Monday, August 13, 2007

India Update 1


After a seventeen hour flight was extended by 3 hours, Gordon and I arrived in Mumbai at 4 in the morning. Lindyn was going to meet us at the airport but had taken ill. So we decided to stay at a convent with this man we'd met back at London Heathrow.

Today on our cab ride into town, a kid was selling books on the street. While we're waiting in traffic he comes to the passenger window. Gordon inquires about a book in this hands -- Google something or other. The kid really wants to make a sale and tells Gordon it's in English. Gordon doubts the kid and says it's not in English and forces the child to open the plastic wrapper. His hands are too full to open the wrapper, so he hits it on his head to loosen the plastic. It is in English. Gordon pages through the book and decides he wants it. The kid says 450 rupees (about $11). At this point, the light has changed and the cars start moving. The cab drives away with Gordon holding the child's book. Gordon screams out "I'm never going to see you again." The driver grabs the book out of Gordon's hands and tosses it out the window, across the highway. Not only did Gordon doubt the kid and force him to open the book, but reneged on a sale and left the book across a highway. Great.

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