by Danielle Lomascolo
We spent 2 days and 3 nights with homestay families in Noida, a city right outside of Delhi. The area of Noida where we were is known for its large retired military population. Mackenzie and I stayed with a former Colonel in the Indian Army as a member of the Infantry. After his time in the service, He and his wife had moved to Noida.
The purpose of the homestays was to enrich our cultural experience here in India. We spent the first week touring around learning more about other religions and cultural landscapes. The homestays are what allowed us to interact more with the people of India. At our homestay, we were able to engage in conversations based on cultural differences, politics, and history. While this is what we talked about, we were also able to observe household norms.
It was just the couple that lived in the house, but also brought in a maid or domestic help to cook and clean. While the wife was not moving as quickly as she use to she was still in a way expected to oversee these household duties and would also help cook. The Colonel would often be doing his own thing while this was happening. The home they lived in was 3 bedrooms & 3 baths, along with study and storage. On the walls it had the Hindu god Ganeshi along with Egyptian art, and Army memorabilia. It was a charming home but had a different feeling than a typical American home.
During this experience, we spent one full day with our homestays. My day consisted of getting up early in the morning to head to the Colonel’s farm, which was located northeast of Delhi. He had mentioned that the farm had been in the family for 170 years. The plots of land are divided among his family members, and his plot is a mango farm with about 1,000 mango trees. The mangos were just starting to flower, so we were unable to see the actual fruit, which will be harvested around June and July. In addition to the farm visit, we met two of his cousins.