Dilli bahut garam hai

That's Hindi, for 'Delhi is very hot'. Yep, it's true, it's easily 110 degrees during the peak afternoon hours here, and living in an un-airconditioned flat that's prone to power cuts 3-4 times a day may make this an interesting month. I've lived in very hot weather without a/c before, but there's nothing like trying to sleep next to the loud whir of your water cooler fan, and watching the fan stop turning while the power is cut for the next few hours. I've been learning to master the art of cooling pranayam, which are breathing techniques from yoga- they actually work pretty well, last night I managed to give myself the chills and cool my body down considerably. (The two techniques are sucking in air between closed teeth and making your tongue into a tube and breathing in)

Aside from the heat (which I think will only prove to be character building), Delhi is fantastic. I live in Uday Park, which is a residential community in the south part of the city. In front of the neighborhood, there's a major road and a major mall called Ansal Plaza. Behind the neighborhood, there's tiny alleyways, empty ancient monuments, and little juice stands and vegetable carts. That said, if I am craving some swanky Pizza Hut or a trip to the Body Shop, I head over to Ansal Plaza, and if I'm craving fresh-squeezed pineapple juice, a thali, or lots of 'what's this white girl doing here?' stares, I head out the back side. I'm thinking it's going to be a great balance, something which is very difficult to come by around here!

My roomates are pretty great, though one of them is traveling for the next few weeks. I live with Noah and Peter- Noah is an American, former venture capitalist, who hated his job, recently quit, and is now traveling with his brother while he looks for another job in Delhi. Peter is German, and will be here for the next 3 months working with the company that builds the Delhi Metro. Both guys are really laid-back, and are making great attempts to hijack some air-conditioning, so we don't have to pay hundreds of dollars to have it turned on. Overall, I think the living situation will be great for the next 5 weeks.

I'll be starting my job with the prison-based NGO on Monday, and I started my hindi lessons last night. I'll also be doing some english language editing for this intercultural exchange organization's website. Should keeep me plenty busy, and be a nice balance of computer work and 'out there' work. I'm sure I'll have lots of stories from this city- I'm looking forward to exploring the older parts of town, starting up yoga classes at Aurobindo Ashram, and seeing lots of dance and concerts. There's a Time Out Delhi publication, which is pretty amazing, though nothing like good old Time Out New York. Okay, more later!