Hey Friends,
Hello from the beautiful, hectic, polluted, delicious, loud, and full Delhi, India. It’s been a whirlwind of a three days exploring since we arrived and let me tell you – India is WONDERFUL! Here are our biggest first impressions of it so far..
- India’s food is unbelievable. I wish I could explain the taste of a freshly made dosa dipped in matar paneer curry or a stuffed samosa or a nut laddu but the words just can’t hold the flavors. You’d have to try it to know what I mean. It’s also incredibly vegetarian friendly as most hindus here don’t eat meat.
- Lots of people. The population of Delhi alone is about 32 million people, and you can feel it. On most sidewalks, people stand, sit, talk, eat, or drink tea. They are just there. It feels full to the brim.
- India is not all poor. In western media, we’ve been fed narratives which equate India with poverty. Slumdog Millionaire is a prime example. However, in the past three days we’ve eaten at two local friends houses for dinner, and they are far from poor, even by United States standards. Their houses are beautiful, big, and clean. They have ample food and fresh water, flat screen TVs and big couches. Similar to how in the US, not everyone is rich, India has wealth diversity too.
- There’s a saying in Hindi: atithi devo bhav. It means “guests are gods.” Indians pride themselves for welcoming foreigners, and we’ve experienced more warmth and love here than any other country so far. The two invitations to dine at our friends houses are just the start. People help us on the street, talk to us about where we’re from, and ask for photos. (Funnily enough, Reyka is the most sought after photo companion. Needless to say, she is loving it, feeling like a celebrity.)
- Cows are everywhere. Have you ever heard something along the lines of, “in India, cows are sacred. They just coexist within society.” We can confirm this. In most taxi rides we’ve taken, there are cows relaxing on the sides of the street, eating, mooing, and just being cows. Apparently there are a considerable amount of traffic accidents involving them each year. And speaking of traffic…
- The traffic is insane. Cars zip this way and that, people weave between begging, selling stuff, or just walking. We got in a car accident already (it was minor, just a little fender bender), and all the Uber driver did was get out, look at both the front and back, and then keep going. Business as usual.
- Pollution isn’t as bad as we expected. The air does taste and smell a bit burnt, but it hasn’t been too uncomfortable. I have a history of asthma, but my breathing
A video to watch:
Some people may hate our change in style, but we are pumped to be a bit more goofy in our recent vlogs. This one is our Korean first impressions.
More next week.
Namaste,
Wyatt and Reyka
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