By Pierson Teer

The day we arrived in India brought a whole lot of new feelings.  As soon as we stepped foot out of the airport, the city of New Delhi met us with an immense feeling.  The loud noise of cars zooming by like the airport road was a highway.  The distinct smell of India in its largest city. The heat even in the middle of the night (it was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit). 

We got to our hotel and settled into our rooms at 3 AM and that same morning we woke up exhausted and headed first to some ancient temples and tombs.  On the ride to the temples we saw some of India in the light.  In this 30 minute car ride, I at least, was overwhelmed with all of the differences I could see between India and the States.  The traffic was something that stood out to me the most.  To pass someone, you honk and the other car lets you pass.  Before I realized why people were honking all the time, I was confused because in the US it is a rude action to honk.  I was surprised at how well the traffic flowed.

When we got to the temples, there was so much to learn about what was around us.  Some of the large, carved buildings had many tombs in them which were slowly degenerating. The buildings were built before Columbus arrived in the US.  We could see the history of this city and this place.

After the temples, we went to a mall where we ate lunch and shopped.  When shopping, where things quickly felt familiar, I realized that this mall didn’t really seem like the India that I had seen driving through the unique, green streets of Delhi.  This mall was filled with brands from the States.  Typical names like Nike and Puma were in the stores.  With seeing this, I was confused with what the government and big businesses were trying to convey by building a mall like this; A tourist attraction or somewhere for everyday Indians can get name brand clothes.

Standing in the mall with my cup of Starbucks, I wondered a lot of things. If the government wanted to replace all of the culture and history of India, the country would be another United States.  What would this do to the uniqueness? With the Indian government already trying to implement western cultures in a mall like the one we were visiting, it felt in that place like India is already losing its soul.  

As someone here to learn and experience things, if India made as if it was the United States, I would not want to come back.  The meaning to travel for me is to experience different cultures and experiences.  Why would I want to come back if it is the same as the US. How would anyone think of India as special or different? Where would all that history go?

Some new signs that I can use during the rest of the trip to help understand where I have been for the past few days is talking to locals about how their life is changing with western influences.  I look forward to seeing what people from here think about the things that I hit me like a wave, first in the airport and then in the fancy, air-conditioned mall that took me away from India on the hottest day on record. This could help me understand the past and the future by just asking one question. What’s next?