Getting the opportunity to explore many different areas of India has really allowed me to see the vast differences in customs and cultures. As soon as we emerged from the airplane in Coimbatore the landscape and surrounding environment differed immensely. Compared to Mumbai, it is a lot hotter and greener with a lot of palm trees. Coimbatore resembles more of a vacation spot while Mumbai is more urban and crowded. The food in Southern India differs as well. We are all getting to try many different vegetarian foods, it is amazing to see how many different ways rice and lentils for example can be prepared. We even had the chance to have one of our meals on banana leaves, which was a great cultural experience.
We have already visited many different schools. All of which have welcomed us with opened arms. Their welcoming has been so grand and spectacular that some moments felt unreal, like we were in a movie. We have been able to part-take in the Pongal Festival, which has been amazing to witness. We were even given Sari’s to wear to fully feel apart of the India experience as well as other traditional Indian outfits.
One of the most interesting parts of the trip so far was when we were able to meet with other students and talk with them one on one. They asked me a lot of questions, which varied in subject matter. It surprised me to get so many different questions. Many students were interested in our presidential election and our economy. It was great to share and compare my thoughts on things to the students here in India. It was amazing to see how much we differ and how much we are similar in our viewpoints. It has also been interesting to learn about Southern India’s viewpoints on women leadership and gender discrimination. Many of Southern India’s views coincided with Mumbai’s however there were some differences as well. Overall my experience here in India has been fantastic and it is unbelievable how nice everyone here is!
No comments:
Post a Comment