From Brahma to Buddha, Fall 2008

There was a lot of culture shock upon reaching Delhi, such as the socially accepted spitting and snorting (watch where you step), or the unavailability of toilet paper in most bathrooms. Also, the traffic is at once the most terrifying and hilarious thing I’ve ever experienced. Traffic lanes are just a suggestion- people weave in and out of lanes, straddle the line, lean on the horn or, in the case of one of our drivers, lean down and switch on the siren (which no one acknowledges) to warn people that they are coming through whether or not they like it. Surprisingly, no one dies. It’s quite impressive.

The food here is AMAZINGGG. I have heartily enjoyed every meal here, with the one exception of the fried rice with bits of uncooked globby chicken in it. I don’t really understand how all their food is always so good. Maybe because it’s real? We are all addicted to chai tea by now. I think Sam is on his sixth cup of the morning right now. The music is also fantastic- every song I hear is so catchy and danceable. There seems to be a preoccupation with American rappers though. It’s a bit disorienting to turn on the radio and hear “Yo, this is big Snoop D-O-double-G.” It doesn’t stop us from turning every ride into a dance party, though.

I really liked Delhi, but that was before we got to Ladakh. Ladakh is the most beautiful place on earth- when we got off the plane, we had a 360 view of mountains and blue sky. It took our breath away. Or that might have been the lack of oxygen. In my opinion, all the high altitude symptoms I’ve been dealing with- a constantly parched throat, quickened heart rate and trouble catching my breath- are completely worth the view I got to wake up to this morning. Then again, I’m pretty well off compared to the rest of the group- a few people have gotten really sick and others have headaches.

But I could really just sit and watch the scenery the entire day.

Ari