Indian Families

After the first night at the host families we can already see many differences between the Indian host families and our own families back in Denmark. One of the first differences we meet is that the grandparents often live with the family, where in Denmark the grandparents live by themselves or in nursing homes. This gives us the impression that the Indian family ties are very strong. Most of the families have very traditional family roles where the mother takes care of the home while the father earns the money. Religion plays a much bigger role in the Indian families than it does in a typical Danish family. Another thing we noticed is that many of the families we lived with had servants (drivers etc.). Hardly any people in Denmark have that.

Their way to welcome you is fantastic. You couldn't feel any more welcome than when you are entering an Indian home. The families are so sweet and you can really feel that they have prepared a lot for our visit and they seem to have thought about every little detail.

The Indian families are very fond of giving their guests presents. An example of this in one of the families we lived with where the host mother came into the room and gave us some incredibly beautiful Indian jewelry together with a pair of matching shoes. It made us feel so special and it is a gift that we will save forever. We brought gifts for our host families too, but learned that it is not polite for the mother to accept gift from girls who are younger than herself. Where in Denmark it would be rude not to accept the gifts.

The Indians are really happy to show us India and every second is planned and there are always something to do or visit. An example of that is today where we had a busy program. First we visited Amber Fort where we went riding elephants, then we went to a museum, then to a palace and we ended the day with some time alone with our host families where some of us went to a shopping mall.

Living with the Indian families has really made this trip extraordinary. When that said we are to mention that our experiences with our host families are completely individual.

 Caroline, Sina and Ida