visiting India. I thought I would share my initial perspectives on the
country of India.
Before I begin, I want to say that this my first trip to India,
however, I have been overseas before to New Zealand, Russia, western
Europe, Moldova, and South Korea.
A brief run down of my itinerary is that I will spend 17 days in India
spread across the following cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kota, Jaipur,
Udaipur, and Agra. My primary reason for visiting India was not to see
the Taj Mahal (ha! I know I caught a few people off guard) but it was
because I was invited to an Indian wedding.
I arrived in New Delhi very late in the evening and the first thing I
noticed was the sense of personal space was about 2 inches. While
waiting for my bags to be unloaded, many people would be push their
way forward to the baggage belt. Now I should have realized this
personal space thing after going through the boarding process in
Amsterdam. I am not sure if Indians have any concept of a line and
pre-boarding but I think the personal space issue is directly related.
The second thing I noticed is the utter chaos of driving and crossing
the street as a pedistrian. Crossing the street is truly an experience
especially with navigating ie dodging traffic and any animals in the
street. My friend told me traffic is supposed to stop for pedestrians
not the other way around. I think this may help explain why rush hour
in New Delhi takes a long time to get through. There were many close
calls when I was being driven to Agra. If you didn't accept the fact
that someone else was in control of the vehicle, then the trip would
have been more stressful. I quickly accepted this fact and enjoyed
experiencing the sights of cows, camels, dogs, donkeys, and horses
sharing the road with cars, tuk-tuks, tractors, and industrial sized
trucks. You quickly learn that driving in India should be left to
those with experience. I myself am contemplating adding a line to my
resume that states "safely crossed the street in India as a
pedistran". Yes it really is that much of an adventure.
The final first impression I want to share is that the people of India
are extremely warm and friendly. They treat you like family, make sure
you are comfortable, and give you lots of tasty food. I myself have
enjoyed trying the different types of food. It hasn't been too spicy
either. The one thing I will say is that the food is somewhat more
heavy than what I am used to. The more food I eat, the more sleepy I
become. Also add in tiring activities like street dancing for a few
hours and it certainly makes for a good night's sleep! I have learned
a lot about the Indian culture from my friend's younger cousins. They
have been helpful in explaining what is going on or why an activity is
being performed. I have also learned a lot by observing how the kids
interact with their parents and older relatives. The kids are equally
curious about me and my western culture. Even though their parents are
a little concerned with their children crowding around me and the
groom's Kenyan friend from the U.S., neither of us mind it too much
because we learn so much from the kids.
Right now, I am in Kota for my friend's wedding. In the interest of
ending this lengthy post, I will save those thoughts on my first
Indian wedding and my Agra trip for a different time. I am also
including some random photos that I have taken (obligatory taj photo
included).
Hope all is well in the states.
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