May 18

May 18 sights to see

warning- India is hot.

And by hot I mean scorching. I can honestly say never in my life have I sweated so much. I guzzled the most water that I have ever consumed in one day and I was still* dehydrated. Lol, yay.

This morning, an Indian tourist bus awaited outside our homestay. We all filed on, fanning our faces and sprawling out (or making an effort to, at least) in the crammed seats, and were promptly driven to our first location. Every car, bus, tuk tuk, etc. here is adorned with the most beautiful colors and embellishments. The seats are embroidered with leather designs, tassels hang from side mirrors, and brights colors dominate the road.

Whenever something goes super poorly or if we see something that is utterly bizarre, my friends and I casually remark "#india". For example, we saw a monkey riding on the back of a motorcycle with two guys. #india.

Today we got to see major monuments around New Delhi. Our day went as follows:

1) Qutab Complex

2) Humayans Tomb

The sights were breathtaking. Even the outrageous June Delhi heat didn't lessen the awe of such wonders.

They're all impressively crowded, but with locals, not tourists. It's super funny because the Indian people get so curious when they see white people, and many times they come up to you and ask (sometimes in English, sometimes not) for a picture with you. It's the wildest thing.

Sometimes they don't even ask and instead try to take a discrete picture. Or, worse than that, there are some of them who pretend to take selfies, posing and all, and actually have the camera flipped on you.

While I got asked a few times for a picture at the first two places, I felt like a true celebrity at the last sightseeing location. I (literally) spent 15 minutes taking pictures with Indian children, families, men (haha), and women. Two women even grabbed my chin in fascination and posed for a picture. I had so start saying no when a line formed.

I eventually learned that us americans are super fascinating to locals because they never come in contact with westerners. And I can confirm that a westerner in India is indeed a rare sight. Most of what the locals know of Americans is from Hollywood movies- so when the see a lighter skinned person, they immediately think "famous" or "hollywood".

Call me famous, I suppose. #india

We eventually wound up at a huge indoor market for India's Elite (the fanciest spending I'll ever be a part of) where I bought 2 custom made pants. Remember when I said it's hot? Yeah, new clothes were a necessity. I'm quite excited about that. I also have my tailored sari arriving tomorrow. I haven't exactly figured out how I'm going to be getting all of it back home, but you better believe it's coming home with me.

we're about to resume our language lesson.

mai sydney hu. ha banut charam. (I am Sydney, it is hot)

3 days and counting