Back in Delhi

cooksinindia

October 5- 5:15pm (IST) 7:45am (EST)
We arrived back in Delhi at around 8pm last night. As I stepped off the plane I was reminded of my first impression of India 4 weeks ago. First, it is still hot- 33c (92f) at 8pm and while it is fairly dry there is a heaviness and an aroma in the air. There is generally a smoky haze on the horizon and never much of a breeze. It is not unpleasant and the smell is one I'm sure I'll never forget.

We got a prepaid taxi and headed off to the flat. My first taxi ride in this country is forever imprinted on my brain. Cows, pigs, people walking, bicycles and scooters darting in and out, constant horn blaring and at every stop someone asking for alms or trying to sell flowers, postcards, magazines. None of this has changed of course in the last 4 weeks but I guess my perception of it has. We think nothing of the start and stop traffic, noise, near misses with cows and bicycle rickshaws. We also navigated the airport like old pros.

This morning, Mike left for Kathmandu, Nepal to get his visa switched from a tourist visa to a work visa. Hopefully the transaction at the Indian Embassy there will go off without a hitch and he will head back on Saturday. He's hoping to get up into the mountains a little but time is limited. I am encouraging him to take a plane ride I read about that goes up into the mountains and around Everest. I am very jealous. I hope he takes a lot of pictures and I'll teach him how to add to this blog.

Mike will start teaching full time on Monday. He has been going in a few days a week to observe and do a little unofficial lessons but he is anxious to get started. He is hoping that the students will start to get used to him and start treating him like a regular teacher. The last time he was there he was surrounded by about 200 kids asking for autographs. He said it created a bit of a scene.

The kids and I are stuck in the flat for the afternoon today because they are fogging our area in Gurgaon for mosquitos. There have been many cases of Dengue fever here and in Delhi and now I read in the paper that there have been cases of Chikungunya (I had to look it up- also known as chicken guinea fever) here in Gurgaon. They are both caused by mosquitos and can have serious complications. We do take precautions but it is almost impossible to avoid being bit. We are protected from Malaria by the once weekly medication. I keep thinking of the law of averages in a city of 16 million. So far we are all remain healthy except for the occasional stomach upset. The situation should be better as things dry post monsoon.

Tomorrow we will head into the city for some more sight seeing and shopping. I have found it a little hard to make decisions while shopping because there are so many choices. Each region in India has some beautiful handicraft in which it specializes. I, of course, want one of everything. I am particularly overwhelmed by the choices of fabric-clothes, purses, scarves, wall hangings. Luckily I haven't been as mesmerized by the jewelry which is equally as beautiful. I'll save that for next trip.

Hope you enjoy the photos from Goa.
Look for more postings after Mike gets back from Nepal.