An update from India, finally!

Well, I had all these wonderful intentions of bright, interesting blog updates regularly from India.  I have failed miserably on that, I can't believe we've been here since the 16th!  And nary an update to be seen.

Things have been very busy - it really did take us 2 - 3 days to get over the jet lag and adjust to the culture shock that is Delhi.  Our plane was over an hour late but Rahul lives up to the good reviews he's received and his very patient driver was still waiting for us.  Yay!  A slight blip with accommodations - we arrived at India Luxury Homes Bed and Breakfast, only to find that Rajesh didn't have room yet for us.  He moved us to one of his apartments, which was very nice however after almost 48 hrs of very little sleep, and Delhi being the amazing chaos it is, we were a tad disconcerted to find ourselves installed in a completely different area than we had planned on; we didn't know where the nearest market was, how to get around, or really anything and we were so tired and hungry it was all a bit overwhelming (plus the internet wasn't working).  Thankfully, Rajesh ended up finding room for us after all, about 2 hours later, and returned us to the BnB where we have been happily installed ever since.  :)

The BnB is in a good location, really just right across the street from M Block market (which is huge) and a very short and cheap (20 - 40 rupee) autorickshaw ride from the clinic.  The room is very clean and comfortable, has a fridge, a big tv and a shower straight from the starship Enterprise.  

Autorickshaws are definitely the way to get around, once you get a bit numb to the traffic system.  Why do they paint lines on the roads?  Everyone just makes their own lanes and a road with 3 lanes often contains twice that many actual lanes of vehicles, haha!  It also becomes abundantly clear that everyone in India with a vehicle knows the exact dimensions of that vehicle, to within half a millimeter.  It never ceases to amaze me that with the absolute chaotic mess on the roads that there aren't more accidents!  And I won't even talk about crossing the roads as a pedestrian.  My husband loves it, but having been hit by a car in my childhood I find the experience absolutely nervewracking, every single time.  Erg!

We've been to ISIS hospital daily since the 17th, and continue to be impressed at Dr. Shivani's organization.  Her hospital is clean and seems to be very well run, staff are very sweet and we're very happy to receive the little cups of chai offered every time.  Dr. Shivani is very professional, and once she toured us through the admin offices and talked us through the paperwork, my comfort level increased a hundredfold.  She is certainly dotting all the i's and it's a very big relief. 

Not such good news on the ol' follicle front though, my body is being obstinate and seems to have generated only 6 (possibly) follicles.  One of my ovaries is hard to see so that is just a guess on Dr. S's part, but tomorrow I have both internal and abdominal scans so hopefully we'll get a better idea.  I was just taking the standard 300 units of gonal F but yesterday was bumped up to 600 units of a different type of hormone (I'll have to dig out the paperwork, as I can't remember what it is).  Wow, those shots sure pack a punch - my tummy muscles are so sore from the shot yesterday I can hardly sit up without squeaking like a mouse.  I'm guessing the other side will feel the same way tomorrow, hrm.  But I could be wimpier than normal right now, since I've also managed to catch a really crappy head cold and am feeling rather wretched and pathetic, haha.  My suggestion to anyone coming for the first time, who has cranky sinuses like myself, bring your neti pot!  If I had mine here I likely could have headed this off - it's likely just a reaction to the pollution which is unreal.  

As for sights, with daily visits to the clinic we've been somewhat tied close to home but have hit all sorts of markets - M Block, Kailash Colony, Dilli Haat (a must see!), and Chandni Chowk.  We've also been to the Baha'i Lotus temple, Qutub Minar, India Gate (unfortunately closed as they are prepping for the Republic Day ceremonies on Thurs), Red Fort (ditto), Humayun's Tomb, Hauz Khas, Jama Masjid, the National Museum (wow!) and old Delhi.  I'm probably missing stuff on that list.  So far we've done all this happily with autorickshaws, and in old Delhi we hired a bike rickshaw to see the sights & Chandni Chowk which was definitely a good idea.  Holy cow!  Old Delhi is something else.  We're getting set up to use Rahul for a trip to Agra on Wednesday to see the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.  

I think that's it for now, and so far we're really enjoying the experience.  The culture and history are amazing, the people seem to be unfailingly warm and polite, and even the poor ratty dogs have sweaters on (it's definitely winter here - brr!).  

I'll get some pics posted when I feel a bit more chipper :)