94 | What No One Tells You About Indian-American Relationships

Jessica spills all the tea with Chandra Chandhok, who brings her into the Verona Matchmaking ecosystem, where there are no rules and ANYTHING can be said.  Jessica and Chandra dive into an hour long conversation about cross-cultural marriage, specifically what it is like to be in an Indian-American relationship.In this episode:Do cultural differences really make that big of a difference?Beyond the sparks, what makes a marriage last?How do you deal with controlling in-laws?How do you deal with the stereotypes people have about India?Listen in and comment on social media if you want to share about your experiences._________________Mentioned in the episode:Jessica's newest course "Intermediate Hindi Grammar Level One." If you're beyond basic Hindi and want to become more fluent, this is the course for you! Also check out "Interacting Confidently with Indian Family and In-Laws," which is a course specifically for those who want to communicate better with their own Indian family or Indian partner's family.______________Sign up for my ⁠newsletter HERE ⁠to get Hindi learning deals and updates on new content! See all my Hindi courses! ⁠www.learnhindianywhere.com

Most of us could use help in connecting better with our in-laws, especially when their is a culture gap. In episode 93, Jessica Kumar talks about her top 3 strategies for building bridges with Indian in-laws as an American married to an Indian. There is no sure fire way to a perfect relationship, but these 3 things go a long way and can win over most aunties and uncles and give them a positive impression. My new course "Interacting Confidently with Indian Family and In-Laws" covers Hindi that you need to know as well as sociological concepts which will help you navigate tricky relationships!Perfect For:Romantic partners of Indians who want to better understand Indian family cultureNRIs looking to improve interaction with eldersBrides and grooms of Indian origin preparing for their weddingIndians living abroad who want to stay connected with family traditions and customsAnyone attending an Indian wedding who wants to practice Hindi before the eventSee the 14 part course here-- it includes video lessons, homework, audio files and printable materials to help you better interact with Indian family members.All my courses at www.learnhindianywhere.comHindi Membership Interest List/ Waiting ListBy dropping your email you are joining the update and waitlist for the Hindi membership, launching in January 2026! This is not a commitment to sign up, but an interest list for those of you who would be interested in joining a group where we have live classes, an exclusive platform and weekly prompts for greater accountability.Drop your info here

Gunjan Bradshaw Saini and Jessica have a completely different situation, yet much in common. Gunjan is Punjabi married to an American man. Jessica is American married to a Bihari man. While Gunjan and Jessica may seem to be on opposite sides of life, they have similar misunderstandings, culture clashes and hilarious moments with their families and husband's families as well. Gunjan and Jessica discuss the juiciest listener questions in this episode and talk through our personal experiences about cross-cultural conflicts.  Related Episodes:Episode 63 Behind the Scenes of an Indian-American MarriageEpisode 59 Help! I'm in Love with an IndianEpisode 42 What We Would Change About Our Indian American Wedding Sign up for my ⁠newsletter HERE ⁠to get Hindi learning deals and updates on new content! See all my other courses! ⁠www.learnhindianywhere.com

India has an ecosystem of multilingualism. Yet there is an immense pressure to let go of indigenous languages which are less frequently used and adopt majority languages like Hindi. In India, the modern hierarchy of languages puts English on top, major languages like Hindi in the middle and regional languages and dialects on the bottom. A sad state of linguicide is occurring in India and regional languages are being lost. Listen in to my conversation with the Lexicon Club at Patna Women's College in Patna, Bihar. The conversation covers my personal experiences, thoughts on regional language retention and a vibrant question and answer session with the bright young women of Patna Women's College.  Related Episodes ⁠41 "Exploring Indian Education"⁠ Episode 78 "Indian vs Western Education."⁠⁠Episode 1 "Why Did We Move Back to India?" Sign up for my ⁠newsletter HERE ⁠to get Hindi learning deals and updates on new content! See all my other courses! ⁠www.learnhindianywhere.com

What do kids need to prepare for the future? Are the current educational philosophies of today cutting it? I dove deep into conscious, self-driven learning with Ms Lina Ashar.Ms. Lina Ashar. is a renowned and prominent educationist. Not only has she started She has started over 100 centres in India, Dubai, Qatar, and Maldives today. Ms. Ashar founded Billabong High International School, was was ranked one of the top 10 international schools in india. Her newest venture, Dreamtime Learning School, one of its kind education-first schools exploring conscious learning and online schooling for kids in India and beyond. But today, we go far outside the boundaries of education between east and west and talk about preparing kids for the future while equipping them with the technological tools of today, right thinking patterns and self-driven learning. Related Episodes 41 "Exploring Indian Education" and 78 "Indian vs Western Education."See a short YouTube Version on my channel. Sign up for my newsletter HERE to get Hindi learning deals and updates on new content!

