Sunday 5 July 2009

Heat, haggling and hot food (Ruairi)

Hi all!

As everyone knows, most of us will be starting our experiences as music teachers in India today. Anticipation and excitement are the two most relevant words for this, but as the first few days of our time here have elapsed, we're getting gradually more 'used' to how things are done here. Here's a final summing up of our Delhi experience before we get started with the teaching.

Theo FS's description of the road system is certainly the best way to depict how it functions. But it certainly is right to say that the roads are functional...somehow! I've noticed that there is in fact a hierarchy which exists on the roads (as in other aspects of India too perhaps?): the better your vehicle is, the more priority and weight you have in the bustle and hustle of traffic. Whilst in Anjli's rather nice car the other day, I felt a remarkable upgrade in the way you're treated by other cars. Normally I get around in rickshaws (which admittedly can weave in and out of traffic quite nicely), so the difference was huge! The vehicle's horn also has a completely different usage in Delhi to the UK. Where in the UK the horn is used as an expression of disgruntlement, in Delhi it simply notifies other road users (including pedestrians) that you're about the drive past them, whether or not they get out of the way! Finally, I would say that the general rule on the roads is to drive on the left, but this really is only a very general rule! Our taxi driver yesterday decided to just start driving on the pavement during rush hour traffic. It seems very logical in fact - what a great way to get around (that is if you're not concerned about pedestrians!).

The haggling is without doubt an intrinsic part of the culture here. This holds at least for foreigners. We spent the first couple of days being very exploited by taxi and rickshaw drivers who knew we obviously weren't acquainted with what the normal price level was (we didn't help ourselves by saying things like "oh we've only been here for two days!" when they asked us). However i would say that we're definitely picking it up a bit now. I must blow my own trumpet by mentioning my haggling yesterday, in which we managed to negotiate a very equitable price for 5 people in front of lots of excited taxi drivers who were intially trying to charge extortionate prices.

The heat has probably been my greatest challenge yet. Yesterday, myself, Theo V and Theo FS, Hannah and Al were wondering around the India Gate (in central New Delhi) for over 3 hours. This challanged was augmented by the constant attention we received from various merchants trying to sell us the latest commodities. Stress and intense heat are a potent combination! We managed to relieve ourselves slightly by taking a trip on the lake in pedalos and rowing boats though. Theo FS exhibited his impressive adventure-rowing skills by sitting at the front of the boat with his feet dangling in the water whilst rowing with just one ore! It reminded me of something from a Tom Sawyer novel. The same Theo also managed to attract a large amont of attention by purchasing a henna tattoo, to the amusement of the locals who were reminding him that hennas were generally designed for females. The young girl who received a lucrative reward for doing the henna didn't seem to mind this at all though!

I'll try to start uploading photos of these great experiences as soon as I work out how to use computers properly.


Finally, food has been our staple diet, and I wonder how spice-averse Neil is getting on down in Kerala...

That's for now, next time I will be back with news of our first teaching experiences.

Ruairi

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