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Published: October 27th 2006
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Hi everyone,
I've finally had a chance to upload all my pictures, so look for several new entries soonish.
India is a huge and really diverse country with about 10 million different languages and cultures. I did have a chance to visit a small part of both northern and southern india, but there is a lot more of India that i did not see, so I can't speak for the entire country. At any rate, here are some of the more entertaining cultural differences I have noticed:
Hair washing. For religious reasons, women do not wash their hair on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Each day has a different reason.
Conservative dress. The men here generally wear western style clothes (jeans and t-shirts) but the women wear either saris or these outfits with baggy pants and a baggy shirt. They also ALWAYS wear a headscarf (dupatta), which may be wrapped around their shoulders or on their head. I tried to bring baggy clothes that cover as much skin as possible, but I feel so frumpy, and I'm still always worried that I should be even more modest. One day I did venture to wear a very baggy below
the knee length skirt, and I felt like men were continuously staring at my calves.
The roads. One of the most shocking parts of India for me. After living in Himachal Pradesh for almost 3 weeks, it was somewhat amazing for me to see a road with two lanes in each direction. Many of the main roads in my state had one lane (total), no guard rail, and were carved into the face of a giant cliff with a steep dropoff on one side. This was especially fun while barreling down the roads in a public bus, praying we wouldn't hit oncoming traffic. Big thunder mountain railroad at disneyland came to mind (without most of the mining equipment). Generally the custom is to honk before you go around the blind corners, but you never know when you might come across a stubborn truck driver. As far as the roads in the big cities like Delhi, they are kind of a mass of cars, trucks, bicycles, autorickshaws, pedestrians, and cows. The cows are especially tricky because they don't move, even if you are about to hit them. So if you come across one suddenly, you may hit it (brings to
Trucks
This is what all the freight trucks look like around here, and there seemed to be a lot of them. They can't have long trailers because the roads are so windy. mind travels in Idaho with you Kristen and getting a speeding ticket for going about 3mph over the limit, but we should have known better because of the dangers of cows)
The power. I do not believe there were 2 or 3 full days in Himachal Pradesh in which we did not loose power in the village I was staying in. It happens so frequently that people often do not even make a comment about it when it goes out. Fortunately they cook with gas so we could still eat even if it is dark. We used a lot of candles. In Delhi they purposely turn of the power for 1 hr, sometimes up to 3 times a day, because there are so many power shortages (I believe this is called load shutting/ shunting?). Everyone seems to have a backup generator, especially shops and itnernet cafes, so that they can at least have 1 light and one fan on while the power is out.
The attitude about time. One thing I liked very much was the relaxed attitude the people I have met have here. The people at RUCHI don't seem to be really stressed about cramming
Trucks meet
Since the roads are so narrow, skilled navigation is required. as much as possible into their workday. They take days off. They take time to eat lunch. Yet somehow they still seem to be quite productive (the ones I met, at any rate). However, it should be noted that most indiands work 6 days a week. Their approach towards time reminds me quite a bit of South America. And I recall that after I returned from Ecuador, I was never on time for anything. Ten years later, that habit doesnt appear to have completely worn off, and i fear I may be even later than I was before when I return home. I just don't like to have to rush getting ready.
The multitudinous insects. In RUCHI, I discovered many spiders bigger than my hand. There were also praying mantises, cockroaches, and other unamed crawling things. For one month a year, these weird little black lady bug type insects swarm outside the room where I stayed with RUCHI. They smelled kind of like coriander when you crush them. Of course the swarming month was the month I was there. I made the mistake of leaving my jeans out to dry once. i thought i shook all the bugs off,
street traffic
This was very early in the morning, before there were 10 million people wandering around but when I sat down, I could see all these little lumps crawling around beneath the denim. While in Dharamsala, some unknown large bug also had the audacity to crawl off the ground and all the way up my pants to the top of my thigh. I reflexively swatted at it, and I then I heard this gross crunch as I squished the bug between my thigh and my jeans. It's not entirely clear to me why less insects seem to exist at home. Maybe they do, but they are not so bold.
The use of hands as eating utensils. Indians often eat their food (even liquidy curry) with their hands. They just mix it with rice and then shove it in their mouths. I tended to use a spoon, although some village women laughed at me when I did that once.
The use of hands as a substitute for toilet paper. Yes, what you have heard is correct. Indians do not use toilet paper. Instead, they pour water from a cup down their, um, ass crack, for lack of a better word (sorry for those sensitive readers) and wipe around with their hand. I like many Indian
customs, but this is not a habit I could bring myself to pick up. After studying biology and sterile technique, you are just not going to be able to convince me that this is more "sanitary." Sure, your ass crack may be somewhat cleaner, but hand + poop = spread of disease from my perspective. Even if you clean off your hand with soap (and theres no guarantee that will be available), you are getting poop on the sink fawcetts, and I'm sure you don't get it all off. better to put those germs on the toilet paper and flush it away, i think.
Buying and selling goods. In india, there is very little that you cannot bargain for. You must bargain for rickshaw and cab rides, for hotel rooms, for a good exchange rate when you change money, and of course for any clothes or souveneirs you might want. And of course they raise the price if they see that you are white, because that means you are a rich tourist. However, i personally think this is better than in the US because there is at least a chance of talking people down in price. Costs are
just automatically jacked up in all the touristy places at home, and there's not a lot you can do about it. You certainly cannot tell the hotel manager that you are a poor student, and you and your friends are booking two rooms, so can't you please have a 40% discount? However,one more challenging apsect of purchasing products were the super aggressive peddlers in India, especially in the North around tourist areas like the Taj Mahal. When visiting these places, almost all I could hear were cries of "Excuse me, Madam, Madam, very good price, very cheap" etc. And some of these peddlers would not leave us alone. A few times I actually had to shove them a little bit to get the idea across that no, i did not want their crappy chess set, bangle, post card booklet, etc.
My quasi-celebrity status. Everywhere I went, people loved to take pictures of me. The funniest time when I was at the Taj Mahal. This is the Taj Mahal, the huge impressive mausoleum some king built for his dead wife. and what were people taking pictures of? Me. Yes, I am more exciting than the Taj Mahal.
Well, I
hope I havent given the impression that india is not a great place to visit. I found everything quite entertaining. And there are so many cool historical things to see and relaxing beaches, and fabulous people. i had quite an awesome time.
love,
anne
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