Before we went to India, we went to Passport Health Clinic where we received several shots and a mini lecture on how to eat in India. Never eat fresh fruit, cold foods, or use ice at any time. After telling us several ways we could get sick, I asked the nurse if she’d ever been to India. Nope. All the same, we didn’t want to take any chances. It would be bottled water for us and prepacked snacks. We had accepted we wouldn’t eat much and even expected to lose weight.
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A welcome basket of apples awaited us in our room that we could not eat under any condition. While my husband was at work, I took an apple, washed it, rubbed it dry with a towel and ate it. No ill effects, no running to the bathroom, nothing. I thought it was a touch overripe, but that could have been because I waited so long to eat it.

Our hotel offered a buffet of delicious foods both continental and Indian. I slowly walked past the glistening cut fruit only to pick up a banana with its thick skin. No bad results, each day became an experiment of sorts. While seated upstairs at the bar, I had a moment of panic when I realized the frozen cocktail I’d been sucking down was full of ice. Alcohol should have killed any bacteria. After all wasn’t hand sanitizer full of alcohol. If it worked for hands, then the same should apply to stomachs.

The majority of restaurants featured an open kitchen or the cooks working behind a glass wall, which allowed patrons to see what was going on. It also allowed diners to see they used honeycomb-shaped clay ovens referred to as a Tandoor oven. This oven is an integral part of the Indian cuisine.
 
Often we saw names of familiar foods only to discover they were an Indian variation. Pizza came with a paper-thin crust often with lamb, onions, feta cheese and a vinegary sauce. Unexpected when we expected a soft crust, tomato paste base, but welcome all the same. Food labels were different too.
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 Rolls in the delightful Khan Chacha eatery were more like wraps. Prawns served as another name for shrimp, a large, firm variety. Most of the foods we were able to figure out without too much trouble, but some were new to us.

The sprouted barley salad tossed with onions was a different breakfast staple, especially coupled with brie cheese. Each day, I’d try to push out of my comfort zone by trying new foods. The chef, waiters, even new friends would explain the history about the food. The concierge brought us gingered pumpkin candy that came from his birthplace. The firm candy perplexed since it came in a firm barrel shape and had the consistency of gummy bears with none of the sugar.
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On Thanksgiving, we found ourselves in Agra where we stopped into a family-owned eatery. The restaurant eating experience was different too. We dined with two Indian friends and there was much discussion on what we would eat. Each dish would be shared among the four of us family-style. It was important to take in consideration the one vegetarian. The dishes arrived in bowls with rich curry sauce or gravy. Flat Naan bread allowed each diner to scoop up the gravy. 

Even though we hadn’t been in India that long, we were getting more daring in our food selection, which meant eating things we didn’t know. I enjoyed all the versions of paneer, which is dried cottage cheese shaped into cubes, patties, or crumbles. Lamb is a staple as far as meat and is as cheap as chicken. I indulged my lamb cravings.
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Vegetables comprise the majority of Indian diet and they show up in amazing places.  For dessert, I had a bell pepper pudding that was both sweet and custardy while retaining the flavor of the pepper. At times, the food can be very hot. The green Dal dip served at an Indian restaurant demonstrated this phenomenon very well.  Two bottles of water later, I still felt the fire. 

On my search for the familiar, I came up short on the Diet Coke hunt. I located a few bottles in a local convenience store, which were flat and unappetizing, definitely past their due date. Pepsi rules in India, but it is a less carbonated version. The better bet is the sparkling water.

Our most daring venture wasn’t actually ours, but came about because a friend bought us fresh coconut water. A roadside vendor cut the top of a green coconut off with a sharp machete handed us the base and a straw. It was refreshing and certainly, a change from the metal and foil store container.  Over two weeks in India and we never tapped into the medicine we brought with us.
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On the way home, we encountered a sick woman in the airport. I handed her my never opened bottle of Tums. The only problem we had with eating in India was deciding what to try.

If you look at a topographical map of India, mountains, valleys, plains, even seashores crowd the country. An incredible diversity thrives in India, which made me reexamine why travel educates. We take our own culture and measure our experience against what is familiar to us.
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This was true when my husband and I arrived in New Delhi at four in the morning. What surprised us most besides the hundreds of people trying to get through immigration at that time in the morning was security. The Indian Army operates security for the airport conducting personal searches and luggage investigation. Armed infantrymen stand outside the exits checking identification and monitoring cars. We think surrendering our water bottle is a hardship in the US. The Indian people undergo a serious of searches without grumbling.

