Delhi

Today was a really fun day. Delhi is less crowded, more green than Mumbai. The air is still as polluted and it's a big city, but it was comfortable in the 70s and we finally had a tour guide to show us around! Vidhu went to USC with a fellow Indian by the name of Jitu, who is now a professor at the University of Dehli.
She took us to visit the historic site Qutab Minar (pictured above) and after visiting this impressive site with stones from Hindu and Muslim temples, we travelled to a local market to go shopping. It was an arts and crafts market, full of great stuff and surprisingly expensive. However with the number of kitschy shops here where all the items are massed produced and completely purchasable in the USA, it was a welcome change. Since it was Christmas, we finished the day by buying a Plum Pudding, which V and I ate late at night with some Chai Tea. It was one of the first really wonderful days in India that I've experienced, and besides a little residual nausea, I finally begin to feel excited about what lays ahead on our trip. It takes so long to gain your momentum in a new country, and after a week in India, I'm just now getting to the point where I can start to enjoy all of new experiences that are bombarding my senses. I look forward to the next couple of days.