Hello, India

India is wonderful! I am already enchanted and in love with this country.

That being said, I should clarify that I think Rajasthan is wonderful. Delhi was a godforsaken city and I was glad to get out quickly. In sum, it embodies every reason my mother has no interest in coming to India. It was dirty, too crowded, smelly, and made me feel sad in general. Luckily, my aunt Valle's friend Karma picked me up at the airport and that saved me: I was able to hide out in the Tibetan colony for a night and see all the decorations and fireworks celebrating the Tibetan New Year.

But when our plane landed in Rajasthan, it was sunny and the air was clean and refreshing, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what I was smelling. Maybe spices or fruit or desert dust or just the scent of India. Since I have been here, I have been at a cozy hotel in the middle of Udaipur, complete with a courtyard and occasional monkeys.

In general, India is very... Indian. As I expected, there are lots of people, lots of colors, trash in the streets, crazy drivers on rickshaws and autorickshaws and bikes and motorcycles. There are all sorts of music everywhere, and so many smells of spices and incense and sometimes sewage. People are very friendly and Udaipur is a welcoming, nonthreatening place to be.

Usually my day begins at 5am when I wake up from jetlag or screaming monkeys. During our orientation we have discussions about the FSD program, sustainable development and the Indian political system. All of the other interns are fascinating people from all walks of life, with many interesting experiences and stories to tell. I am also beginning to learn some Hindi! If I can manage to rememer the words, I am able to go shopping, catch a rickshaw ride, and count to one thousand. I'm quite impressed with myself, I must say.

This evening I went to the Jagdish Temple -- a beautiful, elaborate Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Vishnu. We took off our shoes, covered our heads, and stood in the back of a small crowd around the shrine. There were bells and incense and singing and the moon was very bright. All-in-all it was a good first, albeit brief, experience of Hinduism.

Now I am off to indulge in more fabulous Indian cuisine, polish off a Bollywood movie, and get to bed early. Some of us are going to head to the ghats at the City Palace tomorrow morning when the sun rises (we're all awake anyway) to watch the women wash their clothes on the banks of the lake. Life is good.