1. People greet each other and part using the phrase, “Namaste.”

2. An important Indian holiday is Hindu New Year, which is celebrated at four different times, depending on region, and is observed with festivals, like Baisakhi. Another important holiday is Diwali. Diwali is a festival and is celebrated with firecrackers and lights, similar to Christmas in the USA.

3. Gifts are appropriate when going to social gatherings and at various holidays like Hindu New Year. Appropriate gifts include flower and clothes. Liquor like whiskey is also appropriate.

4. Social gatherings are usually family-oriented. However, it is usual for men and women to be separate at parties.

5. Children are disciplined strictly at home and school. 50% of kids are subject to verbal discipline and 42% of kids are subject to extreme physical discipline like spanking.

6. High school subjects include math, English, science, social science and second language. Days start with morning exercises, assemblies, moral classes, and subject classes. Usually there’s also special tutoring and athletics after school.

7. Literacy rate in India is 59.5%.

8. Indian water is contaminated with arsenic and fluoride. For personal hygiene, people in India use international brands. For garbage, they have recycling receptacles separated into three compartments to separate paper, plaster and other recyclable along with community bins for kitchen waste and other garbage.

9. Normal dress in India would be tunic and trousers (churidar) for both men and woman. Women would also wear a long veil/scarf over their churidar. It is also typical for women to wear lots of silver/gold jewelry. However, India is beginning to westernize and many people within the cities dress like European/American people.

10. Lunch and dinner in India is very similar. Curry is very important in Indian cuisine. Breakfast features numerous snacks. Tea and coffee is popular as beverages.  Eating beef is taboo.

11. Indian entertainment includes TV, radio, cricket, tennis, hockey, movies. Bollywood is located in India and has produced more movies that Hollywood.

12. Indian people are not into alcohol but foreign liquor is acceptable. Gambling used to be taboo but now it is legitimate.

13. Leisure activities include rafting in the Holy Granges, mountain climbing in the Himalayas, traveling to beaches, playing sports: cricket, tennis and hockey, and watching sports.

14. Leisure activities for teens include playing/watching sports: cricket, tennis, hockey, watching movies, listening to music and etc – pretty much the same compared to US.

15. India has a rather complex marriage system. Family arranges marriage. In Northern India, the bride marries and goes live with an unknown family. In Central India, a family usually marries their girls to the same lineage as others in their village have married their girls to. Bride also goes live with groom’s family. In Southern India, marriages are usually between cousins, children of brother and sister, and uncles with nieces. Doing so binds people in small tight knit groups. Remarriage is acceptable in lower castes, but not higher ones. Divorce is not recommended. The only five acceptable reasons for divorce by law are adultery, desertion, impotency, cruelty and chronic diseases. People who have divorced are usually looked down upon.

16. The main languages spoken in India are English and Hindi. English is used in the business world and Hindi is used culturally.

17. The main religion in India is Hindu, which represents 80.5% of the population. Currently, there are 11 religions practiced. There is no official religion.

18. Traditional clothing in India include saris, ghagra-choli, salwar-kameez, dupatta, pyjama and kurta.

19. Traditional Indian music (sangeet) focuses on vocals, instrumentals and dance and is popular amongst people in India. US pop/rock music is also popular, especially for younger generations. Currently, there are some English-speaking rock bands in India.

20. One famous Indian is Mohandas Gandhi who fought for India’s independence from the British crown. Another famous person is Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first prime minister of India. Subhas Chandra Bose was another famous folk hero in India. He also fought for independence but he was willing to use violence unlike Gandhi.

Hope you enjoyed our latest post about India.  For more information about travelling to India, please continue to check out LetMeVisit.com.  Thanks!

Now, what is there?  Of course there is Mickey Mouse, the legendary Disney trademark.  You can also see different characters from classic to present Disney movies and television shows.  In addition to the museum, there is an auditorium for viewing movie screenings and concerts.  Now, what’s the disclaimer here.  Looking at the flyer, they say clearly they are not affiliated with the publicly traded Walt Disney Company.  

I believe this is a managed and operated by his family foundation exclusively, but it does provide a clearer and less-commercialized perspective of the classic Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.

Anyway, if you are going down to San Fran and if you or your kids like Disney classics, then the Walt Disney Family Museum would be a great place to visit!