The day I never thought would come has finally arrived. After months and months of delays, questions, and doubts, I've actually set foot on the same soil Gandhi once walked upon. It was a long, exhausting journey of over 20 hours of flight time coupled with lengthy layovers in Tokyo and Singapore. We touched down at 10 till 5 in the morning and the temperature was 29 degrees Celsius or about 84 F! Add to that, the fact that its monsoon season so you've got high temps and high humidity as well! Aside from the harsh reality of the heat and humidity that I'd been living in denial about, I was quite impressed with the newly renovated Indira Gandhi Airport, except that I had to wait forever for my luggage to come through... that's because unfortunately it didn't make it (I'm hoping it'll somehow get to me tonight, but I'm not holding my breath).
I was met at the airport by representatives from the Embassy who've been very helpful in getting me situated. I really haven't had to fend for myself thus far, although I may venture out tomorrow to see some of the sights in Delhi, so that could be interesting...
As for my first impressions of India... they're fairly similar to what you read about or see on TV or in the movies, but there's something quite different about living it out in person. The sights, sounds, and smells just have so much more meaning when they're personally observed or experienced. I haven't really taken in any delightful or putrid aromas just yet nor have the sounds been terribly overwhelming. Of course, who would expect a lot of noise at 6am on a Monday morning or crowded roads for that matter? I will say that even though the roads were seemingly less travelled, I still felt like everyone was testing their horn out for no good reason. I say that because I would have been comfortable driving here if that's all the crowded the roads got! So while the sounds and smells didn't really hit me, I must say that the sights did. I don't even think I've seen the poorest of the poor areas, but there were still ragged tents strung up along many of the roads. There were also lots and lots of tin shanties. It didn't really bother me too much until I realized that people were actually living in them. It's nothing like what you might see in a big city in the U.S. either. It's everywhere here and the living conditions are much worse too. I saw naked children playing in a filthy mess under an overpass and other kids peddling whatever goods they could to stopped cars. I think more than anything, it's the poor children I found myself sympathizing with because they have so little control over the circumstances of their lives. So here I am staying in this incredible hotel and within blocks of it are people just struggling to make their next meal. What a striking contrast that really reveals the great challenge India faces as a nation. While it seems nearly impossible to overcome, I believe India's success in the world and as a country depends on its commitment to improve the lives of all its’ people. I hope in some way God will use me to make a difference in the lives of a few of these kids during the course of my time here and that I will not grow calloused to the needs of the poor or feel that I am powerless to help them.
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