Potpourri

Here are some random thoughts about life here:


Laundry: In Tanzania, we did our own laundry. But, in India, it is easier to have someone do it. If you take your bag of laundry to the main office in the morning, it is back clean and pressed the next day. A typical bag (3 pants, 3 shirts, 3 dresses) will cost less than $3.00. I don’t know where they do the washing, but we see many people here with their irons filled with wood and coal, pressing clothes outside right in the apartment complex. .

Shopping: Right outside the gate of our apartment complex is Hauz Khas Market. You can find anything here – fine jewelry, toilets, groceries, toys, books, internet cafes, temples and the post office. A 20-30 minute walk away (depending on how long you stare at the sights around you) is Hauz Khas Village. This is an upscale shopping area with nice shops and restaurants. It has been compared to NY’s Soho district. And, of course, there are many many markets around Delhi

Traffic: We’ve been a lot of places and seen a lot of terrible traffic (Thailand, Korea, Rome), but it all pales when compared to Delhi traffic. It isn’t only the number of vehicles (which is many), but it is the (lack of) driving techniques employed by the drivers here. And by drivers, I mean drivers of autos, auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles, mopeds, busses and trucks. (Oh, and don't forget the animals roaming around on the roads.) The first rule is this: if there is an empty space anywhere on the road, fill it. The second rule is: the biggest vehicle wins. A corollary to the rules is: you must honk your horn constantly. Are they saying: let me through? I want to get ahead of you? hi, how are you? It is difficult to say but the noise makes your head hurt!

Food: We generally eat breakfast in the flat. They have bread, eggs, peanut butter, cookies, jams, honey, cereals, milk, juice, bananas and apples. (No cappuccino though!) At 1:00 or whenever we get back from our placement, a hot lunch is served. At 7:00 is dinner. Both lunch and dinner are good, wholesome Indian cuisine – rice, Indian breads (naan or roti), lentils, paneer (a wonderful cheese), soup, salad. Every Thursday is special with garlic naan, tandori chicken and tandori paneer. We’ve eaten out several times – always Indian so far. Some of the kids here have Pizza Hut deliver a pizza when they have the yen for American (?) food. Of course, we often augment our meals with an ice cream treat. Ice cream must be produced for Indian tastes. It just doesn’t have the oomph of Ben & Jerry you know, but any port in a storm...

Weather: So far, the weather has been beautiful. We had a thunderstorm last Friday evening; that’s the only rain we’ve seen in over three weeks. It has been hot (highs in the low/mid 90’s), but we’ve noticed that it is a little cooler in the mornings and evenings lately. Our flat has many ceiling fans but only the bedrooms have air conditioners. The only problem with our AC is that it has only one speed – freezing. So most nights, we cool the room down, turn off the AC and turn on the ceiling fan.

Newspapers: We get three newspapers delivered daily and it is interesting to read about the local news. For the first two weeks, 2/3 of the paper was devoted to the Commonwealth Games. Now, 1/2 of the paper is devoted to the aftermath/corruption of the preparations for the games. There are also many articles about the Bollywood stars and their lives. There is very little about the USA and mostly, it is somewhat negative. They certainly are not happy that the US gave Pakistan $2 billion which, India feels, will be used against them.