India :: Part One

India. A place that was once so small on the map to me is now connected with places, people and experiences. Sunil and I got back from our epic trip to India last week - just in time for Black Friday(not)! :) To explain a whole country in one blog post would be outrageous... So I'll do 3 posts - one for each week we were there. :) First things first: The trip there. Since we would be traveling for over 24 hours just to reach the country of India, I made sure to wear pajamas. It may not look stylish, but it is SO comfy! :)

These are the happy traveling photos. Laughing, smiling and skyping friends and family.

I won't show you the ugly traveling photos, because I wasn't really awake for those. A 13 hour plane ride is enough to make you feel like you're 87 years old, and I was too exhausted by the end of it to even think about turning on my camera.

Please note: When traveling with family for a very long time, bring card games. They make my husband giggle. And when my husband giggles... all is right in the world.

BOOM. India. Most of my first experiences with the country were from within the car, so please forgive the wonderful black borders around each photo.

We arrived in the early morning - just at sunrise.

And were promptly fed and sent to bed by the wonderful people that live here: Uncle Sam and Auntie Molly. (They aren't really uncle and auntie... in India you just call everyone uncle and auntie that you really really like!)

Since there are SO many more people in India (and therefore SO many more little businesses), the amount of signage was pretty unbelievable!

Our first week was spent in Kochi, in the state of Kerala....

Hence the palm trees! :)

Mmmm... Palm trees!

Check out those rubber trees!

Sometimes we visited structures and buildings that were SO much older than I could fathom. The very thought of something being built over 1000 years ago is mind-blowing!

Our wonderful guide - Uncle Sam. :)

In India (and I'm sure in other places as well!) people travel as families on scooters. The parents... the kids... and all of their possessions! 

English signs were common... but often hilarious. :)

Coconut trees! :)

Best thing about breakfast? Picking your own bananas. :)

I won't go into detail about the plumbing... but let's just say that sometimes.... it's like the whole world is an outhouse.

Don't be alarmed: People take off their shoes before they enter buildings because they're cool like that. (Actually it's because it keeps things cleaner and you stay much cooler that way!)

And since you share water bottles with everyone... you get really good at drinking like a football player.

Side note on PDA in India: There is none (very little!). This is how Sunil and I snuggled.

Praising Jesus in a different language was quite the amazing experience...

Especially when you get to do it with LOTS of other people!

Kind of like how I imagine heaven will be someday. :)

Somehow I had imagined rice fields to be white. Like rice. Silly homeschooled me. :)

That's not a man wearing a skirt - that's a lungi. I know. It takes some getting used to, doesn't it?

This man probably like newspapers a lot.

This is how they cook curry for over a hundred people.

ELEPHANTS! Yes, we went to an elephant sanctuary in the rain! It was a delightful experience - minus the rain and mud part. :)

This is the Arabian Sea! Unfortunately, it was far too dirty to swim in.

Shopping in India is just as fun, and FAR more colorful than any American store ever will be. :)

There we go snuggling again... ;)

I'm not sure what Mirinda is, but it tasted an awful lot like Fanta. :)

Indian people are diligent. They will follow you for miles if they think you're interested in their little drums.

Scaffolding in India is a lot more like a dare. As in, "I dare you not fall!"

Navigating salesmen is SO much easier when you have a father-in-law that speaks the language.

And thus our first week ended. Can't wait to share more next week!! :)