so i finally made it to india, after the longest trip of my life....
i started off in norfolk at around 1 pm on sunday. i volunteered to be re-routed (TWICE) because the flights were overbooked. so i got $800 in US Airways travel vouchers (not bad) AND i got flown into the airport in london that i had to leave out of in the afternoon (convenient for me); previously i would have had to transfer through london from one airport to the next, with all my luggage, which wasn't a lot considering i am going to be gone a year, but still a giant pain in the ass. thanks US Airways....except the flight across the ocean was the worst of my life. imagine: a packed plane, heaps of crazy british being very particular about strange things, the last row before the bathrooms with seats that don't recline, stuck in the middle seat of the middle row next to a spastic british woman and a strange british male (wearing a top hat?!)....with no free alcohol and no screen on the back of the seats, only the big ones in the front of every section which only about 3 of 30 people can actually see. needless to say i didn't sleep at all.
i got to london around 11 in the morning, left my luggage at the airport and took the underground into the city, just to eat at my favorite little thai restaurant. seriously. i went one hour each way into the city to eat, on no sleep. typical :). the restaurant was packed but as good as i remember. its a little hole in the wall diner type place that serves cheap english breakfast during the day and authentic thai food at night. super cheap, super hidden, and super duper delicious. i took my time eating, and then walked the neighborhood for a while, it has a nice street market and a few bookshops, one of which was going out of business and had a big sale. there is nothing i like more than browsing books, especially on a full stomach.
then back to the airport to wait for my flight. already at the gate i could feel india. people recognizing other people that they know through friends of friends of the family, all heading home, catching up on family gossip, calling moms and dads. only a few other white people, either typical backpacking looking travelers, with long hair, loose cotton pants, and possibly a guitar, or proper business men in suits and ties and briefcases. and then there was me.....?!
the flight to india was the best. the airline is known to be the best in india...and its really true! right away they brought me a hot towel to wipe my face and hands, the seats are super comfortable, and everyone has their own tv with full control of the unlimited bollywood movie choices. it would have been easy to get a nice nights sleep, BUT the bollywood was keeping me too entertained, so still didn't sleep much. but even the food on kingfisher (the airlines) is good....AND they give you cloth napkins and metal cutlery wrapped in a ribbon! fancy.
flew london to mumbai and then mumbai to delhi with a 5 hour layover in between, during which i spread out on the floor and fell fast asleep, sort of almost missed my flight, but it was 40 mins late.
now im in delhi, in my apartment, which ill post pictures of later. francesco didn't do much to the apartment as he was waiting for me, so we have a lot of little things to do to make it feel like home. but i unpacked today and straightened up a bit....the space is really cool and the neighborhood is quite nice. i have about 2 weeks before i start working, but im a bit overwhelmed on the job front, i am going to have great responsibility with too many people telling me what to do, i fear. but hopefully my organizational skills will kick in in full force and i can transform the program and make cool things happen. i will update you all on exactly what the job entails (as soon as i know myself hahahaha)
so....you all know im safe. since i know you all have my blog address i will hopefully do a decent job about updating....but that means i need all you guys to post and email and keep in touch, because that is what this is really for. i want to hear about your lives too! love you all!
the apartment building from the outside. A-149
the view of our bedroom, from the front door, as you walk in. notice the huge desk, big enough for both of us to work, and the kite hanging in the window. i haven't tried my hand at flying kites yet, but its a favorite past time around here and apparently francesco is pretty into it. also notice our "shrine" on the wall in the corner. most houses in india have shrines decorated to a favorite god, to do prayers in front of in the morning or whatever. our landlord is an architect and we think this is his version. we have filled it with books (appropriate since we are both nerds, but we are going to put something different in it soon)
opposite the desk, our bed, with tibetan flags hanging above.
the tile mural inside our bathroom, just to the right of the bed in the previous picture. the american flag....and a map of the world. 
our kitchen/living room area. the steps you see on the left are up to our bedroom.
view from our roof. we are one of the highest roofs around so we have a 360 view of the whole area, with two huge temples on the horizon.
and this is our amphitheatre style roof...completely crazy design.