new kid in town....

So my first full day in Delhi is ending and I have to admit I slept most of it. I love it here but I also have to admit that I cried last night before going to sleep. I think it was probably the fatigue-strange-place-far-from-home syndrome but whatever, it's gone.
I love this place.
A few events from my day:
"Where are you from, England or USA?" I'm asked in the bazaar. "USA" I reply. "Oh, I VERY MUCH LOVE OBAMA and I loved Clinton too" was the reply of the young Indian in the street.
I'm half way around the world and our President is known and beloved. I won't write what he said about Bush.

In the PSP game Crash Bandicoot there are these little characters with large shields that they use to hit against Crash and push him down. That is what the heat feels like here when I walk out of the hostel into the street, like a shield with a laughing character behind it trying to push me down (does that sound paranoid?)
Another comment from a young man in the street "you are dressed wrong for here, too hot." As it turns out, he is what's referred to here as a tout- someone who is sent out to pull customers back to a shop or business (or service). It so happens that his friend owns a clothing shop but he did help me arrange for a driver for the day tomorrow. 8 hours, auto with A/C, anywhere I want to go = 500 rupees, or about $10!

Water- tomorrow I am going to an NGO headquartered here in Delhi. Today I noticed that at many intersections, (I'd say n=10 out of 20) the lines carrying sewage were all leaking to the surface instead of percolating vertically below the line- as evidenced by the smell, and the scene. Perhaps the area around it is saturated and there was no place else to go...Anyway, the men in the neighborhood were digging with shovels and banging on the pipes. Not sure what that would do, but it made me wonder about their infrastructure and the government's responsibility- I know about taxes and the differences in our countries, but I also saw kids walking barefoot through the sludge. Now, you might be wondering about basic sanitary knowledge and whether it is considered by people, like do Mother's tell their kids to stay away from the poop in the street? But I'm wondering how it can be like this in the first place?