An example of the garbage. Actually, I didn’t even notice the garbage until I showed this picture to someone who pointed it out to me. You become quite accustomed to it in India.

A teeny, tiny taste of the traffic. It’s like this All. The. Time.

As I have written about before, last summer I spent 2 weeks in India visiting my father who has been living and working there for a little over 2 years now. It was the most memorable trip of my life (so far — and I have a hard time believing anything will top it).

Common questions I get from people when I tell them I visited India…..

Did you like it? Yes, very much so. It absolutely changed my perspective in life.

What was your favorite part? The very small taste of what it is like to live there, at least from an American expat experience. When you spend only a few days somewhere on vacation, you tend to cram all the tourist-y stuff in to those days. I was there for 15 days, so we had days where we did toursit-y things, of course, but we had days of just relaxing or going to the grocery store or grabbing a bite to eat. I felt all the energy of living in a big city — it is alive every hour of the day. I heard traffic from the 27th floor of my dad’s apartment building at lunchtime and at 3:00 in the morning. I loved being in a place that felt so alive.

What struck you the most? A number of things. The traffic — still scares me when I think of it! But I also learned patience in that traffic! When people complain of traffic jams here, I chuckle to myself and think, “Honey, you don’t know what traffic really is.” The dichotomies — it is a place so filled with beautiful colors, the clothing, even the trucks on the road, so many rich colors! And the filth. Garbage is everywhere. The wealth — some beautiful architecture and buildings. And the poverty — so far beyond the poverty we see in this country. We don’t get children banging on your car windows begging for food at a stoplight here.

The craziness of how these guys are riding notwithstanding, I was struck by the colors of their clothes. In the US, neither men nor women would wear such bright combinations of colors, but it is a common sight in India, which I loved!

Would you ever go back? In a heartbeat! But I fear it’s a trip of a lifetime because it’s an expensive venture to get out to India.

India is never someplace I dreamed of going, but now that I’ve done it, I’m forever changed and forever grateful for the experience.