First full day (Day 1)

6/13

So, it’s a little weird running a blog and video journal side by side because I write about stuff that I don’t talk about and vice versa. Today we had orientation with the people running each Institution that we are going to be at. Yes, another boring orientation. At least this one was only half a day. The one thing I did learn was from the Indian doctor that came to speak to us, and that was “Hot water each day, keep bad things away.” Today I was hoping we would find out who we were staying with, both host family and potential roommate, but we learned about neither. 

After lunch we were able to go off on our own for the afternoon in Delhi. Myself, Rhea, Kevin, and Iushi all decided to visit Conaught Place which is a bustling shopping center/market in the center of New Delhi. Riding the New Delhi Metro was an EXPERIENCE!!! If you think the New York City Metro is crowded, think again. Indian’s are great because they are accommodating. I.E., if the bench is designed to hold 4 people, they will fit at least 6. That’s exactly how the metro cars were…. PACKED. I was ridiculously impressed with how clean they are. Granted they are only about 15 years old, but they were pristine. Once at C.P. we went searching for this underground store called Pilkar Bazzar. We were told it was like a Wal-mart Indian style. It was pretty ridiculous. The amount of people in this circular store with rows and rows of vendors was unreal. I have never been touched by so many men in my life. Every vendor owner felt the need to touch me/grab my hand and pull me into their store. At one point, two men had each hand and were trying to pull me different directions into their store. What an experience. I love how everything is ridiculously cheap though. The metro there and back for four people was 98 Rupees (Rs. 98). That’s approximately $2. Yea, 50 cents round trip per person can’t be beat. Now we are back at the hotel and packing up to finally leave New Delhi and exchange it with Lucknow.