Christmas Catch-Up

बड़ा दिन मुबारक हो!
Merry Christmas from New Delhi!

After a long spell of failing to keep up the blog with life events (or keep up with Ange as she blogs faithfully), here is a Chirstmas catch-up:

In November we enjoyed celebrating the Indian Festival of Diwali to the fullest. Ange's blog captures this in both pictures and words, so I will not re-hash what she has so expertly done. We went to the famous camel fair of Pushkar, Rajasthan over the Thanksgiving weekend - an awesome event we will never forget. Again Angela captured wonderfully our experience there, and I hope to add some elaboration on our main website on the Olmsted Travel page. Look for a link soon.

Now as we get into December, I must report that I survived yet another season of final exams. I also had a moment of pause just before starting my last exam on December 3rd...I thought I was done with this sort of torture years ago as an engineering undergrad at BYU in 1995! Although not the technical challenge of previous degrees, all the memorization and hours of handwriting was new for me (all finals are 3 hour essay sessions, no notes of any kind allowed).

During and after these tests we had Ange's Mom Peg here to see the wonder that is India. We loved having her here and we had a great time together. Ange and her Mom were very adventurous shoppers and travelers, and I was able to join them on a great visit to Old Delhi to see Chandni Chowk and the Jammu Masjid. I accompanied Ange, Peg, and some friends on their first (and my second) trip on the shiny new Delhi Metro.

It is being built at a rapid pace (by Indian standards) in hopes of being ready for the Delhi-hosted Asian Games in 2010. It is a nice system that is obviously inspired by the London Tube in design and feel. It was quite a visual, auditory, and olfactory contrast to step out of the 21st-Century Metro into the filth and choke of the 18th-Century Chandni Chowk Bazaar. Since most shopps were still closed, we made our way on cycle rickshaws to the Jammu Masjid.

Although Ange and I have visited before, today was much less crowded and the weather was just perfect. Besides the haze of pollution, it was an ideal time to visit the largest active Mosque in India. We climbed to the top of one of its minarets in a very dark, narrow, medieval staircase that spiraled to the top. From above we had great views of Old Delhi and the Red Fort. If the air quality were better we would have had even better vistas of the city and the Yamuna River.

After leaving the mosque we enjoyed a great Indian feast at Karim's, a great little restaurant hidden in an alley in the bustle of Old Delhi. The Mutter Paneer was particularly good. We then spent a hour or two wandering in the labyrinth of shops and commotion of Chandni Chowk. I was overwhelmed the first time I came here, but now I really love the adventure of it all. After coming here perhaps six times, I still have yet to explore a tenth of it! Any who come to visit us absolutely must come with us to experience it - just try to come this time of year when it's not so blasted hot!Besides Old Delhi, Peg was able to see Qutb Minar, The Taj Mahal, and Becca's Birthday party. A few days after bidding goodbye to Peg, I was able to join with our Church young men's group in another great service project. On a brisk evening (temperatures are dipping into the low 40s overnight) we took a stockpile of donated blankets, scarves, caps, sweaters, and other clothing items and drove through the streets of Delhi looking for families in need. We met as a group several weeks ago to plan how to best make a difference and the young men decided that we should seek those who have come to Delhi to seek a better life working as day laborers. They are plentiful in Delhi and most have few possessions, living with their families in makeshift tents on their work sites or on the streets. Although the ubiquitous street-corner beggars are equally needy, the boys thought it better to help the unseen workers - who never ask for handouts, only an opportunity to make a better life. They said a prayer and we drove into the city, seeking them out. We found most on their work sites, and the boys' gifts were gratefully received. Particularly touching was the last blanket, which two boys silently placed on a homeless woman sleeping on a park bench.