What kind of questions can you expect to be asked by the average person in India? As a person who has lived in India for almost 2 decades, I have heard a lot of odd questions and underlying assumptions about foreigners. Hear my reaction to the top 5 overly personal questions, invasive or just plain strange questions I get asked regularly in India. Understand more about Indian culture from this video and learn Hindi with me at www.learnhindianywhere.com where I have online video courses which you can do at your own pace. ____ Learn Hindi with me! ____ I currently have 5 courses: -Hindi Hacks - beginner course -Overcome Hindi Pronunciation Pitfalls- beginner/intermediate course -Hindi Grammar Foundations- beginner course -Kids' Hindi Kickstarter Course- kids age 4-10 beginner course -Travel Hindi You Will Actually Use I also do one on one consults to help you get assessed and figure out how you get from where you are to where you want to be! SEE ALL COURSES HERE https://learn-hindi-anywhere.teachable.com/

Does India seem intimidating? Are you afraid you'll do something which may offend people when you visit? Or even if you attend an Indian function outside of India, what do you do? In this episode, Jessica shares a number of stupid things she did and mistakes she has made over the years, with humor and lessons attached. She also talks a fair amount about overcoming a white saviorism mentality and learning to take a back seat to Indian leadership. Additional Resources: No White Saviors - Instagram Episode 41 The Indian Education System Book- When Helping Hurts especially helpful if you are a person of Christian faith. But also relevant for everyone to understand basic principles of development amongst the developing communities. We also had a mic malfunction for part of the episode. Apologize for some muffled sound in the middle.

Is India safe for foreign travelers? I believe that in 95% of situations, having the right skills and language will help you get out of sketchy situations.  But how? With most Hindi travel guides out there, the book is going to teach "Namaste, Mera naam Jessica hai. Aap kaise hain? Aapka naam kya hai?" While these are not bad things to learn, but actually not that important if you’re just trying to survive in India. But what are the things you need to know? How to book a taxi and how to give directions to an Uber coming to pick you up. How to get out of an uncomfortable situation, how to negotiate or count money. How to tell someone to leave you alone! In this podcast, we talk about how to get out of situations: -how to get around by taxi, auto, train and airplane -negotiation strategies and vocab -how to get out of compromising/scary situations -managing money, counting and smart ways to manage payments. This is a segment from "Travel Hindi You Will Actually Use" - a 10 part course which will teach you all this and more! See the Video version of this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/670cSlPHHm8 _________ Review me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen— i’m going to enter you into a drawing to get my latest course for free! So just click on my Invisible India page wherever you listen and leave a review! It will help me so much and I will see your comments there. It means a lot to me. Also, be sure to download the India Travel Guide- 30 pages of LOTS of tips, including safety for women!  https://learn-hindi-anywhere.teachable.com/p/my-downloadable-india-travel-guide https://blog.feedspot.com/indian_culture_podcasts/

Asking questions in Hindi might be the most important thing you can learn. In this episode, Jessica talks about the importance of asking questions and not just making declarative statements in Hindi. In this episode, we talk about "kya - what." "Kya" is the most important word you need to know to be able to ask questions in Hindi. This video is a sample from the larger Hindi Grammar Foundations course by Jessica Kumar. Hindi Grammar Foundations is a 2.5 hour course including 30+ video lessons, downloadable homework, audio recordings and multiple perspectives from two teachers. Enroll in Hindi Grammar Foundations today. https://learn-hindi-anywhere.teachable.com/p/hindi-grammar-foundations

If this is your first trip to India or eighth, this episode highlights the top 10 pro pointers you need to known to reduce the headaches, inconveniences and ripoffs that are likely to happen while visiting India. Download the new e-booklet "The Traveler's Guide to India" What's Included in the e-booklet? 30+ pages of practical tips, which will put you years ahead in: -Language Learning -Transportation -Money & Payments -Guide to Food-Communication Strategy -Things NOT to Say in India -& so much more! Also see the accompanying YouTube video to this episode! https://youtu.be/H918-ESq2JI Links included in the episode: Gender Based Inequality & Violence- Episode 15 Learn Hindi with me! www.learnhindianywhere.com