Ridhima Ghoshal, Himalayan Health Summer 2025
Having visited India before, I assumed that I knew how the culture works around these parts. However, most of the places I have visited were fast-paced cities and the daily hustle bustle of life compared to the city life in the states like New York. I was pleasantly surprised to see how customs vary from area to area as the culture in the hills here is very respectful and adaptable to the tourists. Although life here is slower, the people seemed to present how deeply respect is woven into their everyday lives. In comparison to other countries, locals, for instance in Paris, would expect you to speak their language if you are in their country and change into their customs. On the other hand, locals here try to speak your language in order to better effectively communicate and understand the tourist instead. It struck me how rare that was, and how much it said about their openness and adaptability.
The respect for foreigners went beyond language; it felt almost surreal at times. Locals treat you with so much respect if you are a foreigner to the point it is like you are almost a celebrity. In fact they treat you so much like a celebrity, that they start taking pictures! I’d heard jokes about tourists being treated like celebrities in parts of Asia, but experiencing it firsthand was different. Locals would politely ask for photos, sometimes not even asking before snapping a picture. My friends who had lighter hair or striking eye colors might as well have been movie stars. People would point, whisper, and giggle as if they had just stepped off a Hollywood set. Even for me, being treated with that level of attention was both humbling and a little amusing. Although this is common in most Asian countries that have a homogenous population like South Korea or China, it was still surprising to see it in real life compared to what I normally see in videos on social media.
But what truly stayed with me was how community-centered life felt there. Everything seemed to belong to everyone. Neighbors pitched in to help each other without hesitation by offering food, carrying packages, or giving rides. All resources were for the community rather than for the self. I remember on my way walking back to the Woodstock School from the Bazaar, I saw a young kid in front of me ask a total stranger for a ride on his scooter. The man asked where he was going and allowed the kid to hop on for the ride. Coming from the states, where “stranger danger” is heavily implied and society is much more individualistic, this was also a bit of a culture shock for me. Everyone is so eager to help others that permission is not even needed. Just a “hey, borrowing this real quick” and nobody bats an eye because it is in fact so normalized. Although this may be more of just the local culture in the regions rather than what you would see in the big cities of India, it was still impressive and surprising to see when I am not used to it.
Living in that environment changed the way I saw not just the culture, but my own. It made me think about how healthcare, like community, works best when it’s shared, when it’s rooted in connection and trust.
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