India at a Glance

We’ve been in India just over 3 weeks and are noticing some distinct differences from the US. 

1-India has the most vegetarians in the world. According to Wikipedia 10-20% of the population are vegetarians either for religious reasons or choice. We have only eaten meat 4 times since we’ve been here. Cows are considered holy so most non-veg meals are made of chicken or mutton. 

2-Everyone wears sandals. All shoes are removed before entering homes and some businesses. We have even seen construction workers and motorcycle riders with sandals. They are definitely the shoe style of choice here. 

3-The majority of vehicles on the road are scooters and motorcycles. If a helmet is worn, it’s only by the driver. They ride these even during monsoon rains. We have seen up to 5 people on one motorcycle.

4-There are 1.6 million people in our city. Roads are smaller than we are used to. Cars must weave in and out of traffic to get anywhere. The center line is just a guideline so honking is constantly heard. This is used to let other drivers know to watch out for you. There is no “auto pilot” driving here. It’s a mix of Mario Cart mixed with a little Frogger, but it all seems to work. 

5-Indians are extremely religious. 8 out of 10 people say they are religious. About 80% of the religious are Hindu. The remaining 20% is a mix of Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and others. There are over 2 million Hindu temples. They are beautifully carved and very interesting to see. 

6-There are 21 different languages in India. The most common language where we live is Tamil. Many people do speak English but we are having trouble understanding each other.  Our accent and word choice is foreign so there is a lot of “what?” on both sides right now. We are going to do our best to learn some Tamil. 

7-Indians are focused on the environment. They require recycling. We must separate our trash into recyclable items, food waste, and personal waste. Our trash bags are decomposable. They also require reusable bags for shopping. 

8-India is 1/3 the size of the US but has 4 times the number of people. This means that many live in apartments and those that have a house have a smaller yard. 

9-The average temperatures in Coimbatore are 69-90 degrees this time of year. It’s monsoon season so the humidity is 91%. Most places don’t have air conditioning and those who do, aren’t allowed to run it due to the pandemic. 

10-Indians take the pandemic seriously. Despite them being 2nd in the world for cases, the number per population is still low. Visitors to every business are required to wear a mask, have your temperature taken, complete a log, and hand sanitize. For example, this is required to enter the mall and again at each individual store. We have seen a solo motorcycle rider with a mask on and his helmet. They are trying their best to control the spread. 

All in all, this is quite the adventure for some Idaho Spudsters. There have been screams, tears, laughter, and excitement in these first few weeks. Hopefully as we settle in, we will be able to share our experiences with you. 

Follow us on FB, our blog and YouTube at SevenSeasAdventures for more posts about why we moved, quarantine, funny things that have happened, and videos of our house.