You Know You're In India When....

You Know You're In India When....

- You are at the Taj Mahal and people are literally lined up to take pictures with you because you are young and white

- You are standing in front of the fucking TAJ MAHAL

- People want you to take pictures with their children

- You get cut off in 4 lanes of traffic by a camel

- The "shower" is a bucket and a cup

- You can not drive 2 blocks without laying on the horn a minimum of 10 times

- Literally, every person you meet offers you tea or coffee

- The tea or coffee is 30 percent tea/coffee, 70 percent milk, and 100 percent deliciousness

- The mild food is burning your mouth off

- Instead of toilet paper, there is a sprayer next to the toilet

- You can bargain for everything from hotels to scarves to restaurants

- You can literally pay 3 dollars for something that started at 50

- You're life falls apart when Shilpa is not with you

- When people have no idea what you are saying, they respond with "No problem"

- McDonald's has "curry chicken burgers"

- You have a full 5 course meal and drinks and it's 7 dollars

- When the vegetarian part of the menu is twice that of the non-vegetarian

- Credit cards are known as "plastic money"

- People yell "Yes Mam" at you when you haven't said anything

- Your drinks come 10 minutes after the meal

- Bat and ball refers to Cricket, not baseball

- Knees and shoulders are scandalous

- You are the first white person someone has ever seen

- An elephant is a source of transportation

- Someone that you have never met before informs you that they are your tour guide for the day

- It literally takes an hour to drive 1 kilometer

- You see a family of 5 on a moped

- 20 kids can fit in a rickshaw, back packs and all

- You can get someone to believe your drivers license is a school id to get the student rate

- You're expected to fit 9 people in a vehicle the size of a Ford Escape

- If you can't fit everyone in the truck, they can sit on top or hang off the side and its perfectly acceptable

- The side of the street is used as a kitchen, bathroom, and shower

- You have to take off your shoes in almost every building you enter

- The Taco Bell has a "Sauce man"

- Security guards everywhere

- Everyone has a driver and a maid

- Each state has its own language

- The 8 year old on the street is selling key chains to help support his family instead of going to school

- When you only understand what is going on about 30 percent of the time

My time in India has come to a close and I am so grateful for all the experiences I had while I was here. It's been an eye opening experience that I will never forget.

Falling in love with India one little piece at a time

I'm beginning to fall in love with this country. It's as simple as that. It's not because of the city (which is lively but very overcrowded) or the food (which is delicious but tends to trigger the pain receptors on my taste buds). It's the people who have turned out to be the kindest and most hospitable people I have ever met. Yes, that's right- they are the MOST hospitable people I have ever met which is saying a lot compared to the Italians who shove food and drinks down your throats. They insist on serving you coffee and tea which is awesome because who doesn't love coffee and tea? Stupid people, that's who. I'm not stupid, I'm grateful.

How hospitable are Indians? Well, we went to a small village outside of Bangalore and followed a credit collector as he collected on small loans given to women to start their own businesses/ feed their families. The women invited us into their homes, answered all our questions, asked how we were enjoying India, and smiled at us the whole time. Let me put this into context, this would be the same as your debt collector showing up at your house with 10 people the likes of which you have never seen before. They then crowd into your house so that some of your family has to stand outside and watch as you tell the collector that you can't pay your loan. Instead of being pissed off that they're are there, you make sure that they are comfortable, answer any questions they may have, and thank them for coming. Yeah right people, that's not happening in America any time soon.

Over the past couple days, we also had the opportunity to visit some Indian schools in both the urban and rural areas of Bangalore. For the rural school, we were the first white people that many of these children had ever seen. For this reason, we were treated like rockstars. I'm not exaggerating, I shook about 100 hands and then they swarmed the bus. The kids were so excited to meet us and practice their English which I feel was somewhat limited as they repeatedly wished us a happy new year and "happy journeys." They sang and danced for us and then we jumped down on to the playground and played catch and volleyball with them. We were visiting these children as part of a program which sets them up with rechargable batteries for lamps because many of these children do not have electricity to study by. It also incentives them to go to school because they can only charge the batteries from solar panels located inside the school. These kids were so grateful to have light to study by. It really opens your eyes, I will never complain about homework again. That's a lie. I will complain less. That's also a lie. I will try not to complain though, I will really try.

In addition to meeting students in the villages outside the city, we also met students who receive the free meal program from Akshaya Patra which is an incentive program for the children to keep attending school because for many of them, it is the only hot meal they will receive that day. We actually got to visit the AP kitchen to see how the food was prepared as they cook for over 150,000 students in the Bangalore area every day. Then we got to go to the school to serve the meal which is traditional southern Indian cuisine and rice. The kids were so excited to have us there (which I feel was amplified because we also happened to be serving them food).

Seeing how excited and grateful these children could get for just having us there really opened my eyes to how I need to remind myself to be grateful for everything I have around me (mainly food and a pair of shoes without holes).

Pictures and videos posted soon

Mia

Bangalore: Making NYC driving look like practice.

Well we have officially been in Bangalore now for just short of 24 hours. Our first day was spent sightseeing around the city before we have to dive into some of the more busy stuff that we came to India for. This post is going to be short because honestly, I'm still suffering the effects of an 11 hour jet-lag.

Top 10 observations about India:

1. There are no traffic laws.

2. There are no traffic laws.

3. There are no traffic laws- This takes observations 1-3 because driving in India today literally took years off my life, there are no lanes, road signs, traffic lights, and our guide informed us that most of the drivers around us were not licensed and we might get clipped by a rickshaw if we aren't careful. Super.

4. Did you know you can fit a family of 5 on a moped? It's true, I have pictures to prove it.

5. Taco Bell is kind of a big deal.

6. Men and boys typically use the side of the road as a urinal and don't care who sees them.

7. Indian food is spicy. Like really spicy, so spicy that it raises your body temperature for a good hour after you eat it.

8. Garbage cans? Who needs those in a city of over 5 million people? Not Bangalore.

9. Their ice cream rivals Italy's gelato.

10. Yay to a place where the American dollar actually gets you somewhere.

Overall, India is throwing me out of my comfort zone but I think I'm liking it so far.

The jet-lag is creeping in, I can feel it.

Night,

Mia