India-Day 1!

I apologize for the delay in posting. I had every intention of blogging & journaling daily, but got very overwhelmed. Every time I would start a post, I couldn't find the words I wanted, and it ended up being a very superficial post with simply a list of things we have done. I finally, after a few days of reflection, discovered the problem: every single one of my senses were heightened-total sensory overload! Here we are-preparing for our flight back home tomorrow night and i'm just now able to think about blogging. This trip has been SO very rewarding and so much fun, yet so much more than I ever expected. India is so very rich in culture...I have used all five of my senses more here than ever in my entire life...seeing the beautiful colors, hearing the loud horns with traffic (and dogs that howl at night), smelling the rich foods, tasting the spicy & full-flavored foods, and touching the gorgeous fabrics. I was able, after seven years of marriage, to finally meet my in-laws. Something that had you asked me seven years ago, I thought would never happen. They have been indescribably gracious and have treated me like their own. Seeing my husband with his family made me fall in love with him all over again. I'm still not sure that I'm able to accurately describe what I have experienced, but I'll try my best! :)

So, the first day we arrived (after I woke), we got ready to head out for our first adventure! We walked to the end of the street and the five of us girls got into an auto rickshaw-our first ride!

Here are Suri & I in our first "auto".








It was really fun-I've really enjoyed riding in autos! You get to really see everything and can enjoy the cool breeze at the same time-priceless! It's a really cheap mode of transportation as well-for a 45 minute ride, it averages about $3.00 US!
We arrived at the shops in Vijayanagar where we saw tons of shops and vegetable stands. I was really impressed by the quality and quantity of fresh fruits & vegetables!




We had some fresh guava-delicious! They cut the guava and sprinkle it with chili powder & salt!






Then, we headed into a toy store to get the girls their Barbies (long story LOL):






Bangles:








Our niece, Mounika, carrying Maya:



Maya with her new bangles!








We went to dinner. Dinner time is between 10-11 pm every night. I wasn't sure how that would work for me since we normally are in bed long before that! Surprisingly, it worked really well. The nights are my favorite time-it's cool and there are still tons of people out. Everything is open late.













All of the restaurants we have been to have had amazing service unlike anything I have seen before!

After dinner, we went home and slept-I slept like 12 hours the next day-jet lag?!

It was an amazing first day with many more adventures awaiting us!


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