The short version is that life has been kind of crazy and doing things has been much more interesting to me than typing an account of those things.
Several points by way of overview (and then for more interesting thoughts):
1. Delhi, while being a big city, is a city of neighborhoods (or colonies... how weird is that?). Because of the way it is situated, it can be a bit of a hassle to get from one area to another without having a car or motorbike (read: Alexis).
2. I had been staying at a guesthouse at Jamia for the first 2 weeks where I met my first few friends in Delhi. After that I was able to get a room with a family that had never had a paying guest before. Needless to say, I've become somewhat of a daughter to them and this comes with quite a nice package (considering that I was all alone in this city).
3. The center where I am interning is nice if new and the year barely started (plus they, like another program I've involved myself in, have just begun their masters program - brand new this year).
Those are the key points of inquiry. The rest is just...well something. Delhi is hot. I am melting. However, the family with whom I live has a place in the lesser Himalayas and so I was able to go for a few days. Talk about a break from heat - I didn't have warm enough clothes! They gave me a knit scarf and I borrowed an assortment of jackets and shawls, while enjoying the heat of a fire, monkeys stealing bags of apples and papayas, star-gazing, walks through the forest, leeches, and excellent company.
I should also say, I am more than fortunate to be with the family I am. They have so many connections to NGOs and other things that it has given me a place in Delhi which I could not have hoped for in my wildest dreams. You don't land in that. You're given it. I do have to give props to God for making it the only possibility for me (literally, it was the only room I saw which would be vacant in time of me leaving the guesthouse).
Personally in the time I've spent NOT blogging, I've come to encounter new understandings of religion (which I may reserve the right NOT to discuss until they are fully formed and coherent), greater understandings of Indian society, and a strong yearning for a Beckman Grenache as well as a thick bloody steak.
Despite my small discomforts (like heat and a yearning for red meat) I have come to enjoy this place called India, and Delhi more specifically. I know now that I can't begin to grasp the things I need to know in my limited time here. I will have to return, which frankly, is more than fine with me.
You may wonder why I would brave 40C and autorickshaw driver rip-offs. But beyond Delhi, and even I may dare say Punjab (which I have discovered I adore because everytime I see anything Punjabi I get really excited) I felt more akin to a place than I have ever in my life.
I actually fell in love with Pangot, where I stayed in the mountains. This is the first time I have fallen in love with a place, the first time I've felt rooted after a few days. This is my kind of paradise. It's not the seductive beauty of Santa Barbara which I will represent through the classic aspertane blonde blue-eyed shell valley girl. No. This is like an archetypal Victorian beauty with elegant dresses, grace, poise, and presence. There is no comparison. Don't get me wrong, I love the beauty of Santa Barbara. But this place is like a 5 course meal to me. It's the kind of place where Kipling and Elliot would have written their works.
Delhi has blessed me more than I could have imagined. The Malhotras have blessed me more than I could have dreamed. As my dad says, "God is good" and we say, "ALL THE TIME." Amen.
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