Dogs, Cows, and Pigs… Oh My!

It’s funny how the same animals can mean such different things somewhere else. In the States these are animals we see in our homes, at a zoon or on a farm. Here though they are all in the street.

These past two days have felt about 5 days long. Not great for my legs but awesome for group bonding. I already feel like we’ve all known each other for at least a week.

Day 1: Today we went to see a temple that you had to wear something on your head, take your shoes and socks off, and wash your feet before entering. When you leave they give you a food offering – kind of like the Eucharist but not just for believers. Basically it was Wheatina so I was happy about that.

Then we went to the Lotus Temple which was beautiful. We spent most of the day with our E-Buddies and business lectures and ate a lot of Indian food. We ate dinner at a country club and it was nice. I enjoyed taking pictures in the playground with the group.

Fun Facts:

Instead of squirrels here they have monkeys!

They don’t have toilet paper anywhere (just like everyone said) but they do have a bedit like nozzle in every bathroom. The water comes out of a nozzle like the sprayer part on our sink so that’s pretty funny.

Staten Island has stray cats. India has stray dogs. But we’ve been warned not to go near them. They’re very cute though.

Day 2:

My favorite song so far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7G-tYRzwYY We don’t know what it means but their shirts are ridiculous.

My favorite commercial so far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HygFG-yvh4

We started the day with a trip to Shiv Murti Complex which is absolutely stunning. The trees and birds surrounding the place were amazing enough but the statues are out of this world. Once again, we had to take our shoes off. Someone hid one of the pairs of shoes and our friend freaked out. It was really funny only because it wasn’t me and because this old lady that looked enchanted was giggling and pointing to the girl who did it.

The prices here are outrageous. The exchange is pretty funny too. It’s 50 rupees to $1 so something that actually costs a lot to them, say a bracelet for 300 rupees is only $15. The two figurines I bought were $6 – the could have sold for $20 in America at least.

On our way to PricewaterhouseCoopers next we were in rush hour traffic – and they don’t have lanes. We were just stuck in 15 “lanes” of traffic where we would have 5 or 6. People on the public bus started to get off and just walk.

PwC and Dunnhumby were much like I would expect in the United States. I thought the marketing firm was much more interesting, but that is my major. I might look into their city office.

Then we went to the Kingdom of Dreams which all the girls kept getting wrong and called it a million different mom versions until it became The International House of Entertainment. It’s India’s little slice of Las Vegas – complete with daylight sky. There’s a different station for each of the provinces in India and they have shops and food and entertainment.

The night ended with us dancing with a Banghra group.

I fell asleep on the bus.

Welcome to India!

My first step out of the airplane and into the airport seemed no different than what I have done before.  The airport was very similar to Newark, a place I had been 14 hours before; same baggage claim, same overpriced shops, same men holding signs of last names to take to their destination.  Then we walked outside.  The air was thick with fog and had a smell resembling that of smoke.  Being my first time sbroad I was in awe.  The cars, the stray dogs, and the people staring at the mesmerized Americans was something I had never experienced before.  The first thing that struck me as a huge difference between America was the traffic.  Cars have no regard for lanes yet somehow no one manages to hit each other even though they are centimeters apart.  Also honking is not something reserved for annoyed drivers, in fact it is welcome.  Our first day was amazing.  The two temples were stunning and what we learned about the different religions was very interesting and gave a good background to why India is what it is.  The lotus temple had a flawless architecture and was breath-taking.  When a woman began to sing inside it was the only thing I could focus on and nothing else mattered.  The tones of her voice echoing throughout the temple was incredible and a unique sound I will never be able to hear again.

 

Meeting our e-buddies was a lot of fun.  They were all as excited as we were to actually see them in person and ask all the questions that came into our heads.  The lectures given by the professors was very enlightening and informative.  The day continued with jet lag plaguing us on the bus ride and throughout dinner, which was great in the extravagant country club.

 

The next day, after catching up with our sleep, was an adventure.  First we visited the Shiv-Murti complex.   

 

I have never seen statues so big in my life.  They were designed incredibly and can only be truly understood with a picture.  Learning about the background of all the different statues and the different aspects of Hinduism was fascinating.  Professor Gupta discussed the fact that in that religion G-d was not seen as perfect, but could have flaws and moments of anger or annoyance.  This really caught my attention because it is different from my religion and more comforting to think as a person that truly no one is perfect.  We then went to PwC and Dunnhumby.  Both firms gave excellent presentations; one giving a description of the economy, real estate, and higher education present in India, the other on how important it is to meet the customer needs and how this can be achieved.  Both supported the reasoning behind why India is considered an emerging market.  Finally we went to the Kingdom of Dreams.  With a Las Vegas feel to it, it was an enchanting sight. 

There was not a dull spot without art, a statue, or bright colors.  The whole place was filled with the different cultures present in India and it was captivating.  Although we have only been here for two days (even though it has felt like much more) I have already gained a fondness for a country and am starting to enjoy the food and the culture.  I cannot wait to continue this once-in-a-lifetime experience and look forward to discovering new parts of India.