Arrived in Delhi!

It is 2:30 am here in Delhi, but I figured I would go ahead and start this blog now!

So I left Boston on Thursday, May 26 - always so sad to say bye to my family (Eric and Harriet) - to embark on my journey to India where I will spend my summer as a nutrition intern with the Clinton Foundation (CHAI)!
My flight from Boston to Amsterdam was a pain in the butt - flew on Delta and once we took off, we soon realized that someone's call button was just going off repeatedly once every 3 seconds. So - in order to turn off this ungodly beeping, they had to shut off (what I think was the worst of 2 evils) all of the cabin lights and the entertainment sound. So with it being dark out, you couldn't read or watch a movie unless you wanted to lipread the entire thing. And it made it very difficult to eat our meal in the dark...
After a 7.5-hr flight, spent a couple hours in Amsterdam before getting on a lovely KLM flight (how do they make all those Dutch KLM ladies so good-looking?) to Delhi. Got some funny looks as I tried to keep my typhoid pills on ice during the flight. Another 7.5 hrs later, we landed in Delhi at 11:15 pm local time. Customs was surprisingly a breeze, and the new Delhi airport is much nicer than the old airport (which apparently solved the chaotic culture shock of arriving in Delhi to a run-down old airport, mobbed by taxi drivers as soon as you exit). By the time my bags came out (thank goodness - can't take that for granted), it was midnight and I went outside to find my friendly driver that CHAI sent.
Couple lessons on India 101 that I realized right away:
1. It's HOT. Even in the middle of the night. Tomorrow will be extra, extra hot during the day.
2. Like in the UK, the driver is on the right side of the car and they drive on the left!* I tried to get into the right side and quickly figured things out. *roads were great, but it seems most cars don't like to make use of those nice, painted, dotted lines because those little compact cars are all over the place!

Again, surprisingly painless to find my apartment in the GK-1 district, in a nice, safe, gated community close to a big market. I've met my two flatmates - Elliot (Time journalist) and John (Save the Children) - who have lived here for 2+ yrs. Great apartment! They were surprised I hadn't been to India before since I had very little questions before about what it would be like to live here. I'm just glad I found something (through CHAI connections)! Really - the only questions I ever have are: a) will someone come get me at the airport, b) where am I going to live, and c) how do I get to work. Everything else gets answered eventually. I am spoiled with the AC, superfast Wifi, and my own bathroom in this 'flat'!
I am already chasing some skeeters around the room though - I'm sure I'll get my first bites of the year tonight.
Tomorrow, it's time to experience Delhi by day and meet with my CHAI colleague to start getting to work! I've been doing some studying over the flight to try to remind myself that yes - I did just take a year of schooling in nutrition and I should probably remember some things...

Woohoo - I'M IN INDIA!
:)