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Meeting and venturing with host families! Part 1

Blog 5 - Meeting and venturing with host families! Part 1

Being one of the last ones to leave the Ashok Country Resort on July 7th, Heena Ma’am (AFS Staffer) brought me to my host family. I was notified about my host family situation and where I was going to be placed just two days before at the resort. I learned that I will be staying in Gurgaon (Gurugram) in the state of Haryana, just outside of the National Capital Region (NCR or Delhi) with a temporary family until the 18th, and then move to a permanent family after that. As they did not allow us to use the hotel WIFI, I quickly managed to send an email introducing myself to them the night before at 2AM due to my T-Mobile plan allowing me to have unlimited, but 2G, service in India.  


On the twenty-minute car ride to my host family, I was so amazed by the immense skyscrapers and the beautiful architecture complementing the beauty of the old and run-downed buildings. When we arrived, my host parents were not home, but my host brothers greeted me with the traditional rice and dye. A couple minutes later, they arrived, with Heena Ma’am and I introducing ourselves. Once Heena Ma’am left, it was an automatic complete shock, another realization was coming into play, in my head I was thinking: “Wow, this is actually happening.” The normal shock and awkwardness, something I was not expecting at all as I’ve been anticipating for this moment for so long, I didn’t really process how the change would impact me. This feeling went away in a few days as the host family was welcoming and very nice, introducing me to the area, engaging in conversations about the deep culture and history of India, the Indian food, and surroundings.

The next day we went to the DLF (their society) Clubhouse Pool, and later at night, Bikanervala, an Indian restaurant chain, and they had me taste different tastes of India due to its huge diversity, something I did not consider.

Throughout the two weeks, I learned so much I never would have thought possible in such a short time. On Saturday, I went to one of the 12 malls on a Gold Course Road with my host brother and his friends. There were more American chains than in Hawai’i, allowing me to finally try the hype of Dunkin Donuts! Too many things done for one blog post, so check out part 2!

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