1) Mini-vans. Family of five you say? No problem - all five of you can just hop on this tiny motor bike and scoot around town amidst the scariest traffic known to humanity. From front to back: handle bars, child, father/driver, child, child, mother.
2) Pets. As in many underdeveloped countries, dogs roam wild around India. I would like to get the statistics but it seems to me there must be one dog for every five people in India (which means millions of dogs). I'll check for those numbers with the Animal Humane Society. Oh wait...
The point here is not dogs though, it is monkeys. They are everywhere - like in my ceiling last night (which made for a slowly induced panic attack), outside my bathroom window, hanging out at the bus stop (not waiting for the bus). Luckily they are cute as a button so one doesn't mind having them around but when they chase you things get a little hairy...
3) Utensils. Did I already mention that? Well even so it is still the best part about sitting down to dinner.
4) Domestic skills. Every residence or business I have been to has an army of domestic staff running the place (including my school). Cooks, cleaners, drivers, butlers, sweepers, window washers, rug beaters, you name it. It sounds nice but it is really weird to actually be prevented from doing my own housework and cleaning- short of knocking me out of the way, the various staff get really put out when I try to do anything for myself. I try to be as nice as possible and thank them all the time (however they don't really understand me so I just smile constantly hoping that gets the message across). My favorite of all the staff I have met is the gardener at Vidya Vanam (my school). His name is Tata and he is so funny that he will get a whole blog posting devoted to him soon. I take a picture of him everyday, which he loves (I think)
5) Clothes. Well not exactly - but MY clothes, I don't need. Care of British Airways ineptness and extreme deficiencies in customer service, my bag just arrived today (that is one week late). So I have done a little shopping since then (or maybe a lot) and bought quite a few appropriate Indian outfits. Turns out I would have done this anyway - I think I might stick out a little in my Roll Tide t-shirt. I didn't bring much clothing outside of sleepwear and that is good because I look much better in Indian clothing. I bought the appropriate pants (very thin leggings or linens) and a range of tops to wear over them (these are more like dresses) I have since been complimented on my choices of colors and been told that my legs look like chicken's legs sticking out from under the large dress. Nice. Back to the Bama shirt.
More to come soon about my visit today to a rural hospital. An amazing project being run by a couple here who are doctors (educated in the US). Additionally, if any of you would like gifts brought back from India, send your requests!
xo
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