the new delhi metro system

brilliant

Within the past week we have located the nearest metro stop (super close to our flat/office) and we have been using it like crazy. The idea of an Indian version of New York's subway system made me cringe. Misconception totally blown. 

It's beautiful.

alyssa is pumped

Now, unfortunately, at peak hours and on weekends, the station can tend to look more like this:

And we have even seen the cars as crowded as this:

Last week, it was so packed full that one guy was just spread-eagled across the opening and the guys behind him were holding him tight in an effort to keep him from getting totally squished by the doors. 

It was one of the most insane things I have seen since we arrived. David, our token engineer and male intern, said in awe, 'that is the most efficient thing I have ever seen.' To me, it looked like the Holocaust. That's not a joke, it really did disturbed me to see that many humans in that small a space - voluntarily. 

Fortunately, for the women of India (and for us visitors) there is a beautiful place called the ladies-only car.

ladies waiting area

The ladies-only car smells great, it is very well air conditioned, and there are even outlets for you to charge your phone. I wondered how they kept men from coming into the car - especially during peak hours. Then, one night, we saw a female officer come into the car and physically remove three guys who decided they would test the limits. It was great. 

amy and the lovely ladies-only car

The first time we rode the metro, we were getting off at our stop and I, unfortunately, did not make it off the car in time. The doors do not open again if you stick your arms between them like they do other places in the world. I learned that the hard way, and in a spurt of panic I pounded on the doors and looked for an emergency open button frantically. My friends looked on laughing hysterically and I think all the women on the quiet ladies-only car were a little bit suprised at my outburst. After the metro pulled away and I started thinking clearly, I realized it was not a big deal. At all. I could just get off at the next stop (very close by) and ride back to where I needed to be. Of course, when I got off at the next stop, I tripped. I literally fell out of the car. Graceful. One girl about our age was so friendly and offered her help in finding where I needed to be. 

Sorry fellow Americans, I am giving us a seriously strange reputation.

Hands-down best metro experience so far was riding it at rush hour with Christine's latest purchase from Central Market...

We definitely got some dirty looks for that one. Getting in was hard enough, but then our stop was going to be on the opposite side of the car. We exited with the huge set of shelves between us and constant apologies leaving our lips. Oops!

After that, Amy took us to a really great (no joke, they even have safe ice!) Italian restaurant in Khan Market. The Big Chill. There the shelves really came in handy for holding the day's purchases. 

she brings these everywhere - so handy

So, I guess in conclusion, I just wanted to share with you the awesomeness of the Delhi metro system. To all the skeptics, I tell you I was you a week ago. I have converted and fallen in love with the metro. And although it is only two years old and hasn't had the time to get really grungy - the metro authorities are taking strong precautions against that. 

not sure but I think this means video surveillance, pick-pocketing discouraged,
mind the gap, no smoking, try not to vomit.. or maybe that's spit...

christine is an 'older gal' so we get to sit in a special section on the regular cars

day-to-day life

settling in india

the team before leaving Colorado Springs

It's hard to believe that we have been in India now for over a week! On the second leg of our journey from Denver to Newark, I started to get really sick with flu-like symptoms and am now finally feeling like my healthy self here. We are finally over jet lag (well, almost) and thanks to a neighborhood scavenger hunt yesterday, we are learning our surroundings and settling in pretty well.

our building

Things are different here in almost every way you could imagine, from our drinking water, to our daily interactions, to our living arrangements!

the little kitchen in our flat

david hanging in our dining room

I'll start by describing our flat. I love it. The building is a charming three-story, red brick flat with wrought-iron balcony railings and gate. Our flat has three bedrooms: one shared by Alyssa, Amy and I, one for Christine and one for project volunteers who visit briefly! When we arrived I was so excited to see that each room was painted a bright, vibrant color! The main room a rich, warm yellow, our room a deep, royal blue and Christine's an unfortunately offensive powdery green. Unfortunately, we will be repainting all of the rooms in our free time this term. Which, I was initially disappointed about but I think they are going to look really nice once we are finished. Even though I love the colors now, there are many signs of age that could stand to be covered. It's a great space and I already love it. 

david and alyssa

girls shared bedroom (before settling in)

It's different from anywhere I've lived, though. We have marble floors which are prone to becoming clammy after a shower or in the heat of the day. Each room has at least one fan, as we have no central air conditioning. Our bedroom has a window unit - which is a HUGE perk and blessing! I even got chilly in my sleep two nights ago which was a delight! It has suprised me how quickly I have adapted to the constant sweating and constant stickiness, even often times indoors. The weather, however, is starting to turn - we can tell already - and though it's still very warm and muggy, we are starting to get some sporadic cool breezes that hint of the cool fall that promises to come around October. By the way mom and dad, I apologize for complaining about keeping our house at 76 degrees this summer - I didn't know what I was saying.

everyone at work in our office

The water and electricity are much different here, as well. It makes a lot more sense to me from a cost and sustainability standpoint than our systems in America. All electrical outlets have a switch so when not in use can be completely turned off so that no currents continue whatsoever. We also turn on a water heater in our bathroom about 15 minutes before we need to take a shower and turn it off thereafter. Other than that, the water is not heated which I'm sure saves a ton of power and I really haven't noticed any difference in shower experience or convenience.

our new vegwala

We also must filter all the water that we drink, so we have a purifier above our sink in the kitchen. We use the hose that comes from it to fill a huge container that sits on our counter. We also fill four smaller containers and keep them in the fridge for cold water. Again, another thing that seemed like it would be a hassle but just really doesn't make a difference in day-to-day life. I decided to go ahead and try to brush my teeth with tap water and so far so good - no sickness yet! The only time the water issue is a hassle is that we have to wash all of our produce in potassium permanganate... which is poison. So that's a bummer. But if you rinse it in filtered water, it's no biggie.

lunch comes to the office every day from the tiffinwala (each silver container in
the tiffin holds a different component: chapati, rice, daal, veg)

I bought lemons and ginger root from the veggiewala earlier this week and made a ginger lemon honey drink for Alyssa and my sore throats and everyone's tummies. This is a drink that my Aunt Nita taught me to make last time I was in Delhi and it has remained one of my favorites ever since! We also have been enjoying mangoes as much as we can before they go out of season - which I think is about now. The mangoes are huge and so delicious.

in an autorickshaw... on the highway...

