First impressions of India

I haven't posted at all since we got to India, so I figured it was about time I did - I was really hoping to find some wifi access and use my own computer, since the computers here are about 10 years old and you have to pay to use them. But we can't seem to find wifi anywhere in Delhi, so I'll just deal with using this computer until we go to Mussoorie on Thursday.

This past week has been pretty overwhelming. Being in Delhi is an assault on the senses: the heat, the smells, the noise, and the many bodies packed onto the streets that you have to fight your way through when you walk around the city. Life here definitely takes some adjusting to, and despite the initial surge of enthusiasm, most people in the program are starting to show signs of that at this point. Several people have gotten sick, most are tired, some have had upsetting encounters with locals - most people are, in some way or another, stressed out. I know I definitely went through some pretty bad culture shock when I first got here. We went out shopping on our second day, and I bought a bunch of salwar kameez(es?) from this vendor at the Palika Bazaar. They totally worked me over and when I got back to the hostel, I talked to someone who was familiar with India and found out I had been ripped off. This was not an unusual experience by any means - I think everyone in the group has had at least one experience like this by now - since even inflated prices still seem really cheap by US standards (I got four complete outfits for less than US $50). But what stressed me out about this was not being able to trust people: knowing that people would judge, based on the way I look, that I am a stupid tourist with lots of money, and that they would try to get as much of my money out of me as they could. Street vendors call out to us, walk up to us, sometimes even follow us even after being told that we're not interested, and if we are interested in buying something, they quote us ridiculously inflated prices; I felt like I had a target hanging over my head everywhere I went.

But, after a few days of feeling stressed out and tired (which was not helped by the fact that I'm still so jetlagged that I wake up every morning at 3 AM and can't get back to sleep) I kind of just got over it, and now I'm feeling a lot better. I've gotten a lot better at being assertive, and at bargaining without feeling uncomfortable about it. It's still a bit unnerving at times to be singled out as different (mostly with staring, which people here do overtly and unreservedly), which does happen everywhere I go, but I'm starting to get used to it. After a bit of adjusting, I'm really starting to enjoy my time here. I can't wait to start learning Hindi!

So, I've had a lot of thoughts but I don't really think I can string them together coherently, so here are some random observations/trivia/etc:

The streets in Delhi are totally insane. People drive at different speeds, completely disregarding the lanes when they're going the same direction, and often disregarding them even when they're not. It is not uncommon at all for cars (and especially auto rickshaws, known as tuktuks) to swerve into oncoming traffic to pass someone, or even to drive the wrong way on the road for an extended period of time. Crossing the street is an equally harrowing experience, since cars do not even slow down for you, so you have to wait for gaps in the traffic and then sprint across. This is easier to get used to than you'd think, though, and when traffic is especially bad I just cross alongside someone who knows what they're doing.

The wildlife here is interesting. They have chipmunks with fluffy tails instead of squirrels, myna birds instead of sparrows/starlings, weird looking hawks, and the occasional green parrot. There are feral dogs everywhere, and in some neighborhoods (including the one we're moving to when we get back) cows roam the streets freely. To our surprise, we found that monkeys are a very common sight even in the middle of the city, and we saw a mongoose yesterday morning. Also, Jordan saw a hornbill the other day (probably nobody will know what that is except my mom), and I wish I had been there, but he did get pictures.

Even when people here speak hindi, it's always interspersed with english words. There is no hindi word for "thank you," so they always just say it in english.

The stupid computer deleted everything in my post from here down. Let me see if I can remember what I wrote...

The clothes here are great. They're really cool and comfortable, and I don't feel weird at all wearing them. The only thing I don't like is the scarf you're supposed to wear with the salwar kameez, which is always falling off my shoulders or blowing away or something. Most people in Delhi actually wear western clothes (especially men), but I really like having an excuse to wear Indian clothes. Plus, I don't know how they deal with wearing jeans all the time in this heat.

I miss supermarkets! I miss stores where you can just walk in and buy things hassle-free! It seems like most of the shops here (at least for everyday essentials) are basically storefronts with a counter that opens to the street, where you go up and tell the guy what you want and he gets it for you and rings you up. I don't even know where to get a razor, and I didn't bring mine, so I'm getting reeeally hairy. Oddly enough, I don't care.

I think the most conspicuous I've felt was when we went to visit the largest mosque in India. People actually formed a circle around us just to stare at us, and I was asked at least 6 or 7 times in the 45 minutes or so we were there to pose with people for pictures. Once someone asked Jordan if it was okay to take a picture with me, instead of asking me. It was weird.

Monkeys here are kind of a menace - I've heard lots of stories about them raiding street vendors' stalls, and Jordan actually saw one steal from someone the other day. Apparently sometimes they pick up human vices, like smoking cigarettes and getting drunk on alcohol that they stole. They're scary when you get up close to them!

I love the music here, even the hip-hop stuff that I wouldn't have expected I'd like. And their music videos are so ridiculous, with their cheesy dancing and horrible camera work (they love to zoom in and out really fast, over and over again). I love it!

I kind of understand cricket now! And it's actually sort of fun to watch.

The metro in Delhi is amazing. It is, by far, the cleanest and nicest subway I have ever been on.

Delhi is really, really loud. The main reason for this is the incessant honking of cars. It took a while for us to figure out that in India, honking serves a different purpose than it does in America. Since the driving here is so unpredictable and a lot of people don't have rear view mirrors, they honk to let each other know that they're there. It was really offputting at first to get honked at all the time, but now I've come to realize that it isn't rude to honk at someone here the way it is back home. It's still really loud and annoying, though.

Okay, this is getting really long now, so I guess I'll end it here. Expect an update on Thursday or Friday with LOTS of pictures!