Day 48

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Trip Start Jun 19, 2008 Previous
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  Delhi, India
Friday, August 8, 2008

    The past couple days have been pretty amazing.
    Tuesday we spent most of the day lounging around and doing errands.  We finally invested in a five liter bottle of water and some nalgene-like bottles so that we can stay hydrated easier.  The landlord lives above us and he has people come everyday who clean his apartment and he offered their services to us too, for 300 Rs a month.  Wednesday was their first day here, and it was a whirl wind for the entire time.  There are three people, one who washes our clothes, one who sweeps and takes out garbage, and one who mops (more like scrubs on his hands and knees).  They do all these jobs to the entire apartment in about 30 minutes.  And they don't care much for privacy; they obviously get paid by the job, not by the hour, so even if you're sleeping they'll come in the room to clean it.  (Imagine Andrew's surprise, it's like having 3 Lucys except he has no car to escape in!)  They wanted to come everyday, but we told them that we don't need them everyday

India Gate

.  They insisted that they wanted to come everyday, and we realized that it's because they thought we wouldn't pay them the full 300 Rs if they didn't come everyday.  300 Rs is less than $10, which I have no problem giving to them.  So we promised them the same 300 Rs even if they just come three times a week.  So we agreed on Mon Wed Fri.  We also had AC installed in our room (for free!).  One day we were talking to the real estate agent and we noted that on the information sheet about this apartment it said we would have AC, but there was none.  He said "Okay, I'll give you guys a unit".  And just like that the next day they came in and gave it to us!  So apparently to get what you want, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
    Tuesday afternoon we met up with three friends on the metro to go visit India Gate.  India gate is a war memorial (like the Arc de Triumph) with a burning flame for the unknown soldiers underneath.  It's surrounded by a giant rectangular park, and on the other side are parliament buildings.  It also has the most garbage cans I've ever seen in India.  They obviously try to keep the place really nice, and they do a very good job.  There are small ponds where you can rent paddle boats and go around in circles.  There are lots of popcorn, ice cream, and candy vendors.  I also got henna done on my feet (of course I got ripped off, but that's what I get for being in a touristy area).  Over all it was a pretty relaxing day at the park

1-India Gate

. 
            Wednesday we also hung out at the apartment for a bit.  Then we had a Hindi course from 5-6:30.  Mostly it was just review, but I like the teacher a lot.  She focused a lot more on practical stuff instead of academic stuff, which I appreciate.  Instead of learning things like "the book is on the table" she taught us how to haggle with rickshaw drivers and how to address others.  After class Andrew and I went to this import store next to the study center that has things like Skippy peanut butter and Tostitos salsa (but no tortilla chips, those seem impossible to get in India).   We got some garlic bread and on our way home picked up some oil, tomatoes, onions, and rotini.  We then made our own dinner in our own little kitchen (with only one gas burning stove).  It was kind of fun, but also a lot of work to do all that shopping and hot to cook in the little kitchen.  The cost of all that was the same as an order to butter chicken and naan, which can be delivered to our doorstep for free.  So Andrew and I have decided it's not really worth it to cook all the time, but it's kind of fun to try.
            Thursday we had our orientation for the Art History class at 1:30.  The Art History course is a course designed just for us EAP students at the National Museum.  It is an amazing opportunity.  The staff takes turns giving lectures according to their specialty

2-India Gate

.  We have about an hour of lecture, and then half an hour walking around looking at the artifacts/paintings in the galleries.  The stuff there was amazingly old.  They had artifacts from the Indus Civilization, including a skeleton that was about from about 2500 BC.  And it wasn't a plaster cast; it was the real thing!  The guide said that they could tell it was a woman because she was still wearing bangles around her wrist.  I thought that was pretty funny.  With the course we also get free entry into the museum whenever we want.  I'm not sure how often we would go, but it's on the other side of town and its air conditioned, so that might be convenient if we're stuck over there for some reason.  The class is two times a week for an hour and a half.  Both Andrew and I plan on taking it.  The museum is also right next to India gate, so afterwards we just walked to it to catch a rickshaw.
            A group of us decided to go to Lotus House of Worship.  Lotus House of Worship is of the Baha'i Faith, which according to their pamphlet, "invite peoples of all religions and races to worship the Creator of the Universe and to express the love between God and man."  It's a kind of universalistic worshiping place that does many different types of services.  I don't know how else to describe it, but this place is beautiful.  The architecture and landscape is beautiful, but it's also more than that.  The entire atmosphere has a pleasant energy

3-India Gate

.  There were a lot of people there, and all of them seemed very friendly.  Lots of people asked to take pictures with us and asked us where we were from.   One guy asked me where I was from and I said America.  And he said, oh, America, tell me about the French language.  I'm not quite sure of the connection, but I think he was just trying to make conversation.  Inside it is filled with pews, and is completely silent except for the birds outside.  It was strangely peaceful yet full of energy at the same time. We spent over an hour there, just looking around.  It was really amazing. Once the sun started to set everything turned that golden color and everything seems rosy.  One of the girls we were with said "I feel like I'm at home."  I'm not sure if she meant California, or just comfortable, but I felt the same way too. 
            While we were staying at the YWCA for the first week in Delhi, our meals were served by a catering company.  The guys whose family owned the company became our friends.  They helped us get our cell phones sorted out, and they would give us advice on where to go, they even took a group of us to the movies one night.  Last night they decided to host a dinner for us at their private banquet hall.  I was picturing just a white room with a table.  I was quite wrong.  It was the stereotype of India that you see in Hollywood films.  There was fabric hanging off the walls, colorful tables filled with food, pillows all over the ground and a stage with dancers

4-India Gate

.  There was a religious ceremony going on in the downstairs room, so they set up tables for us on the roof.  We had our own private little rooftop with a DJ and an open bar.  They served us appetizers and we all danced.  It was a lot of fun.  The roof was lined with little lights but there was so much light from the city that it was well lit.  After the religious ceremony was over we got to go downstairs into the room and eat all the leftovers.  By that time it was 2 o'clock in the morning.  I was exhausted so we went home, but I think some people stayed after to dance some more.  They had cars and gave us all free rides home. 
            The best part? When we came home the internet guy had come and we now have wireless in our apartment!  So I am now updating this from the comfort of my bed with the AC on and everything.  I can now upload more videos and if anybody wants to set up a video chat session on AIM send me a message!  Andrew is still sleeping, but says he'll update later, first he needs to catch up on his online glass discussion board.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures & Videos

India Gate with Leslie and Giana	5-India Gate	India Gate Ice Cream with Giana and Leslie	India Gate Henna
6-India Gate	Next Day after Art History	Driving to Lotus Temple	Lotus Temple
1-Lotus Temple	2-Lotus Temple	3-Lotus Temple	4-Lotus Temple
5-Lotus Temple	Lotus Temple Gang	6-Lotus Temple	Lotus Temple Andrew and Summer
7-Lotus Temple	Lotus House of Worship	8-Lotus Temple	9-Lotus Temple
10-Lotus Temple	11-Lotus Temple	12-Lotus Temple	14-Lotus Temple
15-Lotus Temple	16-Lotus Temple	17-Lotus Temple	18-Lotus Temple
19-Lotus Temple	20-Lotus Temple	21-Lotus Temple	22-Lotus Temple
23-Lotus Temple	Lotus Temple Dragonfly	Lotus Temple Sunset	Driving to the banquet
Banquet	1-Banquet	2-Banquet	3-Banquet
4-Banquet	5-Banquet	BanquetBanquetBanquet	Banquet Andrew dancing by himself

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