ARRIVAL IN NEW DELHI

I was miserable on the train to India.
I had a fever and was shivering.
Next to me was a soldier.
He offered me his blanket. I gladly accepted it and it helped.
I could have gone to Nepal with a few other volunteers, but I said, "No thanks. I want to go where it's warm and swim in the ocean."
Now I was totally alone.
I didn't know the languages of either Pakistan or India.
Yes, English was understood and spoken in both countries, but it didn't alter the fact that I was a new stranger in strange lands.
When I arrived in New Delhi I was greeted by a glorious patchwork of motions, sounds and colors all at once.
The novelty of such a rich and new environment took my mind off of my ills and chills.
I didn't want to admit how bad I was really feeling.
I was confused and weak.
It was difficult for me to clearly focus.
At one point I got into a motorcycle taxi with no destination. During this ride I screamed at the top of my lungs some words from Shakespeare's The Tempest for no reason at all.
"Boatswain! Boatswain!", I yelled.
My driver nearly jumped out of his seat, turned around with a crazed look on his face, and wondered who his passenger was, and what was going to occur next.
Just moments before my screaming he had been asking to buy my watch. Now he just wanted me to get out of his taxi.
I did.
In front of some hotel.
I went in, looked around, and then left.
My days of wandering in India had begun.
I have no clear memory of the sequence of events and things that I experienced, but I do remember the experiences, and I shall describe them in future posts.