DELHI

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Saturday, October 18, 2008/Sunday, October 19, 2008
I’m here! The first thing I noticed walking out of the airport was the constant melody of honks. Indians seem to use some sort of sonar system with their horns instead of just looking in their mirrors when driving. I also noticed that the lines separating lanes are non-existent to drivers. If the lines separate the road into 2 lanes, Indians make 3; if there are 3 lanes, Indians make 4 or 5, depending on the size of the shoulder. Motorcycles seem to drive directly on the lines. There were a couple times when we seemed to stop at green lights and go on red. The only thing we stopped for was the cow that casually sauntered across the road. Seemed like a pretty typical drive through Delhi. When a fellow volunteer jokingly asked the driver if there were any rules of the road, the driver laughed, pointed at the horn and said: “Only Indian rules.” He found this quite amusing.

The next morning I awoke after a maximum of 2 hours sleep the entire night. We had orientation with our in-country program leader all morning. We then went to a south Indian restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we went shopping where all the girls bought a salwaar kameez (casual Indian outfit) for our volunteer placements. They basically consist of a long tunic type shirt, baggy pants, and a scarf - very comfortable.

The highlight of the trip so far happened when we thought our day was over. Relaxing in our room, my two roommates and I suddenly heard drumming coming from outside. Since we knew a wedding was happening earlier that evening, we immediately rushed down the stairs and into the street, being careful not to get run over by any cars or motorized rickshaws. We suddenly see a group of people dancing around a man sitting on a horse (the groom). The whole scene was decorated with lights, flowers, and spectacular Indian get-up. We were immediately invited to join the party by the groom’s brother. There was nothing left to do but celebrate with our new Indian friends by dancing to the pseudo marching band. Even though we wanted to say yes when our new buddies invited us to go eat at the party, we had to decline.

Although I should be passed out right now from exhaustion, this night has left me pumping with adrenaline and a huge smile on my face. ☺

Namaste!

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Photos

Wedding Party
You can make out my hands in the air (clearly the highest ones) and my roommate's back with the beige tee.

Wedding Party Lights
This little boy was so happy I took his picture, he was posing for me before I even removed the lens cap. :)

Comments

[Liz]

This is all too much for me! so glad you are having a good time xo

[Seema]

Kathleen...i am so glad that you are already having a blast dancing and rejoicing in the Indian Wedding. :) That is quite an experience! I tell you, you write so beautifully! Looking forward to your next update! Love Seema