I arrived in Bangalore late Saturday evening and after collecting my baggage and making my way through immigration I passed through the sliding doors separating the restricted section of the airport and the general public where I encountered a breeze of fresh warm air. Though it was well after 10pm at night the airport was still abuzz with people and so it was a bit difficult to find my friend and her mother who I was meeting. Chaitanya and I know each other from graduate school back in the US. We met through the friendship family program at our university, which at the time I coordinated. Familiar with the difficulties and isolation of living abroad I wanted to help ease the adjustment of international students into life in America. Chaitanya was the first of many friendship students while I was at BSU but she also was the one I grew closest to and eventually our relationship transitioned from friendship family into good friends. Therefore when she invited me to India to attend her wedding I immediately began to research the possibility and was thrilled when received my visa and could plan a trip to the subcontinent.

After meeting up with Chaitanya, her mother and family at the airport we began the 3 hour drive back to their town. The sky was pitch black and the air was warm and dusty. At one point we pulled off the road due to a flat tire and while they changed it Chaitanya and I wandered to a small stand where we purchased fresh green coconut. The elderly woman lopped off the top and stuffed in a straw and we both slowly sipped the slightly sweet taste of coconut water. As we stood along the side of the road under the dark sky enjoying the refreshing drink with a cool breeze causing me to feel chilled I realized I really was in India. I have always planned on traveling to India but I imagined my first visit to extend for months or even years when I moved to India for research. However, now I can see that those two brief weeks in Andhra Pradesh were the perfect introduction to the beautiful chaos that embodies India. Below are a few highlights of my trip.

The People
India is as welcoming as it is colorful. In the short two weeks I was there I experienced more hospitality than in all the months I have lived in Korea. People were incredibly kind and gracious - though by Western standards they did not have much and we were separated by a difference in language I was welcomed into their homes where they were eager to feed me, talk to me and share their lives with me.

I am most thankful to Chaitanya's family who opened up their home to me for the two weeks I was there - they fed me, cared for me and tolerated my quirky Western ways. Though we relied on Chaitanya to translate for us her mother and aunty's incredible warmth transcended the language and cultural differences.

The friendliness and warm-hearted nature of the Indian people has made my adjustment back to my more subdued life in Korea a bit difficult. It seems India is a better match for me personally than Korea.

MahaKali
Our trip to Kanchi in Tamil Nadu was a blur of color where we spent hours looking over thousands of yards of brightly hued intricately woven silk sari. However, for me, the highlight of the day  was a stop at a Kali temple alongside the highway on our way home. I have been interested in studying goddess worship, specifically of Kali for years. Earlier in the day I was not permitted entrance into another goddess temple because I was a foreigner and therefore the inclusive nature of the temple priest at this mandir was especially meaningful. He allowed us into the room with the murti of the goddess and chatted with us for a brief time before blessing us as we left. I was joking when I declared at the temple it was the highlight of the trip at that moment but even now it stands out in my memory.

A Pilgrimage
I've been studying localized practices of Hinduism for a few years now and I was determined to see as many temples as possible on my trip to India. I am thankful to the Rao family, neighbors of Chaitanya's parents, who invited me along for a day long pilgrimage to 5 different temples throughout Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The temples were dedicated to Lord Siva, Sri Venkateswara, the goddess, Ganapati and Hanuman-ji - at each one the family sponsored archana, a short ritual led by a priest.

This experience gave me a new perspective on Hindu temple worship and the ability to observe the differences not only between temples in the United States and India but also between temples within India.

Puja
The days leading up to a Hindu wedding involve a plethora of events and I had a up close and personal view of all of them. I was incredibly honored to not only observe but also participate in so many of the important rituals leading up to and subsequently during the wedding. I accompanied the family to the Ganesha temple where we prayed for new beginnings, I offered advice during sari shopping and was completely mesmerized by the glittering gold in the jewelry shops. I nervously smeared turmeric onto Chaitanya's face during one ritual, afraid I'd ruin her sari and I poured grains of rice over the bride and groom's head and offered well-wishes during the engagement party.  In other words I was there alongside other family and friends, an active participant in the events - this is how I enjoy to travel - not as an outsider but as someone embraced within the culture by the people around me. It truly was a memorable trip.

Indian weddings are as colorful as India herself and are in stark contrast to the austere nature of weddings in the West. They are a lively mixture of bright hues, cacophonous noise and ancient rituals. I was fortunate to have been invited to partake in many of the different activities and rituals leading up to the wedding in addition to portions of the actual ceremony. It was an incredibly memorable experience which I will forever be thankful to my friend and her family for welcoming me into their home and including me in such an important event. Visit the India page under the Globe Trekker tab (or click here) to see more pictures from the wedding and my experiences in India.