Outside the airport, the driver hurries us across several walkways to get us to his vehicle. The SUV we climb into is smaller than what I’m accustomed to. In fact, all the vehicles are smaller, especially the trucks. Out on the road, groups of people gathered alongside the road, a few have stands, while others stand conversing with one another. Several cars, trucks decorated with tinsel and tassels, and tiny three-wheel compressed gas rickshaws carry on an erratic dance crossing lanes, blinking lights, and sounding horns. Adding to the chaos is the scooter drivers who challenge death by riding mere centimeters from the large vehicles as they weave through traffic.
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Our car’s headlights create twin beams into the night. The thick haze I first dismissed as fog is smog. My first hint was that the scooter riders wrap scarves around their mouths and a few have cold masks similar to those donned by individuals with compromised immune systems. This is a tiny facet from one city.

At our hotel, the uniformed staff hurries to accommodate us even though we arrived very late. Small oil burners squat near the elevators scenting the air with a rich exotic aroma. Overstuffed lush furniture, a white grand piano, and colorful art crowd the lobby creating an air of opulence.  

What did I know of India before our visit, not a great deal besides people wash in the Ganges River, cows wandered freely in the streets, and beggars lurked around every corner ready to rush an obvious tourist. How true were my initial perceptions garnered from an outdated geography film from middle school? Actually many people do use the river as their personal laundromat and bathing station. This is a misleading because there are several classes within society. A growing middle class in India often has several servants. A man at the same pay level as my husband has five servants. This amazed us since we can’t afford any. Certain jobs are beneath the higher castes/classes of people thus they hire people to do those jobs.

On our trip to Taj Mahal, we saw several cows wandering the street looking reasonably well fed. Our guide assured us these cows belonged to someone, but roamed at will. Occasionally some herders would show up moving the cows in a general direction. The cows were beef cows as opposed to milk cows, which means they are not slaughtered in India. Eating beef is against the prevailing Hindu faith, which means it isn’t available anywhere. There may be some places selling it, but we didn’t run across them.
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As for the beggars, I’m sure they existed, but we only encountered one woman with a child begging. She followed me as we walked to the nearby mall touching my sweater and instructing her child to do so too. Our guide and friends warned us not to give money to beggars. This experience tore at me because I wanted to give the woman money even to the point of looking for her later. What I didn’t realize because of the caste system and because she was on the lowest rung, locals would give her money not to touch them.
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Most people not familiar with India might think it was a land of beggars. Impoverished people do live in sheet metal and tarp shacks. However, there is also a large, vibrant working class. No matter how humble their job maybe they arrive in pressed clothes ready to work. 

In fact, the average Indian employee dressed better than your blue-collar American employees did. The males sported ironed buttoned down shirts, slacks, and sometimes sandals. What you rarely saw were jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. When you did, it was on younger males trying to look more hip. Those in higher-level jobs wore tailored suits with matching ties, handkerchiefs, and if Sikh, turbans. The men always shave unless they sported a beard, which they kept groomed. The women dressed in a variety of clothes, but mainly of an Indian influence with colorful draping fabrics, full makeup, and an excess of jewelry. Most notable was the absence of leg revealing dresses, low cleavage tops, or tight pants.
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The  school uniforms changed as the children aged. Young boys could wear shorts, but graduated to pants. The older boys wore ties and often crested blazers. The girls started out in school skirts reminiscent of parochial, but moved on to an outfit that covered the legs. The older girls’ uniforms were more Indian in nature with a long tunic, loose pants, and often a scarf.  The teachers didn’t wear uniforms, but dressed more formally than teachers I’ve worked with. 

Our hotel, which was part of an international chain, did have women dressed in the corporate suit, which had a hemline above the knee. Appearance is very important to the average person or at least the commercials based on fashion, body spray, stretch mark remover, and skin whitener gave that impression. Watching Indian television gave a more balanced impression of the people even if it was assembled from news, commercials, cartoons and soap operas.

Family and faith are paramount to the average individual. Outside of that, priorities depend on the person. Although, most Indians value their jobs and even report a high level of contentment at work. Some Americans are irritated about jobs outsourced to India, but there are several major companies in India that now own interests in American businesses too.

Every Indian child learns English so he or she can be competitive in the world of business. Indians often structure their workday to coincide with the United States time zones. Employees often work twelve to eight and dine as late as ten in the evening in an effort to work with their American counterparts. Depending on their job, it can be standard to work seven days a week with an occasional week off for weddings or festivals.
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It is easy to think of India as what it used to be from the spice trade, British rule, and historical edifices. The country has developed into an attractive business proposition with an unlimited work force. Skyscrapers, apartment buildings, parking garages and malls are under construction everywhere. The India I encountered was not the one I expected.