Arriving in Delhi
I was tired but not sleepy and it took forever for my luggage to come round the belt. I was actually starting to wonder if it had been lost, luckily I was having a conversation with a nice Aussie that I had acquainted with during the flight... we kept each other occupied while waiting... (I have never lost luggage in the past so I always believe that my current flight will be the time that MY luggage goes missing.... everyone has a luggage nightmare story right?) After grabbing my baggage I headed to customs and made it through without a hassle. I remember reading that there would be a lot of people holding signs to pick up passengers... that was an understatement. It was crowded and I felt like there were a million signs... none of which said my name or VSO...I kept searching and retracing the signs for a good half hour. Luckily Nikki, another volunteer who had found VSO walked up to me and asked if I was AnnMarie... I was so relieved. I suppose I have that volunteer look.
There were eight of us arriving from Heathrow that night... it was nice to get talking to people right away. We made our way back to the Indian Social Institute, got some money, mosquito nets, first aid kits(which contain clean needles... just in case I am in need of one), general information about Delhi and our syllabus. I was also happy to learn that the next day was a free day to do as we pleased. The second day in India was the start of "In country orientatoin" which consists of language and cultural training in New Delhi. After this 4 week program, the volunteers will be split up to their respective placements at partnering NGOs across the country.
Looking out from the Indian Social Institute. Notice the cemented shards of glass along the wall... probably is as effective as it looks.
Exploring Delhi
We decided that 1pm would be an ideal time to meet... considering it was a little past 5am when we finally got to bed... (I tossed and turned for a few hours until finally I slept for a few hours.)
We met at one as planned and decided to check out the local shops and made note of internet cafes and places to buy soap and toilet paper. I found as we walked down the street we were gawked at a little and children would come come up to say hello. We stopped for a coffee in a more western looking shop which had air con and was playing Emimen. (*chika-chika* Slim Shady!) To my delight there was an item on the menu called the “Vegan Shake”. :D It was a delicious iced coffee. Mmmmmm. We continued on and explored Lordi Gardens which is a well known park that was filled with temples from the 1400rs, parakeets and a man trying to sell us tea every time we passed him... even though we kept saying 'no thank you'! It also has a jogging track (Score!) and is the park where we will be practicing yoga at 6am! After the park a volunteer called Jenn and I headed out to one of the internet cafes as we had been dying to check email and update twitter and facebook with status changes of our arrival. The connection was slow but not terrible. I had some teary moments as I read all of the well-wishing posts to my wall. I miss everyone so much.
Spirit house that can been seen from the 4th floor patio of our training building.
Breakfast and lunch are supplied through the hostel on weekdays so we embarked on our first journey to the local markets for supper. I suggested South Indian food so that the gang could have dosas which I love and none of them had really had before. After a frightening yet fun motorized rickshaw journey to the markets we found the restaurant. My tummy began to rumble as soon as I walked in the door as I had not eaten much since I landed... I think my lack of appetite was caused by the stress of leaving home and traveling but also from excitement of it all. Everyone loved their dinner and I ate every bite! After dinner we looked in some shops and I found Silk! (double score!) It was expensive by local standards as it is imported from the US but worth the 200rs to me. Although I have only been to a handful of shops I find all the shop keepers to be courteous, helpful and honest as most prices are fixed and marked on the items they sell.
We had fun bargaining for our rickshaw back to the hostel where the driver was trying to charge us 50rs even though it had only cost us 30 to get there. We settled at 40 and hit the road. Afterward the gang had a quick tea and a chat then headed to bed... which is where I am writing this blog from right now... well drafting it into OpenOffice Writer until I can be connected with my beloved internet once again... goodnight.
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