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Things I've Gotten Used to in India (or NOT) Posted: Aug 8, 2003 5:08 AM
   
This one will be a fun post. There are MANY things that were new to me last summer when I arrived that I now take for granted. So, I am having to re-trace my year to come up with many of these. Most things listed here, you will notice don't bother me anymore.

I HAVE gotten used to power cuts.

I HAVE gotten used to slower internet.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to power cuts when I have almost finished typing a long passage (like these storytelling posts) on the slow internet when there is a power cut.

I HAVE gotten used to waiting for an hour for a telephone line outside Leh to clear.

I HAVE gotten used to sticking my head under a cold-water faucet on my bathroom wall to wash my hair.

I HAVE gotten used to using an illegal coil water heater to wash my hair when it was winter and the cold water faucet was turned off.

I HAVE gotten used to hiding that illegal coil at the times the power company paid visits to check on such matters.

I HAVE gotten used to carrying buckets of water several hundred yards in winter when the water is turned off.

I HAVE gotten used to "shaving" with a small backpacking scissors on my neck and cheeks.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to having to put up a bedsheet on the ceiling when it rains so that all the leaks go to one point, under which there is a bucket.

I HAVE gotten used to hard beds and mattresses.

I HAVE gotten used to using a rock-hard pillow.

I HAVE gotten used to having a maid cook for me 3 times a day.

I HAVE gotten used to her boring, too-spicy, repetitive meals (she knows 4 dishes well - when she does something new and I compliment her, I knew dinner would be the same the next 3 nights.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to her unannounced absenses.

I HAVE gotten used to having silverfish in the house. They eat book paper and cloth.

I HAVE gotten used to bedbugs.

I HAVE gotten used to moths everywhere at night.

I HAVE gotten used to walking everywhere to get things done.

I HAVE gotten used to living at 11,500 feet for months at a time and trekking higher from that altitude.

I HAVE gotten used to hearing all sorts of mouth and body sounds from both men and women. I'd always have to look to see which sex was coughing up a gob to spit.

I HAVE gotten used to men urinating in public.

I HAVE gotten used to myself urinating in public. I've simply GOT to break this habit.

I HAVE gotten used to the smell of urine along certain walls.

I HAVE gotten used to belching.

I HAVE gotten used to men grabbing themselves like baseball players in America.

I HAVE gotten used to men or women squatting in fields in the villages.

I HAVE gotten used to squat toilets.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to cleansing myself with the left hand and water rather than TP.

I HAVE gotten used to doing the "Farmer's Blow."

I HAVE gotten used to there being no queues or lines at banks, post office, airports, bus stations, etc.

I HAVE gotten used to people cutting in front of me without excusing themselves.

I HAVE gotten used to people sitting on my foot for an hour at a cultural event.

I HAVE gotten used to LONG programs at cultural events.

I HAVE gotten used to Ladakhi vaudeville.

I HAVE gotten used to the different music here.

I HAVE gotten used to everyone wearing long sleeves and pants here no matter the weather. In fact, they wear the same things year-round.

I HAVE gotten used to men holding hands with men and women holding hands with women.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to tourists that have a man holding hands with a woman. That looks out of place to me now and strange.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to tourists' insensitivity regarding hair and clothing styles in this culture. Ladakhi's are too polite to say anything when embarrassed.

I HAVE gotten used to black tea.

I HAVE gotten used to lemon tea.

I HAVE gotten used to milk tea.

I HAVE gotten used to salt/butter tea (yes even that).

I HAVE NOT gotten used to tea that is too hot to drink. It is my theory that the reason that Indians can eat such spicy-hot food is that their taste buds are burnt off by the tea. I let mine sit for 10 minutes to preserve my tongue and lips.

I HAVE gotten used to spicy food.

I HAVE gotten used to eating only with my hands, primarily the right (clean) hand. I suppose I'll have to break this habit too.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to having tea before a meal, and then nothing WITH the meal to wash it down, except sometimes hot water.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to local "chang" beer.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to "pickles" which are actually hot/spicy chilis.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to having to use my fingers to pick out bits of mutton from a dish, soup, mouth, or you name it.

I HAVE gotten used to Kashmiri food.

I HAVE gotten used to Ladakhi food.

I HAVE gotten used to Indian food, in general.

I HAVE gotten used to people in India staring at me for hours, no matter what I am doing.

I HAVE gotten used to all the questions they ask. From where? Coming from? Going to? Like tea? You married? Your age?

I HAVE gotten used to not getting things done until the last minute.

I HAVE gotten used to doing things different ways than expected.

I HAVE gotten used to last-minute changes.

I HAVE gotten used to unexpected holidays that they announce the night before on the radio.

I HAVE gotten used to teacher meetings during class hours, where we leave all classes unattended.

