I got a little love from a fellow expat in India who stopped by my site and shared a little of her knowledge from living in India with me before I go! Its so sweet when someone lends a helping hand out of the blue…so just in case you missed it, here was her good advice:

“Hey, I came across your blog while searching for culture shock quotes on the web and read through a few pages. I am and expat living in India and thought you may like to know a few things before you come.

1. “Proud to be an American” – Many Indians do not have a strong bias against Americans, in fact, many have sons and daughters living in America, or have been there themselves. The bias is shown more towards white people. If you are white and good looking, prepare for stares and some people may try to rip you off if you buy something. Where ever you stay, you can ask how much a taxi/auto ride should be. It would be even better if you have an Indian friend help you while shopping, they will be able to bargain the price down more effectively do to the fact, they will most probably know the prices, and will speak Hindi.

2. “Beef Blogs” – India is a primarily vegetarian country (vegetarian here means no eggs as well). There are plenty of restaurants and street food that will serve non-veg, but this will be chicken and lamb products. Pork and beef are uncommon (Muslims don’t eat pork, Hindus don’t eat beef) If you want beef, be prepared to shell out for it, because you will most probably have to go to a NICE (5 star) hotel restaurant where prices are comparable or more than what you will find in LA. Beef from anything less than that may be a little risky. Of course, heavy tourist places such as Goa will have beef as well, but again, perhaps a bit risky. Just check it out with your waiter.

3. “Etiquette” – People in India eat food with only their right hand. The left hand is only used for serving your food. This is because of two reasons: 1. Since Indian food is usually not eaten with utensils, your hand gets dirty with food and saliva and people don’t like sharing that with each other and 2. (The historical reason) when people go to the bathroom, they use their left hand to wash themselves with. Toilet paper is not part of the culture here, they use water. Most places now will have toilet paper, but I recommend traveling with a little on you just in-case.

4. “Language” – English is everywhere thanks to British rule for so long. It is written on most products that you might buy or use, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble washing your clothes ”

Thanks for the advice Caroline!