the other side

I haven't really talked about the poverty here yet. Not on purpose, I've just had lots of other things in my head. You definitely cannot escape the fact of poverty here. There are a lot of people living in slums. There are poor people and homeless people everywhere in the world, but I think the biggest difference here is that it isn't hidden.
Back home there are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods and they are pretty clearly defined. You can fairly easily live in a bubble, especially if you don't live in a city, and not see real poverty.
Here, however, there are slums right next to very nice places. And I mean right next to. One of the swankiest areas of town is by the Embassies. The American Embassy School and British School are right across the street from one another and they are NICE. The AES campus looks like a college campus. And directly next to them is a slum. I mean directly next to them. It has been there since at least the 80s. Back home people would be outraged; we wouldn't stand to have that in our view; the slum would be torn down and people forced to move out. If I remember correctly a few years back the mayor of Chicago moved the homeless people out of the city.
Some of the slums are more hidden; they are there but somewhat shielded from view. And what may look to the western eye like a slum isn't. In some places where big construction is going on men will stay in small huts and tents near the site while the construction is going on so that they don't have to pay to go back and forth. It is sort of like unofficial temporary housing. Not exactly nice, but those men may have apartments outside of the city with families and they are just here for a few months making money.
For sure it is difficult to see people living in poverty. Some of the slums do seem 'nicer' in that they look from the outside to be more organized; and everyone that I've driven by I see TVs. The part that always gets to me is when I see kids in the street playing in the middle of the day and I know that they will never have the opportunity to go to school and that they will likely live their whole lives right there.
Pretty much every day I will see something or someone that just makes me feel guilty for what I have but thankful for the opportunities that I have. As difficult as it can be, the truth is that I hope that I never stop feeling guilty and never stop noticing the kids running around in the streets, because even though I work hard for what I have; these kids will likely work hard their whole lives and never leave Delhi and I think that it is good to remember that. I hope that it makes me live my life as a better and more generous person.