On May 17, we visited a village locally known as the Music Village where the villagers invited us to eat lunch with them. There were so many curious aspects to this meal that heavily differned from the usual American dining experience. In order to enter the room one must take their shoes off and was unable to leave their plates until everyone finished eating. Part of the dining routine is to wash your leaf with water using your hands prior to eating the food also utilizing your hands. It was explained to us that on special occasions, palm leaves are used as plates. The leaves have medicinal properties and were also used in ancient times as a method of poisonous food detection that was observed by a color change in the leaves. Multiple servers whom are apart of the Sudras caste came around placing various items on our leaf. 

At every corner no matter where you are you can catch a ride on a rickshaw. The drivers are very knowledgeable of the streets, so much so that they are able to navigate the roads avoiding free-range cows, rarely using traffic signals, and merging into oncoming traffic by repurposing their horns as turning signals.

While living in India my body had to evolve and adapt to their plumbing system. Although my calves eventually grew accustomed to squatting when I used the restroom I never learned how to use the bidets. On this day to my dismay there was no toilet paper in sight so borrowed half of a tissue from a classmate.

The Indian street salesman were persistent in their pursuits to make a sale. They were especially eager once they spotted us Americans because tourists are seemingly easy customers. This determination can be likend to that of a kiosk sales person in the mall. One of tour guides taught us to keep our eyes ahead because eye-contact means a sale pitch.

We stuck out like sore thumbs wearing our usual American clothes so within the first week we went and shopped for kurtas, traditional Indian garments for women.

The marketplace is filled with merchandise ranging from jewelry, silk, produce, plants, clothes, and really any other necessities or desirables you need. You just have to be willing to look. I really loved the ability to negotiate the price especially since in America most items are sold at a fixed price. 

On May 15, the cohort arrived at PHRII for the first time. We were welcomed with a necklace of jasmine flowers, a bindi was placed on our foreheads, and we were instructed to take our shoes off before entering the building. That afternoon was also the first time enjoyed teatime by drinking chai. In the following days, I grew accustomed to taking my shoes off before entering designated places and breaking for tea at 11:30 am.

In America, it is a common misconception that yoga is just poses and saying "om". During my stay, I was eager to try yoga for the first time ever and unbeknownst to me I would soon learn that yoga is a way of life.

The currency in India is the rupee. The exchange rate is 1 U.S. dollar to 82 rupees. When exchanging my money I felt richer because their bills were higher however the value of their money was lower. I scheduled a full-body massage for an hour for 2200 rupees which is equivalent to about $27. In America, that same massage would've cost around 100$ and the quality of the massage wouldn't have been as great.

On May 19, we woke up extra early to observe Puja during our visit to Hoysala village resort. Puja is a worship ritual usually consisting of offering flowers or fruit to an image of a god.