Namaste from India

Hi Kids,

I just said hello to you in Hindi. Hindi and English are the two of the 22 official languages of India. India is a huge country with lots of local languages - hundreds of languages are spoken there!!  There are 4 times as many people living in India compared to the United States.  Here is what Hindi writing looks like.

We are staying in the very big city of Delhi. Because Dr. Kristie works a lot, I mostly stay in the hotel room, but on the weekend we went on a long bus ride to a beautiful place called Agra to see the most famous building in the country, It is named the Taj Mahal, and looks like a wonderful white palace. People come from all over the world to see it.
                                                                                                           

 

Long, long time ago, a king built this for his wife after she died. He must have loved her very much. This is an amazing present!  The reflecting pool in front of it acts like a mirror.

 

The unusual shape on the roof is called an onion dome. Can you tell why?

 

We took another picture so that we could be in it!

 

I found out that many people in India dress just like us - that is called Western dress. Other people wear traditional Indian clothes, like the couple here. The woman is wearing a long dress called a sari. The man is wearing a kurta and pants. His wrapped hat is called a turban.  These people are very dressed up because they are taking pictures before their wedding.

 

 

Indian food is very interesting, There are many new things to try. This is a samosa. It looks like an apple turnover, but it is not sweet, It is spicy, and filled with meat, onions and potatoes. People eat it with their hands like we eat sandwiches.

 

The next picture is breakfast.   Remember my breakfast in China?  This one is very different too!  Here I had curries, which means vegetables, beans, and meats in spicy sauces, on a steamed rice cake.  The steamed rice cake is called "idli" (id-lee) and it is a traditional breakfast food here.   

 

This is how you eat. Some foods are used to pickup other foods, the way that we use chips to pick up salsa.

 

 

One day I did get to go to work with Dr. Kristie when she went to visit a medical clinic. I was surprised to see this. Why are all of these shoes on the sidewalk???

 

 

It is the custom here not to wear shoes when you go into a doctor's office, so people just step out of them, and leave their shoes outside.

 

That's all for today. I will write again.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley