So the internet access hasn't been quite as frequent as we would all like, so my usually verbose posts will have to become somewhat more controlled (don't raise your eyebrows I reckon I can do it) New Delhi is crazy- hectic, humid, busy, fast paced, friendly, it all goes on here. The roads are insane- 9it's not about what acar you drive, it's not about indicating or even braking, it's about how loud you hcan honk your horn and how quick the pedestrian/tuk tuk/ moped in front can get out of your wau. Quite fun, but completely crazy all the same. So far we're all pretty tired, as the heat and the humidity and the jet lag makes you sleepy a lot of the time, so the 7:30 starts often feel like the middle of the night!
We've had several lectures so far, about the customs and traditions of India, religious diversity, history, georgaphy, all sorts really so we've got a good basic knowledge now. We've also started Hindi which is impossible as everything sounds exactly the same. And I mean exactly the same!
Have visited the JN university, the National Museum, some old Muslim temples, as well as learnt some yoga and sampled a lot of local cuisine...although McDonald's last night didn't really count...
Well I'll have to leave it there for now as I'm about to run out of time...hopefully I'll be able to blog more often when I move to Mumbai on Monday, as internet access might be more frequent! Will load some pics too when I get the chance///I've got some absolute classics!

Sooo Friday was the long awaited pre-departure day briefing at the Hatfields Suite, which looked like it had been copied and pasted from an episode of The Apprentice and made me feel very under-dressed in my navy-inspired dress and jeans. The day kicked off with an introduction to the program and the customary 'well done for getting here' speeches, before a message from Gordon Brown was played where he also congratulated us on being the very first Fellows on this pilot scheme. Of course this was really quite exciting, as firstly the Prime Minister was addressing us, and secondly he'd "recorded a message as unfortunately he couldn't be there", which was very Oscars- like.
After the welcome talk (in which I was delighted to receive even more free stationary ) we were split into groups of 20 and took part in several sessions, working on the concept of culture and heritage and looking at some of the finer details of the countries we'd be visiting, including a brief introduction to the language. Learning Hindi was very interesting, but incredibly difficult for someone like me who has only ever studied French, Spanish and Italian in the past- I have an inherent need to put a European accent on everything, which trust me does not work with Hindi!
After a very nice lunch we continued the day with a tour of Shell, which was just around the corner. Unfortunately, it proceeded to oh-so-comically chuck it down the minute we stepped outside, so the first batch of Fellows arrived looking less like young business men and women of the future and slightly more like drowned rats!
Nevertheless, we proceeded on our tour of the building, squelching down the halls in our soaked shoes and laughing at the boys whose shirts were so wet they looked like they'd taken a shower with their clothes on.
The Shell building, I should mention at this point, is absolutely massive. Sports halls, multiple floors and more offices than you can shake a stick at, it also boasted some amazing views over the Thames and the London Eye. After the tour we went back to the sports hall where we heard talks from three people working in business, detailing what the company they worked for did, the opportunities they provided, and some of perks of working for international companies such as the chance to travel and train continuously.
After this, we divided into teams of 5 and made posters demonstrating some of the principles that Shell as a company bases its business around, before picking up our Shell backpacks (which again contained a very nice Shell pen, much to my delight) and made our way back to Hatfields.
The final talk of the day centred around the media, and we were briefed on the development of the Bebo site (the link for which can be found on my page) and our own individual sites for posting blogs, videos and photos. The camera crew also informed us we'd be receiving digital cameras to record our experiences on, which was met with an 'ooooooo' from the Fellows, naturally.
Now that the talks were over, there was a couple of hours to meet with some of the representatives from the businesses supporting the project and interested in the program, along with a talk from Radio 1's Nihal which again which was very entertaining... I may start listening to his show actually.
So after a very long day, Elaine, Clare (who I had discovered, in a moment of Ohmygodnoway-ness also lived in Sheffield and actually knew a lot of the same people) and I received our PMGF goody bags with the digital cameras, USB sticks etc inside, got Bebo t-shirts and hats, and went to the underground to catch the tube to St. Pancras.
Clare and I got the 8:25 train and ended up spending a good 2 and a half hours conversing with a charming if slightly intoxicated young man called James, who it turned out, had studied English Lit at uni. As I hope to study English Lit at Manchester Uni in September (fingers crossed for AAB), James, Clare and I passed the time discussing our favourite books

Hey there my lovelies.
You knew it would happen, it's the first blog
So last Thursday I ventured off to London, hoping I would manage to find this mysterious place called Southwark without getting lost, for the PMGF conference day. First lesson of the Global Fellowship? Never tell someone you will meet them at the ticket machines in the tube station near St. Pancras. Because there are about a million. Needless to say, I had arranged to meet Elaine who had been in my interview team in Manchester at the tube station and after a couple of minutes on the phone going 'so you're where exactly? I don't see you!' we managed to find each other.
That's when the fun really started haha. We ambled up to the ticket booth and proudly declared we wanted to go to Southwark but had no idea how to get there. The ticket man responded with 'you mean Southwark?' (turns out we'd been saying it wrong). After finding it quite hilarious how much we sounded like Northern tourists, we bought a couple of Oyster swipe cards to get us to Southwark, which were really quite exciting because they came in their own Ikea wallets .
It was all going well until we realised we didn't actually know what to DO with said Oyster cards, and proceeded to stand dumbfounded in front of the ticket barriers, jabbing and hitting the sensor things with the cards until the nice ticket lady told us we just had to put them on the sensor pad. So of course we felt ever so slightly ridiculous at this point...
Somehow we managed to find the correct line and the correct stops and found ourselves at the Travelodge in Southwark. We dumped our bags in our rooms, got excited that they gave us nice tea and cool lighting fixtures and went to find the location for the next day- Hatfields. We managed to find it without too much trouble, so went back to the Travelodge bar, where we bumped into a group of fellow...well fellows! Pizza was eaten, drinks were had, I swapped stories of my travels to Cambodia with Sally and opinions of Big Brother with Akilah (much to Elaine's dismay as she takes a moral stance against Big Brother haha ) and met a load of other people going to India, including a couple from my team- Team 2.

So after a couple of hours of talking in the bar, I went to bed and attempted to go to sleep. Or so I thought. I got into bed and lay awake for about an hour, then, thinking it was getting a little ridiculous, turned on the TV. Unfortunately the only thing worth watching happened to be a very strange documentary about the life of Dolly Parton, presented by that fella from the Scissor Sisters. Now this would probably not be my first choice of entertainment normally, but it was getting a little boring staring at the ceiling of my room! Once that had finished I tried to get some sleep, but to no avail...partly due to the fact that a friend of mine back in Sheffield kept texting me, and was clearly under the influence, so I had to translate her texts of 'hihsjnsandjsdbsjd' into English before I could reply.
Needless to say, I woke up the next day ever so slightly exhausted, and made up for my lack of sleep with the Travelodge's cooked breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee. Lavely x