India changed my life, what about yours?

This intercultural blog is aimed to be a point of convergence between new and old India travelers, it will allow the new comers to have real experiences available in order to enrich their expectations and make their own contributions. Not only foreign travelers will write and post their pictures, but also will involve the local´s point of view. We have invited a bunch of Indians to collaborate and omment on the travelers’ anecdotes.based on history and cultural background.

Myth #1 : Cover your shoulders girl!

Myth Busters : is it true that in India…?

It was in 1999 when I did my first travel to India; it was a great experience to plan, we were 10 chileans trying to define where to go and what to do; all of us very different to each other, but we were also very young and excited. After a few meetings we decided the itinerary and took the plain; arrived to a “somehow scary” New Delhi and lived one of the most interesting experiences ever; and you will be able to get to know those stories soon in this blog. I would like to start commenting on some “tips and myths” given to me before the trip from people who was in India previously; some of them worked, some of them didn´t.


Myth #1 : Cover your shoulders girl!

I was warned that in India shoulders were considered erotic places of the body and women should cover them if they do not want to get insulted or looked at in the streets; I do not know if this was true or not, but almost all my t-shirts were sleeve less, and never felt like being incorrect; people looked at me but in a curious way, as I probably looked “too blond , too white, and too foreigner” but I never felt this in a bad way, people was always very kind and friendly.


-.chica ruffinelli

1:30 PM | Etiquetas: , |

 

5 comentarios:

Mario Yañez said...

Felicitaciones!!!.. qe buen post... super util para cualquiera qe qiera viajar por ese lado del mundo.. ademas estas listas, entregadas de a poco, son super entretenidas. Prometo volver en cada actualizacion.

Felicitaciones tambien por la inciativa del blog, espero encontrarlas en twitter tambien. (sugiero una version en español para el publico latino)

Saludos!

May 18, 2009 at 3:14 PM  
Nav said...

Congratulations on starting the blog folks!

The concept of myth busters is good, but would be great if there's another section on some things which had you folks pleasantly surprised, something you found in common between the cultures. As well as customs, traditions,....things which one wouldn't find in any travelog or a LonelyPlanet:) Just a few thoughts:)

May 24, 2009 at 11:31 AM  
Fabi said...

I have always liked this point of view.
I strongly believe that we need to concentrate on both differences as well as similarities.
If we are aware of both we can be better prepare to act normally we it comes to similarities and even more relax. and on the other hand we can be cautious.

In fact, I believe that something we (Chileans and Idians) have in common is sense of humor.
Don’t know why, but it seems to me that we get a long very well when it comes to tell jokes and have fun.

… Or don’t we?

May 24, 2009 at 6:56 PM  
divyatyam said...

More about myth #1:

It is true that we are more conservative in India about clothing that the 'western' world, but only on average. The fashion landscape changes as you move from cities like Bangalore, Bombay and Delhi, where young men and women catch up with the international fashion trends as they come in, to small towns where the crowds are not exposed to the internet or TV, and places of religious importance, where it is respectful to be dressed.

Funnily, if you check the label of your tank top(especially in the US) there's a 1 in 3 chance that it says 'Made in India' :)

A lot has changed since 1999! You'll be shocked, Chica!

May 29, 2009 at 7:11 PM  
Unknown said...

Apologies for the *very* delayed entry into this blog.

Chica and Fabi - the blog looks very impressive! :)

Now, to add to some comments. Yes, I would say that as of today, there are very few broad statements that one can make about all of India. The metros are very different from smaller towns, which are very different from the even smaller villages!

Sleeveless shirts are a very common thing in the big cities (Bangalore included) but might raise eyebrows in the country side.

In certain places, it also has to do with which community/stata of society you belong to that makes it acceptable to do certain things.

I remember my initial reaction at the 2007 Jena symp when I got to jena and was strolling around. It was exactly the same as I remembered it 4 years ago!

I'm just WAITING to see the reactions of people who visited India in 1999 or 2004 to see how much they have perceived things have changed.

June 30, 2009 at 1:07 PM  

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