Cultural Differences

I forgot about something! Well a couple of things I thought you all would find interesting:

When I went to Shloka’s house, I was able to meet her grandparents. Her grandfather loved that I was American so much he gave me a specialty Punjabi drink: buttermilk infused with rose. For those of you who know my eating habits, you know I hate plain milk (much unlike my sister) let alone buttermilk! And to top it off, Shloka’s grandfather poured me a HUGE glass. I centered myself and chugged the milk. It was sour, yet kind of sweet from the rose. Punjabi people LOVE this drink, but I think it is something you have to have since you were younger. I thanked him for sharing such a special drink with me and had enough of that!

Another cultural difference in India is to be openly affectionate between two men. Now I don’t mean kissing, but they hold hands, rub hands, kiss hands, hold each others shoulders, rub shoulders – any American would think there are many gay couples here. But no, it is just more common for men to hold hands as friends. It is so bizarre to see though, so many men just walking down the street together and knowing they are all straight!

The last cultural different I show an example of below. Indians do a sideways head nod to mean yes. They honestly look like bobble heads, and they do it OFTEN. Basically, every other sentence, so much so, that I have found myself doing it. So PLEASE, when I return to the States, tell me no when I start to bob my head.