Week 1-Delhi, India

Things have been a bit of a whirlwind since we arrived in India on Friday. Finally, I have found a chance to submit some comments and photos about what I have been learning.
Before departing for India, the Fulbright participants attended an orientation session at the University of Texas in Austin. For the most part, we spent our mornings and days attending lectures by prominent scholars of various South East Asian-centered fields. Some of the topics included: Islam in India, an introduction to Hindi language, “Gendering the call” (which focused on issues related to women working in call-centers in India), and “Stitching our identities” (which focused on issues related to women working in the garment district in the Free Trade Zone in Sri Lanka). There were many other topics and all of them were very thought provoking. The orientation seminar provided an excellent foundation for the trip.
After about 30 hours of travel, which included 20 in the air, we arrived in New Delhi. The flights were not so bad as I have developed a very good ‘system’ for traveling on long flights. It includes: sleep, sleep, and more sleep!
Immediately upon arrival in Delhi, the hot and humid weather struck me. In addition, for the first 24 hours, with each breath I took, it felt like I inhaled a pile of dirt. Fortunately, that feeling has since passed. How easy our bodies acclimate. I guess I feel lucky that I have not been bothered too much by the pollution. When in China last summer, I experienced nosebleeds every day for the first 10 days, and that was before we went to Tibet.
Last night, the Fulbright Commission threw a big party for all of the participants. It was a beautiful event and I meet some very interesting people. I especially enjoyed meeting the Director of the Library of Congress-Pakistan. She had some very interesting stories to share about her experiences working in South Asia.
We had a pretty busy day today:
In the morning we had an expert come to the Fulbright House to lecture to us about various aspects of the media in India. It was interesting to see the parallels and differences compared to media in the US.
In the afternoon we went to the Red Fort. In the 17th century, this historic site was the home of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. He is considered to have been the greatest of the Mughal rulers. The Red Fort remained Shan Jahan’s palace until the British occupation of the 1800’s. Today, the Red Fort is considered to be a symbol of resistance to British colonialism. On this site, the first Prime Minister of India, Nehru, gave his very first speech.
In addition to marveling at the amazing architecture and considering the historical significance of the space, we had a lot of fun with the Indian people that we interacted with during our visit. In many countries, including India, Americans are viewed by many as spectacles. Complete strangers want to be photographed with you. It’s a bit weird and cool at the same time. We had fun! I hope you enjoy some of my photos.
We spent a few hours checking out the streets of Old Delhi, including the market and our first out-of-hotel restaurant experience. Admittedly, it was a bit intimidating at first but the overall experience was good……..hmm, so far?
Boy, did we ever experience ‘India Culture Shock’ today. The streets are so crowded with mopeds and autorickashaws coming from every direction, random cows crossing the street, homeless people sitting in the middle of the road; and I could go on and on and on.
Later in the evening we returned to the Red Fort for a special evening light show. I enjoyed it but by 10PM I was a bit worn out.
I look forward to sharing more soon!
Some international education trivia:
On any given day, the rate of teacher absenteeism in India’s government schools is 1/3.