Things I loved, tips and tricks, and things I wish I’d known.

We’re wrapping up the last few days now and it’s hard to believe how fast everything has flown by. I’m equally ready to leave, but also very sad to go. However, Kym invited me to her wedding next December so I won’t be gone long, that’s for sure! Any who, let’s get to business… Things I loved, tips and tricks, and things I wish I’d known.

Things I loved. I know it sounds cliché to say, ‘the people,’ but I’m going to start with that because I don’t know what I’d have done without Krishnayya Garu, Sailaja, and Durga. Krishnayya Garu was consistently doing whatever he could for us. He has served as our host, our professor, our translator, our bargainer, our trip organizer/ tour guide, and filled numerous other roles that have made this trip so immensely valuable and educational. Sailaja has diligently put up with our incessant requests to shop, our adventures to the beauty salon (let me tell you… the ‘saloons’ are wonderfully inexpensive here), and all our desires when it came to coffee and food. She had our clothes taken to the tailor upon request and always made sure that we were the most comfortable we could be. Durga, as I stated in my last post, has gone above and beyond for us. If Kymberly or I even mentioned a particular food we favored, maybe we were craving food from the United States, then she would make sure to have that on our plate the very next day. She was so kind and one of the most beautiful people with wonderful sons.

On top of the people, I loved being submerged into the culture. Going to temples, visiting an authentic ashram, seeing real work being done by real people. It was eye-opening and thought-provoking and wholistic.

Tips and tricks: Take pepto bismol more seriously! After having had excessive bowel movements for what seemed like a constant three weeks, I know now to always take a swig when my stomach starts rumbling. Bringing flip flops was the best decision I made! Shoes that have a lot of straps (like my chacos) make it more difficult to put on and take off, and it was inconvenient because we constantly go in and out of people’s houses. Footwear that can be easily removed and easily slid on are preferable to anything else. Indian Standard Time is another component of being here that I didn’t realize when we first arrived. Sometimes Kymberly and I would be ready for a day excursion by 11 am, but we wouldn’t end up leaving for a multitude of reasons. Whether that was because the uber driver was late or that Prof. and Krishnayya Garu wanted to take a nap after lunch, it really just depended. Sometimes it was even us! We may have even adopted IST ourselves. Another suggestion I have is to bring a large plug converter extension if possible! Thankfully my mom had one from a few years before, but it came very much in handy because the outlets at many of the hotels we stayed in were oddly and sporadically placed around the room. Tip: don’t expect wifi, even when they advertise wifi because, from my experience at least, it’s spotty and/or doesn’t work at all. However, we weren’t in a big city area like New Delhi and that experience was very different from Vizag.

Now onto the things I wish I’d known. I wish I’d known the subtle things. Everyone thinks culture shock isn’t going to happen to them, but it happens to everyone in very different and subtle ways that you may not even expect. Anyways, I wish I’d known how constant the stares were going to be once we arrived because there wasn’t a minute while we were outside that we didn’t have at least five separate pairs of eyes on us at a time. Another thing, the heat feels different here in such a way that you feel constantly sticky, and each shower doesn’t come close to the cleanliness you feel when you’re home. Drinking too much water doesn’t exist here!! Always, always have a water bottle on you. Another thing, I wish I’d known that the standards of cleanliness for the bathrooms are significantly different than the Untied States, and there is also close to no toilet paper anywhere except big tourist cities and big airports. Kymberly and I would carry around tissues when we went on day excursions because in rural places, they may not have even running water (that’s rare, though, but it always helps to be safe than sorry).

Kymberly and I have had such a wonderful adventure here in Visakhapatnam, but I think at this point we’re ready to make the venture back home.

See you shortly,

Kari