Monday, June 25, 2012
A note
At the moment all posts are being done with an iPad. It's pretty annoying as formatting and auto-correcting can inadvertently change my words without me knowing. If you catch an error or can't understand, send me a message. In addition, all photos will be uploaded after I have a chance to upload pictures to a computer - maybe not until I get back to the US.
Monday, June 18, 2012
An initiation
We were supposed to be in Dharamsala by now. Apparently low clouds and rain can cancel flights in India as well as in Tununak. So now we are a day and a half late to our placement provided the weather has cleared. After reclaiming our luggage and being rebooked, we were responsible for taking a taxi back to the apartment complex we'd been staying in. It sounded like an easy task until the taxi driver brought us to where we told him. We had provided the driver the wrong address, which he dutifully weaved through a packed market to get us there. Luckily our driver had a cell phone and command of Hindi and discovered our address mistake. A few minutes later we were back to our apartment.
The CCS staff fed us (and we kind of crashed a birthday) and told us to go walk down the road a ways to check out the chaos that is New Delhi. After a short walk, and successfully beating Frogger twice to cross the road and back, we returned to our apartment. I woke up in the middle of the night unaware of even going to bed. The heat really sucks the life out of you.
In the morning we went out walking again. This time we turned and found the neighborhood we were supposed to have visited the night before. People were everywhere. Walking, driving, biking. All at the same time. You'd be walking down the road, a horn would beep behind us, and then we'd be zipped by, usually by the typical green and yellow auto-rickshaw, each making eye contact attempting to get the fare. We stopped at a street vendor for a snack. With the language barrier it is hard to tell exactly what we ordered, but I am going to guess a samosa, a deep fried pocket-type snack with a potato filling, and an idli, a fermented rice cake - but this second is only my best guess at the moment. Regardless of what we ate, they were delightful. Delightful and cheap. The pair of items set us back a total of thirteen rupees. In dollars, at about fifty rupees to the dollar, that's about twenty-six cents. Unbelievable. The feast is on.
After our snack, we continued our walk. We passed two really old monument-like things. Domed, made of red brick, one served as a tomb. The dimensions of each monument was written on the plaque nearby, but not the date. Apparently they are from the Lodi period, but my knowledge of Indian history is not that great yet. We then stopped into a Hindu temple. After removing our shoes we went in. It was all white, the floor made of inlaid stones in an intricate pattern. We walked around for about two minutes, then unsure of exactly what to do, we went back to reclaim our shoes. As we continued on we came the the end road. Here another item of historical interest.
We are staying in the area of New Delhi called Hauz Khas which means 'royal tank' after a large reservoir built here in the 13th century. What we had stumbled on was the religious school built overlooking the water around the same time. On the United States this would have been a major attraction. For being nearly one thousand years old, it is in remarkable shape. Made of a similar red stone, the school had a number of buildings including a mosque, a number of tombs, and what are essentially dorms for the students.
The dorms were what struck me the most. Built into the walls, each room measured about five feet wide by eight feet deep. The door looked out across the water and an arched window was built above each door for additional light to enter. To study at the school must have been quite an honor.
After exploring for a bit, the late morning heat was taking its toll. We picked up a bottle of water and a Diet Coke for forty rupees and began the journey home. Just before recrossing the street we bought one last snack. Three rotis and some form of dumpling in a yellow sauce for twenty rupees. Delicious.
For the morning, the total is below. Nice way to spend an extra day in Delhi. Some things are very different from Tununak.
Samosa and idli 13 rupees
Water and Diet Coke 40 rupees
Roti and some dumpling 20 rupees
Mango 21 rupees
Total 94 rupees (less than $2)
The CCS staff fed us (and we kind of crashed a birthday) and told us to go walk down the road a ways to check out the chaos that is New Delhi. After a short walk, and successfully beating Frogger twice to cross the road and back, we returned to our apartment. I woke up in the middle of the night unaware of even going to bed. The heat really sucks the life out of you.
In the morning we went out walking again. This time we turned and found the neighborhood we were supposed to have visited the night before. People were everywhere. Walking, driving, biking. All at the same time. You'd be walking down the road, a horn would beep behind us, and then we'd be zipped by, usually by the typical green and yellow auto-rickshaw, each making eye contact attempting to get the fare. We stopped at a street vendor for a snack. With the language barrier it is hard to tell exactly what we ordered, but I am going to guess a samosa, a deep fried pocket-type snack with a potato filling, and an idli, a fermented rice cake - but this second is only my best guess at the moment. Regardless of what we ate, they were delightful. Delightful and cheap. The pair of items set us back a total of thirteen rupees. In dollars, at about fifty rupees to the dollar, that's about twenty-six cents. Unbelievable. The feast is on.
After our snack, we continued our walk. We passed two really old monument-like things. Domed, made of red brick, one served as a tomb. The dimensions of each monument was written on the plaque nearby, but not the date. Apparently they are from the Lodi period, but my knowledge of Indian history is not that great yet. We then stopped into a Hindu temple. After removing our shoes we went in. It was all white, the floor made of inlaid stones in an intricate pattern. We walked around for about two minutes, then unsure of exactly what to do, we went back to reclaim our shoes. As we continued on we came the the end road. Here another item of historical interest.
