Rain, rain go away...

Last year when we arrived in Delhi at the end of August, it rained for about 2 days then stopped. It is now almost the end of September and we've had rain almost every single day. Now, we're no strangers of a rainy season after having lived on Reunion Island, one of the rainiest places, especially during cyclone season. But, this rain in Delhi just seems unending...so we stay inside a lot and paint and dance and play hide and seek. Recently, Dorian, who has been wanting more counter space for his kitchen (don't we all?), found a box and decided to decorate it for his kitchen. He spend at least an hour with sparkly tape and markers very carefully getting his box ready for his kitchen:

CWG continued...

It's hard not to talk about the upcoming Commonwealth Games, especially when there are continuous changes all around us, literally.

While driving home the other day we stumbled upon this stop light installation and I thought it was pretty amazing:

Then again on another street near our neighborhood and while it was raining:

While I am amazed at the lengths to which the city of Delhi is willing to go in order to make the CWG a success i.e. put in new stoplights, a detail that I'm not sure will go noticed by those visiting, I was so saddened to hear the news yesterday of a foot bridge collapsing near one of the main stadiums and the complaints of the althetes who have already arrived and are not happy with the condition of their housing. The Games are due to start on October 3rd and it feels like we're in a holding pattern to see what will happen next.

The Metro

The Delhi Metro has been under construction and now will extend about 45 km to the south of Delhi to Gurgaon and the airport. It has been chaotic as streets have been dug up, dust flies and markets as well as houses have shifted. The whole thing has seemed like unending mess but magically as the Commonwealth Games approach the streets are looking cleaner, flowers and grass have been planted and people are coming and going from the new metro stations. Near us there are a few that have recently opened. I was happily suprised one evening to see lights and flowers on the inaugural day of this metro stop:



And, it's nice to see people using the Metro after seeing others work so hard for so long on its construction.

Recent signage

Back on my sign kick while driving around...

This one for the Commonwealth Games:



The above sign in various sizes and versions featuring different sports have popped up all over town--side of the road, bus stops, even the exterior of the public toilet. This one has the tiger mascot.

And this quite possibly is the best sign ever:



If you don't see it (sorry took it with my phone from the car), look just above the two men on the left...Incredible India, indeed!

How to eat a cupcake

Step 1: get so excited you smear it all over your face:


Step 2: decide you don't like chocolate on your hands, so you find another way:

Step 3: happiness:

CWG lane

Since moving Delhi just over a year ago, we have seen CWG everywhere--Commonwealth Games. The city has been under constant construction for the upcoming games. And, the most recent project has been to create a Commonwealth Game lane. When I first saw the street signs, I was so surprised. In a city where lanes seem optional (granted, I don't drive here, so I don't understand the complexities and nuances of driving), I just wondered how it will all go down. Well, we had a taste of it the other day. On one of the main roads near our neighborhood, from 12-2pm the Commonwealth Game lane was closed. There were policmen standing every 100 meters to keep cars from sneaking over. Apparently, it was a trial run to see how things would play out. I'm not sure what the concensus was, but it was pretty much what I expected--bumper to bumper, three or four cars in a space for two lanes. It was quite impressive to look over and see an entire lane completely empty. I like to think it is just a minor inconvenience to something larger that many locals are proud to host (at least the people I've spoken to).


Reporting from the empty CWG lane:
This is pretty much what it was like:
I like the "brace for long snarls":

Dengue...

It has been a much rainier end of August/beginning of September than last year. Seriously, lots of rain. That mixed with the enormous construction projects throughout Delhi for the Commonwealth Games--stadiums, parking garages, new metro lines, street beautification, road work--meaning large holes in the ground that fill with water, create the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. And so recently dengue is quite rampant in all parts of Delhi. It's bad and I'm paranoid and nervous. Then, today I read that the people who drive the trucks around and spray against mosquitoes were on strike. Great. Oddly, though, as we were coming home from school I saw huge wafts of smoke near the entrance of our neighborhood and I thought it was a big fire. Nope, the mosquito spraying truck had arrived! I had never been so happy to see mass amounts of chemicals being spewed into the air. We hurried home, quickly shut the door and stood by watching...





But, of course, it's raining again. Does that mean the chemicals will wash away?