I made it!
After entering India in Mumbai and going through customs, it was a short 2 hour hop on my last flight to the town of Kochi in the state of Kerala. I spent over 22 hours on Delta, Air France, and IndiGo, and although it totally wore me out, I was absolutely thrilled when we hit the runway at the Kochi airport, which claims to be the only totally solar powered airport in the world.
After a safe landing and quick exit – I was sitting in the front row and had no checked baggage – I walked out of the airport to be greeted by my dear friend Rev. Vicki Vanderhorst. What a sweet reunion! Although we pray together faithfully every two weeks, I had not seen my prayer partner in person since the beginning of 2020. I was so happy and grateful that she chose to meet me at the airport.
Vicki escorted me to our ride to the final destination in Fort Kochi, about an hour away. If I was the least bit sleepy, the ride in the small car to our Homestay totally woke me up! I was not prepared for the way everyone drives here. The road are narrow and most people are on scooters or in small cars. Everyone constantly honks their horn, not aggressively, but to communicate “look out”, “I’m coming around”, “I’m behind you”, etc. Near-misses and dodging are rules of the road.
When we arrived at Elim Homestay, which is called an AirBnB or VBRO in America, I was ushered up to my room without even checking in or making payment. Mr. George assured me, “We trust you!”, and “Get some rest!”, “Come down when you’ve had some sleep!”
All I wanted was a shower, some food, and a nap. After I got cleaned up and somewhat settled in my room, Vicki and her husband Joseph took me to a lovely little place for breakfast just steps from the sea, by way of a tuk-tuk, an auto rickshaw. This was another experience in trust, yet not a letting go of the handrail.
As we were landing in Mumbai, I could see the view from the cockpit on the small video screen in front of me. The plane was making its descent through dense clouds and I realized the pilot was totally dependent on the plane’s computer and the flight controllers to land the plane safely. I could only see clouds on the screen for at least a full minute, and I realized that this was the perfect metaphor for my journey: I have no idea what to expect from this trip and I am being invited to simply trust and stay present to the experience.
I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman