Ajkal mai chutti me hu

In Hindi, according to my Living Language self-study book, the above phrase means "I am on vacation." And I am. Tonight I head to Seattle via Newark (the first leg of this journey will be a 16-hour nonstop flight, followed by a shorter cross-country one) for my oldest brother's wedding Saturday in Eastern Washington.

I will be back in Delhi on the evening of July 22, and I am hoping that the effects of the jetlag will have worn off sometime around Labor Day Weekend.

In the meantime, here is a link to my most recent Facebook album. It includes some assorted Delhi tourist sites (Red Fort, for instance) and other pictures of life in Soami Nagar.

What job?

On our first day off, a Sunday, HT arranged for the Americans to be driven around Delhi for a whirlwind sightseeing tour.

The itinerary:

Qutub Minar -- the tallest brick minaret in the world and my favorite stop of the day
Lotus Temple -- a bit overrated and garish, in my opinion
Akshardham -- quite amazing; a shame no cameras were allowed inside
Purana Qila -- lovely open space
Jama Masjid -- pure madness in chandni chowk; and michelle and karyn were the main attraction for everyone inside the mosque; still, stunning
Red Fort -- we didn't get to enter this because it was closing, so i am going back

It was a busy, exhausting day, followed by dinner in Old Delhi with two Columbia grads who just finished up a year here -- one freelancing and one working for Mint, which is in the same building as HT. A Facebook album of photos from sightseeing and from the first week of work (some of which are on the flickr links in the previous post) can be seen, if you have an account, here. If you don't have an account, my favorite picture of the day, of Jama Masjid, is above.

Pics from the first week

Here are the links to two photo streams:

1. From roommate Michelle

2. From roommate Karyn