Weekend in India

I had the opportunity to travel to India this past weekend for a conference on using technology in the classroom. Not only was I happy to attend the conference, but I was really excited to visit a new country. Since my visit was so short, I obviously could not see a whole lot of the country, but I was able to get out for a couple of evenings as well as experience some of the local life during my morning runs.

Overall, India reminded me so much of China from its heavy and chaotic traffic to the intense haggling of street market shopping and the numerous ways to transport goods across the city on a bicycle. During one of my runs at 5:00am, I ran over a bridge that crossed stagnant water. As I was approaching the bridge, I first smelled sulfur and thought that there could be a sulfur spring near the river. Then I came right up alongside the river and gagged quite a bit as I saw and smelled the combination of sulfur, trash, and feces. Needless to say, the smell was hard to handle but still not too far off from various smells in China. The biggest difference that I was able to see was the poverty, though. Some of the buildings are certainly in rough condition, and I know that I didn't even see the real poverty of India.

The highlight of the trip was definitely the food. We had Indian food during every meal; each time in buffet style with endless choices. It was delicious and extremely filling! I'm actually glad to be home now so I can get back to my regular diet and routine, but it really was a nice trip.