India Info

So I thought maybe I should share a little bit of what I have learned from being here in India!

Food: First of all, the butter chicken here is absolutely amazing, like nothing I have tasted before...to die for! I think I have eaten it at least every other day...probably not the healthiest thing but hey you only live once. I have also discovered some other fantastic foods (some surprisingly vegetarian) which I have come to love such as Chana Bhatura, Dal Khichdi, and Paneer. I am trying to be as open minded as possible with all of the food to make the most out of my experience. I have also learned that not so spicy in India, is still pretty darn spicy!! I swear even the breakfast in India is spicy (you can see now why I like the not so spicy butter chicken so much). But I have been able to cope. Thankfully I have found some American and Italian food to balance it out, and you can find Chinese food at almost every restaurant...yay noodles! 

Roads: The roads in India are pretty much a death trap. If you can drive in India you can probably drive anywhere. It almost reminds me of one of those racing games in the arcade where your just trying to go as fast as you can, dodge all the obstacles and try not to hit anything...not very safe!! I have gotten pretty used to it now, but I think it will always be scary for me. Most people here ride a two-wheeler (scooter or motorcycle) and since they are so small, people just squeeze themselves into the spaces between cars and clog up every little space they can. Also, there are barely any intersections or street signs making it very confusing to get around, and also dangerous. My typical mode of transportation is the rickshaw, which I use pretty much everyday. These things are everywhere and are pretty much a skinny, ugly, and door-less kind of car....fun. I have had to say "NO bhaiya! Too much!" to the driver numerous times when they have tried to overcharge me...I almost have the bargaining thing down, but I still have to work on it!

Shopping: Luckily when I came here, there were already interns who new the best places to shop in town. There is also a huge mall in walking distance from where I live which has a food court (Indian and American food), a movie theater, and I think 5 floors worth of American and Indian stores. I have been there many times, but it is rather pricey. Something I have noticed when shopping though, is that in the front of the mall, as well as almost every large store is security where you have to walk through a metal detector and they also search your bag. Some stores even keep your shopping bags at the front of the store while you browse...talk about high security! Another thing I noticed is that the salespeople there watch you like a hawk! They don't even do it sneakily, they just stand directly beside you as you browse and stare at you...its very disturbing and didn't make my shopping experience too pleasurable. 

Animals: I was warned before I came to India that I would see cows on the streets. I have seen many cows, but I have also seen goats, horses and a surprising number of dogs and cats. Really, the dogs are everywhere. Stray dogs line the streets of India. They are very calm, and hardly ever approach me though, they just mind their own business...most of the time. One time however, I was one a motorcycle and a dog started chasing us, I screamed and we had to speed up drive past the house to avoid it...scary stuff. We have also had numerous break ins to our house...by the cats. Those sneaky little things have found there way in and come to hide from the rain in our intern house. It also doesn't help that one of the other interns leaves out milk for them in our backyard...

I will probably find more to add to this later, but right now I am drawing a blank, bye bye for now!

Much love, 

xox Sofia