Just my thoughts and impressions on India so far. The people (ie: men) who work in our hotel are very nice, especially since Froody was sick. They are a good resource and seem to want to offer good services, even referring us to another hotel down the street when we wanted to hire a car.
Hiring a car: That was something I never thought we'd do. It seemed like a very expensive thing to do, but since we wanted to see some sights outside the downtown area hiring a car just seemed the easiest way to do it. We were surprised how cheap it was; only Rs650 (~USD15)for a car and driver for 8 hours. He did a good job, was friendly, suggested a tasty and not too expensive place for lunch, and offered to take us to other places after we were done with our temples. He even told us that if we go to this handicraft emporium he'd get Rs50, which would mean a lot to him and his family, but we didn't have to if we didn't want to. We declined one, but let him take us to another later on.
Different: Obviously, things are done differently here than at home. Like, getting to school. In the mornings and afternoons you'll see these rickshaws full of children going to and from school. That is one hard-working man! Another difference is in all the dogs. They are EVERYWHERE and I think it's lucky that people mostly seem to ignore them, so they don't learn that people are mean and therefore attack you. What's funny about them is that during the day you see them sleeping everywhere, as if their nightlife is so busy that they just crashed where they were. There is a local newspaper printed in English, that's something we haven't seen yet. I found the personals, only here they're called the matrimonials and the ads seem to be written by the family. I think the categories are regional and religious and caste. A lot of the ads include the girl's/boy's age and weight and many include the date of birth and a few include the time. The one requesting brides will also talk about what line of work the father is in. One asked that you reply with a photo, a bio, a horoscope, and a paragraph. The divorced/widowed section is very small and will describe the person as "issueless."
Tired: I'm done. I told Froody that I was done with 5 months of in-your-face poverty. I'm tired of seeing people peeing in the streets, watching I don't step in poop (animal and human), minding the stray dogs and cats, and ignoring the beggars. It's not that I really want to go home right now, but my empathy has been played out and I'm not strong enough to handle another 5 months of the same (South East Asia). Each morning I have to brace myself for the stink, the filth, and the poverty I'm going to see as soon as I leave the hotel. I need a break.
Life: Life is lived in the streets of Delhi. All kinds of life! People, dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, pigeons, hawks, oxen, goats, horses, cows, calves, can all be seen in the streets. Also, all kinds of living! You see people excreting every kind of bodily fluid. I saw a young girl just puke out the window of a crowded bus as it rolled to a halt right next to me. And the men spit everything everywhere. You see poor men sleeping on the sidewalks and everyone just steps around them. I've seen older boys bathing in the street- yes, all lathered up in soap with a cloth around their waists. I've seen women working in construction, mainly with a pick-axe or shovel, digging holes as their small children play nearby. You seen people eating, drinking chai, getting a shave, right on the streets. There's men asking my husband if he wants his ears cleaned, their implements sticking out of dirty red turbans.
You can't help but be a witness to life in India.
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