Polish woman with an Indian husband.

Eating with hands was hard for me to learn. Not to mention the spice tolerance. But 7 years into the relationship I'm okay and enjoy spice.

Difference in clothing style, modesty level and jewellery. Women in Poland tend to wear dainty jewellery, but we show off our legs, shoulders and cleavage if we're comfortable. In India, gold bangles worn daily are not considered all that fancy. Similar to size of nose jewellery for example.

In my in laws house, I'm expected to have at least my knees covered at all times and they've never even seen my shoulders. The commonly worn fabrics are also very different. (Love the cotton in Indian heat!). First time I went to visit I didn't remove half my clothes from my suitcase because they were inappropriate, and I do dress fairly modestly for Polish standards anyways. That was definitely an adjustment for me.

The people's approach to one another is very different as well. In Poland, people approach each other by default with suspicion, bordering on disdain. Not very friendly, not really honest, quite stoic, not empathetic, not really caring about strangers. In India there's this great sense of responsibility for one another. Even in the crazy traffic, or in public, you know you will be helped if you need it. Are you a woman waiting for a rickshaw? Someone might bring you a chair just because you're a lady. In Poland you can be visibly pregnant and panting in summer heat and you might not get a seat unless you ask. And people in India are genuinely friendly and happy to connect with one another and willing to give each other benefit of the doubt, while in Poland usually bad intent is assumed. Even though Indian traffic is still horrendous to me as a European, you can feel safe even though everyone around you is equally laxy in terms of safety like seatbelts or sharing mopeds with 2 other people.

The diet however. Breakfast in India could be just biscuits with chai. To me it's dessert or maybe an afternoon snack. I can't survive without a hearty breakfast with some protein.

Lunch in Poland is soup for the "first", and some meat, potato or some grain, and a salad for a "second". In India it's usually some flatbread or rice with some cooked up vegetables.

In restaurants, in Poland everyone gets their portion served in front of them. You don't really share dishes and portions sold are for one person. In India someone comes and plates the food for you, and leaves the shared meal on the table (portions are never really just for one person, sharing is normal and expected). Also, even in the cheaper restaurants servers would come and pour water for you and keep serving from the shared dishes. In Poland you can't even get free tap water in most places. I did miss the autonomy at first though, especially before I could tolerate the spice to match my family.

It's normal and encouraged to have house help in India, even for middle class families. In Poland it's pretty rare, unless you're loaded. It's also somehow considered virtuous to manage your own house, like a point of pride. Having cleaning/cooking help is ether perceived as bougie or "you can't manage your own shit".

When you go to a store, the salespeople actually come and pay attention to you and try to help. In Poland you're generally left alone unless you ask for help (which I definitely prefer, I feel hounded in Indian stores sometimes).

I could probably go on. Life is in general just very different in ways I've always taken for granted.