Lots of things surprised me about India! Here’s a few:
1. The customs personnel actually cared how the immigration form was filled out. This should have been my first clue to how much they like their policies and rules. I have done extensive research and most places we visit only require that some pen be scribbled somewhere on the form. It usually needs not to be legible. Not in India my friends… they were sticklers!
2. Everyone has an address. Like a real life address. Where we come from in Africa, the only way to find someone’s home is to follow long confusing and detailed directions that usually include landmarks like piles of rocks, small stores with various amounts of drink coolers out front and empty lots with donkeys eating trash. But in India, the homes are organized and you need only to give you simple address and your driver can find the place. I was amazed.
3. As a result of the organized addresses, delivery of various things has become common and is FREE! Glory! You can call up a pharmacy to get your eye drops delivered. You can call up the bakery to get your pumpkin pie delivered. You can call up the supermarket to get your milk delivered. Frankly, you’d never have to leave your house!
4. The head bobble notorious to Indians has a meaning! I had always thought it was just a habit. But I learned that the bobble actually means “Yes” like we nod our head in the west. Cool, huh?
5. Foreigners don’t get special treatment. I guess since there have been white faces in India for many many decades (Since the Brits ruled it), seeing a white face is no big deal. This theory was obviously proven wrong with our children at any various tourist site (hence the thousands of pictures taken of them), but in everyday life, no one flinches to see a white face walking down the street. This isn’t bad, it’s just different, as I have to admit that we’ve become fairly accustomed to getting special treatment in other Asian/Africa/Middle Eastern countries because we are obvious visitors.
6. Many people use cloth bags, not plastic! This may not seem odd to you, but it’s incredible to me! We come from a city where colored plastic bags cover any fence or tree or bit of shrub anywhere you look. They roll down the road like tumbleweeds and float into the sky like lost helium balloons. Therefore, I was very impressed that India was ‘green’ enough to decrease the plastic bag usage in such a hugely populated place!
India was certainly full of wonders! I won’t forget it!
I’ll leave you with some final photos of India… this was the day we took three of the four kiddos to see the Railway Museum…
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