Bangalore, Karnataka India...Unity in Diversity

After 18+ hours of flying, we arrived in Bangalore at 1:00 a.m. and to our hotel after 3:30 a.m. We were all happy to arrive, but traveling abroad demands that you are always thinking about what needs to be done next. With bloodshot eyes and the beginnings of hallucinations due to sleep deprivation, we very quickly shifted into figuring out where to exchange money for Indian rupees, how to manage settings on our cell phones so that we didn't have $100s of dollars in charges waiting for us when we got home and if indeed, the WiFi would work in the hotel. Bless the people who work in the hospitality industry, as they are eternally patient with us American travelers :-)

Hundreds of people waiting outside the Bengaluru Airport to pick up passengers

Licia, my partner teacher from Pennsylvania, and me @ Bengaluru Airport

Today, we listened to presentations on the foundations of the Indian education system and Indian culture and history. The prevailing theme of both presentations was that India is a place of unity within diversity. 

Culture and History Fast Facts (aka stuff I thought was interesting): Presenter: Mr. Chiranjiv Singh

• There are over 300 languages and dialects recognized in India.
• Christianity has had a presence in  India for 2000 years, which is before Europe's Christianization.
• There isn't a Hindi word for "thank you," as Indian people feel it is their dharma (individual role in the universe) to do what is needed for the good of the order. For example, a waiter's dharma is to bring food to you in a restaurant, while your dharma is to partake of the food. 
• Since 1950, the caste system is no longer a way of organizing social status in India. The Indian Constitution (which borrowed ideas from the American, French, German and Irish constitutions) professes equality for all. 
• Trash and garbage are abundant in the streets of many Indian cities, and the reason for this is NOT indifference or lack of concern for cleanliness. Those of the lowest caste, called Panchamas,  historically collected the garbage and did other work that was considered polluting or too filthy for the higher castes. Once the caste system was denounced and Panchamas were equalized (at least on paper), those members of the higher castes did not take any personal responsibility for their own trash or garbage. They were so used to the Panchamas doing the "untouchable" work. Since the crumbling of the caste system is still relatively recent, folks in the higher castes have been slow to accept this change. 

More on India's education system later...