In the Middle of a Zoo

It has been an incredible, overwhelming, exhausting, hot, and fascinating first week here in Delhi! The heat and humidity is tremendous - I'm sweating out more liquids than I take in and my hair's in permanent buddha bun. I am eagerly anticipating the onset of September!

Living room in our apartment! Classy plastic white chairs!

The rains on our first day may have given me a misperception; Delhi is crowded and smelly and the streets are scattered with plenty of poop - human, dog, cow or otherwise. The heat doesn't help the stench (but I'm sure we don't smell like roses either). It's an adventure nonetheless! Speaking of animals, I've seen a monkey on a neighbour's roof, a lizard in my bathroom, a pigeon in my kitchen, plenty of stray dogs, and cows mulling about on the roads. Who needs a zoo right?!?





Getting around Delhi is a breeze - the city built an incredible metro system a few years ago connecting most major parts of the city. Big points for the AC, women's only car, and the fact that men can get fined for serenading a woman whilst riding the metro. To all my family who warned me about the metro - I've been keeping my elbows up, and you'd be proud of how well I can push through people! Rickshaws and autos are also so easy to use (except for when the drivers don't understand our haphazard Hindi), but we've gotten so accustomed to haggling down prices here! I have an immense respect for rickshaw cyclists and their legs of steels, and am seriously considering taking it up as both a part time job and work out.

Dance performance portraying the rights & challenges of Muslim women.

I started my first week at Udayan Care, the organization that I've been placed with. You can check out more about their programming here: www.udayancare.org. I'll be working to develop the Shalini fellowship program. I can't publish much more about my work as it is of a sensitive and private nature, but please read more about what our organization does on the website! It's been an amazing and inspiring week so far, as we've had the chance to immerse ourselves with the programming, the beneficiaries, and the brains behind the organization.

My team at India Gate

I haven't had much of a chance to see Delhi yet as we've been busy working, or recovering from the heat. We've done a bit of shopping, plenty of eating, and met tons of amazing people. We've met quite a few expats/foreigners working at NGOs here, but our local friends live up to the truth about Indian hospitality, and have gone out of their way to make us feel comfortable and welcome. India Gate was the best experience this week - the gate is a monument to the Indian soldiers who died in WWII. Surrounding the gate is an expansive park, full of families and friends from various income classes enjoying their evening. It was a poignant example that no matter who you are, or how much you have, we all find contentment in the little things.

First Steps

Luxury for a night

14 hours of flying, 2 hours of sleep, a narrow flight connection, and too many airplane meals later, we touched down in Delhi safely! We were put up in a swank hotel for the night, and officially started our time here in India with an orientation session the next morning.

CIDA & Shastri welcome us 

Just thought I'd fill you in about what I'm actually here to do. I'm part of the Bringing Youth Into Development internship program, set up by the Canadian government (specifically ex-CIDA, new DFAID). The program partners with various organizations who further set up internships for us. In our case, CIDA partnered with the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, an institute that has been around for over 40 years to strengthen relations between India and Canada. Shastri selected 20 Canadian youth to be a part of the programs, and has found us various projects to work on in 4 locations around India. I, along with 3 other interns, will be working in New Delhi at Udayan Care, which works to develop foster homes, as well as educate and empower young women.

River Roads

We jetted off to our digs for the next 6 months after the orientation session, and got our first real taste of the monsoon season. (Toronto drivers - you got nothing on Indian drivers during a flood). We drove through rivers - literally, kids were swimming in the roads. Any Making Waves Board friends reading this - I really think our next international fellowship should be in India during monsoon season, we wouldn't even need a pool.

monkey on our neighbour's roof

Our apartment is on the third floor of our landlord's building, in a pretty safe "colony" in South Delhi. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, rooftop terrace, pretty spacious, and most importantly has AC.


It's been a fascinating day here so far. Contrary to what some people have told me, it does not smell like piss, roads are not that brutal, and I haven't felt overwhelmed by swarms of people - but then again it was raining heavily. However, I have experienced the wild and reckless driving (it's exciting and pretty similar to Nairobi), as well as beggars pestering your car for $. That so far has been my roughest adjustment - having to blatantly ignore kids who rap on your car window for minutes on end sometimes just for a few rupees. It feels inhumane, cold and disrespectful, but I know its a way of life here, and I've been warned enough that it is what you need to do.

The next few days of orienting ourselves around work & life here should be pretty crazy! Signing off for now! 

Pre Departure

Hey friends/family!!

Welcome to my blog! I'll be updating this frequently with stories/pictures of my experiences!

In the past few months, I've received a flood of information about India. It's been overwhelming, but I'm grateful for all the tips. It seems that India, and Delhi in particular, is the epitome of paradoxes - the progressive mixed with the conservative, the exorbitant rich beside the slums, the vast modernization and the traditional. I've been warned plenty - take your meds, only drink bottled water, don't walk around alone, don't venture outside after dark. It's clear I will need some time adjusting to a new way of life, but I'm doing my best to have an open mind and an adaptable nature. I'm hoping that India will show me all the beauty it has to offer.

Thanks for all your wishes and kind thoughts so far!