Another thing that has become a part of everyday life is haggling with vendors, autowalas, everyone you meet. Blonde hair and fair skin makes me and my friends targets for the nationals to charge a 'white man tax.' Even though we are becoming more aware of fair rates and prices, it can be so discouraging to be taken advantage of at every turn. Luckily, we have found a few fixed-price grocery shops for those days when we just want to buy something without discussion. I am so thankful for my Aunt Nita being my introductory teacher to market haggling on my last visit. We went to the central market at Lajpat Nagar yesterday and I recognized instantly that I had been there with her in 2010! It was such a comfort. I am reminded of my family and that trip so often each day. It makes me feel close to them and miss them and be so thankful for that time we had together. 

spotted a mouse during a morning session

huberth got it.

Just as He did two and a half years ago, God is using India to open my eyes and wake me out of the Western dream that I unwittingly settle into so much more easily than I would like. He shows me at each turn the gifts and blessings I have been given and how huge a disparity there is between my lifestyle and the majority of the world. It has been a confusing process to get acclimated alongside my friends who are here for the first time. I have noticed that the extreme poverty is not as impacting and heart-breaking as it was to me on my first trip: as though I have put up a wall so that I would not have to feel as deeply as I did the despair that surrounds me here. I am just praying that God knocks down that wall and gives me back a breakable heart. I don't want to walk around numb to the pain around me - I don't want to be destroyed by it but I want to be shaken by it so that I never forget and never stop feeling for these lost people. I know God called me back here and I want to be used for His fullest while I am here - not just used the amount that my cautious heart would allow. 

orientation in colorado springs

such a blessing

I am finally getting around to closing my time in Colorado Springs so that 

I can get into my time in India - which has been crazy already!

Disclaimer, if this post is more detailed than you care to read, 

please forgive me and tune into the next one. It may only be interesting to family.

So, orientation was fantastic! There were probably 30-ish interns who have since been sent out around the globe to do their work in their respective offices. We stayed in a beautiful place where we had all of our meals and talks and most activities except for all of our active outings! All the interns got to take different personality/gifts assessments.

Katie - an ADPi sister :)

First, before arriving we took an assessment via Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. I learned that my top five strengths from a huuuuge list are: Strategic thinking and creative problem solving, that I am a developer who enjoys helping those around me grow, someone who values individualization or the unique qualities in those around me, an achiever which is just stamina and work ethic, and finally positive thinking! I was pretty overjoyed to find that these strengths are innate in me, especially when we started exploring different philosophies and research on effective personality development. Studies have shown that individuals have the most room for growth in areas where they already show strength or skill rather than trying to cultivate areas of weakness. I am so excited to try to grow and develop in these areas throughout my internship and beyond. 

our second hike

We then did a personality assessment and I found out that I am an 'Ic' personality type. Which I thought was a pretty neat. It is basically a less-common combination of outgoing, extroverted risk-taker meets cautious, detail-oriented planner. I'm interested to see how I see that play out while I am in India and excited to see how God challenges me in these traits.

love these sassy pals: Meggie (Uganda) and Katie (C. Springs)

Lastly, we talked about our spiritual gifts, which I was particularly nervous about because I have only ever had minimal exposure to gifts of the Spirit and typically only in a capacity that made me slightly uncomfortable. I found out that my main spiritual gift is Craftsmanship - which is so exciting because I have always longed for that gift as I have seen it in people I look up to! Some of my other gifts included Administration (I was super suprised that this is listed as a spiritual gift), Leadership and Mercy. 

we are ready to climb!

All of these inventories and tests were so interesting and fun but it felt sort of strange to spend so much time throughout the week on seemingly egocentric exercises. We then discussed how important it is to identify who it is that God designed us uniquely to be and understand the gifts and strengths He gave us so that we can be used to our full potential both individually and as His body of followers. Aha! Now it made sense.

the girl knows how to laugh

We did tons of stuff in that week: ultimate frisbee, rock climbing, two hikes, team building, sharing testimonies, and there was SO much togetherness. It was really difficult to say goodbye and it's even strange now to imagine all of my new friends in slightly different but basically the same position I am in at this very moment. It's an incredible sense of community even though we are all so far apart. After our last night of worship together, we helped each other melt a piece of climbing rope around our wrists so that we would have a physical reminder of each other, our time together, and our unified vision once we were all separated.

whole group on an old dam

bracelet making

here we go!

first stop: colorado

I can't believe it's already Thursday and Engineering Ministries International Intern Orientation is almost over! I have had the BEST time in Colorado Springs meeting and living with all the other interns! In such a short time we have learned SO much about one another, ourselves and the cultures we will be serving and living in for the next few months! 

We have been doing all sorts of things I can't wait to share with you in my next post!

Lots of love from Colorado!