Whoooaaah we’re halfway there……….

That’s right ladies and gentleman. The 6 month mark and on the eve of my departure, I cannot explain how excited I am for the US return. Despite averaging less than 5 hours of sleep for the past week, the adrenaline and feeling of reuniting with family, friends, and breathable air has been keeping me going.

For those of you who have been keeping up with the blog, I hope it’s given some insight into my life here and the microfinance sector as well. When I get back in January, I’m going to make a concerted effort to make posts more frequently.

I stepped off the plane in Delhi in June to 110 degree heat and was ready for the challenge. Undoubtedly India laid it on in that first month. The toxic combination of stomach ailments, frustrations working with an unprofessional organization, breathing exorbitant amounts of fumes every time I took an auto (and then there was the traffic situation), power outages at inconvenient times, extreme heat, etc. provided a conglomeration of challenges that truly tested my persistence. In fact, that toxic combination continues to challenge me except for the extreme heat. Instead, Delhi’s winter has settled on the city. Believe it or not, I sleep in long underwear because temps get into the 40′s at night and the lack of central heating…I realize probably won’t win much sympathy from the Chicago crowd.

The overarching point is that this experience was exactly the adventure and challenge I had been craving. I’ve done some traveling to the beautiful parts of India and seen its dirtiest and poorest sides. I’ve learned how to cook some basic Indian dishes to enhance my BBQing and amateur chef skills. I’ve eaten the spiciest s*** ever in my life so far and my palate has adjusted accordingly. When I make homemade tomato sauce now, I add at least 1-2 green chiles to juice up the flavor. I’ve perfected my negotiating skills and picked up enough Hindi to get by. I hate and love India sometimes. For every frustrating situation, I’m constantly amazed by the generosity and benevolent spirit that total strangers have; even if it’s just inviting you into their home for a cup of chai while some guy is ironing your pants outside (yeah that happened). And so with that, here are some further observations I’ve made in the past few weeks:

1) Ketchup is served with nearly EVERYTHING - After a morning workout last week I stopped into a coffee shop and ordered a blueberry muffin. (Side note, Dunkin Donuts, please open a location in Delhi. Seriously. Thank you.) The Barista asked “Do you want Ketchup with that?” It’s 9:00am, I just ordered a blueberry muffin and the last condiment to possibly complement this muffin would be ketchup. Well tartar sauce sounds pretty awful as well.

2) You haven’t experienced the frustration of a railroad crossing until it’s been in rural India - It’s really quite perplexing as you try to understand thought processes leading up to a railroad crossing. Many rural India roads (at least in Uttar Pradesh where our microfinance operations are concentrated) lack painted traffic lines so that should be the first hint of impending chaos. What follows is an amalgamation of cars that crowd both sides of the track like warriors about to go into battle. When the train passes, flow of traffic is totally impeded because neither side has an opening to proceed. It’s some sort of psychological tragedy. And the funny thing is that this mentality is pervasive in a rural and urban setting, meaning you’ll experience this exact same crowding effect before entering a Metro car in Delhi. All I can say is that you better hope osmosis works in your favor trying to exit a Metro car in one of the highly-trafficked Metro stations.

3) Mexican Brunch in Delhi? – For reals yo. My friend Deepti’s birthday was this past weekend and she organized an all-you-can-eat Brunch at this great Mexican Restaurant in Delhi called Sanchos. Unlimited quesadillas, specialty salads, custom omelets, steamed vegetables (what up broccoli), flavored rices, churros and chocolate sauce, beer, sangria, and more. It was expensive by Indian standards about 800 rupees per person (about US $16) but the equivalent of at least 2.5 meals so totally worth it.

4) Well good morning Katrina! – Despite how cold its become to ride autos in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite Indian actress to my left and right earlier this week. Thank you for making my day Katrina. (and auto driver)