(originally written on May 23, 2011)
The trip to India was surprisingly smooth and effortless. After
hearing so many horror stories, I was prepared for some disaster to
happen but very lucky to have an excellent transition to India.
University of Pennsylvania has done an excellent job in ensuring that
everything was well coordinated which was a huge relief. Additionally,
I highly recommend flying Virgin Atlantic - it was a pretty pleasant
flight considering I spent 14 hours in an airplane.
I arrived in Delhi on May 20th around 11:30am. Had an excellent stay
at the Habitat Centre on Lodhi Road. I was able to get in some
shopping with two other interns - Laura and Julie. Laura is doing the
internship at Chintan in Delhi and Julie will be at the same
internship as I.
We checked out Khan Market, Connaught Place, and Delhi Haat. Khan
Market was fancy - with Tommy Hilfiger stores and other brand name
items. Connaught Place is not what it used to be - last time I was
there in the 90s, it was a neat area to visit - now it's kind of run
down with too many scammers. Delhi Haat is a great place to go if you
are looking for Indian arts & crafts - lots of handmade products from
all over the country.
I bought lychees, flipflops and an alarm clock (only thing I forgot to
bring - I'm impressed with my packing abilities). And of course we
stopped at FabIndia to stock up on some scarves and other items. I
could spend all my money in that store. We were really lucky that it
rained on Saturday, May 21 so it was a wonderfully cool day to do some
exploring.
We enjoyed some great Indian cuisine. The first night we ate at the
Indian restaurant in the Habitat Centre - excellent garlic naan. Some
South Indian food at Delhi Haat (at the Kerala booth). And I grabbed a
spicy McPaneer burger at McDonald's out of pure curiosity - Not bad.
The funniest was breakfast in the 50s style diner at the Habitat
Center (the only American diner in India apparently) - complete with
with 50s American music and red booths.
On Sunday, May 22nd - Julie and I left Delhi to head to our internship
destination in Madhya Pradesh. We have had an excellent welcome by the
people at Samaj Pragati Sahayog - the organization we will be working
with for the next 8 weeks. I am really looking forward to getting to
know everyone and really diving into the various projects. Everyone
has been so friendly.
Despite the extreme heat, it is a fascinating area with all sorts of
beauty. Hopefully the heat will pass soon and monsoons will start
shortly.
Please stay tuned for photos and more updates as we get more involved
with the projects and organization.
The trip to India was surprisingly smooth and effortless. After
hearing so many horror stories, I was prepared for some disaster to
happen but very lucky to have an excellent transition to India.
University of Pennsylvania has done an excellent job in ensuring that
everything was well coordinated which was a huge relief. Additionally,
I highly recommend flying Virgin Atlantic - it was a pretty pleasant
flight considering I spent 14 hours in an airplane.
I arrived in Delhi on May 20th around 11:30am. Had an excellent stay
at the Habitat Centre on Lodhi Road. I was able to get in some
shopping with two other interns - Laura and Julie. Laura is doing the
internship at Chintan in Delhi and Julie will be at the same
internship as I.
We checked out Khan Market, Connaught Place, and Delhi Haat. Khan
Market was fancy - with Tommy Hilfiger stores and other brand name
items. Connaught Place is not what it used to be - last time I was
there in the 90s, it was a neat area to visit - now it's kind of run
down with too many scammers. Delhi Haat is a great place to go if you
are looking for Indian arts & crafts - lots of handmade products from
all over the country.
I bought lychees, flipflops and an alarm clock (only thing I forgot to
bring - I'm impressed with my packing abilities). And of course we
stopped at FabIndia to stock up on some scarves and other items. I
could spend all my money in that store. We were really lucky that it
rained on Saturday, May 21 so it was a wonderfully cool day to do some
exploring.
We enjoyed some great Indian cuisine. The first night we ate at the
Indian restaurant in the Habitat Centre - excellent garlic naan. Some
South Indian food at Delhi Haat (at the Kerala booth). And I grabbed a
spicy McPaneer burger at McDonald's out of pure curiosity - Not bad.
The funniest was breakfast in the 50s style diner at the Habitat
Center (the only American diner in India apparently) - complete with
with 50s American music and red booths.
On Sunday, May 22nd - Julie and I left Delhi to head to our internship
destination in Madhya Pradesh. We have had an excellent welcome by the
people at Samaj Pragati Sahayog - the organization we will be working
with for the next 8 weeks. I am really looking forward to getting to
know everyone and really diving into the various projects. Everyone
has been so friendly.
Despite the extreme heat, it is a fascinating area with all sorts of
beauty. Hopefully the heat will pass soon and monsoons will start
shortly.
Please stay tuned for photos and more updates as we get more involved
with the projects and organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment