Submitted by Madeline Greenly on the 2024 Winter ENGL program in India…
It has officially been 1 week since I arrived in India. The first day was exhausting, which was to be expected. After a 14 hour flight, our small group of 7 girls and our valiant leader Dr. Barua touched down in the New Delhi airport. It was late at night, and fog covered the city in a gray haze obscuring most of the buildings around us. The very first thing that stood out to me was the license plates. As we rode through the bustling traffic on our humorously big bus, weaving around motorcyclists and auto rickshaws, I noticed many of the license plates had 10, maybe more numbers and letters on them. The traffic itself was overwhelming. There were no traffic lines, and everyone seemed to be fighting for a place on the road. Drivers were having to reach out their windows and collapse their side mirrors in order to squeeze by other speeding vehicles. The next few days in Delhi were busy ones. We first visited Nazir ka bah, or the Garden of Nazir. It had a stunning red tower that we probably took a hundred photos of. Next we worked our way to South Delhi to visit a market, Dilli Haat, to look at some souvenirs and other knick knacks. The following day we went to an amazing lunch where I had a favorite of mine, Palak Paneer and other dishes that absolutely blew me away. We then visited the Lotus temple where we had to take off our shoes in order to enter. This definitely was a shock at first but seeing the pristine marble ground of the temple made me appreciate it more. New Delhi seemed to come to an end too soon, as the next day we were off on a plane to Bagdogra. Once landed, our group took separate cars up the mountain to Darjeeling. It was a fun and
terrifying ride. The switchbacks were extreme, it felt like the car was in a constant state of side to side rocking and shaking. We swerved fast around the corners, our driver honking in warning to cars coming from the opposite direction down the mountain. It honestly seemed like many times we were about to have a head on collision with the other cars. After a while, I got used to it, using the time to enjoy the scenery of lush tea estates that snaked their way across the mountains. The next stop was lunch, where I had my first of many momos, which is a dumpling that can have meat or veggie filling. Darjeeling is beautiful, sitting in the shadow of Sleeping Buddha, the third tallest mountain range in the entire world. We explored a Tibetan refugee camp, monasteries and tea estates. I simply can’t count how many cups of tea I have had since my arrival. I’m sure many more will come.
Today I woke up in Tonglu, a trekkers hut in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains 10,000 feet above sea level. It almost makes me laugh to call them foothills when you are literally walking through the clouds. Our little group woke up around 6 to see the sunrise, which rose below us in a burning blaze. The trek up the mountain contains some of the best memories in my entire life. We were led by Karma, our fearless and patient tour guide and a stray dog, Sheru, whom we acquired from a border control checkpoint at the beginning of our journey. They both led us 8 miles up through the foothills, never leaving us behind. We said goodbye to Sheru last night, after he successfully guided us to where we would be staying. I hope he found some other travelers to guide. In my mind, he is currently at the head of Sleeping Buddha, resting with wild ponies and frost covered trails. Everyday in India has been chaotic, surprising, and beautiful. This is only the first week, I can’t even imagine the memories I will make the rest of my journey here. I patiently await the sunrise tomorrow. (Submitted on January 9, 2024)
