July 3, 2010 Arrival in India

Namaste,

I'm in New Delhi and very excited to be here! We were traveling--3 flights and long layovers in between--for 36 hours. Now we are at a beautiful hotel, had time to sleep, and then began our program last night with a lecture on the Indian school system and a reception with people from the US Embassy, and educators from India. The reception was in an outdoor garden at USIEF, our sponsor for the Delhi and Shimla part of the trip. It was like a Hollywood setting--women in beautiful saris, chatting with us as we sipped wine and waiters brought little spicy appetizers. The buffet dinner was an introduction to many different delicious foods. I don't think I'll be losing weight as I had hoped!

Today we have lectures and then have our first visits to temples and "Old Delhi". Our day will end at sunset at the Red Fort. I hope you'll read more about each site as I include the links for you. I heard that some people in the group are planning to attend a 10 course dinner this evening. Count me in! Last night at the reception we are invited to spend the 4th of July at the US Embassy!
Internet connection is $4/hour here at the hotel (220 rupees). I haven't been shopping yet so I don't know how far my rupees will go, but right now with the exchange rate of $1 = 45.6 rupees, I feel rich with $12,000 in the hotel safe!

I'm up hours early today--my brain is still on Florida time, I guess. It's 6:44 a.m. here. I have to figure how far ahead that is from friends and family in the USA.

Happy Fourth of July!