{"id":9974,"date":"2020-04-29T15:32:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T19:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?page_id=9974"},"modified":"2020-04-29T15:32:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T19:32:14","slug":"india-learning-home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/india-learning-home","title":{"rendered":"India: Learning at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Get creative<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Organize your art supplies and get to crafting. Consider making your own <a href=\"https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/exhibit\/providing-technology-and-research-for-turning-waste-into-paper\/5wJy_rbO4B9iJg?hl=en\">paper<\/a>\u00a0and learn the <a href=\"https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/exhibit\/colors-of-the-earth\/_gKiQg4HIebaKg?hl=en\">art of natural dying<\/a> \u2013 or look for what you might have in your own kitchen and try this eco-friendly <a href=\"https:\/\/littlegreendot.com\/how-to-dye-fabric-with-natural-dyes\/\">recipe!<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Pick a film<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for India include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)<\/li>\n<li>The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)<\/li>\n<li>Million Dollar Arm (2014)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or have some fun with this easy-to-follow Bollywood movie!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Study some history<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Dive deep into the history of specific sites you\u2019ll visit on tour, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/places\/palace-of-winds\">Palace of the Winds<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/india\/taj-mahal\">Taj Mahal<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Agra-Fort\">Agra Fort<\/a>. Then, tour some of India\u2019s ancient history and modern marvels with these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airpano.com\/360photo\/India\/\">virtual journey videos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Choose a book<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The White Tiger <\/em>by Aravind Adiga<\/li>\n<li><em>Polite Society <\/em>by Mahesh Rao<\/li>\n<li><em>Out of India: Selected Stories <\/em>by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Fill up your plate<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Hold a virtual cooking class and make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=a03U45jFxOI\">butter chicken<\/a> with your travel group, or support a local restaurant that offers delivery\/take-out of your destination\u2019s cuisine. Try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.feastingathome.com\/naan-recipe\/\">naan<\/a>, biryani, and tandoori chicken&#8230;and don\u2019t forget <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bonappetit.com\/recipe\/bas-best-masala-chai\">masala chai<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Then, check out this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=juJUyA49VGs\">video<\/a> on why drinking chai out of clay cups is so much better.\u00a0 It sounds wasteful, but it\u2019s actually good for the environment! \u00a0Unlike plastic and steel, clay cups are biodegradable and made by hand out of clay dug up from the banks of the Ganges River.<\/p>\n<p>Vegetarian? \u00a0No worries. India has the largest population of vegetarians worldwide, with over 1\/3 of the residents following a meatless lifestyle. You\u2019ll have lots of options \u2013 just say \u201cveg\u201d or \u201cnon-veg\u201d when you order.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Learn the language<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Fortunately for foreigners from the U.S., English is spoken widely throughout India (and where it isn\u2019t spoken, it\u2019s almost always understood). However, it&#8217;s always helpful to know a few essential phrases. Call up a friend or set up a group video chat and practice your language skills. It helps to make flashcards with <a href=\"https:\/\/ielanguages.com\/hindi-phrases.html\">common sayings<\/a> to use on the phone or throughout your travels (think about ordering at restaurants, buying souvenirs, and chatting with locals).<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Did you know?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Holi is a popular ancient Hindu festival celebrated predominantly in India, parts of Asia, and some locations across the Western world. Known as the Indian &#8220;festival of spring,&#8221; the &#8220;festival of colors,&#8221; or the &#8220;festival of love,&#8221; Holi signifies the victory of good over evil. Celebrants light bonfires, throw colorful powder called gulal, eat sweets, and dance to traditional folk music.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Meet Your Partner in Travel <\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/India-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9982 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/India-1-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Heide spent two weeks in India traveling around the golden triangle of Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra.\u00a0 From the colorful art to the rich history, India heightened her senses like no other country has.\u00a0Now back in the U.S., Heide is planning her next international adventure and enjoys scouring San Diego for authentic Indian restaurants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get creative Organize your art supplies and get to crafting. Consider making your own paper\u00a0and learn the art of natural dying \u2013 or look for what you might have in your own kitchen and try this eco-friendly recipe! Pick a film Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for India include: The <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/india-learning-home\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10058,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9974","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9974"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9983,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9974\/revisions\/9983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}