Heat, cows and gurus

My first week in India is now almost over. I have the same feeling as last time I tried to write about it. It's so hard to chooce the right words, to nail down exactly how this place is. Just have to start somewhere.
I am not in Delhi anymore. Jahnvi left for the US Sunday evening and that means I have to spend a bit more then two weeks on whatever I like untill Airiin and Sanna will come to India in the end of August or beginning of September, in fact Im not sure about the exact date of their arrival. The first thing I made sure of after Jahnvis departure was to get out of Delhi as soon as possible. The reason why I put it like that is the following:
Delhi is the most intense city Ive ever been in. The moment you put your feet on the street you are knocked down by a thousands impressions of the hectic life going on there. Small kids running around begging for money in dirty cloths, lots of people just sitting around not doing anything with a purpose I could predict, cabels hanging freely in the air everwhere, all the fasades of the houses and buildings look like they havent been maintained since they were build, which is probably the reason for their bad state, people with carrers stuff with all different kind of things they sell such as bananas, water, apples and other fruits, corns which have been burned over a little fire of coal next to the seller, helmets, blankets, belts and so on and so on. Everything seems like a chaos, there are loud noises constantly. All the time you hear horns blowing and people shouting. It is so hot that I was sweating constantly. There is garbage lying around everywhere and that applies for all the places I have seen untill now. In the morning you find people sleeping around the streets very openly. And then of course the cows that literally really does walk around everywhere on the streets.
One of the things I felt very ambivalent about seeing was the slums. Areas where people live in home made tents that look unstable and very unhealthy. In those areasa I saw people shitting on the middle of the road, washing themselves, having their whole life in extreme poverty and with no privacy. I didnt know what to feel. I felt very sorry that someone had to live their lives in this way, but also I felt that I couldnt relate to it in any way. It was like watching a film, a very lively film where I could hear, see, smell or even touch the objects, but it would never be real. Of course, I know that it is the reality for these people, but I just felt so distant from them. Despite the fact that I was in the same place and time of those people, we were in two entirely different worlds. Perhaps I am upsetting someone now, but this was what I concluded after thinking about it.
So after Jahnvi had left, all this chaos and hectics and pollution and traffic and obvious extreme poverty became a bit too much and so I left Delhi. Luckely, Jahnvis aboyfriend Amit was going with me because he had some business in a city near to my destination. And so now I am in Rishikesh, north east of Delhi. It is a very beautiful place by the Ganges river with many holy people walking around in orange clothes, but also foreigners, which is somehow a relief for me. Strange how I suddenly relate to any perhaps with the skin colour of white. Home, I need slightly more than that to feel a relation. I live in a nice hotel in the hills with a splendid view of the mountains and the river. Came today, so I havent seen much yet.
I dont exactly know what my plans are yet, since I have two weeks to go. But I will take a day at the time and if I get bored I will try and find other nice places around.
It feels good to be away from the city, but my week in Delhi was definitly worth it and it was great spending so much time with Jahnvi and her family. I got to talk a lot to them about the differences of our cultures and also learned crucal things such as how to get around and price levels.
I dont know if I write too much on this blog, if people really bother to read this far down, but anyways, here it is.
I am thinking about home, missing it and my friends, but I am doing well considering the situation.
Keep writing me!