Arrived in Delhi

Quick Update. Just arrived at my rooftop and writing my first report. The title already says it, I'm in Delhi now. The journey went pretty well overall, Ethihad Airways is highly recommended. Lots of great movies to watch 😉 The flight from Zurich with a layover in Abu Dhabi and then directly to New Delhi took about 9 hours. When we arrived at the airport in Delhi, I thought 'What am I doing here'. Memories of Kathmandu, which was already six years ago, immediately came back. The beautiful airport with its yellowish carpet was overcrowded at three in the morning, it was chaotic and noisy, impatient people everywhere, and we were right in the middle of it. My colleague, who is also spending a month in India, and I had a slightly tense situation at immigration. Of course, Mr. Erb had all the necessary documents for the E-Visa, but something was wrong. 'That's the wrong paper, I can't let you in,' the officer said at the customs. After a bit of clarification and a little smile, he let me through. Besides the fact that my suitcase was damaged when it arrived in Delhi, we were very grateful that everything went so smoothly. Now it's just a short walk to the hotel.

The next morning, I didn't really know where I was. But as soon as I had breakfast and ate the famous Indian 'Nan' bread filled with green chili, and saw more flights than people at the buffet, it all came back to me. I arrived in the inner city with almost 20 million inhabitants, incredible traffic, and very polluted air. Hello Delhi. Maybe this update starts a bit negatively. At the beginning, I was a bit overwhelmed, but I also knew that we would only spend two days in Delhi. Soon we will head to the Chinese border and into the mountains.

After a 15-hour bus ride through the night, with a sickness bag in my lap, we arrived in this village. We all got off the bus looking pale (even the locals), and a kind Indian couple warmly welcomed us. They were delighted that we made the long journey. We spent the first two days with this Christian couple, who told us a lot about their culture and how they live out their faith as Christians. Among other things, they took us to a Hindu temple, where we got a glimpse of how Hindus worship their gods. It's impressive to see the rituals and the effort the Hindus put into serving their gods. It made me thoughtful and sometimes even scared, but I was also glad to leave. On the same day, we took a taxi to continue our journey. At my request, they spontaneously organized a three-day hiking trip in the Himalayas. And here I am now, unfortunately, the trip had to be postponed until tomorrow due to bad weather and snowfall. Today, we will explore the village and see how people work in the fields. At least, that's the plan.

Well, my friends, I hope I have been able to give you a small glimpse of what's going on with me. It takes time to adapt here, everything is just different. A completely different culture, challenging living conditions, different perspectives that lead to discussions, and language barriers. Plans will be thrown overboard very quickly, so one must remain flexible and understanding. The people here do their best to make our life here easier. They are very kind as long as you drink tea six times a day and eat rice neatly.

I'm excited about this time and curious about God's plan. Take care and see you soon. Be blessed <3