All Eyes On Me

Just when I was feeling pretty good about navigating Delhi by metro and rickshaw, I was proved wrong. Very wrong. I had originally planned on traveling to Amritsar with friends this past weekend but plans fell through (I'm learning that this is just how it goes in India), so I ended up getting to explore Delhi instead. Saturday I met up with another girl on my program, also named Katie (what's her middle name you ask? Marie, naturally). We decided to head to Old Delhi to explore the Red Fort--completed in 1648 by a Mughal emperor it is the largest monument in Old Delhi. We stepped out of the metro station and were greeted by this sight: 

Old Delhi

Now I'm not sure this picture quite captures how overwhelmed we felt. I had my map and knew that the Red Fort was a straight shot from the Metro, but obviously there aren't street signs so we had a 25% chance of picking the correct street. We asked someone to help our odds and started walking. About ten minutes later we asked someone else just to make sure we were on the right track. Nope! Complete opposite way. Awesome. So we got a rickshaw and hoped he understood that we were trying to go to Red Fort. Maybe here is a good place to mention the staring. Everyone, and I'm not exaggerating on this one, literally everyone stares at us. Not only because we are white but because we are women. You hardly see women out on the streets here. No matter where we go or what we wear, people spot us and keep their eyes glued. It's probably the aspect of India I'm having the most trouble adjusting to (yes, even more so than the toilets!). Here are some sights from the rickshaw ride:

Just your usual sidewalk livestock

A quick nap amidst the chaos

Colorful stacks of blankets


Finally we made it out of the winding, crowded streets and were at Jama Masjid mosque. This is on the way to Red Fort, but we were so tired of being paraded through traffic on a rickshaw that we just got off here instead. I'm so glad we did! This is the biggest mosque in India and it is beautiful. After taking off your shoes at the door...

Don't worry, those aren't my pink crocs

we walked inside the entrance to the large, open square of the mosque:

Under that large arch in the middle is the area facing Mecca with carpets for prayer

Quick side note: another one of the many interesting aspects of India is that people walk up to you and ask to take your picture (well at least some ask). We were standing looking around the mosque and a man walks up to me, holds out his adorable baby girl, and jabbers something in Hindi. Luckily we had met a nice man who spoke English and he was standing next to me. He told me that the man wanted me to hold his daughter so he could get a picture. Yes please!

The cutest. The eyeliner is just to make them look 'pretty.' Also, what I am wearing is NOT traditional Indian wear, rather a covering robe I had to wear inside the mosque.

The nice man we met also recommended we pay 100 Rupees (about $2.50) to climb one of the minarets for a 360 view of Old Delhi. This was amazing, and despite the haze you could see the sprawling city below.

The large, red wall you see in the distance is the Red Fort

Looking down on the crazy streets from the mosque

After the mosque we made our way to the Red Fort. At this point we were so exhausted and hungry that we weren't really into exploring the Red Fort, but I'm glad we at least went in. It also would've been worth it to hire a guide to explain what were were looking at, but most guides are pushy and we didn't want to deal with it.

Inside the walls of the Red Fort

That exhaustion and hunger I mentioned earlier led us to cave in and eat at a less than authentic restaurant: Ruby Tuesday! Perhaps a low point, but the mojito and quesadilla were so worth it :) Sunday morning we visited the Baha'i Temple (also called the Lotus temple because of its shape)

Yes, you finally get to see me in traditional Indian garb! I'm wearing a kurta (shirt), churidar (leggings) and a dupatta (scarf). It beats me how I don't blend into the crowds...

Colorful old woman at the Temple

My guidebook says the Baha'i Temple is India's response to the Sydney Opera House.  

It took over six years to build on funds that were all donations. It's concrete structure is covered in small segments of marble. The inside is unimpressive, just vast and open, but can seat an insane amount of worshipers. You also have to be silent inside--relief from the hectic crowds outside its doors.

Okay, so I'm really struggling with keeping these posts short, sorry! Things at my host family have been good, although I wish they would show interest in taking us places and showing us their city. So far, no luck. It's also a fairly remote location in comparison to other homestays and I wish I had a neighborhood to explore or a park to sit in. All in all though, they are very sweet and I think tonight I'll make my first attempt at helping Ami in the kitchen. Tomorrow we are visiting a slum in East Delhi, so I'll write a smaller post about that experience in the next few days.

In case anyone wants to (no pressure, seriously!) send anything my way, the address of the program center is:

Ground Floor, 168 - Pocket 2,
Jasola, New Delhi 110025 INDIA

(just letters or postcards, no packages please! Better yet, just send an email!)

I hope you are all enjoying Valentine's Day and eating lots of chocolate :) I think I'll stop at the store on my walk home from school and grab a cadbury chocolate bar!

hugs&kisses