Namaste from Delhi! The flight was long, but our crew reached India with a lot of excitement and energy. It was pretty late when we got to the guest house in South Delhi - an up and coming "trendy" part of town.
After a slightly jet lagged sleep and a flavorful breakfast, we got right to business with the first of a series of orientation meetings. We covered several topics including culture, health, safety, and the expectations of the program.
Soon after, we exchanged money with a banking professional who came to the guest house--very convenient!-- and headed out into the city. All of the students were thrilled with their first auto rickshaw ride and they thoroughly enjoyed the amazing sights that Delhi traffic has to offer. The cows on the median of major roads were a big hit!
We spent a couple of hours in FabIndia, a great store for vibrant and colorful Indian clothing. (The FabIndia Company started the school in which we will work in Rajasthan.) Afterwards, we took a low key driving tour of the city in a fleet of air conditioned taxi cabs. We stopped off at the India Gate and enjoyed the surrounding park. We even watched a friendly cricket match on an open grassy field. It was HOT, but enjoyable. And, of course, we made sure to drive by Embassy Row and the President's Palace. Later, we unexpectedly took a tour of a posh mall where we saw a demonstration of hand woven rugs. Of course the demonstration was followed by a skilled sales pitch. It was interesting to say the least... We capped off our day out with a nice South Indian dinner. We ate dosa, sambar, uthappam... it was delicious!
Exhausted as we were by the time we got back to the Guest House, the students decided to put on a fashion show for us in their new Indian attire. We have a creative, vivacious, and hilarious bunch with a blossoming interest for Bollywood. We couldn't ask for more! As the rest of our students went to sleep, the final member of our team arrived at the airport. We are really excited to get to know her and share a great month together.
Today, day two in Delhi, we plan on seeing some architectural wonders including the Mughal emperor Humayun's tomb, the lotus shaped Baha'i temple, and the famous Qutub Minar. And tonight we embark on our first night train to Rajasthan. Our work is about to begin!!! Stay tuned for our next update from Falna.
-Ted and Priyanka
-Ted and Priyanka
