slums, monkeys, and burnt toast...!???!

It is raining here. Big bolts of lightening pierce the sky as the loud booming of thunder vibrates throughout Som Vihar. I can hear the children that usually are out on the playground scream as they run to their mothers. (who arewaiting for them under the eaves of the apartments yelling for them to come home) I am not sure if having rain is a good or bad thing for Delhi. I would think that it would clean the dirty streets out a little, but there is poor irrigation here in the city, so a heavy rain could mean dirty stagnant water settling in, until it drys. This will of course, harbor even more disease than is already possessed of the city. I hope it will be the later, but I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Today I ventured to Ekta Vihar, this is the future home of Asha Setu. In order to access Ekta Vihar, one must walk through the tiny narrow allies and walls that lead to the Jooggies(temporary houses constructed out of tarp, twigs, and dirt). Children seem to be in every nook and cranny of Ekta Vihar, either casting marbles, or playing some Indian card game. The smells of this inner-city slum are pungent. Waste, animals, fresh food, rotten food, and burning coal fill the air, while Indian music flows throughout the slum from a loud speaker. Women, men, and little children would step out of their huts to greet us as we inched through the narrow ally-ways. The children seemed fascinated with my digital camera. I took pictures of them and let them see it on the viewer display screen. They laughed and were tickled that they could see the pictures so soon. Ahh the things we take fore granted. Who would have thought something as simple as a digital camera would make some one's day. On our way back from Ekta Vihar, we passed four monkeys hanging out in a tree. (no joke!) I got scared because one was really big. I got off the sidewalk and went to the other side of the street very fast. This, or course, was at my expense, as my escape from the monkey had the local children laughing. I was not as amused as they were. Now, from the safety of my monkey free apartment, I can rest easy, and perhaps laugh a little over the experience. Today has been chalk full of experiences. I saw monkeys, I went into the slums, AND I almost burnt down the apartment trying to make toast... For the most part, today was facinating. I am getting tired, it is almost 9:00 p.m. so I will blog later. Make sure you check out my new pictures.

khuda hafiz~K