I HAVE gotten used to interruptions, both in and out of school.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to being late to things.

I HAVE gotten used to negotiating a maze of stone walkways.

I HAVE gotten used to cows and donkeys roaming the street during the day time.

I HAVE gotten used to cows preferring and eating cardboard over vegetables.

I HAVE gotten used to dogs roaming the street and making a racket at night time.

I HAVE gotten used to the donkey that serves as my alarm clock.

I HAVE gotten used to the mosques daily prayers, which they broadcast for the benefit of the entire city. The first one is at 4:30AM.

I HAVE gotten used to Buddhist prayer mantras, which last 25 minutes.

I HAVE gotten used to groups of different religeous groups that get along together, as long as they don't proselytize.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to small Christian groups that don't associate with other Christians in such a small place. This also happens in America.

I HAVE gotten used to Buddhists that mindlessly do their ritual prayer beads and prayer wheels.

I HAVE gotten used to Muslims that talk one thing (like not drinking) and then do the opposite.

I HAVE gotten used to being the only foreigner on a bus.

I HAVE gotten used to bus rides that are hard on the buttocks. As long as ten-hour rides.

I HAVE gotten used to crazy driving.

I HAVE gotten used to riding at the edge of a cliff.

I HAVE gotten used to hearing the horns when going around a corner.

I HAVE gotten used to vehicles passing each other with only 2 inches to spare, usually with a wall or cliff involved.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to how loud bus, rickshaw, cycle, and truck horns are here.

I HAVE gotten used to how loud people talk here.

I HAVE gotten used to people "yelling" at each other during normal conversation, even if 5 feet apart.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to the above statement if it is outside your tent at 5AM.

I HAVE gotten used to the beautiful ladies in Ladakh.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to waiting, waiting, waiting forever, and then having to rush, rush rush. This is the one thing I wish I could have overcome!!!

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Posted by: burntfoot    Posts: 676 / Registered: Mar, 2002
In just these past 2 days in Delhi, I realize that I've overlooked a few things that I've gotten used to:

I HAVE gotten used to Hindi "Let's Make a Deal" complete with the crazy costumes.

I HAVE gotten used to Bugs Bunny cartoons with Hindi music instead of the classical usually used. Last night, I saw "The Rabbit of Seville" with Hindi music instead of "Barber of Seville" music.

I HAVE gotten used to haircuts that continue even after power and lights go off.

I HAVE gotten used to haircuts with extras like scalp massage, shampoo, shoulder massage, and others. Ladies who cut hair in Thailand supposedly have even more additional "extras."

I HAVE gotten used to seeing Discovery channel in Hindi.

I HAVE gotten used to seeing garbage everywhere. Unfortunately, that is. Still, despite how much garbage is lying around, I can't bring myself to toss a wrapper or soda bottle.

I HAVE gotten used to Hindi music videos and movies (same difference). I have to watch to the end of a song to see which it is! All Hindi movies have many song and dance sequences, often with MANY dancers. The choreography is amazing for the number of people involved.

I HAVE gotten used to eating vegetarian most of the year.

I HAVE gotten used to drivers who take you to your destination AFTER going to at least 3 shops and/or travel agencies.

I HAVE gotten used to eating dinners after 9PM. Back home, 5PM-6PM is normal. Here, I've eaten many more meals after 9, than before 6!

I HAVE gotten used to hearing total strangers say "Yes, friend, what do you want?"

I HAVE gotten used to bargaining for everything from haircuts to sodas to hotel rooms.

I HAVE gotten used to finding out I paid more than I could have.

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I Thought of Some More! Posted: Aug 12, 2003 9:02 AM
   
Posted by: burntfoot    Posts: 676 / Registered: Mar, 2002
I HAVE gotten used to huge crowds. In the past year, I've been in close proximity of about a half billion people (within maybe 10 miles). Consider the following: Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Bangalore, and Chennai (Madras). That is 5 of the 6 largest cities of India, plus several others. This does not include the "smaller" cities of only 2-5 million people like Jaipur, Penang, Kanchipuram, etc. Last week, I was in a traffic jam so bad that even pedestrians like myself could not manuever through the street.

I HAVE gotten used to ignoring fake beggars.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to these beggars pinching and hurting babies to evoke sympathy.

I HAVE gotten used to hearing "Yes, friend? Have tea?" from Kashmiri shop owners who have nothing better to do than sit in front of their shop all day.

I HAVE NOT gotten used to picking small bits of bone out of mutton dishes. Worse than fish, because with fish, the bones are fairly predictable. With mutton, it doesn't matter whether it is a rice dish, a soup or a curry, there WILL be bits of bone.

I HAVE gotten used to working the exchange rate to my advantage with shop owners.

I HAVE gotten used to my students calling me "Sir Keith."

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