I will NEVER again complain about heat during New York summers.

It seems as though the heat is following me. Delhi has been blisteringly hot these past few days. Jeremy and I were out walking yesterday and decided we couldn't do it; we were drenched in sweat and my skin felt like it was burning off. We eventually made our way back to my hotel (after getting lost for half hour on the back roads...) and looked up how hot it was online. 112 degrees F, with very high humidity. I woke up this morning to a huge article in the Hindustan Times about how yesterday was a record high heat for Delhi, with even higher humidity, which is what makes it unbearable. Interviews with residents stated that no one went outside yesterday, staying inside under the fans, but even then the humidity was too high. No wonder we had such a hard time yesterday! We ended up using the pool at my hotel and then going to a restaurant and bar with AC to watch a few World Cup "football" games.

Being white, we are constantly hassled by beggars, men, woman and children. We were stopped at a red light yesterday in a rickshaw and a man in a wheel chair parked himself right next to our rickshaw. Both of his legs were cut off, with bright yellow puss oozing from the end of each limb. His arm was deformed and he was covered in dirt, flashing a painful and needy expression towards us. It was sickening and sad to look at him. I have never given money to a beggar, ever. I have given water, food, candies, fruit, but never money. I commented that I felt bad and Jeremy agreed, but noted that he feels like he is doing something good in return because of his job. He works for an NGO that works to get kiosks into small villages that provide education and eventually jobs to rural villagers in need. I realized then, is all I'm doing taking and taking from this country, studying its people and ways of life without giving anything? Granted, I'm teaching in the school and helping plant on the farm starting in about a week, but the thought really hit me.

I have all my days in Delhi free because Jeremy works 9-5, so I have decided to spend most of them visiting NGO's in the area that work to help India's underdeveloped and rural areas. Maybe from there I can start working with one for the little time I have here in the city. I have a meeting tomorrow in Paharganj, an area in Delhi known for its runaway and street children. My "tour" will be given by a former street child that this program helped. It should be very interesting. From there, I have a lunch date with all of the people at the Center for Science and Environment that work in the water sector (the magazine writers, engineers, media reps etc.) I asked for an interview and tour and they invited me to their meeting! Busy day tomorrow, and very educational.

We are planning a trip to Pushkar for this weekend where we can relax, do a camel safari, and I can do some research. Pushkar is home to the only Brahma temple in the world. Near that is the holy lake that had dried up last time we were here (during the camel fair on Kartik Purnima, the full moon in November and the holiest day to bathe in the lake). It will be interesting to continue my research there and see how far it has come along, or how much more it has dried up.

I meant what I said when I mentioned that doing even the simplest of things here requires super-human patience. I had asked numerous travel agents and workers at my hotel about buses to Pushkar, and they all told me to go to the same place to book it. I got there today after a twenty-minute rickshaw ride, waited in a giant mass of people (the concept of a line is non-existent here), pushed and shoved my way to the front, and they laughed at me saying there was no bus to Pushkar. We're looking into trains now.