First Thoughts on India

They call it 'Incredible India' here for a reason. Delhi is very different than a Western city, as you might expect. Everyone here has no real regard for traffic laws or speed limits, and we saw two wrecks on the way home from the airport at 1AM. Not to worry, we pretty much roll around in a tank, and our driver is the man (he listens to Hindi DJs mixing all types of techno music). They all use their horns to announce their presence to other cars and trucks. Essentially, the bigger you are the more of the right of way you have (trucks, buses, SUVs, cars, mopeds, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles, bikes) save for the big exception of cows. Being as they are the most sacred animal in the Hindu religion they are allowed anywhere they want to be, at any time, and at any pace. An hour long traffic jam on account of a bovine parade across the national highway is not out of the ordinary.
The heat here is pretty intense, so I am greatly looking forward to getting to the mountains (Palampur). Life will be simpler, the air will be cleaner, and we will be able to spend our afternoons strolling around town and visiting tea plantations (we are pretty much confined to our apartments as of now). With that being said, Delhi is amazing. There is a vast difference between rich and poor here... you may come across a five story luxury house with a family of five living in a shanty (usually built with two sticks, a tarp stretched over them, and bricks or cinder blocks holding the 'house' together) right across the street. Some of this discrepancy is quite sad from a Western point of view, but many Indians see it as normal (a result of the rigid caste system that is still very much a part of life here).
The biggest surprise? The food here is amazing! Granted, we are given a dumbed-down version of what real Indians eat, but the vegetarian diet is a non-issue because of the fantastic spices here. We are eating a lot of rice, lentils, and a type of flour tortillas. Tea (Chai in Hindi) is had at least three times per day, if not more. It is a very large aspect of their culture, and a good way to bond with others. Indians don't really abide by 'time' as we do, so they are more than happy to take a long break over tea and talk about whatever is on their minds.
I have found that Indians are a very welcoming people; the most hospitable I have ever come across and very eager to meet new people and learn new things. If you have a smile on your face then you are almost certain to see the same with nearly everyone you see. For a land that is on the other side of the world I am surprisingly at-ease and comfortable here. Check again in a few days and see if I say the same, but I think that I will.
Wow, that was a lot... Now we are watching a Bollywood movie in Hindi and playing Carrom (a hybrid of shuffleboard, air hockey, and billiards) which is played on a square board with chalk on top. You slide a plastic disk with the object of knocking wooden pucks into four holes at each corner of the board. To say the least, we are all enjoying ourselves. I will add another post tomorrow, after we arrive in Palampur (if not Tuesday after our first day of work). Hopefully pictures are to come as well.