Monday November 12th, 2012
I sit in a very crowded Starbucks drinking an iced lattes writing on my laptop and soaking up the free wi-fi. Somehow this doesn’t scream the essence of India that I came here for. That being said I am in India and this is a part of it!
It is my third day here and I am settling in. One thing I have always appreciated about myself is that, for the most part, I can feel at home anywhere. The first time I walked around the streets in Guatemala City I felt at home. India has a similar feeling. Everyone said I would have a culture shock, granted there is a drastic cultural difference, but I anticipated a lot of what I have seen and am seeing.
I think a large part of the culture shock are what your senses experience. Instead of just hearing about what it is like, or seeing images, it is a full body download into your other senses. Your nose picks up scents entirely unfamiliar and sometimes extremely uncomfortable. Mumbai’s scents are ripe with life and death. On the one hand the air is rich with incense, fresh flowers, and sandalwood. While on the other hand it is drenched with the smell of urine, garbage, and rot. The first day I was here I was overcome with incense and I remembered one of my history teachers teaching us about the France during medieval times. The wealthy/royal class had little to no access to fresh sources of water, such as rivers, streams, etc. Because of this the French came up with the best perfumes and colognes as a means of masking their odorous scents. I wondered if the same was true with India. Creating the most magnificent incense as a means of masking/disguising the all too fragrant streets of city life. Just a thought ????
I sit in a very crowded Starbucks drinking an iced lattes writing on my laptop and soaking up the free wi-fi. Somehow this doesn’t scream the essence of India that I came here for. That being said I am in India and this is a part of it!
It is my third day here and I am settling in. One thing I have always appreciated about myself is that, for the most part, I can feel at home anywhere. The first time I walked around the streets in Guatemala City I felt at home. India has a similar feeling. Everyone said I would have a culture shock, granted there is a drastic cultural difference, but I anticipated a lot of what I have seen and am seeing.
I think a large part of the culture shock are what your senses experience. Instead of just hearing about what it is like, or seeing images, it is a full body download into your other senses. Your nose picks up scents entirely unfamiliar and sometimes extremely uncomfortable. Mumbai’s scents are ripe with life and death. On the one hand the air is rich with incense, fresh flowers, and sandalwood. While on the other hand it is drenched with the smell of urine, garbage, and rot. The first day I was here I was overcome with incense and I remembered one of my history teachers teaching us about the France during medieval times. The wealthy/royal class had little to no access to fresh sources of water, such as rivers, streams, etc. Because of this the French came up with the best perfumes and colognes as a means of masking their odorous scents. I wondered if the same was true with India. Creating the most magnificent incense as a means of masking/disguising the all too fragrant streets of city life. Just a thought ????
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