There are the differences I expected: namely that the smells and sights would be overwhelmingly in opposition to what had become normal. France smells like scotch broom in full bloom, and the cows all look groomed for the cover of a magazine. The sky was so blue, the air so clean and fresh, the roads wildly organized, the whole world so quiet and orderly.
But there were other things that I definitely hadn't considered.
A meal in France, for example, is an event. There is an aperatif (essentially a cocktail), then bread, soup, a plat du jour, and a salad - all served in a particular order - with copious amounts of wine. Then there is a digestiv - the after dinner cocktail, the cheese plate, the dessert and the coffee. All to say, they take food seriously.
The Indians take food just as seriously, but the ceremony surrounding eating is completely different. It is fast and efficient and incomplete without a generously sweetened chai. Where the french slowly savor the mellow and rich flavors of meat, cheese and bread, the Indians rapidly consume food (strategically using only their right hand) that awakens every taste bud you have on your tongue, including ones you didn't know you had. For both, there is ritual, tradition, and a sense of religiosity in communal meals, but they are so very different.
What has been even more entertaining has been the things that are similar. No meal is complete without chapati in India, baguette in France. Both the French and the Indians park their cars on the sidewalk, they have churches around every corner, and they take every "holiday" they can get to close up shop and enjoy life.
Both the Indians and the French really live life with joy. They live differently, and find joy in different ways, but they go all in on life and people and the art of living well
I'll say one more thing about culture shock: one of the surprising things about falling in love with another culture is that you gradually begin to re-fall in love with your own. It is one of the best things about traveling. And as we wind up this final journey, I am recognizing all of the things I do love about my home.