First off let me apologize for lack of blogs this month. India does not have quick and easy internet access. Blogs are coming though!
Coming into a new country on the World Race, it is our goal
to dive right into the culture. We not
only want to learn about it but also experience it. So as we arrived in India, one of the first
things on us girls minds was about getting the local wear. Women in India wear punjabis, which looks
more casual with pants and a long top, and saris, which is what most women wear
and consists of a little top and a huge sarong wrapped around themselves. After many travel days, we finally arrived at
our contact for the month. The first
thing we did on Saturday morning was go to a shop to buy our outfits for the
month.
We arrive at the store to be instantly greeted and rushed in
to sit down on the bed like cushioned floor.
Two young women began pulling out punjabi tops and laying them on the
ground. Pretty soon there were close to
30 tops lying on the ground in front of us.
Too many to even begin processing or looking through them. It began to get overwhelming very
quickly. Then the owner of the store
came up and offered us something to drink.
We said that we would love some chai tea, and he went up to his house
(he lived right above his shop) and hand made us some chai tea. It was so sweet. He also made a call to the local paper. Pretty soon news reporters and camera men
were there. They were taking our
pictures and they even interviewed one of the girls and our guys. Our contact showed us the next day that we made
it into the paper! Apparently, it is a big deal when Americans come to this
little town.
After a few hours of shopping and many agonizing decisions,
we had picked out one punjabi and one sari each. The owner that had already went and made us
tea, gave us a pretty good discount, and invited us over for dinner. Seriously this culture is so generous and
welcoming. We were able to go to dinner
to his house the next night, and they fed us a feast! We are now outfitted with the best of the
best in Indian wear and can dive right into the culture.
