Arriving in Delhi

My first meeting with India was through the illuminator of the airplane landing at Delhi International Airport. It was a long journey of 3 hours flight from Yerevan to Dubai, 8 hours wait at Dubai airport and almost 4 hours flight from Dubai to New Delhi. However I could feel neither tired nor sleepy but excitement to see the land which had been calling me for more than two and half years. 
Delhi was still sleeping and only street lights were welcoming us in the dusk.  The monitors in the plane went on and we could see the road on which our plane was landing. I don't remember how I went off the plane, how I passed the immigration desk, how I received my baggage I just wanted to get out of the airport as soon as possible to see my sweetheart one month after his departure. Finally the doors opened and there he was, my fiance, my sweetheart, my future husband for whom I am here...

 

Since the moment my feet touched the Indian land one thing was in my mind. I had been told and read a lot about specific smell one can feel right after getting off the airport. Despite of my efforts to smell something strange or unpleasant I could feel nothing but happiness for meeting people I hadn't seen for long time and those whom I new quite long but hadn't met yet. Even when I was asked if it was hot I said "no, it's quite normal" :) The only thing which looked strange to me was seeing so many people. Unlike the early morning hour when the sun was only starting to rise the airport was crowded with different different looking people and some of them were lying or sitting on the ground itself.
After warm hugs and introductions, bouquets of flowers and a cup of hot coffee it was the time to leave the airport for the Hotel we were supposed to stay.

Then only we realized that there was no one to meet us and take to the hotel. Before leaving for Delhi I made sure that I would be transferred to the hotel by a driver who would be waiting for us at the Gate with a banner announcing the name of Institution from which we got the scholarship. Simply he was not there even though our flight was delayed for about one and half hours. I tried to contact with one of the moderators to find out what was the problem. Finally one of them answered my call and ensured me that the driver was at the airport. After I asked him several times to check with the driver it appeared that "he is on way", then "he is looking for space for parking". In the end the driver (a nice man of around 50-60 who later became our driver taking us from the hotel to classes and back every day) arrived in the airport informing us that he even wasn't aware that he had to meet us... Anyway it happens sometimes but I wonder what two young girls are supposed to do appearing in a country for the first time, at 4 am without a mobile and without anyone to meet them. What if one of them didn't have a fiance ready to take them to the hotel. How would they contact the moderators? However I was insisting on following the rules and ethics of the scholarship instead of braking the rules from the very beginning and for that we had to wait for 2 hours.

View from my balcony

We reached the hotel and were welcomed by another nice Indian man  whom we later used to call Uncle. Lucky we were to arrive one of the first and to have a chance to choose the room we liked. This room had become my shelter for the next two months. In this hotel I met my dear friends. Here I had nice breakfasts and here I had reunion parties which I will never forget in my life.

My room at the Hotel

But then it was just a room with a big bed where I wanted to rest a bit before starting my journey to the new world called India...

Incredibly Nostalgic India

I am back home - my home in Armenia. Still I have such a feeling that I left my home. ...

I was in India for 2 months. That was a scholarship program sponsored by the government of India called ITEC/SCAAP. So I was both a student and a traveler but also went to visit my new family.

Cultural shock, climate, new experiences, likes and dislikes, new food, new people, friends and more than friends, new knowledge, parties, sight-seeings, discoveries, new family, new home and much more...I had experienced within these two months. But apparently the most important was the reunion with my sweetheart.

We traveled a lot all over Delhi - both New and Old and also managed to visits 3 cities - Vrindavan with the family and Agra and Jaipur with the whole group. Red Fort, Purana Quila, Lotus Temple, JNU, Qutub Minar, India Gate, Raj Path, Akshardham, Amer Fort , Agra Fort, Jantar Mantar and of course no visit to India without seeing the famous Taj Mahal. Food- lots of different restaurants and cafes with varieties of Indian food from North and South -Puri, Roti, Dosa, Raj kachori, Chana masala, Sabji, Thali, Khir, Lassi...so spicy and chili but so yummy. Moving round the city by metro, Rikshaw, Bike was such a great fun. But the most joyful pastime especially for girls - shopping in huge malls and street markets, Dilli Haat and at the buses...

Lots of interesting discoveries, events, people altogether was such a great experience to me and I want to write about each and every thing in detail. but now I just want to thank God for this opportunity I had, for those two months which changed my life a lot. i had so many apprehensions about the country I was going to spend my life. I was worried so much simply not to like it. I went , I saw and  I want to go back. Thanks to my sweetheart, his family, friends and of course my new wonderful friends I enjoined my life there.  Now I can say I really want to go back. Why? I'll try to give the answer through my posts about all the things mentioned above and much more. They say people cry twice in India, first time when they arrive and second time when they leave it. Hope you will enjoy the journey with me to India ...