India wrap up

I remember on my first outing, my first day in Mumbai. I had been wanting to see India for a long time and as we drove down the street in a taxi there were rickshaws and women riding motorbikes in saris weaving all over the road with everyone honking and I thought "Wow, I'm in India". These same things that were endearing on my first days turned into annoyances by week 7. That's right, 7 whole weeks in India, to the day!
India was an amazingly beautiful, colorful, unique country with extreme noises, smells, and tastes. I had a strong love hate relationship with it. On one hand I am so glad to have experienced it and on the other I'm so glad to be gone. I had extremely fun and easy times and I had extremely difficult times filled with stress and doubts. The people display the same amount of range. They can be kind and generous while also being pushy and rude. Everything is their business, even when it's not. It was a constant barrage of questions and greetings that left me exhausted by the end of the day. Rickshaw drivers stopped to ask where I was going even when I was clearly walking and shop owners offered that I "just look" at what they were selling, no matter what that was. It was constant horns, and shouting, and the smells are indescribable. And yet I met strangers who would help with directions, would offer me tips, or invite me to private celebrations. They wanted pictures with me and some were so enthralled they would just sit and stare. I am still in shock that I experienced India while at the same time being grateful to have escaped.

Some things I learned:
-Paneer: cubes of cheese that don't melt and have little flavour, used often in vegetarian dishes.
-Aloo: potatoe
-Veggie Korma is my favourite dish
-A dirty hole in the wall is the norm and doesn't mean food poisoning
-DON'T DRINK THE WATER! And open bottles in the shop to make sure they were sealed.
-Marsala: a mixture of spices
-Orange is India's national colour
-Don't hand over your money until rickshaw drivers have your change ready.....especially with big bills.
-When trying to cross the road don't wait for lights, inch your way across, between vehicles.
-Honking means "hey I'm here" or "move over I'm passing" not quite what it means in Canada....in fact on the back of most commercial vehicles they have a sign that says "horn OK please" as in honk!
-There are in fact a lot of Christians in India as well as Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims. They all display their religion by having pictures of their gods in their homes or businesses.
-Loose clothing is much cooler than less clothing and definitely more appropriate.
-When haggling with rickshaw drivers, pick a price and keep repeating it....they will try to get more than triple but you can talk most of them down.
-Learn to litter, I know this is terrible but there are never garbage cans and when you ask for one they point at the street. So find a pile and add to it.
-Learn to squat and love it! Carry toilet paper and hand Sanitizer!
-Give up your seat to an old woman and you have a friend, and protector, for life.....or at least the rest of the ride.
-Never have expectations about the food you're getting because it's never what you want it to be.
-Smiling says a lot......smile and they are much friendlier.
-Sometimes they are blunt so don't take their insults at face value.......lol
-Enjoy every experience, even when it doesn't seem that enjoyable.
-Go with the flow......
-Trust your gut

While in India I took:
4 sleeper buses
1 semi sleeper bus
2 city buses
7 Sleeper class trains (pretty much the lowest class)
2 3AC trains
1 second class seated train
1 boat taxi
2 taxi rides
And numerous rickshaw rides.......

I learned so much more too but where do I begin. There are so many Indians that they've learned to be patient and compromise. They accept someone sitting in their seat by simply moving elsewhere. They will just as willingly give up their seat if someone in need comes by. They aren't rude or dispassionate with beggars (of which there are many varieties). They simply give if they can or shake their head if they can't. They become best friends with the person sitting next to them and yet they'll never see them again. I literally thought everyone knew each other at first. They push and shove but with no malice, they're helping each other get somewhere. One of my favorite experiences was on the city train in Mumbai. It was a busy Monday morning and I was taking the women's only car. As the train pulled up women pushed and shoved to get it. It looked extremely violent and I got right in there pushing my way on to the train. We all got on and all the women looked around and just laughed. It was such a community feeling. Even though they didn't know each other they accepted that we'd all looked like crazy fools and made light of it. It was a highlight for me. There were many of these moments...small moments in a big noisy place. I'm sure I've already forgotten many of them....but these small moments were what made me keep going, what helped me to continue experiencing, and what kept me in India for 7 weeks.

Thank you India for the experience of a lifetime, one I'm sure I won't soon forget!