Saturday, March 10, 2007

Delhi



We arrived at Delhi from Chicago in an amazingly short time....14 hours. The non-stop flight was full. After a disorienting change of time that may takes days to sort out, we deplaned, walked through customs, and walked out onto the streets at 10:00 pm.

The most confusing time when entering another city, not to speak of a different culture, is the first hour. The money we changed makes no sense, the language, even though English in this case, is hard to understand, and then there are the crowds and horns. Our taxi driver showed up like we planned via the internet. What we did not expect were the dozens of men eager to help the six of us load our luggage, all of whom would expect a tip - the amount of which we were not sure of. We waved most of them away, got our luggage into the van, paid a couple of them, and closed the door, safe we thought.

Maybe it's that I have been in Hillsboro too long, or maybe it is that Delhi is one wildly congested city even at 10:00 pm, but it was worse than any traffic jam I have seen in Hillsboro....ever...even when the football game is over. Cars, trucks, autorickshaws, motorcycles weaved in and out with no turn signals, finding just enough space to squeeze into. Ooops, right in front of us, a tiny car attempted to slide into a spot and the bit truck hit the side of it, tearing off the rear light. No one stopped.

We made it to our YMCA without further incident, only to find two of our four rooms had been taken by someone else since we had not confirmed 48 hours before. A solution to this problem was found after some discussion, four women in one small room, two men in the other. And so our first day came to a close, our bodies thinking it was 1:30 in the afternoon but the clock said 1:00 am. By 9:00 am, which would be 9:00 pm CST, we were to be ready for a day exploring Delhi.

It is obvious that those here in Delhi know what was going on. It was also obvious that we do not. And that is why we came, to make the unfamiliar a little bit familiar, to make what which seems strange a bit familiar. We will see if it works..after the gift of sleep is administered to our bodies.

Lawrence