[Tessa] Week 2

“Every Indian is a Businessman,” my friend said as we ate chicken tikka masala and paneer butter masala before I left Ann Arbor.

I chuckled at the overstatement.

“No, really” she insisted, “they have to be.”

           

Until Thursday, I shrugged off her words. Now, I think there might be an ounce of truth in them.

Thursday morning was a holiday so Brad and I decided to take advantage of the 48 hours off and go to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, located only 4.5 hours southwest of us. However, everyone could smell our naiveté because one minute we were at the train station, the second minute we were leaving Connaught Place (15 min north) in a car with a private driver and about $150 poorer. The next 24 hours were not our cup of chai: we were sucked into visiting textile markets, and started to feel uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the hotel’s power kept going on and off. We told our driver that we wanted to be driven home Friday night rather than Saturday morning, so we are back home in Delhi.

It is funny how quickly things start to become familiar. Just two weeks ago I was unsure in the basti Nizamuddin (neighborhood in which I am living) and never knew which way to turn. Now I enjoy speaking with the man in my favorite shop and playing with the street children in the morning.

The job in the health clinic is proving to be even more satisfying. I worked in the allopathic dispensary on Tuesday and in the homeopathic dispensary today. The patients that I am seeing are so unique to their environment, and the doctors just as much so. My research is just starting to make headway and I am glad this is true.

Delhi is now in ‘pre-monsoon’. Yip yip hooray!

Cheers,

Tessa