Friday, December 30, 2011
First Sights of India
I am finally in India. A place with incredible history, food, music and religions. I live in the international house, on our 1500 acre campus that has red dirt, jungle, wild boars, and plenty of people.
My last two days here have been spent travelling into the city to get ready, and taking tours. I already feel like a seasoned India-traveler as I drink mango juice and barter for an auto-rickshaw ride in my flower-patterned kurta. Everything in India is brightly colored and apparently if it doesn't have sequins it isn't flashy enough. Shopping is just a bright blend of clashing and wonderful mixes.
While the culture of India is very different, there are many western influences. Today while shopping for a sari, we listened to Michael Jackson and The Backstreet Boys. English gets me around the city, but most people in India only speak it as a trade language and often try to talk to us in Hindi, Urdu or Telegu.
I have only seen one temple so far, but Hindu idols are everywhere. All of the taxi drivers have pictures either hanging or on thier dashboard. Many stores have Hindu elements and many people are named after Hindu gods to keep them in mind. Muslim women are easy to spot with thier head wraps or burkas. But their are cultural mixes here as well. Some women have full black burkas, and some women have head wraps that are covered in mult colored sequins.
Indi is certainly not boring :)
My last two days here have been spent travelling into the city to get ready, and taking tours. I already feel like a seasoned India-traveler as I drink mango juice and barter for an auto-rickshaw ride in my flower-patterned kurta. Everything in India is brightly colored and apparently if it doesn't have sequins it isn't flashy enough. Shopping is just a bright blend of clashing and wonderful mixes.
While the culture of India is very different, there are many western influences. Today while shopping for a sari, we listened to Michael Jackson and The Backstreet Boys. English gets me around the city, but most people in India only speak it as a trade language and often try to talk to us in Hindi, Urdu or Telegu.
I have only seen one temple so far, but Hindu idols are everywhere. All of the taxi drivers have pictures either hanging or on thier dashboard. Many stores have Hindu elements and many people are named after Hindu gods to keep them in mind. Muslim women are easy to spot with thier head wraps or burkas. But their are cultural mixes here as well. Some women have full black burkas, and some women have head wraps that are covered in mult colored sequins.
Indi is certainly not boring :)
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