A Dutch woman living in India has shared her experiences and compiled a list of 10 things for someone who wants to move to the country. The woman named Ivana shared a video on Instagram with the text: "10 things I wish I knew before coming to India for the first time." Her observations highlight different aspects of Indian culture as she jokingly warned people to "prepare to be fed to death".
As the first point, she wrote in the caption, "Indians literally have a saying for their unrivaled hospitality - 'Athiti devo bhava'. It means guest is god. Prepare to be fed to death!"
Watch the video here:
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In the next point, she mentioned family and wrote that it's difficult to understand how extremely important family is for Indians, unless people spend time within an Indian family. "So def try to befriend local people and see how they live," she wrote.
She also mentioned the Taj Mahal and noted that it is quite difficult to get there. She suggested that one must plan a trip to Agra for two to two-three days in order to "not have a lousy Taj experience".
To get the best experience of the holy Ganga, she said that the river in Rishikesh is actually a minty green colour. "It's almost surreal!" While writing about wearing a saree, she said that wearing it is difficult, but it gets comfortable after putting it on.
She said that India is not overcrowded and there's plenty of space and 'slow' times. "For the tourist places try to visit way before 10AM (like 8AM!) or you can go to more rural areas to escape all crowds."
"Surprisingly Indians are very easy with personal space (what personal space?) but hugs do have a bit of an instruction. With women it's fine but with elderly ladies (and men!) you'd usually touch their feet to pay respect and for a blessing. With men just give a namaste, OR if it's a close friend you hug from the side," she said in another point.
She also said that Punjabis are the "party animals of India."
She also stated that each Indian State has such a distinct culture and most have their own language.
Ivana mentioned that riding a riksha never gets boring. "Even after a million times, it's as fun and adventureous as the first time."
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