Delhi

Delhi
1-4-12

I ended up getting coffee with a couple of those that had later flights and then I was off to have lunch with a fellow women aviator. I am part of a group called the 99’ers and it is an international organization. So when I had booked my flight to India I looked up in the directory who else might be involved in India. I found 14 members. I emailed them explain who I was and what I do and what kind of flying I do and asked if anyone would be interested in having tea with me. I got a couple of bites (more then I though would happen) and on this day I was going to meet with a wonderful women from Delhi. She lived a little outside of town so I worked the metro to where she was and was picked up to come to her house and have lunch with her family. India lives very close to their families so the parents of the father live in the house with their son and his wife and his kids. This lady is amazing! I am so happy I got the chance to meet with her and feel so fortunate that she invited me to have a meal with her family. She was one of the first three women gaining jobs as pilots in Air India. She had to convince her parents that it was a legitimate profession for women in India, and she did this by finding someone who was a professional aviator in India. In India hobby flying is unheard of. You train as a course and even then the rules of the air are so strict that you can’t fly when a Boeing or a large commercial plane is flying by. You don’t fly you watch it go by and wait till you can go back in the air. Only when she found this other women could she travel to Houston so she could gain enough hours to be a professional pilot herself. She struggled there too though with Americas patriarchal societies pressures weighing down on her. Women from India are strong willed, as I’ve learned being here not so long, they are confident, know they have to work hard in life for what they want and find the way to make it happen. I am very inspired by this women and what she has accomplished in her life. She and the rest of her family think critically about their surroundings, they understand what they have accomplished and appreciate what they have. It is very humbling and as I said before very inspiring. I hope, if I ever have a family, that I have fought just as hard in life to do what I want and to accomplish my dreams.
Having a home cooked meal was amazing! It was so nice to not have restaurant made food. There was rice, fresh made gepati, cawliflower, beans, and pali kofta, spectacular! I went back to get my bags with a fully belly and a happy heart. Next step is to get on a plane to see Virginia!!!