We are staying in the area of New Delhi called Hauz Khas which means 'royal tank' after a large reservoir built here in the 13th century. What we had stumbled on was the religious school built overlooking the water around the same time. On the United States this would have been a major attraction. For being nearly one thousand years old, it is in remarkable shape. Made of a similar red stone, the school had a number of buildings including a mosque, a number of tombs, and what are essentially dorms for the students.
 |
| The "tank" surrounded by the school |
The dorms were what struck me the most. Built into the walls, each room measured about five feet wide by eight feet deep. The door looked out across the water and an arched window was built above each door for additional light to enter. To study at the school must have been quite an honor.
 |
| A view from the ground looking into the dorms |
After exploring for a bit, the late morning heat was taking its toll. We picked up a bottle of water and a Diet Coke for forty rupees and began the journey home. Just before recrossing the street we bought one last snack. Three rotis and some form of dumpling in a yellow sauce for twenty rupees. Delicious.
For the morning, the total is below. Nice way to spend an extra day in Delhi. Some things are very different from Tununak.
Samosa and idli 13 rupees
Water and Diet Coke 40 rupees
Roti and some dumpling 20 rupees
Mango 21 rupees
Total 94 rupees (less than $2)
It begins...India
It appears that what is said about India is true. Maybe too grand of a statement for only being in the country for twenty-four hours, but I guess time will tell. To begin, Angie and I left from Minneapolis at about three in the afternoon. Eight hours later we were in the Amsterdam airport for five hours. Another eight hour flight brought us to New Delhi. For those adding up the travel time, that is about three hours shorter and two fewer planes than the Minneapolis-Tununak journey. It won't be the only difference between Alaska and India, I'm sure.
We landed in New Delhi around ten thirty at night India time. Waiting for us was our driver from Cross Cultural Solutions, Vicky. Wearing jeans, a polo, tennis shoes, and the a turban, Vicky was our guardian for the first part of the Indian adventure. This trend, the blending of Eastern and Western cultures, is present all over India. One other volunteer was on our plane, a recent high school graduate from Guatemala, Isabella, so the four of us made our way to a taxi.
In the taxi we quickly discovered that what is said about driving in India is true. Road rules are not rules as much as they are "guidelines". Even at midnight, the roads are full of life. The first thing I noticed was that the painted lines mean nothing to the drivers, at least in my opinion. If there is an opening in traffic, one must zip through. A courteous honk of the horn alerts the slower vehicle that you are passing or is heard from others when being passed. I have heard it derided as chaos and anarchy. But it is anything but. The diversity of vehicles, from trucks to taxis to small cars to three-wheeled motor rickshaws to bicycles to pedestrians - everyone moves along at there own pace. I never saw any agitation in the drivers around us or in our driver. It's just the way it goes.
Half an hour later we arrived at CCS's home base. Here we would be spending the next day and a half. A quick teeth brushing and it was off to bed as we began orientation first thing in the morning.
The heat in India is oppressive. The night we arrived, around midnight, registered at 94 degrees. It had to be close to that at eight thirty the following Monday with a promise to increase as the day progressed. I don't like the heat. The Indians appear unfazed. Life continues as it must. Here a connection to Tununak. Where the cold sucked motivation from me, the village went on with it's business. I don't know what it is, but weather is not as big a deal as I view it to be. It shows up every day, regardless of my desires, so why stress about it.
We landed in New Delhi around ten thirty at night India time. Waiting for us was our driver from Cross Cultural Solutions, Vicky. Wearing jeans, a polo, tennis shoes, and the a turban, Vicky was our guardian for the first part of the Indian adventure. This trend, the blending of Eastern and Western cultures, is present all over India. One other volunteer was on our plane, a recent high school graduate from Guatemala, Isabella, so the four of us made our way to a taxi.
 |
| Walking to the taxi, in the heat, led by Isabella |
In the taxi we quickly discovered that what is said about driving in India is true. Road rules are not rules as much as they are "guidelines". Even at midnight, the roads are full of life. The first thing I noticed was that the painted lines mean nothing to the drivers, at least in my opinion. If there is an opening in traffic, one must zip through. A courteous honk of the horn alerts the slower vehicle that you are passing or is heard from others when being passed. I have heard it derided as chaos and anarchy. But it is anything but. The diversity of vehicles, from trucks to taxis to small cars to three-wheeled motor rickshaws to bicycles to pedestrians - everyone moves along at there own pace. I never saw any agitation in the drivers around us or in our driver. It's just the way it goes.
Half an hour later we arrived at CCS's home base. Here we would be spending the next day and a half. A quick teeth brushing and it was off to bed as we began orientation first thing in the morning.
The heat in India is oppressive. The night we arrived, around midnight, registered at 94 degrees. It had to be close to that at eight thirty the following Monday with a promise to increase as the day progressed. I don't like the heat. The Indians appear unfazed. Life continues as it must. Here a connection to Tununak. Where the cold sucked motivation from me, the village went on with it's business. I don't know what it is, but weather is not as big a deal as I view it to be. It shows up every day, regardless of my desires, so why stress about it.
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