So Many Impressions, So Few Words to Describe!

I've been meaning to blog since last week, but each time I started, I drew a blank for how to describe what I'm seeing and experiencing.

First, I am so impressed by my school's orientation.  We new hires have been so very well taken care of and welcomed by everyone - it's a little overwhelming.

So, here's something I've seen on the streets regularly:  Cows. 

They seriously just wander the streets - sometimes in the middle of very busy streets.  And traffic just moves around them, or waits for them to get out of the way.

This picture was taken on our way to our first Delhi Outing sponsored by a member of staff at the school.

Our first stop was at the statue commemorating Gandhi's Salt March.  Not familiar with it?  Neither was I.  Here's some information from history.com: 

"On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and a small band of supporters set off on a 241-mile march across western India. Gandhi had devised the walk as an act of nonviolent protest against the British colonial government’s salt monopoly, which placed tariffs on the mineral and forbid Indians from producing it. Upon arriving at the coastal city of Dandi in early April, he illegally collected salt from the seaside as a symbolic act of defiance against the British Raj. His actions sent shockwaves across the subcontinent, inspiring scores of Indians to flout the salt tax and launch strikes and boycotts against colonial institutions. Gandhi and some 80,000 others were soon arrested, but not before their peaceful protest had captured the world’s attention and demonstrated the power of mass resistance to British  rule." 

To learn more, click here 

Next, we went to the Crafts Museum.  This place brings in artisans from the different Indian States, and they can sell their wares.  There are also things on permanent display.

These guys reminded me a bit of the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian.  

There are a lot of murals around  - the walls used to be made of plaster and clay, and after monsoon season, the murals would need to be repainted.  

A beautiful door - can you see the intricate workings?

This was one of my favorite things to see:

What is it, you ask?  It's a carriage for an idol!  Once a year or so, villagers would bring out the statue of one of their gods and parade him around.  There are steel loops in the front for ropes that would be pulled by people.  It was a great honor to be one of the people to pull it.  

This is a pigeon coop.  Yup.  For pigeons.

These two are musicians (the lady on the left and the man in the turban).  They are actually travelling/wandering monks - no home, no money.  They live off of the donations people give them.  It was really interesting to hear their music - she played finger cymbals in ways I've never heard them played, he had a drum/stringed instrument.  I'll have to learn its name.  

The lady on the right was our tour organizer.  She's actually a Jewish woman from Brooklyn who has lived in India for 20+ years.  She knows everything about India, and is friends with many influential people, including the Dalai Lama.

After the Crafts museum, we went to the place where Gandhi was assassinated.  I didn't take pictures there, but I will when I go back.  

We went to lunch at a hotel and had truly delicious food - don't know what I ate, but it was good - and then the tour was over.

We've been in meetings - A LOT!! - but there have been some fun times, too.  Our head of school hosted a Plant/Carpet sale, and it was crazy.

The carpet sellers brought in a ginormous pile of carpets - from India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Iran and i'm sure from many more places - and they would show off the one on top.  If someone expressed an interest, it would get folded up and put in a pile in front of the person.  And the crazy thing is that you don't have to pay up front, if you're not sure about the carpet - you can take it home and live with it for a bit.

So, this carpet here caught my eye, but when I was told the price ($1,000), I knew I could let it go.  It ended up on my pile though, because "to look is free!"

My pile of carpets.

The stack of beautiful but unwanted carpets.

So.  That brings me up to Tuesday.  Next entry, the rest of the week.