My trip to India was amazing. Some parts were fantastic. Some parts were really, really hard. We both had at least one melt down. India and it’s culture is so vastly different from any culture I’ve ever been in. In some ways that was incredible and exciting and fun. In other ways it was just confusing and frustrating.

The best part was how much it caused me to grow. I learned so much about myself, Joel, God and others. I realized how strong I really am. Obviously there’s no way to sum up my trip up in one post. I don’t think I thoroughly could in 15 posts. I’ll do my best to keep it to as few as possible.

For today, I’ll share with you a list of a few things I learned while I was in India:

1. I really can do or eat anything. No really. Anything.

2. Wood is actually comfortable to sleep on after sleeping on marble for 3 days.

3. When you can smell yourself, you know it’s really bad.

4. Taken enough days in a row Pepto Bismol turns your tongue the most disgusting blackish brown color. But it prevents other, um, problems so it’s worth dealing with. But seriously, ew.

5. Indian clothes are the most comfortable things ever. I’m going to do my best to bring them into style here. You can thank me later.

6. A little blow up neck pillow is a lifesaver.

7. There are different levels of dirty clothes. What seemed too dirty a couple days into the trip seemed acceptable by the end.

8. There are different levels of “civilized”.

9. Being happy and content really is a choice. I can choose to have a good time and enjoy the moment even when things are really hard.

10. The national bird of India is a peacock. When you see a city street with all the women dressed in saris you understand why. Gorgeous.

11. Eating in the dirtiest places is scary but God really does protect me and neither Joel nor I got sick from the food. Trust me, we really should have.

12. Driving in India is like a massive game of chicken. Lanes mean next to nothing, three cars can fit where you’d think only one could, and the biggest car almost always wins.

13. When an Indian tells you “it’s not spicy” it will probably still make your nose run and your eyes water.

14. When an Indian says a time that can mean an hour before, two hours after or anywhere in between.

15. I get unreasonably happy every time I kill a mosquito.

16. How to eat, drink, dress and use a squatty potty like an Indian. Yes, they eat (with their hand) and drink differently (their lips never touch the cup and they swallow with their mouth open). Basically everything is different.

17. An ice cold shower feels wonderful when it’s hot and nothing feels as good as being clean.

Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow. I will sort and start posting them if it kills me.