Day 14: Differences and New Delhi
We all started our research today so I don't exactly have any exciting adventures to write about. But I have a lot of observations to share :) This is the basis for what I will write about today: in some ways South Indians are completely the opposite of Americans (and Canadians I guess haha).
#1. The way they walk
Since the very beginning this is something we have all noticed! We are so used to walking FAST-- to getting to where we want to be as soon as possible. But when we try to do that here it just doesn't work. We always end up having to double back to stay with our translator. Today we were walking to the fabric shop and when we got to an intersection I turned around to see if RajyaLakshmi was near so she could lead the way... but she was way far back! And People are just very relaxed here... things don't have to be efficient... they just have to have the desired result. I'll talk a little bit about this in #3 but its incredible to me the patience people have here. I've never seen anything like it.
#2. The way they talk
No one here "minces their words" or "beats around the bush"... they are NOT afraid of hurting each other's feelings. Basically their voices never hide their emotions-- they don't fake it. If someone is annoyed, they sound annoyed. If someone thinks something is funny they laugh. If someone is mocking you... you can really tell. I really admire this. Sometimes it feels a little abrasive since I'm so used to people trying to say things in the most gentle way possible... but its kind of cool to see how this changes things for them. They seem to have much more flexible relationships... they can be harsh with each other and go back to normal just a few minutes later. I feel like in some ways they're foundations for friendships are a little bit sturdy.
#3. The way they work
Okay... this is kind of a continuation of walking slowly... whenever we go into shops here there are NO LINES. Correction-- there are lots of people in what could be a line but instead is a mob of people gathering around the counter or salesperson. They push forward, hand their stuff over and wait till the guy/girl pays attention to them. OOOOH and at the fabric shop, when we give them our saris they SLOWLY help us to find the fabric that we needed. Even when other people came into the shop they don't speed up at all!! And the people waiting around didn't seem impatient AT ALL!!! I can't even imagine that in America or Canada! Ok... obviously I'm a little excited about this. But if you were here you would be too! Its fascinating. I wonder where else in the world people are like this! Its really refreshing :) Today my friends and I were booking our train tickets and the travel centre guy (who also runs a very small internet cafe) helped for nearly 3 hours! And he was super patient the whole time. I've never seen anyone multitask so well. Nearly 15 people came in during those 3 hours and he helped them when he had a free minute... and some of them had to wait a while for help. They didn't seem bothered at all.. they just sat around till he could help them. Anyways... I can't get over it. I think I'll probably end up being way more chill after being here for four months. Shopping and running errands back home is going to be too stressful haha
There's a ton more I could say about our differences and our similarities but i'll save that for another day! Oh btw, Carly, Israel and I booked our week off :) At the end of February we will be traveling to New Delhi! From there we will go to Amritsar, Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi and Hyderabad.. Needless to say we are sooo excited. And trains are soooo cheap here.
Love,
Stéf
(Ps. My internet sucks... sorry for any delayed blogging/answering of emails)
#1. The way they walk
Since the very beginning this is something we have all noticed! We are so used to walking FAST-- to getting to where we want to be as soon as possible. But when we try to do that here it just doesn't work. We always end up having to double back to stay with our translator. Today we were walking to the fabric shop and when we got to an intersection I turned around to see if RajyaLakshmi was near so she could lead the way... but she was way far back! And People are just very relaxed here... things don't have to be efficient... they just have to have the desired result. I'll talk a little bit about this in #3 but its incredible to me the patience people have here. I've never seen anything like it.
#2. The way they talk
No one here "minces their words" or "beats around the bush"... they are NOT afraid of hurting each other's feelings. Basically their voices never hide their emotions-- they don't fake it. If someone is annoyed, they sound annoyed. If someone thinks something is funny they laugh. If someone is mocking you... you can really tell. I really admire this. Sometimes it feels a little abrasive since I'm so used to people trying to say things in the most gentle way possible... but its kind of cool to see how this changes things for them. They seem to have much more flexible relationships... they can be harsh with each other and go back to normal just a few minutes later. I feel like in some ways they're foundations for friendships are a little bit sturdy.
#3. The way they work
Okay... this is kind of a continuation of walking slowly... whenever we go into shops here there are NO LINES. Correction-- there are lots of people in what could be a line but instead is a mob of people gathering around the counter or salesperson. They push forward, hand their stuff over and wait till the guy/girl pays attention to them. OOOOH and at the fabric shop, when we give them our saris they SLOWLY help us to find the fabric that we needed. Even when other people came into the shop they don't speed up at all!! And the people waiting around didn't seem impatient AT ALL!!! I can't even imagine that in America or Canada! Ok... obviously I'm a little excited about this. But if you were here you would be too! Its fascinating. I wonder where else in the world people are like this! Its really refreshing :) Today my friends and I were booking our train tickets and the travel centre guy (who also runs a very small internet cafe) helped for nearly 3 hours! And he was super patient the whole time. I've never seen anyone multitask so well. Nearly 15 people came in during those 3 hours and he helped them when he had a free minute... and some of them had to wait a while for help. They didn't seem bothered at all.. they just sat around till he could help them. Anyways... I can't get over it. I think I'll probably end up being way more chill after being here for four months. Shopping and running errands back home is going to be too stressful haha
There's a ton more I could say about our differences and our similarities but i'll save that for another day! Oh btw, Carly, Israel and I booked our week off :) At the end of February we will be traveling to New Delhi! From there we will go to Amritsar, Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi and Hyderabad.. Needless to say we are sooo excited. And trains are soooo cheap here.
Love,
Stéf
(Ps. My internet sucks... sorry for any delayed blogging/answering of emails)
I know I say that about most of your post, but I truly enjoyed this post today. I actually made me cry. I felt for this family you talked to - which is like many others I'm sure - for the little they have, the great distance between them and their loved ones, and for the little they can do about it. We often think of ourselves in North America as 'the privileged.' Reading your post, it makes me feel we have it all wrong. The real privileged may instead be people such as those like you met or from a country like India, who naturally live day in, day out with great strength of character, humility, simplicity, trust, resiliency, genuineness, integrity, faith, hope, kindness, etc. I bet they don't need as constant a reminder like we do here, like I do! Thank you for your inspiring post dear Stefanie. XXX
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