It's not a house... It's a home... India Style

So... coming back from SD today (more on that later) my boyfriend and I were going through some pictures of India and I realized hat I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time. India was a whirlwind and so was Dubai... and it seems like my life is just now getting back to normal (at least as normal as possible). So slowly, I will catch everyone up with pics and stories and all that great stuff.

So, my first post will be about where we stayed and the kind people that we now love.

When we arrived in India we knew we would meet some awesome people and have some great stories, but little did we know that we would be adopted into a family for a month and treated so well. So here's some pics of the humble abode.

This was our room while we were here. Everyday people would come in a make the bed, sweep the floor, and pick up our laundry. The servants were so nice and loving and even though they didn't speak a word of English, their hospitality was communicated through their work.

This was our floor's dining table. There was one on each floor and then a main one on the bottom story of the house where the entire household would gather for lunch. let me tell you one thing about our cook... He can cook like no other! He hooked us up with so much food! And all (ok most) was awesome :) Plus, it was great to sit around the table everyday, planning what we were going to do and getting to know Sam, Mahima, and their parents so much better.

This was the spare bedroom where the other guests of the house slept. Mahima decorated this room and as you can tell, she did a great job. There was also a couple of game systems in here for our Wii tournament nights (where I got my butt thoroughly kicked and would then retreat back into my room from)

The outside of the house... It was a 3 story (that's as high as the city would allow the Gupta's to build) and was beautifully landscaped and kept up with perfection. The car is one of many, each with its own driver.

This was Dadiji (it means grandma in Hindi... or paternal grandma to be more specific). She was the head of the household and made sure that everything ran accordingly and that everyone was taken care of. Her one consistent line of questioning was (1) Did Lydia and Christine eat? (2) What did they eat? (3) How much did they eat? (4) What do they want for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack? She didn't speak a word of English and yet conveyed her hospitality in a measure beyond words. Meeting people like this is why I love traveling!