Standard tourist shot of the Taj Mahal
If you read my recent blog post about how much I am missing Nepal, then perhaps that can serve as a disclaimer before you read about my experiences in India.
Culture shock is not descriptive or clear enough of a term to describe my immediate introduction to India. For the sake of not having a more extensive vocabulary, however, “shock” will have to do for now.
I am shocked by how dirty this country is. I am shocked by how poor the people and the animals are. I am shocked by how poor the air quality is. I am shocked by the way that people stare at us as we walk down the street- gawking and analytical. I am shocked that I do not love this country as much as I hoped I would.
So much of traveling has to do with the experience that you have in the moments that you are present. A bad experience can shape your entire association with the same place that someone else lists as a “must-see.” I have read much about India, seen pictures, heard some horror stories; but until a person steps foot into the country that seems simultaneously ancient and metropolitan, there is no way of understanding just how overwhelming it can be.
North Indian Food with multiple sauces and spices
For this reason, I am glad that we came to India. We saw the Taj Mahal. We rode a sleeper train for six hours. We made many an international friend at the Nirvana Hostel we are staying at. We have had some delicious food. I have taken some amazing pictures. These are the reasons that I wanted to come here in the first place- these are the experiences I signed up for.
While I am beyond elated that I can check them off my proverbial list, it will take much for me to return to this country. I will need a guide that I trust and that is well connected. I will need clean places to settle into for the night and a hot shower to wash away the day’s grime. I will need regular access to a driver- perhaps one that I can hire for the entire day.
For those of you reading this, I acknowledge that the tinge of my words is slightly disappointed. In the same way that I chose to come to this country to experience India for myself, I hope that you will do the same if you want to come here. Do not let someone else’s experience shape your own openness to all the beauty and potential that exists in this majestic and humongous place.
I will recommend that you read my forthcoming list of recommendations. There are many other lists by many other travel bloggers that exist out in the blogosphere as well. Take my words and the words of other travel bloggers into consideration- but you need to experience India for yourself in order to truly understand what we are all talking about.
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Janelle K. Eagle is infamous for always having her hands tied up in multiple projects simultaneously. She's directed a lot of theater, worked on some films, and raised lots of money for non-profits. She travels all the time and loves to share her videos, photography and writing via this blog. 
Your post reeks of entitlement and white privilege. It might have done you some good to approach your travels with a little less ego and some awareness of who you are in relation to where you are. The way you describe it, you might as well have gone to check out some circus freaks; maybe a visit to gawk at Sara Baartman would have done the same thing for you: reestablish the boundaries that maintain your superiority over the poor dirty natives. And the expectations you came with are just as flawed as your reaction– whether you glorify India or criticize it you are doing it with an attitude of a voyeur. As hard as it may be for you to understand, the world is not on display for your self-congratulatory, neo-colonial explorations.
Recommended reading: Edward Said, "Orientalism"
Dear Anonymous,
I anticipate and welcome a response like yours. Perhaps you can read the rest of my writing about India or Nepal to learn more about my experiences while traveling in the region.
I am a voyeur by nature- a writer, photographer, and filmmaker… so there is nothing I can do to avoid that perspective when I travel.
As someone who always seeks further knowledge, I also gladly accept your recommendation for reading. Simultaneously, I encourage you to do the same by learning more about who I am before you make assumptions about my worldly perspective.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you'll visit again.
Best,
Janelle