In Delhi

It’s hard to believe that our time here is going by so fast! We have been in Delhi a week now and have not slowed down since we walked off the plane! It has been fun learning a new way of life, if only temporarily. We were told we would begin our volunteer work the following week and have a few days to become familiar with our surrounds. But as it turned out, we began our volunteer work the following day.
Please, let me clarify, we have not been working nonstop. Though we have worked almost every day since arriving, we have also gotten to check out some of the sights of Delhi. On Sunday we were able to go to the Delhi market, which was a new experience. All the girls bartered for kurtes and were able to get good deals. And on Monday our group was able to take a tourist bus to check out some cool Delhi sights and we were able to enjoy shopping in Delhi Hart.
They say to plan for the worst and in many ways, I think we did. But we have been pleasantly surprised on a number of occasions such as, having a nice hotel to stay in (with air conditioning) and for the most part good health; though as I am writing this, my roommate is suffering from a fever. But things could definitely be worse J Our stomachs have handled the food much better than expected. And even the weather has been pleasantly bearable, though I don’t know whether that will last.
Part of having a large team, means different challenges; namely, finding transportation. Here in India, traffic is quite different than in America. Not only do they drive on the opposite side of the street, but if there is enough room, there is someone there. If it is not a car, it is a rickshaw or a person, even if there is a single inch separating one type of transportation from another, someone will be there. And whether it be rickshaw or car, horns are constantly being used. It gives a new meaning to traffic jam.
Our second time to take a rickshaw was coming back from our first trip to a McDonalds in India. And when there are twelve people needing rickshaws and only two people fit in one, things tend to get interesting. This time in particular, our team was separated into three different groups. Meaning that several team members were dropped off at one location, several other team members at another, and still others dropped off at another location. This being only our third night in Delhi, we weren’t quite prepared for such an experience and a couple people began to get quite nervous. But I expect it to happen many more times while we are here and through that, to become more confident and more familiar with this huge place called Delhi.
That is enough excitement for one post, I believe. So until next time, peace out.