July 3 email

Howdy y'all,

So I made it safely to India- what a place! It is like nothing I have ever seen. It only took exiting the airport to make an impression on me- the driver's car was blocked in by a van, so instead of finding the driver to the van, my driver just started pushing the van (yes, pushing it) until we could get out (of course, there is no break on the car whe you are pushing it, so it gently rolled into the car in front of it. we pulled out of the space and not 2 km from the parking lot did i see my first animal (an emaciated donkey?) on the road. after a semi-chaotic drive to the apartment> where i have been staying, via driving on a road that better resembles a> sidewalk, i met the very lovely and gracious family that has been hosting me> during my stay in delhi.>> i have spent the past 2 days touring a bit around the city, yesterday's> highlight was Gandhi Smriti, which is the house Gandhi was assasinated in.> The other highlight was the first sighting of a family of monkeys hanging> out on a corner (I was in a car, so not to worry about getting bitten),> which is much more interesting than the mangy dogs and goats that roam> about. Today I went to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, and I got
> ripped off by a guy who gave me a tour, after a Rs200 fee for the camera he> charged another Rs250 for his "service" as a guide, most of which he said I> couldn't understand. However, the grand total of Rs450 is less than $10, so> it wasn't a large financial loss. But now I know better- it is like NYC,> you just start to ignore people as they come up to you and try to push> whatever they are hustling- and everyone is trying to sell you somethign.> However, the old city of Delhi was pretty disgusting and filthy, and doesn't> capture a charm I think many westerners expect in older city centers.>> One striking thing about Delhi is the mass amount of people here, sleeping> everywhere, selling everything, and existing all over the place. We have> driven through some informal settlements/slums. It is really a terribly sad> state of existence for the poor living in India's large cities- garbage is> piled in large heaps of plastic bottles, waste material, and who knows what> else, children are bathed on the side of the road, and hoousing structures> are lopsided, but standing. You can't compare it to anything in America.>> I will be flying to Udaipur tomorrow- known as the "most romantic city in> India" because of its beauty. i will be meeting with the ngo i will be> working with for the rest of the summer (seva mandir) and will be able to> begin my work in earnest.>> I hope all is well with everyone, and do stay in touch this summer- a lot> less people speak english than I had anticipated, seriously , what tourist> by choice would be here is this weather (it is like a hosuton summer, minus> he AC), but the lack of tourists makes India much more real.