continue my journey.

Arriving in the Chicago airport early the next morning, I treated myself to what I deemed to be a suitably American breakfast of Dunkin Donuts and waited for my next flight. When I landed in Miami, I was greeted at the gate by Miles, who had come in on a red-eye from LA. We immediately left the airport and bussed into the city where we ate sushi for lunch, an excellent choice for my one meal in America! Then we headed back to the airport and onto the final flight, which landed me, two days later, in Medellin, Colombia.

We arrived after dark and my first view of Medellin was looking into a valley of lights as we wound down one of the surrounding hillsides. After dropping off our bags, we walked to the main street where everything felt immediately different from India: the streets, the clothes, the faces, the language, the music played by wandering mariachi bands, and the fact that nobody was staring at me. In my first few hours in Colombia, I feel more instantly comfortable than on any other move I have made thus far and am ready to start exploring.