the thali – means “plate” in hindi….we had so many of these that I lost count…each section is constantly refilled as you finish, so it becomes the plate that never empties…

the groom at the wedding we “felt” we were crashing, it turned out to be an honor to the couple….

the bride and groom…..

 

when you visit homes, there is always a chalk drawn welcome for you..this is a welcome drawn by our host’s wife Sunita in Khamgaon……..in Bangalore, we walked through a small area where the woman of the home does it every morning….

The Teachers for Global Classrooms program serves to help educators investigate education around the world, understand different perspectives, and take action in any area of interest.  During my journey in India, I have learned an incredible amount about the education system here, but I have learned even more about the culture.

Everyone we have visited has been extremely hospitable in ways that we Americans may not even be comfortable with, – because we are not used to it.  When invited to dine in someone’s home, the woman of the household never sits down to eat with her guests; she simply serves them the entire time. If you finish one portion of your plate, it is immediately refilled. It is an honor for the host to have a guest enjoy and finish their food.  One can become extremely full, even ill, if so polite as to accept all of the food being offered. It took a full week to finally, politely decline extra servings.  We have eaten like this for practically every lunch and dinner for the past 8 days.  I was supposed to lose weight, but I don’t think that has or will happen…..

We also crashed a wedding – in my mind – but not within the culture of India, because everyone is invited – and I mean everyone! It was a friend of our host, Rajesh, and they gave us a tour of the cooking facilities (2 preparation areas maned by numerous cooks – friends and family), and the eating hall (think large school cafeteria sized).  It was unreal, you know that in the U.S., we would have been checking the guest list and going off if someone came that was not invited!   Earlier in the week we were walking down the street and happened upon a wedding party partying down the street, complete with lights, band, groom on a horse – the whole nine. My travel partner Cindy was asked to dance along with the woman, and she did so with joy. Everyone was elated, and the groom looked down at me smiling and nodding his sincere appreciation and thanks.

In the U.S.A., we tend to judge people based on their income, well in this part of India, I can truly say that income is not a factor in the character of the people – they just simply live, work hard, and give without reservation. That, in my opinion, is a character trait that makes people rich…