Overused by store workers in the US, this is one line that is seldom used by salespeople here in Bangalore.
Any store I go to, any question I ask, I always get an answer. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's a little off. Sometimes it's pure fiction. But it's never "I don't know.".
Also, everybody who needs to come home to install or fix something, will always be here in 15 minutes. That's what they say. Nobody ever says that they are stuck in traffic, they have many customers to attend to, and they don't know when they can get to you. They'll always be here in 15 minutes, no matter where they are. Ofcourse, I have got to be out of mind to really expect them to be here in 15 minutes, or even an hour, or even that same day. I know that now. One lives and learns.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Overheard
in the cinema box office today. A woman saying: "Two tickets for Despicable Me". Now there is someone who needs to learn to love herself :)
Misfit Everywhere
My last post seems so negative. But just because I am critical of some things here doesn't mean that I think any other place is better. I see all flaws magnified, and most of all, mine. California was a lovely place to live, but I found many faults there, you can be sure.
But now that we moved here, I'm going through stages of denial, anger, sorrow, all that stuff. When we flew here, I did not say goodbye to anything. I did not turn back and look at my home there. I did not drive by the ocean one last time. We just packed our suitcases the night before we left. On the day, we drove away, and at the airport, without a single tear or any sadness, I just got on the plane and came away.
Now, the reality sinks in slowly. I find I am a misfit here, just as I was there. Which is not such a bad thing, because I would rather not blend in. But sometimes, things get to me.
I apologize for being a grump.
But now that we moved here, I'm going through stages of denial, anger, sorrow, all that stuff. When we flew here, I did not say goodbye to anything. I did not turn back and look at my home there. I did not drive by the ocean one last time. We just packed our suitcases the night before we left. On the day, we drove away, and at the airport, without a single tear or any sadness, I just got on the plane and came away.
Now, the reality sinks in slowly. I find I am a misfit here, just as I was there. Which is not such a bad thing, because I would rather not blend in. But sometimes, things get to me.
I apologize for being a grump.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
India
We moved to India two months ago, after fourteen years of living in the United States.
There is a lot to write about, and I'm constantly writing it in my head. I always do. But it's all a jumble once I get to the computer and have to put it down. I have about half an hour before baby wakes up, if I'm lucky. But here I go trying.
There is the good and there is the bad. I would like to start with the good before I get to the complaining.
Nursing the baby is holy here. In the USA, people were nice about it. People here, are extra nice. I was worried about how I'd do once I was outside, but there is always a way. Even strangers around help to make sure it happens, nobody here can stand to see a hungry baby. And when the women find out I'm nursing, they give me a wide approving smile before helping.
Now quickly onto the complaining, only because this is fresh in my mind today. The caste system is very prevalent. Not the old kind, but the new capitalistic kind. The rich are royalty. I have the weird position of living in a temporary apartment that is very expensive (to me, anyway). People here are all smiles, they open doors, make a fuss over my children, bring me things I need.
But unlike most people who live here, I also get out on the street and walk. And there, with me as a nobody, the cars seem to be aiming to run me down, with my baby and all. The well-dressed people don't smile at me anymore, not even at the baby. But the non-rich, like the woman who sweeps the street, the vegetable vendor, and so on, they still have an easy smile.
Everybody bosses over somebody else. The people who stay here boss over the staff. The managing staff bosses over the wait staff. And I'm sure the wait staff go inside and boss over somebody else. So it goes down the food chain. People mostly mingle only with people of their own "class". Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it happens everywhere, not just in India. But it's much less subtle here, and much more jarring.
I realize I'm generalizing. Not everybody fits into my stereotypes. These are the impressions formed during my two months here, and maybe as time goes on, I'll see that I was wrong. Or maybe I'll blend in, and do as most others do.
There is a lot to write about, and I'm constantly writing it in my head. I always do. But it's all a jumble once I get to the computer and have to put it down. I have about half an hour before baby wakes up, if I'm lucky. But here I go trying.
There is the good and there is the bad. I would like to start with the good before I get to the complaining.
Nursing the baby is holy here. In the USA, people were nice about it. People here, are extra nice. I was worried about how I'd do once I was outside, but there is always a way. Even strangers around help to make sure it happens, nobody here can stand to see a hungry baby. And when the women find out I'm nursing, they give me a wide approving smile before helping.
Now quickly onto the complaining, only because this is fresh in my mind today. The caste system is very prevalent. Not the old kind, but the new capitalistic kind. The rich are royalty. I have the weird position of living in a temporary apartment that is very expensive (to me, anyway). People here are all smiles, they open doors, make a fuss over my children, bring me things I need.
But unlike most people who live here, I also get out on the street and walk. And there, with me as a nobody, the cars seem to be aiming to run me down, with my baby and all. The well-dressed people don't smile at me anymore, not even at the baby. But the non-rich, like the woman who sweeps the street, the vegetable vendor, and so on, they still have an easy smile.
Everybody bosses over somebody else. The people who stay here boss over the staff. The managing staff bosses over the wait staff. And I'm sure the wait staff go inside and boss over somebody else. So it goes down the food chain. People mostly mingle only with people of their own "class". Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it happens everywhere, not just in India. But it's much less subtle here, and much more jarring.
I realize I'm generalizing. Not everybody fits into my stereotypes. These are the impressions formed during my two months here, and maybe as time goes on, I'll see that I was wrong. Or maybe I'll blend in, and do as most others do.
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