Blog # 4: Always a tourist!

"What is culture? To know what is important and to know what is important to know"

What we consider normal might been seen as a taboo in another country, therefor always make a good research on the culture you are traveling to.

She was instantly distinguished as a tourist. It wasn’t because of her “white” skin or her strange green striped top that made her stand out; it was because she was eating with her left hand…

Before coming to Singapore for exchange, my two best friends and I spent five days in Delhi, India. Apart from Bollywood movies, I had never really experienced Indian culture. We were confused in the narrow bazaars of Old Delhi and lost ourselves. It was like wandering somewhere medieval. We visited the former home of Indira Gandhi and learned about India’s most powerful dynasties and so on. We did not face any problems until we went to Dilli-ki-Chaat. It is in Old Delhi where you can eat amazing local street food.

We felt we should try to blend in as much as possible, by eating local food with our hands. We heard it was one of the best places to eat delicious Indian food, and boy it was amazing! We started chatting with one of the owners while we were eating, he was telling us about Delhi´s history and India´s history in general. It was crowded, there were a lot of smells in the air, people yelling, dancing and singing everywhere around us. Coming from a small and quiet country as Norway, we were really feeling like we made a good choice in our travel destination.

Abruptly, we saw people staring at us. My friend asked me quietly “is there something on my face?” I replied sarcastic; “only your nose”. Suddenly the owner shouted “no, no, no, no, no”. We looked weird at him and he started laughing. He knew that we didn’t read well up on Indian culture and told us what people are looking at. My friend, who is left-handed, was eating with her left hand. In India, eating with your left hand is a taboo because you wash your self with your left-hand.

Mari turned red and tried to switch over to her right-hand, but it was already done, it was already too late, and now, she will forever be a tourist in Delhi.