After over 30 hours of travel, we have finally made it to New Delhi, India. We met up with several other new teachers and their families at the airport by the administrators at the school who greeted us with flower leis. We were then taken to campus to our new apartment. In the walkway to our front door, we found beautiful decorations on the floor, made out of colored rice. At first we didn't even notice that it was rice because it was so pristine.
Our new teacher orientation started the next day at lunch time, but with jetlag, we were awake before 4am. After a few hours, we found the campus pool and took the girls for a little swim. However, it wasn't long before we experienced our first Indian creatures. There were some bright yellow wasps flying around the pool, and Kaelia grabbed a nearby rope to keep herself afloat that happened to have some of the wasps around it. She was instantly stung which ended pool time and began a massive swelling on Kaelia's wrist. She got over it a day later, but it was an interesting start to our first day!
During orientation, it was wonderful to get to know the other new teachers and learn a bit about India. The school even put together a little expo (called mela in India) to show us more about the Indian culture. At the mela, we attended stations to learn more about fashion, beliefs, travel, holidays, clothing, art, and food. They had some delicious samples of Indian food, and we left with free bags of artwork and bangles (bracelets). There was even a henna station which the girls and I definitely took advantage of.
It has been a wonderful first week to India. We are learning more and more about the culture, and we cannot believe how kind everyone is. The people here have gone above and beyond to help us and make us feel welcome. We are really hoping that the girls embrace this culture and behaviors as it is such a contrast from our last two years in Doha.
Our new teacher orientation started the next day at lunch time, but with jetlag, we were awake before 4am. After a few hours, we found the campus pool and took the girls for a little swim. However, it wasn't long before we experienced our first Indian creatures. There were some bright yellow wasps flying around the pool, and Kaelia grabbed a nearby rope to keep herself afloat that happened to have some of the wasps around it. She was instantly stung which ended pool time and began a massive swelling on Kaelia's wrist. She got over it a day later, but it was an interesting start to our first day!During orientation, it was wonderful to get to know the other new teachers and learn a bit about India. The school even put together a little expo (called mela in India) to show us more about the Indian culture. At the mela, we attended stations to learn more about fashion, beliefs, travel, holidays, clothing, art, and food. They had some delicious samples of Indian food, and we left with free bags of artwork and bangles (bracelets). There was even a henna station which the girls and I definitely took advantage of.
It has been a wonderful first week to India. We are learning more and more about the culture, and we cannot believe how kind everyone is. The people here have gone above and beyond to help us and make us feel welcome. We are really hoping that the girls embrace this culture and behaviors as it is such a contrast from our last two years in Doha.
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