Two days in Delhi

luggage update: I'm suing American Airlines' ass off!
The rest of life is going quite well. Yesterday we picked up another intern. His name is Jacob and he's from UCLA. Pretty cool guy. Katie, Jacob and I decided to venture out and see the city! We took an auto rickshaw to Connaught Place, which is in the center of Delhi. There are traffic signals and even lines for lanes on the roads...yet no one follows them. If you don't honk, people think you don't know how to drive and will hit you. Needless to say, there is a lot of honking going on! The rickshaws are crowded with three people but we made it. The minute we were let off near the center of Connaught Circus, we were scammed. A man threw some sort of gue on Jacob's shoe and then wanted to clean it off...for a price. Good thing he's traveled through Asia and was familiar with the trick.
The Bazar was craziness! All around the circle there are entrances to the underground shopping place. I still needed clothes and such so we went on down. Everyone screams at you to buy their stuff and will box it up if you so much as ask for a price! I did find some cute shoes though! :) I wittled the price from 600 rupees ($12 USD) to 300R.
Exhausted from being yelled at, the three of us walked to Pakirama restaurant. It is a great place on the top of this office building that rotates 360 degrees, giving us a bird's eye view of our home for the summer. It was so beautiful! I ordered the Rogan Josh with naan. If I had a camera I'd have taken a picture of it!
Around touristy areas, people will come up to us, acting all helpful, and try to get us to go the tourist office so they get a commission. Walking from the restaurant to India Gate, we could not shake this guy! Utterly relentless. India Gate looks like the Arc d Triumph in Paris, but instead of being a tribute to war, it is a memorial of those lost during WWII.
The heat really wears you out so we didn't do much else on saturday other than get cell phones and snack on pingles. We're in a mostly Hindu city which means that alcohol is only sold in certain places...and we couldn't find any. boo...
SUNDAY
Last night I slept well! There wasn't as much morning noise today. There are these guys riding around on bikes who sound like barnyard animals, almost naying, at all hours. I have no idea what they're doing but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it! (watch for update)
Even further north of Connaught place lies Old Delhi. Old Delhi is what I expected New Delhi to look like. There are tens of thousands of people in the streets, the traffic does not move, and the streets are pretty dirty. It also smells. The traffic here really is insane! People walk in the middle of the street, there are people selling things in the street, and no one follows any sort of rule. The cars, buses, and rickshaws all have "please honk" or "use horn" signs painted across their bumpers. This was also my first encounter with real sad, sick looking beggars. I felt so bad for them!
Our taxi driver finally reached Lahor Gate, or better known as the Red Gate. It's a huge complex that was built by one of the last Mongol rulers in 1638. It was gorgeous! The only bad part was that Katie and I were being followed by three teenage-ish boys who were taking pictures of us. And all this time I thought I was only famous in my head ;)
The tourist attractions here are not like Europe. There are only a few signs and explanations and very little has been well preserved. Inside the gate (which is a beautiful wall-ed complex) there were marble houses and stone work. I bought a red beaded necklace. But the whole stalking incident made us uncomfortable and we decided to move on.
By the time we got out of the Red Gate it was past noon and well over 100 degrees. The rickshaw drives were rude though so we decided to walk to our next destination: Jama Masjid. Jama Masjid is India's largest Mosque. Getting there was the adventure though. We traveled through a market filled with scrawny chickens, fish sitting in the sun, and meat hanging from hooks. Most of the women we passed were in burkas. We had to take our shoes off in the Mosque, which shortened our stay because the stone floor was burning hot!
Now we're back in our neck of the woods: South Delhi near a place called Deer Park. I like it here alot actually.

If there is anything you want to know, or questions, just leave a comment!
Lindsey

safe and sound

Hello from Delhi! I made it safe and sound! The flight was 14.5 hours from Chicago and to tell you the truth, not all that bad. I didn't really sleep a lot either because I wanted to be adjusted. We're 12.5 hours ahead so when I touched down around 9pm here, it was 8:30 am in Cashmere. I wanted to be able to sleep when I got to my flat so I tried to stay awake. They had good movies so it wasn't hard to remain conscious. My main concern on the plane was the absolutely HUGE cold sore I have on my lower lip. Of course, being the genius that I am, I packed my medication. I serious lug that tube everywhere with me! The one time I put it in my makeup bag...and American Airlines loses my bag!! My bag did not make it to Delhi along with me. :( Apparently AA cannot move one lousy piece of luggage from gate K10 to gate K19 in an hour. Too much to ask. They're traveling here via Air India and should arrive around 5pm. Good thing I can get two entire outfits for about $5US. shopping here I come!!!
I'm living in a small flat with a girl name Katie from Atlanta. She's super sweet! I'll post pictures of the place later (camera in baggage). It's interesting...but you all know me...I'm not super picky. I have a nice cot in the "living room." We have really good AC (thank god!) and a kitchen with no appliances. It's a sink really is all. And the bathroom is my favorite part! It has a sink and a toilet but the shower...well...it's a shower head on the wall. no tub, no doors, no enclosure of any kind. Just a drain in the middle of the floor.
Right now its just me, Katie, and an Indian girl from Calcutta. There are two more Americans arriving this weekend, and supposedly two more guys from England :) yes yes yes
Anyhoo...on my lunch break so I should see what Garjinder has made for us today. Garjinder is our chai-walla/cook. He speaks absolutely no English but is exceptionally nice. I need to brush up on my hindi. Even my broken spanish is no use to me over here (not that it would do me an ounce of good in Mexico either).
Sean, I'm keeping an eye out on the toilet design situation over here. So far it is not as inconsistent as Italy. :)

the time has come

Well....off I go! I'm sitting in the seattle airport right now waiting for my much delayed flight to leave. good thing I allowed a 4 hour lay over in Chicago or I would never had made it (and I still may not make my connection)! I'm excited to be going someplace new but that's also the scariest part of this adventure. I've never been anywhere like New Delhi and know very few people who have traveled there. This will not be Italy and there will be no SPACE-E :) I miss Nat, Jenn, Juanessa, Pat, BJ, and Sean already!
I received an email from Ravi Rair, my contact and the executive director of SAHRDC yesterday about my arrival. I'm being picked up at the airport in Delhi by a Mr. Gajindir Singh Rawat and taken to the guest house before more permanent accommodations are set up. This guy runs the whole show.
Well...I'm boarding! If anyone wants me to bring them something back let me know!

love much xoxo Linds