So I’ve been in India just over two weeks now.

I’ve been more focused on settling in than sightseeing, but I’m sure that will change. Comments about my life in New Delhi so far…

The Traffic My newbie wide eyes are finding the traffic absolutely fascinating. Buses, box trucks (all of them with a different version of “keep distance, use horn please” painted on the back), cars, autorickshaws, motorcycles, bicycle rickshaws, bicycles, and pedestrians all share the road. Sometimes, they careen down the opposite side just for fun (well, more because it is hard to find a place for a U-turn). Chaotic cooperation. I haven’t noticed a choking pollution, but that may change as the weather does.

The jams are just amazing. Once, we had a bus on one side, a car on the other, a car at a right angle in front of us blocked by an autorickshaw, motorcycles at either door asking the driver for a little room to squeeze in front of our car to go past perpendicularly, people threading through, and lots of honking. It seems entirely possible sitting there unmoving for minutes at a time that the traffic is so knotted, it will never untangle and we’ll all have to abandon our cars and walk home. But then, with the help of some people directing traffic (who do not appear to be in uniform, but are, according to my co-worker), things move, spurt by spurt. It took us 25 minutes to cross an intersection. (Probably, later in my stay, this will just seem like an annoyance. But at the moment, I am a gaping traffic jam tourist.)

The Weather The temperature has been pleasant, in the high 60s during the day and chilly, but well above freezing, at night. We had a couple mornings of intensely thick fog which made the commute interesting, shadowy figures materializing out of nowhere and cars using emergency blinkers as fog lights. At the moment, I’m dressing extra conservatively as most books advised, long pants and no low necklines. But I’m sure my resolve will be tested as the temperature goes up (and up and up) over the next few months. The average, yes *average*, high in May is over 103 degrees.

Filtered water dispenser! No more depending on bottles!
(though I’m rapidly running out of counter space…)

Medical Issues I have been extraordinarily lucky. The worst I’ve had so far has been insufficiently frequent bowel movements and a run-of-the-mill cold. I either managed to avoid the worst of the bacteria (I’ve been fairly careful with the water, but have eaten at a couple buffets and a food court) or my immune system is working overtime. I’ve been taking vitamins and a probiotic called Florastor somewhat regularly.

Electrical Issues There are regularly power blips – the power going off and then coming right back on. At work, our computers seem shielded (only the lights go out), but I kinda wonder what will happen if it lasts for longer than a few seconds. Might find out during air conditioner season. Incidentally, the converter plugs I bought at Amazon appear to be working perfectly. I’m charging all my devices fine.

Laundry I’m washing my clothes in a bucket. (I had no trouble finding all sorts of buckets of all sizes.) I’ve also decided to try to conserve water a bit and so, instead of just leaving the shower running while I soap up, I’m using a bucket there, too. Yay for buckets! As for the problem of drying without a dryer, line, or balcony… two very helpful guys at the supermarket dug this metal contraption of the back room. Works perfect!

Drying Laundry

Security This is something I did not expect. To get into the mall, to get into the supermarket, to get onto the Metro, I have to pass through a metal detector and possibly be wanded! By a woman at least. And I suppose this is guaranteeing jobs for low-income women so I can’t complain too much. (Especially since jobs I expected an unskilled woman to have, like my room cleaners and the helpers at a women’s clothing store, are held by men.) Sometimes I have to put my bag through a detector – I don’t like taking my hands off my purse at all – and once I had to get a special piece of paper that indicated that, yes, I brought this 10-year-old camera into the store with me. It’s like everywhere is the airport. Some of it is clearly to prevent theft (like the fact that the number of bags I’m bringing out is written on my receipt) but the reasoning is not particularly clear for the rest.

Incidentally, because there are so many people and so many low-paying jobs, there are also many, many guards. Two at the local ATM, even, which is already indoors.

Safety Nothing of mine has been stolen so far (and you would cringe at what I leave lying around my hotel room.) And the only time a guy did something inappropriate was last night. I made a mistake. Despite being forewarned by a book I read, I answered honestly to the question, “Do you have a husband?” In retrospect, the answer to that question is obviously always, “yes, a big, strong one” if asked by a twenty-something riding shotgun in an autorickshaw. He hit on me the rest of the ride, despite how extremely clear I made it that it was unwelcome (and he knew it, because he apologized and I pretended loudly that I had a husband the rest of the ride). He managed to pat me on the bottom as I got out. I gave him a good yelling before they took off and the guard at the gate was protective. Second moral of the story: no more shotgun riders. Besides that incident, which makes me want to go and buy a fake wedding ring, I’ve felt perfectly safe on the streets, especially if crowded. Safety in numbers. And there are pretty much always numbers.

Prices Guess how much that laundry setup above cost me. You’d think it would not be too expensive, right? Although it is perfect for my needs, it is also not very complicated. But no. The price was approximately $30. Thirty US dollars (or around 1500 rupees). Possibly, someone pulled a price tag switcheroo in the back? But the towel – right on display – cost $8. My store-brand rice cooker cost $30 as well and the cheapest DVD players are still more than at Target. However…

This cost about fifty cents total.

My $4 Nutella is worth it, shut up. Anyway, the rupee bills all have Gandhi’s face on them. The 10-rupee notes are kinda gross but I’m told it is good to keep as many as possible for autorickshaws and the metro because no one wants to give you small change. So I have been keeping them and washing my hands after touching them.

Food The best food I’ve had so far was, unsurprisingly, at my co-worker’s house with his mom. All vegetarian and all delicious. Potatoes, paneer (cheese), peas, lentils, some kind of chickpea salad, all super yum. The food elsewhere has been decent. It usually involves bread (an alternative to a fork) which you tear up and scoop the nearby yummy sauce into. Vegetarians would love it as most menus have equally long “Veg” and “Non-Veg” selections, some restaurants keeping purely “Veg” because there are many traditions that require it. You can apparently get a beef burger at the Hard Rock Cafe (or the American Embassy) but not at the local McDs which, to respect the major religions in the area, does not serve pork or beef.

I expect at some point, I will have a craving for a nice juicy Colorado steak, but I’m still in Eat All The Indian Food mode.