Embracing the Culture-Shock

I looked down at the gaping hole beneath me as I pondered my next move. Halfway through the long, threatening drive on the crowded roads of India from Delhi to Himachal Pradesh I desperately needed to use the bathroom. The easy relief I was used to in America became quite the challenge when I opened the bathroom door only to see a large hole in the ground. I soon realized that I was not going to see any extra plush toilet seats for the next month – or air conditioning or hamburgers. Immersion in a new culture has taken me out of the tightly packed box labeled “made in America” and opened my eyes to a whole new way of living. The kind-hearted people I lived with in India spent their lives in small, family-oriented communities satisfied with simple pleasures, such as cooking momos and playing cricket together, without the constant distraction of cell phones and computers. These families welcomed me into their tightly packed, one bedroom homes with open arms. From this experience I grew to greater appreciate the importance of family and the connection with people with backgrounds and traditions so different from my own.