Saturday, January 12, 2008

Abbey Tries to Cross the Street in Pune


Check this out!

My first video blog entry!

First things first, I think that I have fixed the comment problem. Thanks to my friend Carey for pointing out that the last few blog entries didn't have a place to leave comments. Comments are so fun, so hopefully you'll be able to leave some now.

Now! On to the video! Pune is a seriously bustling and growing metropolis. We read in the newspaper that each day there are 600 new vehicles entering the city. WHOA. Aside from leading to truly heinous air quality, this situation also makes it quite difficult to cross the street at times!

When it comes to crossing the street in India, here are some things that must be considered. First of all, they drive on the opposite sides of the road than we do - so you have to learn to look opposite directions than you are used to. Secondly, people drive like maniacs, so you must constantly look back and forth to make sure that someone hasn't whipped around the corner going 40 miles per hour since you last looked 1 second ago. Big busy streets are especially crazy.

Personally, I have become a huge fan of the middle of the street. If I can get halfway across, that's a good place to start. These Indian drivers are crazy, but generally quite skillful at avoiding street dogs, beggars, rickshaws, fruit carts, busses, and me standing in the middle of the street.

Amongst my roommates and I, Jen and I are probably the most daring. We've both been to India before and we are a bit more willing to step out into the melee. Abbey errs on the side of caution, which probably makes her the smartest of us all. So, all that is a lead up to this hilarious video I took of Abbey and our friend Anne trying to cross the street. In the background is the Pune Central mall where we do some of our grocery shopping. We were on our way to see a Bollywood movie! (more on that coming up in a future post...)...

In this video, it should be noted that Jen and I are already on the other side of the street. I didn't get my camera out until the craziest traffic had died down a little, but you'll still get the idea. Anne is wearing the bright pink and Abbey is in blue. They have already made it to the meridian...

Ha ha! You'll see that Abbey eventually settles for the technique of shadowing one of the locals to make it across. I think the best part of this little movie is Abbey's look of delight and thrill upon reaching the other side of the road! :)

Hope you are all well, and that the comments link shows up this time!