I made it! After a very full travel day and a disorientation of my eating and sleeping schedules, I arrived in Bengaluru, India. (NOTE: Bangalore is 11.5 hours ahead of Minneapolis). There are several familiar and nuanced cultural points - I will focus on diet, hospitality, showers, transportation, and communication.
1. Diet
From a high level, the Indian diet consists of curries, flat breads, and rice. I relived the Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan experience - this is highly recommended. I also strongly advocate that a daily tea(/coffee) time should be implemented in the US (which includes an abundance of biscuits). I tried a new food: Dosa! This is similar to a large savory crepe with filling (I tried the masala dosa, containing potato and spices).
3. Hospitality
As I recall from 2013, hospitality is a very important part of this culture. I am incredibly grateful for my first two nights' hosts: the Singh's. I arrived in Bangalore a day before the bulk of the students arrived. After bringing me home from the airport, the Singh's graciously allowed me to use their home as a place for rest and recovery until transitioning to meet my team. So nice!
2. Showers
Bucket showers are still the rage. Essentially, one fills a large 5 gallon bucket with cool or room temperature water and proceeds to wash. Very eco-friendly!
4. Transportation
I believe that the most accurate way to describe Indian traffic is 'controlled chaos'. Things take place on the left: driving, steering wheel location, and walking. Walkers are valued the least on the road and I personally know of two people who've been 'bumped' by an automobile. Also, when in doubt, honk. Honking is a form of acknowledging other cars and letting people know that you exist. This is much different than Minnesota honking. Besides occasionally honking to say "hi" when I recognize a friend, I have probably honked a dozen times in my life. There are fewer goats and cows wandering on the roads here in comparison to my memory of the animal prevalence in Delhi.
5. Communication
Side-to-side head nods communicate agreement. I am still working on perfecting this. I also need to work on my basic language skills, specifically with greetings and foods.
Also, this afternoon, I got connected with the rest of the students! They are a lovely bunch. Now I am staying at a hotel and will be connected with my host on Thursday. More details to come.
Thanks for reading.
Fun Facts and things to note:
1. Diet
From a high level, the Indian diet consists of curries, flat breads, and rice. I relived the Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan experience - this is highly recommended. I also strongly advocate that a daily tea(/coffee) time should be implemented in the US (which includes an abundance of biscuits). I tried a new food: Dosa! This is similar to a large savory crepe with filling (I tried the masala dosa, containing potato and spices).
3. Hospitality
As I recall from 2013, hospitality is a very important part of this culture. I am incredibly grateful for my first two nights' hosts: the Singh's. I arrived in Bangalore a day before the bulk of the students arrived. After bringing me home from the airport, the Singh's graciously allowed me to use their home as a place for rest and recovery until transitioning to meet my team. So nice!
2. Showers
Bucket showers are still the rage. Essentially, one fills a large 5 gallon bucket with cool or room temperature water and proceeds to wash. Very eco-friendly!
4. Transportation
I believe that the most accurate way to describe Indian traffic is 'controlled chaos'. Things take place on the left: driving, steering wheel location, and walking. Walkers are valued the least on the road and I personally know of two people who've been 'bumped' by an automobile. Also, when in doubt, honk. Honking is a form of acknowledging other cars and letting people know that you exist. This is much different than Minnesota honking. Besides occasionally honking to say "hi" when I recognize a friend, I have probably honked a dozen times in my life. There are fewer goats and cows wandering on the roads here in comparison to my memory of the animal prevalence in Delhi.
5. Communication
Side-to-side head nods communicate agreement. I am still working on perfecting this. I also need to work on my basic language skills, specifically with greetings and foods.
Also, this afternoon, I got connected with the rest of the students! They are a lovely bunch. Now I am staying at a hotel and will be connected with my host on Thursday. More details to come.
Thanks for reading.
Fun Facts and things to note:
- The cost of a 16 mile, 1 hour taxi ride is $5.
- I just finished reading "Modern Romance" by Aziz Anzari. Read it, twas great.
- This is one of my favorite youtube clips, specifically for the haircut comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQ4yNgXelk