Auto Adventure

I had a really intense auto adventure today. It was unplanned, but not spur of the moment. I must say, it was very tiring though. Kind of stressful, but very fun. So yeah, I think I'll explain what happened now. Haha.
Today we went to the Vishaka Valley School for the first time. It is nice; the classrooms they built for us are very nice. With lots of fans. Fans are good. Haha. So, they wanted us to take the bus home from school, with the other students. I went on the bus they told me to and watched out for my home. But, I never saw it. I got off on the last stop with two other SYA students. One knew where he was going, the other girl, Brooke, had no idea. Just like me.
I looked around and didn't see any land marks so we decided to get an auto rickshaw. Brooke had her address written down and I didn't. So we decided we would go to her house and then take it from there. We called an auto, asked how much it would be and told him where we were going. So we got in and started heading toward her house.
I'm going to pause here and explain what an auto rickshaw is. Because a few people have already asked me. It's like a taxi. The ones in Vizag are actually yellow like taxis. They have three wheels, two in the back and one in the front. They ride it like a motorcycle, with handle bars. There is a place for people to sit in the back. I think that's the best description I can give. I'll take a picture and put it up eventually.
So, we went on the auto, right? As we drove by in the auto I saw the Park Hotel right by the place we were dropped off. That was the landmark I had been looking for before so I could find the house. But I decided to stay on and not ditch Brooke because she had no idea where she was going. It was a good thing I did too. Otherwise, in her position, I would have been terrified.
You see, the auto driver actually didn't know where he was going. He kept stopping and asking for directions. This got us very worried. We drove around for about forty minutes, looking for Brooke's house. She thought she saw it but the auto driver kept driving. And just when we decided to tell him to go to the Park Hotel because I could find my house from there he turned around and we found it.
So we went to her house and talked with her host family who got in touch with Jayshree, the woman who is working for SYA. We sat and talked and bonded for a while because Brooke's host father's car was at the shop. Then I got in touch with my host mother and we went home, once again by auto. This time Brooke's host father was with us so it went much more smoothly. Funny thing was, when we got to my house we realized the bus stop was about two feet away. I had just been walking and looking in the wrong direction. Haha.
That may not sound that intense to you, but trust me it was. With Indian traffic, and not being able to tell what people are saying or where you are. It was exciting though, it always is in a way, getting lost. So, that was my first Indian adventure. One I am not likely to forget.
Much Love,
~ Jenna