Well, I made it! I wasn't going to do my first post yet but after today I couldn't help myself. We have settled in and will start work at Maitri on Monday. I can't tell you how excited I am to start work. Right now I feel a little strange just randomly relocating to this very foreign city. So far, we've just been trying to settle in. Once we get more practice with Hindi, going out alone will be much less intimidating.
Today Anna (our roommate who also works at Maitri) took us out of the community of Som Vihar for the first time. We went to a mall a few miles away to get some groceries and apartment necessities. The mall was about 6 km away so we got to take our very first auto rickshaw. Basically an auto-rickshaw is a rickshaw, pulled by a motor instead of a person or a bike. They are really the most practical way to get around. Most sane people would have hated every minute of that ride, but I secretly thought it was really fun.
The traffic on these streets is out of this world. You know how they show it in the movies, with cars honking and darting in between each other; people running through the gaps and cows are in the street. Yeah, it's worse than that. Lets also bear in mind that South Delhi (where we are) is the calm part of the city. Its UNBELIEVABLE that I didn't witness an accident. There are lane lines on the road, but you wouldn't know it. Vehicles just pile in wherever there is space. If there isn't space, they honk and go for it anyway. There is never more than a foot between two vehicles because if it opens more than that, an unhelmeted motorcyclist will fill it. Pedestrians dart in between traffic like there's no danger and I wasn't kidding about the cows. They are basically just traffic obstacles.
The city is… real. You've seen pictures and movies and read books, but its somehow not real until you are here. I've only been in it one day and I feel so enlightened. Stray dogs are everywhere on the streets, I've seen horses tied to cars, I saw a man getting his hair cut next to a fruit stand. The slum villages are all around, poring out of their areas and into the streets. We live in, whats considered a really nice neighborhood. Our housing is on the upscale side of things and we are still located right next to slums. Based on this I can only imagine that I haven't even begun to see the scale of poverty that is here.
On our way home from the mall, our rickshaw stopped at a red light. Almost immediately a girl appeared at the side of our vehicle. She must have been about 6 years old and dressed in rags. Her only adornment was a little nose ring and a colorful dirty shawl. Tied to her hip was a toddler of about 1 1/2 years old. He had a runny nose that no one bothered to wipe. She stayed next to our rickshaw staring at us with sad eyes, never losing eye contact and making a gesture from the child's mouth, to her own mouth, and then stretching out her hand for donation. It broke my heart. We cannot give them money, because they probably are employed by a slumlord who won't be using the money to buy them food. Shantel had the idea of being prepared when we go out with little baggies that have supplies in them (food, soap, rags, etc.) just small, cheap items that they can actually keep for themselves. I'm going to try and purchase some supplies in the next few days.
On that note I'm signing off! Sorry no pictures yet:( Hope all is well back home. Peace, Love, Namaste!
Today Anna (our roommate who also works at Maitri) took us out of the community of Som Vihar for the first time. We went to a mall a few miles away to get some groceries and apartment necessities. The mall was about 6 km away so we got to take our very first auto rickshaw. Basically an auto-rickshaw is a rickshaw, pulled by a motor instead of a person or a bike. They are really the most practical way to get around. Most sane people would have hated every minute of that ride, but I secretly thought it was really fun.
The traffic on these streets is out of this world. You know how they show it in the movies, with cars honking and darting in between each other; people running through the gaps and cows are in the street. Yeah, it's worse than that. Lets also bear in mind that South Delhi (where we are) is the calm part of the city. Its UNBELIEVABLE that I didn't witness an accident. There are lane lines on the road, but you wouldn't know it. Vehicles just pile in wherever there is space. If there isn't space, they honk and go for it anyway. There is never more than a foot between two vehicles because if it opens more than that, an unhelmeted motorcyclist will fill it. Pedestrians dart in between traffic like there's no danger and I wasn't kidding about the cows. They are basically just traffic obstacles.
The city is… real. You've seen pictures and movies and read books, but its somehow not real until you are here. I've only been in it one day and I feel so enlightened. Stray dogs are everywhere on the streets, I've seen horses tied to cars, I saw a man getting his hair cut next to a fruit stand. The slum villages are all around, poring out of their areas and into the streets. We live in, whats considered a really nice neighborhood. Our housing is on the upscale side of things and we are still located right next to slums. Based on this I can only imagine that I haven't even begun to see the scale of poverty that is here.
On our way home from the mall, our rickshaw stopped at a red light. Almost immediately a girl appeared at the side of our vehicle. She must have been about 6 years old and dressed in rags. Her only adornment was a little nose ring and a colorful dirty shawl. Tied to her hip was a toddler of about 1 1/2 years old. He had a runny nose that no one bothered to wipe. She stayed next to our rickshaw staring at us with sad eyes, never losing eye contact and making a gesture from the child's mouth, to her own mouth, and then stretching out her hand for donation. It broke my heart. We cannot give them money, because they probably are employed by a slumlord who won't be using the money to buy them food. Shantel had the idea of being prepared when we go out with little baggies that have supplies in them (food, soap, rags, etc.) just small, cheap items that they can actually keep for themselves. I'm going to try and purchase some supplies in the next few days.
On that note I'm signing off! Sorry no pictures yet:( Hope all is well back home. Peace, Love, Namaste!
Wow, this is going to be an amazing adventure for you. I enjoyed reading your blog. You are an excellent writer.
ReplyDeleteUncle Jim
Hi Cousin Annie,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new experience! I look forward to reading more about it. You are amazing!
Terese Hutchins (Uncle Mike's daughter)
Oh wow, that last paragraph broke my heart, but that's really clever about giving them necessities. You write really well Annie! Sounds like a really great experience thus far, and be safe with those auto rickshaws!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Alyssa and Shantae :)
P.S. Shantae likes your writing style too, and she says she would enjoy the rickshaw ride too haha