So I have been back in the US for about a week after my crazy, stressful and amazing trip to India. Mom and I had a great time seeing a country that I only dreamed of visiting. As one of my Mom's colleagues told us: India is a country of contrasts. We saw towns being built outside of New Delhi and homeless people living in the construction sites. Beautiful hotels and office buildings next to the slums.
It was disconcerting to be stared at while walking around the Red Fort or the Taj Mahal. I don't like to be the center of attention and definitely not like that. That was the most "overwhelming" part of the trip. Even though I followed all the clothes advice for women traveling to India (baggy pants and shirts that covered most of my arms) I still felt too exposed. It was kind of a relief to walk through Frankfurt Airport without worrying if people were looking at me.
As for food, it was amazing! Have you seen the photos from Dakshin? I love Indian food and I loved being able to eat actual Indian food in India.
The only problem with the food was constantly having to think about whether or not I could eat it. Before we left the US we had to get vaccines and talk with a doctor about what we could eat while in India. We couldn't eat raw fruits or vegetables, anything dairy (because we would not know if it was pasteurized) and she even said no chicken! While we didn't follow this to the letter (see Dakshin dinner with chutneys), it was stressful not to eat what I like without worrying if I'll get sick. Even with all that worrying I still felt sick for a few days of the trip.
This trip was a once in a lifetime experience and I don't regret anything. Although I was feeling ill for part of the trip I still saw the Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar, Bangalore Palace and more! I now appreciate living in the US a lot more. Now I want to figure out how I could help the people that I saw living in utter poverty.
Yesterday I embarked on another international journey to Canada. Which is very different from India! We used to live in Toronto before Emma was born and I haven't been back since she was a baby. I'm super excited to be back and see what has changed in the past 11 years. You'll be able to read all about it in the next few blog posts!
See you then,
Kara
(PS Click HERE to sign up for theSkimm, the only way I start my day!)
It was disconcerting to be stared at while walking around the Red Fort or the Taj Mahal. I don't like to be the center of attention and definitely not like that. That was the most "overwhelming" part of the trip. Even though I followed all the clothes advice for women traveling to India (baggy pants and shirts that covered most of my arms) I still felt too exposed. It was kind of a relief to walk through Frankfurt Airport without worrying if people were looking at me.
As for food, it was amazing! Have you seen the photos from Dakshin? I love Indian food and I loved being able to eat actual Indian food in India.
 |
| Look how yummy this looks! |
This trip was a once in a lifetime experience and I don't regret anything. Although I was feeling ill for part of the trip I still saw the Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar, Bangalore Palace and more! I now appreciate living in the US a lot more. Now I want to figure out how I could help the people that I saw living in utter poverty.
Yesterday I embarked on another international journey to Canada. Which is very different from India! We used to live in Toronto before Emma was born and I haven't been back since she was a baby. I'm super excited to be back and see what has changed in the past 11 years. You'll be able to read all about it in the next few blog posts!
See you then,
Kara
(PS Click HERE to sign up for theSkimm, the only way I start my day!)
Kara!! While you missed Geekycon and I missed you. India was so much cooler than Geeky!
ReplyDeleteIndia was amazing! Hopefully next year I'll go to Geeky!! Maybe in volunteer . . .
Delete