Turning Brown

This week I haven't been getting tan, but I'm becoming more brown. I watched my first Bollywood movie, ate Indian food for dinner twice, and learned how to twirl my own Raas sticks! It's been a lot of fun being immersed in another country's culture and learning of their traditions.

Things I've been learning from the Bollywood movies:

• Indians are similar to the Chinese in that we both value family and respecting elders, and saving face.
• Indians LOVE dancing. I want to learn a Bollywood dance before I die.
• A difference between our cultures is that Indians are very outwardly proud people, whereas Chinese people are self-depricating and have false humility, but are inwardly proud.

Cultural immersion is great because you get a glimpse of where people are coming from and why they think and act the way they do. That's why I love traveling. On our road trip to Texas, I got to meet my friend's families and learn about their past, which really revealed more of why they are the way they are. AND I now understand why Texans say everything is bigger in Texas :)