This is my first entry, as I am deciding what to take and leave behind and the reality of what I am doing is truly dawning. My bed and kitchen ware are on their way in a sea shipment. In three weeks, my clothes and towels and sheets will leave. I leave July 28.
The picture above is where I am headed. This is the tomb of Safdarjung, a 19th century prime minister whose tomb is seen as one of the last examples of Mughal architecture. My new neighborhood is named for this tomb, around which the Safdarjung enclave (community) has developed. The Mughal emperors were from Central Asia (Persia, Turkey) and ruled a good portion of India until the British took over, as I understand it. According to Wikipedia, Mughal architecture (which is the type of architecture in the Taj Mahal) combines Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture. So, if this structure looks familiar, it is because it has the dome and minarets seen in the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is made of white marble and this tomb is made of red sandstone.
If you have been following the news, you know that north India got hit early and hard by the monsoons. Thousands have died and many are living in soggy tents. I live on what they call the second floor (our third) in a Western development. I will not have to worry about my apartment and being homeless. I also will have a full bathroom with a shower. In India, most people shower in the main bathroom, if they have a shower at all. Many bathe in a bucket. A fun fact is that Indians think it is wasteful to use toilet paper. They wash themselves off until clean with a shower-like device that sits near the toilet. Others: I will have to soak my vegetables and fruits in a bleach solution to disinfect them, I will have a generator that will take over when power goes out, which it evidently does on a daily basis.
These are things I have learned from reading books, web pages, and blogs. The reality is what we will see together as I move to India.
