It's the little successes that count

Just came back from my first outing, alone, on foot today. I made it back, all in one piece. I can't say I went very far but I certainly felt 50,000 miles away (I have no idea how many miles away it really is but 50000 sounded good). I asked the oh-so-polite concierge about walking to the High Court of Karnataka building which happens to be across the street from the National Library. He said it was indeed walkable - about 1 km away. So with my long pants on, camera and video camera in my bag I headed out. Because I clearly do not look like I am from Indian, I have taken the liberty to look like a true tourist. (Note: once I move into our apartment, I will revoke this idea.) Anyway, not 5 steps off the grounds of the hotel did I encounter a rather aggressive Indian asked me if I wanted to take a rickshaw ride. "No thank you," I politely answered and kept walking. Apparently in India, "no thank you" means, "No please, walk with me and keep asking because I just might change my mind." So, I had to break out the not often seen or heard, Forceful and Aggressive Kathleen for him to get lost. Not 2 minutes later, he pulls up beside me, in his rickshaw waving a 10 rupee bill. I think he was offering me 10 rupees to ride with him No one loves a bargain more than I but again, unpolitely I said no.

As if this wasn't enough to make me rethink my pleasant walk, I found myself walking along this not so walkable sidewalk.


The yellow wall surrounds our hotel. This is literally on the other side of it.
















At the end of this stretch of sidewalk was my first intersection that I had to cross. It was more of a rotary intersection than a true intersection so I waited for a break in the traffic. (The picture above is deceiving because there actually was way more traffic than appears.) So I continued to wait. And wait. And wait. Now, there were some Indians who took their chances but I don't know. I kept seeing the signs listing the number of car accidents flashing in my head. Instead, I took a left so I didn't have to cross. The next street wasn't very long and there was no rotary at the end, so I figured my chances would be better at that intersection. But again, I waited for what felt like a good 10 minutes. I think I was waiting for someone to take pity on the foreigner and stop. Many people stared but no one stopped. Finally, I followed the man next to me halfway into the street, waiting for a scooter to pass and then ran the rest of the way across the street. My first successful crossing on foot. I think I actually smiled to myself. From that point on, I was a champ. It's like I'd been dodging traffic for weeks. And so that my mother and grandmother don't go nuts thinking it is all that dangerous, the cars really don't go all that fast. And I did actually witness cars, at one intersection, stopping at red lights. It's perfectly safe.

I took some video of the traffic but I may need some time and assistance figuring how to upload that. And I've posted some more pictures from my walk.

I learned one another thing today - if you are ever asked if you would like - or think that it would be a good idea to try - Bitter Gourd Juice, just say no.

George met a British and an American woman at work and they invited us to brunch on Sunday. Our first new friends.

Addendum: Who said I couldn't figure out how to upload the video I took?