Ten Things

I read a friend’s blog recently in which she had a ‘Ten-things-list’…and I thus decided to write up about the ten things that I love about India and the ten things that I miss about America. I don’t have a complete list yet, but I shall add to this as I continue to live and work in India.

Things I love about India (in no particular order):

1. Food – Being in India is like being in food-heaven! There are countless things that can delight your palates and stomachs (if you can stand the spiceyness!) Everything tastes so much better here! I suspect, it is because it is produced locally and is fresher.

2. Indian hospitality – Living in the US had me forget what a treat it is to have a complete stranger be so kind to you without so-much-as batting an eyelash. My most memorable experiences have been my interactions with my friend David’s bhai (brother) and bhabhi (sister-in-law). They have been like family here in Bangalore, and I appreciate them opening up their home to me and feeding me on weekends more than I can ever convey. I could write a whole blog post on Indian hospitality!

3. Random noises – You never know what random noises you’ll hear here. I have (now) gotten used to the dogs barking, trains hooting, auto-rickshaws put-putting, cars honking. But the cows mooing (in a very urban environment) and the newspaper guy calling out “paper” at 6am still cracks me up! (Reminds me of scenes from the movie my cousin Vinny!!)

4. Indian signs/banners – I have a whole photo album of random pictures that I’ve taken of signs and banners that make NO sense at all!

5. Chaos – believe it or not, the lack of organization and chaos (especially on the roads) is actually quite soothing. Perhaps it is because I grew up in an equivalent environment in Kenya.

6. The head-bobble (side-to-side head-shake): Cracks me up EVERY time! I’ve taken to doing it, too.

7. Shopping! I’ve taken to shopping on an Indian budget and not think in dollars (only because I’m on an Indian NGO salary here…and cannot afford to live like a normal expat) but things are still fairly cheap, and one can get a decent (and might I add, BEAUTIFUL) wardrobe on a shoestring budget.

8. Traveling – I love to see new places and experience new things. India is a beautiful country. I could live here for years and still not see everything, but the little that I have seen has me simply in awe and worship of my Lord who created it all.