In India, a Smile is Always Returned

The people are all curious smiles, brilliantly clothed, and watchful following eyes. It doesn’t take much for me to fall in love with a city, a culture, a people. In India, it was the smiles that won me over. From our first rickshaw driver, with yellowing teeth separated by thick maroon gums, I learned that the beauty of a smile comes from the heart, not the color, shape, or order of the teeth. No one is ever in too much of a hurry to smile at you. I’ve felt very welcomed in India from the start.

Coming from the beautiful 60s of Cayucos, the heat of India has been the hardest adjustment. Within five minutes of being outside, you are covered in a light sheen of sweat, dust sticking to your skin, and within twenty, you can feel nike-advertisement-style-droplets of sweat sliding down your spine, and dust in every crease of your knuckles. The streets are a constant stream of honks and rapid acceleration and deceleration. One taxi driver informed us that there are three things one needs, driving in India: good brakes, a good horn, and good luck. Bull, horse, even camel carts can be seen on the roads, in addition to rickshaws, tuc tucs, motorcycles (have seen 5 person families lined up on one), and shrunken cars (I swear, all the vehicles are smaller. Vans are the size of my civic). 

We’re learning quickly. About ourselves, and about the country. Thus, I’ve developed a set of initial lessons and goals.

Lesson 1: You can’t experience the culture or understand the people if you spend all your time meandering around ancient buildings drowning in tourists. 

Lesson 2: No matter what your occupation, your socioeconomic status, no matter where you live, and on how much you live, life can always be a journey, not a destination. I’ve seen people whose lives look a lot harder, whose days look a lot longer than 95% of the people I know in America, and yet they are all smiles, life, and energy. 

Personal Goals

1. No cholera. With 9 weeks in India, spending 6 in rural, impoverished villages- there is a decent chance I’ll get sick at some point. However, my number one health aversion is against cholera. 
2. Don’t let the heat, exhaustion, cultural differences, etc. ever take away from the experience, or prevent me from getting everything out of this experience that I can. This first week has been thrilling, yet tiring. However, I’m sure there will be times that I’ll miss the fresh, sea breeze air of Cayucos, or the ability to take out my frustration on the rugby pitch. However, I will strive to not let these feelings minimize my experience. 
3. Learn an alphabet and develop a small vocab of either Hindi or Kannada
4. Get better at bargaining. I either get indignant or give in to being ripped off...
5. Learn. Always. Corollary: Learn from people. Listen and learn from people's personal stories and individual experiences. 
6. Develop a legit Indian wardrobe menagerie. Must get sari and salwar kameez. Animal prints better. I now have a zebra dress and elephant pants. FTW. 
7. Develop a stronger sense of daily gratitude.

Watch out for a joint update from Mama Denise and I later today!