If you don't like India.... wait a minute, it will change

I've been having some thoughts recently that maybe I've done my stint in India - I'm not getting as excited by it as I used to. And this morning India won. I was on my way to get a manicure/pedicure (I know, tough life) and when Satender pulled over to let me out some car thought they could fit between our car and the other parked ones in the parking lot and they were wrong. I'm surprised they even got through, they seemed stuck. But they scratched up the side of the car and broke off the side mirror. And then tried to drive away! So Satender ran after them. I guess he wanted to move the car out of the way and was afraid they'd leave so he took their keys! The lady in the other car (not the driver) came over and started pounding on my car and saying how could we pull over and why didn't we flip the mirror out of the way (there wouldn't even been time to roll down the window).

Anyways, I hate when I lose my cool and hate even more when I play the "don't mess with me I'm a foreigner" card. Doesn't feel good.

But then, as India always does, it served up the opposite. My guard Jagdesh has been asking me to come to his home for a while and we finally did it today. I don't actually employ Jagdesh, my company does, and I really don't know anything about him except that he had a baby girl 6 months ago. So I went to his house, which is one room about twice the size of his guard booth. Apparently there is a bathroom somewhere in the building too. It had a single cot, a little shelf for clothes and an area to cook (y'know spot on ground where they use natural gas to light a burner). I had given them a quilted baby blanket to celebrate the birth of their baby and that was in the middle of the floor where the baby was lying- I don't know if that was for my benefit or not. They have nothing. It's really striking - I mean in theory you know what to expect but it still is eye opening to actually see it.

He is from Rajasthan and got married at age 16, if I understood correctly. I brought Satender along to translate for me. His wife was much younger when they were married and only completed 5th grade. Thankfully he's now about 27 and his eldest boy is 3 so they waited a good long time before starting a family and are spacing their children well! The kids both look really healthy although they did say they wanted to send the boy to school but couldn't afford it. They had bought me bottled water, diet coke (per Satender's suggestion), chocolate cookies and potato chips! Ah, what everyone thinks American's like! It was really touching that they wanted to have me over. And a reminder of how luxurious my life is.

A walk in Delhi

There are times when I wish I was a better writer so I could really capture what it's like to live here - the sights, smells, sounds.... a week or so ago I walked to my doctor's appointment (like 3 blocks down on the same street I live in) and that was one of those moments. I'll try. On the truck picture -which has nothing to do with the story - look at the words written in white in the center bottom.

So as usual I'm running later than I intended, getting into a longer conversation with Anna than I meant to. So I head out the door, am enveloped by sweaty heat - which I was reveling in because it was only high 90s and a slight breeze - and put the headphones of my ipod on. Since I saw a break in the traffic I immediately crossed the street in front of my house which is a four (?) lane highway with a median that is currently under construction, making it difficult to cross. So I hop the knee-high barbed wire and cross. On the other side of the street there's a fence separating the "sidewalk" from the street so I find a break in the fence and start walking down the sidewalk. I put sidewalk in quotes because while uniquely this one does not have many cars on it - it has many deep holes and many obstacles. There's a guy cutting hair and shaving with his mirror hung on the tree so I step over his clippings. There's a bunch of men sleeping on the sidewalk (as it's noon siesta time) - I like these guys cuz they are often snuggling and I wonder if they know they do that as they nap. I pass the pretty park that has almost no one in it because it's too hot. Then comes the area that is a defacto pissing wall, so as I approach I take a deep breath and hold it, to avoid the smell. It never fully works.

Then I get to the bus stop. There's always tons of people there so I have to step down (about a foot - not so handicap accessible) off the sidewalk down to the street and because there are always broken down vehicles and auto rickshaws hanging out I have to head halfway into the street to walk by. There are inevitably some people at the bus stop giving me looks that make me uncomfortable. And as soon as I step back up on the sidewalk I must duck (me!) due to the low hanging electrical wires. Then I have to cross a major intersection which always reminds me of playing that game 'Spider' we used to play on the elementary school swings where you try to get past one and wait in that small space hoping not to get hit and then run past the next. As this was a holiday (the celebration of sisters and brothers) the next segment of street was parked two rows in, so what should have been a four lane side of a road, now it's about 1 1/2 lanes. The first rows are parked front of the car to the curb and the next is parallel parked. So I'm back in the middle of the road, and of course there are people walking towards me so there's always this moment of who is going to be nice and step closer to the traffic and who will stay safe.

Then I pass the dumpster - one of the most foul smelling places. Dogs and cows are rifling through the garbage for food (fortunately this time there were no people rifling). Then past the group of tent homes that look temporary but have been there for at least 2 years whose sole business is creating the ceramic donut-shaped things people put around ceiling light fixtures. Seems very specialized to me but walking by these mini communities is always a mixture of emotions. Some of the kids look very happy but you can't help but notice their malnutrition-caused puffy bellies and the tents they live in.

I finally arrive at the hospital (which is crazy modern given the surroundings) and the guards barely know how to react to a white girl (full stop) and someone walking - which is never done. They almost tried to charge me a parking fee:)