First Few Days - December 4, 2010

I have been in India for 4 days now and I am going through a massive culture shock. Here in Delhi, India I am working at the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), primarily in the reproductive rights department. I am working under Sukti, who is a class of 2006 Northeastern Law School graduate.

Initially, arriving at the airport and seeing the amount of people walking around and the security guards with loaded war guns was extremely awkward. When I arrived at the airport the first thing I did was get a cell phone! The cell phone that I bought is a prepaid cell phone. It seems to cost a fortune to call home so needless to say I will not be using it often. After I got my pre paid phone I went to find a taxi. In the Delhi airport you pre-pay at the taxi booths and then give your ticket to the taxi driver outside. As I was riding in my first taxi I honestly thought the taxi was going to get into an accident. It was CRAZY! The drivers here do not drive fast, rather, they drive while constantly beeping their horns, and almost hitting pedestrians. How can I explain the driving here? On any given road or highway there is a mixture of cars, buses, taxis, bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, horses, scooters, and people. There are a TON of people everywhere, and I am definitely not used to being scared to death while riding in a rickshaw or cab. I bet my friends in America are laughing because they all think I cannot drive. Needless to say, friends in America: I know how you feel when you ride with me in the car. Lol.

My first night in India I took a cab to the HRLN rooms above the office building. I arrived at the office 11:30 at night and the security guard met me at the door. I had a misconception prior to coming to India that most people knew English as a second language, but I was wrong. The security guard did not really understand that I was an intern with HRLN and that I had permission to stay in the rooms above the office. Eventually, he called someone who helped to explain that to him. I could not sleep the first night because A. I was in an unfamiliar place. B. There was a lot of noise outside C. I was not tired and D. I did not feel comfortable sleeping in the rooms above the office building. Because of D, I was determined to find a place to live.

My second day in India I went apartment hunting. Here, they call it paying guests. Basically, a paying guest is kind of like a homestay, where a person rents out a room in a house. After a day of “apartment” hunting I found a paying guest room in Mrs. Malik’s house. The cool thing about living in Mrs. Malik’s house is that another intern for HRLN, Chloe (who is from Ireland) also lives here. Needless to say it was refreshing that there was another intern living in the same house as me. Chloe and I stay in the rooftop garden which means we live on the roof of the house in two rooms. Also on the roof there is a bathroom in which you have to go outside and into another room to use.

Mrs. Malik has a maid. The maid cooks for us, cleans, washes our clothes, gets us water, etc etc. It is very awkward having a maid, when I try to do things for myself, like get a glass of water, and Mrs. Malik is there, she tells me not to do it, and orders the maid to do it for me. Apparently, it is very common for people in New Delhi to have maids because it seems to be a customary thing. Another thing that I guess I have to get used to is the fact that the maid has to wash my clothes, but there is no washing machine or dryer: rather the maid puts the clothes in a bucket and hand washes them and then puts the clothes on a clothes line to dry. I actually am going to wash my “delicates”, because I do not feel comfortable with someone else washing them. TMI? lol

Chloe, Rukku, Nadia and I at the German Party

The second night that I was here Chloe and I went with the other intern’s of HRLN to a “club”. It was “German Night” at this club, which means the German student organization threw a party there. It was also Andi’s (another intern for HRLN who is from England) birthday, so we were also celebrating that. Rukku, who is also an intern for HRLN, goes to a law school in the states. She is extremely nice and cool to be around.

Yesterday I went to the market up the street from my house and it was CROWDED! I could not move. There were soooo many people. I went to the market by myself because Chloe was not feeling to well. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of people that were there: it is like New York City times 100. Whew! The market sold a lot of different things like costume jewelry, sarees, clothes, food, trinkets, etc etc.

Today, Chloe, Rukku and I are going to Delli Hat (Which is a market that sells arts and crafts from places all over India) and then we are going to a picnic at Lodi Gardens with the other HRLN interns. I start my co-op (internship for you non –Northeastern people) tomorrow and I am really excited!

Me in a Rickshaw on my way to Delli Hat Market

Chloe and I on our way to Delli Hat Market

Delli Hat Market

Lodi Gardens

Rukku and I at Lodi Gardens

 Tomb of Sikandar Lodi - in which Lodi Gardens, and the surrounding area is named after.

On an unrelated note, I have skype and oovoo so if you are reading this please skype/oovoo me! There is a 10.5 hour time difference so keep that in mind. Lol

Until next time, peace and love.